Barack Obama has some well placed fans including Andrew Sullivan and Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation. But Steve wonders out loud if Obama isn't just playing it too nice and draws parallels with another figure from Illinois, Adlai Stevenson.
Everyone I know who knew Adlai Stevenson loved him - but also said that he wasn't savage enough to win the presidency - or even if he did, to "be" president.
As things look now, Barack Obama is running an Adlai Stevenson campaign. He's smart. He's fresh. He's inspiring to many, including me. But he's also a bit of a triangulator. And he has not yet developed the cold, unsentimental confidence that a leader needs in reserve -- at least I haven't seen that in him yet.
Steve calls Obama's approach "luke-warm" and "safe". Not exactly words that you voters excited. Is Obama being too nice? Or do American voters really not want a "uniter"?
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