A LIFELONG STRIVER TAKES HIS BIGGEST STEP

DENVER – From the earliest days of his presidential campaign, those around Sen. Barack Obama have heard the same mantra. In the way Obama has trained himself for competition, he can sometimes seem as much athlete as politician. Even before he entered public life, he began honing not only his political skills, but also his mental and emotional ones. He developed a self-discipline so complete, friends and aides say, that he has established dominion over not only what he does but also how he feels. He does not easily exult, despair or anger: to do so would be an indulgence, a distraction from his goals. There is little about him that feels spontaneous or unpolished, and even after two books, thousands of campaign events and countless hours on television, many Americans say they do not feel they know him. The charges of elusiveness puzzle those closest to the candidate. The mystery and the consistency may share the same root: Obama, 47, is the first presidential candidate to come ...
Originally from: http://www.volkskrant.nl/achtergrond/buitenland/verkiezingenvs/article1061247.ece/A_LIFELONG_STRIVER_TAKES_HIS_BIGGEST_STEP

29.8.08 08:44, comment