Legal Commentary

Obama in Austin: More Confident or Too Confident?

By Jeralyn

The New York Times reports on Barack Obama's campaign event in Austin, TX.

A touch of cockiness is discernable in his manner now; he is like a gambler convinced his every dice roll will come up double sixes.

He enumerates his critics' complaints about him. When he gets to "I'm not tough enough" he adds,

“Listen, I’m a black guy named Barack Obama running for president. You want to tell me that I’m not tough enough?” He smirks. “Shoot.”

[More...]

Later in the day:

In Edinburg, Tex., Mr. Obama briefly stuck his head through a blue curtain at the far end of the press room. “Crank it up, guys,” he yelled to reporters bent over their laptops. “Words matter. Don’t listen to Hillary.”

To which he added: “That’s a joke.”

Is this the new Obama or the real Obama? Hard to tell, since he "rations" his words with the press.

When the press approaches, he rations words like gold. He held a brief news conference on Saturday to respond to a passionate attack from Mrs. Clinton, who accused him of distorting her position on trade. But that was his first nonscripted encounter in five days.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 23, 2008 (boomark / email).