Fine speeches alone do not make Obama ready to lead
8/28/2008
Andy McKenna, Op-Ed Daily Herald
Almost four years after the people of Illinois elected Barack Obama to be their junior U.S. senator, he will stand before thousands of fans tonight and accept the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.
The speed of his rise in national politics has been impressive by any standard. The question the American people will need to answer will be: "Is he ready to lead?"
It's certain that Barack Obama's theme upon acceptance will be "change." The word alone will raise the crowd to their feet. But will the rhetoric once again be empty?
Back home, many in Illinois will be proud of their native son giving a great speech on the national stage. However, no matter the pride they may feel, many of Illinois' hardworking men and women are surely asking themselves: what does Barack Obama's idea of change mean? What has he done to bring change to Illinois? After all, it was Barack Obama's Democratic friends like Rod Blagojevich that promised in 2002 to bring unprecedented change to Illinois government.
Unfortunately, since that time, Obama's fellow Democrats have brought Illinois nothing less than the most corrupt governor's office in Illinois history, failed to enact tougher ethics laws, voted to raise taxes in Chicago and the collar counties, ensuring Cook County has the highest sales tax in the nation, and presided over unprecedented governmental gridlock.
What did Sen. Barack Obama say about each of these failures? He was silent.
Why didn't he come back to Illinois and use some of his enormous political capital to demand change from the leaders of his own party?
Lack of leadership like this on the part of Barack Obama and Illinois Democrats makes people skeptical of his ability to lead the nation. If Barack Obama has not provided the leadership to change Illinois, how can he bring change to Washington, D. C.?
Fortunately, voters have a choice between Barack Obama, who gives great speeches about leadership, and John McCain, who has actually been a leader. While Barack Obama has talked about reaching across party lines, John McCain has led efforts to bring greater bipartisanship to Washington. While Barack Obama travels to Germany and gives great speeches about America's place in the world, John McCain is a hero who has fought to protect our country's security in a dangerous world.
Illinois voters, more than anywhere in the country, are seeking change. However, Barack Obama and his Democratic friends have failed to deliver. John McCain has always put his country first and is someone who has proven he can bring real change to this country.
Andy McKenna is chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.
