Commentary: Why Has Obamamania Spread to Europe's Leaders? It’s the Lure of Working with a Reasonable Man

By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

I have tried, earnestly, to write this column outside the political box as often as possible, but Barack Obama keeps making news. And, as I approach my 37th anniversary as a professional journalist, I am tempted to argue that there is no need for apologies. This is, after all, a brand new story, and I am a political reporter. Moreover, this is a tale I have always dreamed of chronicling -- that of a black American who might really become president of the United States.

Of course, Obama’s putative opponent, John McCain, was obliged to carp about his fellow senator’s sojourn to Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England. “New” politics aside, no one at this stage of the game can afford to compliment his or her opponent or to leave an achievement unpunished.

Still, he was out of line by implying that Obama is more committed to becoming president than he is to the country’s welfare. It made McCain seem both mean-spirited and desperate. I’m sure he had to have been miffed that the Democrat took what was intended as a dare -- to go to Iraq -- and, as the saying goes, made lemonade out of it.

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