You Be The Judge

The Weekly Standard: Obama Campaign Focuses On Candidate's "Super-Human" Judgment

(Weekly Standard)  This column was written by Dean Barnett

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If you’ve spoken with someone who has swooned for Barack Obama, chances are you've heard them say the word "judgment" a lot. The Obama campaign's central talking point has devolved into, "You have to vote for Barack Obama because he has such wonderful judgment."

Back in the early days of the campaign, references to Obama's super-human judgment served as a shorthand for the fact that he knew enough not to get us involved in what the left considers the Iraqi quagmire. The Lioness of Tuzla, on the other hand, in spite of her many decades of making change at the highest levels of power, fell for the farrago of Bush administration lies and deceit and supported the Iraq war. Thus, in 2003 when he was but a humble state legislator, Barack Obama showed a moment of wonderful judgment — judgment so superb that even Hillary Clinton couldn't approach it.

I have no problem with the Obama campaign and its supporters using the term "judgment" to remind Democratic voters that Obama is more in line with the Democratic mainstream than his rival. My problem is that Obama supporters seem to have forgotten that "judgment" was just a codeword, and it was never really supposed to serve any other purpose beyond invoking the memory of Hillary Clinton's Iraq war vote.

It became clear to me a few weeks ago just how ludicrous the whole judgment issue has become for the typical Obama supporter. I was exchanging emails with one of Obama's law school classmates who, like all the other Obama classmates that I spoke with, was quite fond of Obama. I asked him if he could send me a written testimonial on Obama. He agreed.

Obama's classmate began his statement by saying that he didn't know Obama very well at all back in law school, but what he did know he liked. Somewhere near the end of the message, he took a detour to make sure he praised Obama's judgment.

In some ways, this was an impressive testament to the way modern campaigns, just by osmosis, can get their supporters to regurgitate the campaigns' talking points. Of course, the praise for Obama's judgment in this context made no sense. I, too, went to law school. And I can't imagine a circumstance where I would come to admire a fellow student's judgment, especially when the fellow student in question was a casual acquaintance. I couldn't see myself saying back in my law school days, "Gosh, the way that 28 year-old outlined those cases before attending Civil Procedure really showed judgment. Presidential judgment!"

When talking about politics and candidates, the term "judgment" doesn't seem to have a proper place. I've known Mitt Romney for 14 years, and served as his occasional driver during his 1994 senate campaign. I'm a tremendous admirer of his. I've seen him show an exemplary temperament, an extraordinary array of skills, and great human kindness. But if someone asked me about his judgment, I wouldn't know what to say. He held the line on taxes in Massachusetts and shined some much needed light on Harvard's cloning plans, but were those things "judgment" or just a politician doing what I considered the right thing? I guess there was one time when I was driving Romney and he told me to hit the toll lane on the left rather than the one on the right; it turned out the one on the left did move faster. While that was a superior judgment call, I wouldn't put it at the top of Romney's résumé.

The beauty of the whole "judgment" thing for the Obama campaign was its sublime squishiness. Beyond its invocation of Hillary Clinton's politically damaging Iraq vote, the whole emphasis on judgment was just a way of saying "Barack Obama is a uniquely wonderful human being" without doing so in a way that required any supporting evidence. Ultimately, "judgment" became the campaign's euphemism of choice for what a spectacular person Barack Obama is.

Over time, his supporters' use of "judgment" morphed into a grander and entirely inappropriate statement about Obama's qualifications for the presidency. The judgment thing was supposed to reassure the electorate that it needn't concern itself with Obama's lack of experience. His extraordinary judgment would compensate. But in truth, Obama's life, like most of ours, has been spotted with moments of bad judgment.

It's a delightful irony that the campaign's choice of the judgment euphemism has made Obama's way out of the Pastor Disaster even more difficult than it otherwise would have been. When John Edwards rebooted his political life for the 2008 campaign, he repeatedly and bluntly said that he made a mistake in voting for the Iraq war. Admitting such an error wasn't a particularly big deal for Edwards. His supporters hadn't made a fetish of his lifetime's worth of purportedly magnificent judgment.

