Charlie Peters, one of Washington's greatest journalists, wrote about Sen. Obama's legislative record in Friday's Post.
Washington Post
In examining a legislator's record, Peters (a former state legislator) likes to hone in on the "heart and soul" bill. For him this sort of law,
the one for which a legislator gives everything he or she has to get passed, has long told me more than anything else about a person's character and ability.
Peters notes that Obama's "heart and soul" bill in Illinois was one requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped. This was necessary because confessions were being obtained with beatings. Obama got this bill enacted and
played a major role in passing many other bills, including the state's first earned-income tax credit to help the working poor.
In the article, Peters quotes a Republican colleague of Obama's on the skills that made him so successful in Illinois.
I think Peters is correct when he says that this aspect of Senator Obama's career deserves more attention.
Personally, I am deeply impressed by Barack Obama's career path. He made choices enabling him to put his analytical and leadership skills to use getting positive things done. From the streets of Chicago to Harvard Law School to the Illinois and U.S. Senates, he has been an outstanding leader. He has always been respected and appreciated as someone who brought people together, even when he did not agree with them.
Washington Post