Obama’s Confessional

Here’s a pop quiz:

Question: How in the world does the following statement fit into the presidential campaigns?
“I was kind of a goof off in high school... I got into drinking and experimented with drugs.”

Answer: Barack Obama said this in a speech at a New Hampshire high school on November 20.

Reuters news agency quoted Obama as saying, “I made some bad decisions… There were times when I got into drinking and experimented with drugs. There was a whole stretch of time where I didn’t really apply myself. It wasn’t until I got out of high school and went to college that I started to realize, man, I wasted a lot of time.”

Why would this presidential hopeful air his dirty laundry to high school students and to the country? It seems that he was trying to connect with the young audience, the majority of whom aren’t old enough to vote. He probably wanted to confess his regrets so they don’t make similar mistakes. It was a move to portray himself as real – just another person who makes mistakes, learns and moves on.

But could his confessions also be interpreted as shrugging off the importance of high school and condoning experimentation? Obama got away with goofing-off, drinking and doing drugs in high school, and then went on to Harvard and is now running for president. Is high school overrated? Do authority figures overreact to partying and slacking in school?

Reuters quoted a 14-year-old high school student as saying, “I think everybody deserves to play around a little bit, you know?...He got his priorities straight, you know." It looks like he interpreted Obama’s remarks to mean that slacking off in high school doesn’t do much harm and is even suggestive of having balance in ones’ life.

If I were Obama’s political advisor, I would say, “Go ahead and talk to high school kids. Talk with them in a way that you connect – get at what they’re thinking about. Admit that you wished you had taken high school more seriously, that you regret you tried drinking before you were of age, but for heaven’s sake, unless you’re asked directly, leave the illegal drugs bit out of it!”

The American people should expect candidness out of their candidates…it’s to voters’ advantage. However, politicians need to be smart in what they confess about things that are irrelevant to how well they will govern as president.


Access the Reuters article at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2007/11/20/obama-visits-nh-high-school/