Obama Vs. Clinton: ‘Irresponsible and Naïve'

Now that Senator Obama is promising to meet with Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Kim Jong-Il, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his first year in office if elected, his campaign, in thematic terms, has become the modern equivalent of Eugene McCarthy's quixotic quest for the presidency in 1968.

Back in 1968, during the height of the Vietnam War, McCarthy, a senator from Minnesota, emerged as the peace candidate challenging President Johnson, the ultimate representation of the Democrat establishment.

After anti-war activists rallied to him, McCarthy garnered the support of more than 40% of voters in the New Hampshire primary and drove Johnson from the race, which placed the mantle of the establishment on the vice president, Hubert Humphrey.

Mr. Obama, who is trumpeting his early opposition to the Iraq war on the campaign trail, is not just similar to McCarthy thematically, he enjoys the support of some of the same Granite State activists who backed the anti-war candidate in 1968.

Prior to Mr. Obama's speech in New Hampshire's capital last Thursday, at which he referred to Senator Clinton's approach to foreign policy as "Bush-Cheney Lite," I met a distinguished white-haired gentleman in an olive suit amid a sea of college age and post college age supporters of the Illinois senator. Paul McEachern, a Portsmouth lawyer, was a former candidate for governor of New Hampshire and a McCarthy delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

"Hillary is smart and capable and a Hell of a candidate, but about the past," Mr. McEachern said. "Obama has engaged the young people."

Mr. McEachern cautioned against extending the McCarthy-Obama analogy beyond political philosophy though. He said Mr. Obama is a much better candidate than McCarthy. By Mr. McEachern's telling, McCarthy's candidacy was a product of the anti-war movement. He recalled that Allard Lowenstein of the 1968 campaign was credited for launching the Democratic Party insurgency that year. "McCarthy was a surrogate. Lowenstein almost manufactured him. It was all about the war. The issue was bigger than him," said Mr. McEachern who had a lunch with Lowenstein and journalist David Halberstam during the Chicago Democratic National Convention.

While the power of McCarthy's challenge to Johnson is much remembered, less well recalled are his weaknesses as a candidate. "He was a poet, "Mr. McEachern said generously, citing several examples of the Minnesotan's missteps and misbeliefs. For instance, McCarthy first balked at putting up a political fight in New Hampshire, thinking that the New Jersey primary held more importance. Then, he never visited the important seacoast city of Portsmouth. Finally, at the DNC in Chicago, McCarthy refused to talk to the politically powerful California delegation.

Mr. McEachern sees Mr. Obama as being more similar to the youthful and charismatic John F. Kennedy. "Just like John Kennedy he was in the Senate, but he wasn't part of the institution."

A major difference between Mr. Obama and Mr. McCarthy is the advantage Mr. Obama has as a former political organizer. Underreported and somewhat below the radar, Mr. Obama is employing novel techniques in his effort to create a field organization in New Hampshire. The candidate is building it up with a focus on affinity groups. "Women for Obama," "Educators for Obama," "Lawyers for Obama" — all these are examples of groups for which there are corresponding pages on the candidate's Web site. Mr. Obama can rely upon these groups to seek out new supporters and get better use out of volunteers and activists.

The author of two best-selling books, Mr. Obama also is exploiting a popular trend, the book club. His campaign has helped to establish book clubs where readers pour through both books and then discuss the author and the issues he raises. Such gatherings give participants the feeling that they are transcending ordinary routine politics, and plugging into a new manifestation of communal activity. "I'm very excited about his grassroots campaigning," Holly Green of Hennicker, N.H, said. "It gives me a sense of community. He walks the walk when he says it is from the bottom up."

For Mr. Obama's most fervent supporters, his campaign not only involves the war, but also has become emblematic of how individuals can come together and affect society.

Senator Clinton's consistent maturity and leads in polls, however, suggest a victory for her down the line in the New Hampshire primary. After all, a long line of candidates in the McCarthyite, antiestablishment mold have gone down to defeat in the state, such as Bruce Babbitt, Bill Bradley, and Howard Dean.

Yet, Mr. Obama is a candidate unlike any of those predecessors in the "outsider" club. He is an outstanding speaker on the stump or from behind a podium, lanky and handsome, a skilled and inspiring political organizer, and a successful fundraiser. Even with his foreign policy gaffe during the debate, he can't be dismissed yet, a fact that can be cause for worry among level headed and more grounded Democrats.

Mr. Gitell (gitell.com) is a contributing editor of The New York Sun.