Since day one of the Pastor Disaster, the best way out for Barack Obama would have been to say that while Jeremiah Wright's church did some fine things, Obama blundered in so closely associating himself with a man like Wright. If Obama enjoyed a moment where he so candidly acknowledged his feet of clay, he could have trotted out some similar rhetoric to distance himself from Tony Rezko and explain his strange lapse in - um -- judgment in accepting financial help to buy his home from such a shady figure.

Of course, there's an even grimmer side to the judgment issue from Obama's perspective. The thing about judgment is that good judgment is most often evident only in its absence. For instance, no one would ever say to an aspiring politician, "You showed magnificent judgment in not financially relying on a political fixer cum slumlord to buy your house!"

That brings us back to the vagueness inherent in saluting Obama's judgment. In all likelihood, that vagueness is what made the "judgment" meme so powerfully appealing to Team Obama. But with specific incidents of Obama exercising poor judgment surfacing, the matter is no longer so vague.

In a different campaign with different supporters, I would expect all the talk of Obama's brilliant "judgment" to vanish instantly. But we all know that won't happen. Obama supporters have fallen into the politically destructive habit of seeing what they want to see as opposed to what really is.

[truthyness]

We have enough problems in this country without adding 4 years of Civil Unrest to it.

[truthyness]

There is too much at stake to elect an unknown.

[thecandypoem]

I question Obama''s judgment. He has poor judgment in his choice of friends, he is too much influenced by his wife and a ranting pastor, he is too much of an unknown to me. He might become a great president, or he might take us to peril. Who knows? I am not willing to gamble with my vote.

[crewmember1]

The press is like the bill collector. He forgets that he too, is a U.S. citizen with rights, and sells his soul to the cause of finding the culprit who may or may not have charged up a bill and never paid it, but by the resources alowed, breaks every rule to invade privacy, scheme on neighbors to nose information out of them, and in the process, they devolve a whole society''s mores. You too, press, will have to live with Hillary CLinton in the White House, no matter what she may have paid CBS, you didn''t get any and she will continue to leave a trail of stink behind her because she is a reckless, narcissistic sociopath. But you just don''t get it, do you?

[butterfly583]

http://www.hillaryproject.com/index.php?%2Fen%2Fstory-details%2Fwhat_hillary_clinton_and_the_media_are_hiding_from_the_voters%2F

[butterfly583]

http://www.hillaryproject.com/index.php?%2Fen%2Fstory-details%2Fwhat_hillary_clinton_and_the_media_are_hiding_from_the_voters%2F

[samthetvcat]

---"Even with the best ''platform'', there needs to be an honest accounting and to this point, he has not even begun to scratch the surface."---
Posted by sincityq

Hillary:
- failed to pass universal healthcare legislation
- supported NAFTA
- voted to go to war against Iraq without reading the NIE
- lied about having her aides read the NIE
- didn''t vote for the Levin Amendment which would have required inspections to be exhausted first
- voted to give Bush authority to combat terrorism in Iran
- supports a gax tax holiday which has proven to be a windfall for gax companies, a net push for consumers, and a net negative for bridge repair and construction jobs
- embellished her contributions to Bosnian and Irish peace processes
- antagonized Pakistani, Iraqi, Iranian, and Chinese world leaders
- etc

Hard to take Hillary supporters seriously about having an honest accounting . . .

[samthetvcat]

-----"While I have to agree with this observation without reservation, it also bears saying that this could be said about politics in general. After a certain time in the fold of any given candidate, the devout follower is rue to look in the mirror and see that they have become a zombie, headlong in the service of their master."-----
Posted by sincityq

Wow, so that''s how it rolls - well please do share your wisdom with the rest of us ignorant masses . . . how is it you unlike the rest of us has been able to not fall prey to the service of your master?

Or are you saying just the opposite - that you admit Hillary''s totally pulling your strings?

PS Please stick to the issues when/if you respond rather than lashing out with derogatory judgments if that''s even possible for you. Specific examples you might want to use are:
- Hillary''s Iraq War support in contrast to Barack''s denunciation
- Hillary''s support for the gax tax holiday in contrast to Barack

thx

[zendigity]

So Obama shows poor judgment because he can filter through Wrights anger and hatred and focus on the positive things gained from his church, but Hillary shows good judgment when she threatens to KILL EVERY MAN WOMAN AND CHILD in Iran?

