David D. Friedman isn’t impressed with a lot of what gets slung around. He’s also someone, thankfully, with a nuanced look at both candidates. For him, both the critics of Palin and the adoration of Obama need to be deflated.

Of course, the discussion is currently focused harshly on Sarah Palin’s daughter and her pregnancy, (though I think that such scrutiny is silly). But recently, Friedman took a crack at some of the lenses through which we view both candidates on his blog, Ideas.

And by the way, does it seem odd to anyone else that the two older men involved are out of the limelight?

Obama and Community Organizing

David D. Friedman

Having said some positive things about Obama in the past, I thought it worth noting one negative point–not so much about Obama as about an argument offered for Obama. His supporters interpret his decision to go into community organizing instead of joining a law firm as evidence of his good moral character. In fact, it is nothing of the sort. For a young man aiming at a career in politics, especially a black man in an urban setting, community organizing is an investment, a way of building up contacts and other resources that will be useful at the next stage of that career.

To be fair, I should also say that considering Obama’s behavior as that of an aspiring politician weakens the argument being made by some on the right about his past association with people on the left, in particular William Ayers, an unrepentant ex-Weatherman. The Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, which is where I grew up, is the sort of place where an ex-Weatherman can easily enough be a prominent figure. You don’t start a career in politics by going out of your way to refuse to shake the hands of people who lots of your constituents respect, or even refusing to sit with them on a board of directors or share a platform with them–not, at least, unless you are aiming at a deliberate political gesture. And making a point of how hostile you are to left wing radicals, while it might be useful for a Democrat running for President, would not be prudent for a Democrat seeking political support in Hyde Park.

After the jump: Sarah Palin - Home Schooler? Creationist?

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