Professor Obama needs to become Future-President Obama. Now.

As I’ve stated before, I really like Barack Obama. But I’m getting awfully tired of waiting for him to say something meaningful about this economic situation. We are in crisis and we are needing a candidate and a leader who can respond. I believe strongly that Obama understands the plight of the average American. I think he gets it intellectually and probably even emotionally. Unlike McCain and Palin, Obama has the capacity to really understand what’s going on for us while Wall Street crumbles and Congress argues. However, he needs to learn to communicate better. And fast.

When Obama talks, he always sounds smart because, well he is. He sounds like a professor, and I should know because I’m a professor myself. I recognize the thoughtfulness and the choice of words. If he loses this election, an election he absolutely should win, it will be because he could not stop being a professor. I’m not a huge fan of Bill Clinton (more on him in a minute), but the man can connect to listeners. Bill Clinton is just as intelligent as Obama. The difference is that he doesn’t lecture. He was able to be pithy, quick, and memorable. Obama? Not so much.

I’m not the first or only one to notice this. Maureen Dowd is one of the many with similar messages (and I think she puts it very well!). But until Obama gets it, we need to keep saying it.

On the Bill Clinton thing, I am also awfully tired of Clinton’s surface campaigning for Obama. My respect for him, flawed as it was, is dropping every day I hear another story about how he gave a stirring speech in which it took him five minutes to even say Obama’s name. We know what he’s doing…he’s setting himself and his wife up for being able to run again in four years, and when they do, he wants to be able to say, “No, we didn’t really believe in Obama. Hillary always was the better candidate.” The problem is that in four years, if Obama doesn’t win, people will remember this half-hearted campaigning and we will see through the Clinton machine. It’s all about getting her elected, and it’s not about the best path for the country. In the end, that makes the Clintons just as dangerous as the Republicans. At the moment, I can’t imagine ever voting for a Clinton if this continues. It’s shameful, Bill. You know better than this and I’m sickened that you would gamble the fate of the rest of us in order to get Hillary elected in four years.

I have plenty of thoughts in response to my Dad’s latest post, but I’ll save them for another day. In short, I don’t believe any of the Republican spin against Obama and think he’s the best candidate for the job. The Congress, however, should be voted out en masse as soon as possible. But Obama’s plan for the economy makes sense. He’s our future president, as long as he starts shedding his intellectual posture.