Bredesen and I on the Same Side for Once

Phil Bredesen has words about Barack Obama in this morning's NY Times:

"Instead of giving big speeches at big stadiums, he needs to give straight-up 10-word answers to people at Wal-Mart about how he would improve their lives" ....

Mr. Bredesen, of Tennessee, said that while the Democrats had little chance of carrying his state — the Obama camp is sending Mr. Bredesen to campaign in other states — Mr. Obama could still take steps to appeal to undecided Democrats there that might increase his chances elsewhere.

"I would really like to see him do things in Tennessee that would help in other working-class and blue-collar places, like Ohio," Mr. Bredesen said. "Job security and health care are huge here. He needs to come to the aisle of Home Depot and show them that a Harvard graduate — which I am as well — knows how to help them."

I voted for Obama, but I've been clear about the reasons for my ambivalence about him and it has to do with this lack of clarity and the inability to connect on important issues beyond the Iraq War. And it doesn't help when his supporters respond simply by linking the ideas listed on his website. That's not good enough.