Does Obi-Wan surpass master Yoda in "force omnipotence"?

At the beginning of Menace, he senses something "elusive". Qui-Gon, Mace, Yoda, and Kdi feel/sense nothing until the reveal of the master Sith. I always felt Lucas envisioned Kenobi as a God-like figure-especially when the thespian is Alec Guiness. In Episode IV, far and away the highest grossing film of the saga, he chooses ole Ben to symbolize good. Vader is the bad. There was a poetic simplicity, a purity to that dicotemy. The ensuing five movies have altered that dynamic... for the better? It's debatable.

 

I don't think he surpassed Yoda at all. He just happened to have felt something, but we do not know what he senses. We can speculate that he can sense Palpatine briefly, but then he cannot feel nothing like that again. Yoda does suspect Palpatine of being not so nice and he does sense Anakin's rage, but has no idea why he is in pain. By the OT, both Jedi Masters have become more balanced between the Living Force and the Cosmic/Unifying Force.

 

There are moments throughout the PT were the Jedi are all suspicious. But their ignorance gets in the way of making the right decisions or looking deeper into the facts. Obi-wan's brief sense wore off quickly, and he soon became as arrogant as the rest of the Jedi.

 

The Force is a mystery, even to the Jedi who have long studied its connection to all living things. Premonitions come unbidden, and while they may often be true, the Jedi are cautious in trusting them.

Yes, Obi-Wan senses the currents of the Sith plot as the Nemoidian leaders decide to consult Lord Sidious - not the present threat to his own embassadorial mission or to the Naboo, but to the Jedi as a whole. Perhaps he senses the shadow of his first meeting with his apprentice-to-be, as well as his last.

It is because the Jedi are tasked with keeping the peace of the Republic, focussing on particular duties and missions, that it is easy for them to lose sight of the bigger picture. Stirring up more matters requiring Jedi resolution is part of the Sith strategy in turning attention away from the center of things:

The blockade of Naboo, the emergence of a mysterious Sith warrior on Tattooine, a Clone army connected with a bounty hunter on Kamino, connecting to a Sith Lord's call to division and battle on Geonosis. All distractions of the master manipulator, keeping the Jedi too busy concentrating on the "here and now" to sense the true center of the disturbance.

Yoda has his moments of perception, too, but what he sees most clearly is that he is not seeing the whole matter. Young Skywalker's destiny is troublingly shadowed, the Dark Side clouds the likelihood of war. He can tell that the Republic is falling under Sith influence, but cannot see to the heart of the corruption, even in the presence of the Sith master.

By the time of ANH, the surviving Jedi masters have had twenty years to hide, observe, meditate and reflect. By the OT, they have gained the perspective they formerly lacked. But in the PT, no Jedi has that breadth of vision. The skills they need as the Republic's peace-keepers require a narrower focus.

 

It might just be in my head, but when I watch TPM, the entire Council seems afraid....Tentative. I think they feel something and begin to see the signs (Sith resurfacing...."The Chosen One" Popping up) that something big is about to happen.

When they do the testing on Anakin
"A Ship"
"A Cup"
"A Ship"
"A Speeder"

Mace looks at Yoda in a fashion that in my opinion said "Oh Crap, what should we do...this could be a really touchy situation."

This is just my opinion and I have little to no supporting evidence, but I don't feel it is arrogance that is the biggest reason for the Jedi failing, I think it is fear. They had it pretty good leading up to TPM. There were a few conflict here and there, but the Galaxy was mostly at peace and The Jedi Order was safe. All of the sudden, things start turning a little wierd and the Jedi want to stick their heads in the ground and hide so they don't see it. "No Qui-Gon, that COULDNT have been a Sith Lord, they have been dead." "No, we aren't training the boy." "Dooku couldn't kill anyone, it's not in his character." "A Sith Lord can't be in charge of the Senate, Dooku was lying." "Anakin won't feel conflicted if he stick him with the Chancellor." "A SITH LORD? If you are right, then you will have earned my trust." "our worst FEARS have been realized. The Jedi were blinded by their fear for these things. If they don't acknowledge them, they can't be true. Of Course, Fear leads to the darkside.....the darkside that is "Clouding" their vision was based on their own fear.

This went a little off topic, but my point was that I think that other Jedi also felt that something was wrong, not just Obi-Wan.

Carnage

 

I agree with you about Obi-Wan. I don't think it was any accident that basically the first words of the entire saga are Obi-Wan sensing something big happening...I think he is more aware than any of them, but he was still a padawan and he listened to the others (like Qui-Gon telling him to focus on the here and now) instead of having the confidence to pursue his own feelings. I believe George Lucas does set up Obi-Wan to be the ultimate Jedi, the true noble hero of the epic, echoed later in Luke Skywalker who is not his son biologically but is certainly spiritually the inheritor of Obi-Wan's God-like qualities.