Uh, that''s not the kind of RASH JUDGMENT this country needs any more of.

[cattlekate]

Does anyone in this country really believe that the majority of Americans would accept Obama as President?? Posted by truthyness at 06:12 AM : May 04, 2008

Of course they will!

If they take the time to turn off their fake news stations and go on the Web and compare platforms!

[irliberal]

Let''s talk more about great judgement!

"Mission Accomplished"

Guantanamo Bay Torture Sessions

4000 dead Americans in a voluntary war.

Hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis in a voluntary war.

$4 a gallon gasoline.

Negligible tax rebates when we''re in a record deficit (after coming out of a record surplus in the previous administration)

Illegally wiretapping American citizens

...need I go on?

Dean Barnett - you DARE to talk about good judgement? You''re a joke.

[irliberal]

Dean Barnett said: "Obama supporters have fallen into the politically destructive habit of seeing what they want to see as opposed to what really is."

No. That''s the DEFINITION of every Republican and the entire Bush administration.

You DARE to talk about Judgement?

How about McCain''s singing (to the tune of Barbara Ann), "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the PRESS? YOU DARE?

GO away and write something that isn''t 120% hypocritical.

[hypnotoad72]

If nothing else, it was refreshing to read the word "farrago". :)

[bluestardad]

ObservantX GREAT POST!

[mcvet]

Does anyone in this country really believe that the majority of Americans would accept Obama as President??


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Posted by truthyness at 06:12 AM : May 04, 2008
+ report abuse

Of COURSE they will... MOST American''s find him to be a decent person with great skills speaking and expressing himself. Sure the Fascist and people like the Klan will find it very upsetting.... but what''s new about that. If they don''t like it, they can find someplace to live I guess. Sieg Heil Grand Wizard.

[truthyness]

Does anyone in this country really believe that the majority of Americans would accept Obama as President??

[observantx]

An screed from the Weakly subStandard on "judgment".

How utterly fvcking ironic.

Here''s the neoclowns who brought us 7 years of complete disaster ala GWB all the while boisterously proclaiming his prescient and awe inspiring "judgment" that has wrecked our economy, nourished our enemies, killed 4,000 plus of our sons and daughters, soiled our Constitution, and nearly killed off the middle class with the most blatant reverse Robin Hood of our times.

Mr. Barnett, stuff it where the sun doesn''t shine. And tell Kagan and Kristol to do us all a favor and stuff their socks in their mouths any time they feel like trotting out more of this silly sewage.

[samthetvcat]

PS Also, predicting outcomes isn''t always 100% possible - you don''t always have enough information to know, and sometimes there''s so many factors impacting the outcome that it then becomes a matter of trial and error.

PPS Mitt Romney is very, very smart - I didn''t spend a lot of time studying his track record, but his economic plan was very solid, so imo yeah he had pretty good judgment . . .

[samthetvcat]

---"It seems the author is confusing judgment with political shrewdness."---
Posted by seanoneill5

Wow - that''s why I love these boards . . . people make the most astute observations.

What we''re all talking about when we speak of good judgment isn''t just accurately predicting outcomes - aren''t we really talking about politicians following through with promises made to others (either implicitly or explicitly)?

Like it could be said that Cheney has great judgment if his true goal was to just look out for himself and his Halliburton stock because the war in Iraq resulted in exactly that.

It could I guess also be said that Hillary has great judgment if her true goal is not to provide relief to middle-class Americans but rather to win Indiana by playing the numbers knowing that more people will choose immediate over delayed gratification.

But then the author goes on after defining good judgment as having social bearing to attempt to equate bad judgment with Barack not avoiding situations that could be for him PERSONALLY political negatives. They''re not evidence of policy miscalculations impacting voters.

If anything that says more about what his priorities are, and it''s putting people ahead of his own ambition.

[samthetvcat]

--"Finally, the notion that Clinton cannot engage in complex analysis is absurd. Even her critics agree that Clinton has an excellent grasp of intricate social policy."--
Posted by darrren12000

Her only supporter of her gax tax holiday is a Shell Oil lobbyist