Bill Moyers on Barack Obama

Bill Moyers, who I have a tremendous amount of respect for, is interviewed in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. And I was pleased to read his comments about Sen. Barack Obama:

Who do you see as a key figure in the time ahead?

I wish I were wise enough to answer that question. Who would have thought that an obscure black preacher from Montgomery, Alabama would become Martin Luther King?

I believe that elites have to let go. Hillary Clinton would make a good president, but the same old crowd would come back with her.

But when I look at Barack Obama, I think about John F. Kennedy, who leaped over Hubert Humphrey's generation to bring in fresh voices and fresh ideas. I keep thinking that we need to let that happen again.

People say, "Obama is so inexperienced." No, he's as experienced as Lincoln was when Lincoln went into the White House. Lincoln had two years in Congress and eight years in the state legislature. [And both were from Illinois. And both were tall. Yadda yadda yadda.]

Obama represents a generational metaphor. He opens up new gates so that younger people can feel that there's opportunity for them, that they can come in with him and create new possibilities. That's what's important. I've been around a long time in journalism and politics, and I come down to "Put not your trust in princes, they will disappoint you every time."

OK, a couple of thoughts:

• I get what Moyers is saying about the elites, but (taken too far) that kind of talk can be tiresome. I like what Bill Maher had to say on the subject:

  In other fields outside of government, "elite" is a good thing, like an "elite" fighting force; Tiger Woods is an "elite" golfer. If I need brain surgery, I'd like an "elite" doctor. But, in politics, "elite" is bad. The "elite" aren't down to earth and accessible like you and me and President Sh*t-for-brains.

  Which is fine, except that whenever there's a Bush Administration scandal, it always traces back to some incompetent political hack appointment

  
  
• When Moyers says "JFK leaped over Humphrey's generation," we have to keep in mind that Humphrey was only 6 years older than Kennedy, half the age difference between Clinton and Obama. Still, his point is valid: Clinton (and Humphrey) are perceived as establishment figures; Obama and Kennedy, not so much.

• Speaking of comparisons -- Lincoln and Obama? Moyers is hardly the first one to do it. But I'd be careful that we not, ahem, set the bar too high.

Bottom line: Obama does represent himself as the candidate of the generational divide. But more than that, I get the sense that (unlike the others) Obama's best days may yet be in front of him.