Convention Conversation: Is Obama “Presidential” Enough?

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Wednesday morning I attended a rooftop “Convention Conversation” at the Denver Athletic Club sponsored by The Denver Post, Politico, and Yahoo! The event featured former Senator Tom Daschle, presidential historian Michael Beschloss, and Representative Rahm Emmanuel. And though I thought I was late when I rolled in at 8:26, the busy Rahm Emmanual arrived fashionably late at just around 9 for the 8 AM event. Fortunately, the breakfast-time meeting didn’t kick off until about 8:45, after this under-rested, hungry blogger was able to capitalize on some free coffee, fruit and bagels.

The topic on the docket was whether or not Barack Obama had “the right stuff” to be the President of the United States. Panelists discussed the personal qualities that have distinguished the nation’s greatest presidents and whether or not Obama possesses them.

And while the two Democrats on the panel obviously had a pony in this race, historian Beschloss addressed the issue quite succinctly by saying, “[T]here are lots of qualities that make a good President, but the number of terms in Congress is not usually one of them.”

Beschloss reminded attendees to look at Lincoln and to look at Reagan, who had never spent a day in Washington before assuming the role as President (metaphorically speaking). As an aside, I should mention that after hearing and watching Beschloss several times in the past, I have always been impressed with his ability as a raconteur. A good historian is not only someone who can tell you what happened, but can tell you about what went on behind the scenes when that was happening, and Beschloss definitely has that knack.

Emmannuel’s angle on the subject was an important one. He noted the critical job a president has in selecting the inner circle. “When you look up from behind the desk in the Oval Office who do you want to see?” Emmannuel noted. On that, when former Senator Daschle got up to leave for another engagement (as he said he would at the outset), Rep. Emmanuel said, “[T]he key to being a good Chief of Staff is knowing when to leave.”

Perhaps a harbinger of things to come? We’ll see.