Why Get Mad Over Campaign When Obama Does Not Fight Back Or Fight For Working People?

The Presidential campaign is not so much interesting to me as it is a source of frustration. The idea of 12 years of Bush-McCain when in my 40 years the only Democratic Presidents I have ever known are Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, is very frustrating.   

The campaign distorts my personality in some small measure. It makes me more angry than I normally am. It hardens me towards people I don’t want to be around. I was this way four years ago and I feel this way today. The campaign is an irritating background noise. A ringing in your ears you can’t shake.

Today I found myself wondering why I’m getting so mad when Barack Obama seemingly refuses to fight back against a series of smears from John McCain about Senator Obama’s patriotism.

I wondered why I’m so mad when he refuses, so far, to fight hard for working people. Why isn’t Mr. Obama out on the trail advocating for universal health care and better wages? Why isn’t he telling the truth about the global economy means for American workers and about possible solutions to these new conditions.

The following is from a New York Times story about a new Times/CBS poll that has Mr. Obama three points ahead of Mr. McCain—    

Slim majorities said neither candidate had made clear what he would do as president, suggesting that both need to use their conventions to provide voters with a better sense of their plans for addressing the deteriorating economy, high energy prices, access to health care and national security. Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is still closely associated with the deeply unpopular President Bush. Nearly half of those surveyed said that they expected him to continue the Bush administration’s policies if he were elected president.

Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was trusted more by voters to handle their top concern, the economy. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they were confident that Mr. Obama would make the right decisions on the economy, compared with 54 percent who expressed confidence that Mr. McCain would. When it came to foreign policy, the image was inverted: 66 percent expressed confidence in Mr. McCain to make the right decisions, and 55 percent in Mr. Obama.

But the economy — not national security — is shaping up as the far greater concern this year. Four in 10 voters called it their top concern; only 15 percent cited the Iraq war. Taken together, a series of pocketbook issues — including the economy, jobs, gas prices and energy policy — were the leading concerns of more than half of those surveyed. Terrorism and national security, along with the war, were cited as most important by just under a quarter.

Why isn’t Senator Obama known already as a fighter for working people on these economic issues?

I assume Mr. Obama has a plan for winning this campaign. I’m looking forward to this plan showing some progress in the days to come. I sure hope this is what happens.