Obama Gives a Non-Celebrity Speech
If they had it to do over, it’s a good bet that Barack Obama’s campaign would not have moved the final night of the Democratic convention from a cozy basketball arena to an open-air football stadium.
The change in venue, concocted back in those heady days just after June 3 when every quantitative and qualitative indicator pointed to a sweeping Democratic victory this fall, created the expectation that Obama, a man renowned for his inspirational oratory, would deliver a speech with a scope as expansive as the setting.
But something funny happened between then and now: The media started asking the tough questions that it hadn’t during the primaries and John McCain and his Republican allies began pounding away – day after day – at a caricature of Obama as smooth-talking and substance-less creation of the media, a man who knew how to make a crowd feel good for a few minutes but who hadn’t the first clue how to make their everyday lives better as president. Not only did Obama fail to build a lead over these summer months, he actually lost ground – to the point that, when the Democratic convention came to order four days ago, he had actually fallen slightly behind McCain in the tracking polls.
It is that difference – between the giddy optimism that defined Obama’s strategic thinking two months ago and the defensive, we’d-better-not-reach-too-far-here caution that these summer months have produced – that accounts for the acceptance speech Obama finally delivered on Thursday night, one whose nuts-and-bolts specifics would have been far more at home in a union hall than at an event that had the look and feel of religious revival.
But there’s a catch: This incongruity, as initially jarring as it probably was to viewers who expected to tune in and witness an update of the “I have a dream” speech, actually helps Obama, since it directly and powerfully refutes McCain’s charge that he’s all hat and no horse.
The heart of Obama’s address, after an initial section in which he framed his candidacy in historic terms, played like a State of the Union speech – example after example of the problems people face in their everyday lives and the specific ways in which government can help them.
“As president,” he said in a passage devoted to energy policy, “I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.”
“I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America … and I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.”
At other times, he spoke of capital gains tax cuts for small and emerging businesses, tax cuts for working-class families, combating the scourge of outsourcing, investing in early childhood education, health care reform, and paid sick – each with words that weren’t simply excuses to get to the part where the crowd shouts, “Yes we can!”
Obama also presented himself in as friendly terms as any Democratic nominee can to Republican-leaning voters (as opposed to Republican die-hards) – those whose loyalties just might for once be up in the air this year. He brought up abortion – not to tout his pro-life credentials, but to tell pro-lifers that “we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.”
He brought up gun control – not to demonize the N.R.A., but to acknowledge that “the reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland.”
And he dove head-first into national security, promising that he "will never hesitate to defend this country” and directly challenging the right’s portrayal of the Democrats as the party of weakness.
Before tonight, everybody in America, if not the world, knew that Obama was a world-class orator capable of lifting his audience to a state of delirium. To have mimicked one of his earlier campaign rallies, or one of his victory speeches this primary season, would have fired up his base – but left softer voters just as vulnerable to the G.O.P.’s caricaturing effort as they were beforehand.
Instead, Obama delivered a performance that undoubtedly struck many as subdued and sober. Where was the transformational sermonizing about ending war, poverty, disease and famine? Who was this guy talking about capital gains taxes? If it seemed almost boring at times, that will have been a problem of aesthetics rather than politics. Boring is sometimes the same thing as safe, steady, reliable and competent. And if voters end up seeing those qualities in Obama (on top of his ability to inspire, which they already know about), he’ll win this election – hands down.
In that sense, Obama gave the right speech on Thursday night, just in the wrong setting. But that’s a whole lot better than delivering the wrong speech in the right setting.
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Hmmm...You think that was the wrong setting? Respectfully, I reserve judgement until I see what McCain's speech looks like.
Regardless, Obama's judgement is superior on Afghanistan and Iraq. For one, McCain does balk at pursuing Bin Laden if the cave he lives in is in Pakistan. Obama doesn't.
Furthermore, if we're "winning" in Iraq.....WTF does it take to actually "Win"??????? If we stay for 10 years, and then leave, and then chaos descends....did we win??????????
In South Africa, after Apartheid, there was a reconciliation time, where crimes committed could be admitted and documented for healing...and forgiven. Truly painful, but also a true reconciliation. Reconciliation is not a word even remotely associated with Iraq. If they don't reconcile....they'll just wait for us to leave before Chaos reigns. Can anyone articulate how we get from "Winning" to "Victory"?
And don't say "Print a banner."
Are you out of your mind? We no nothing about this rock star other than ALL the questionable friends he has. LOL.....stop being a Sheep!
I am just wondering how he will deliver the energy package as the Democratic Party has been blocking it for over 30 years.
Taxes still seems to be the way forward for the Democrats. I wonder if we will have rioting in the streets when the jobs start disappearing as corporations and small businesses downsize to pay the tax increase coming.
“As President,” he said in a passage devoted to energy policy, “I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.”
“I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America…and I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.”
I fail to see how any of this is considered SPECIFIC. How is any of this going to be done and where is the cost going to come from? I don't have 150 billion dollars, and neither do the Democrats after paying for the trimmings for the speech Obama made last night.
And if he is elected, I hope he understands that he's going to be slumming it for a while. If he EVER uses MY money to prop up the visuals he needs to make him look good ---- he'll never get my vote...of course, he's not getting it anyway! LOL!
All I hear is spendings and spendings and government handouts, no mentioning of balancing the budget: Tax and spend. Taxing is embellished with taxing the rich only, but this would be just a drop compared to all the new spendings. Moreover, the rich will do everything to avoid the new tax, including moving their wealth abroad. The net result could very well be net decrease in tax revenue. If a thief declares that he wants to steal your money, your natural reaction is to hide it. That's what the rich will do in reaction to the Democrat Thieves.
With due respect, Mr. Kornacki, did you watch the speech? I have a hunch parts of this piece were pre-written. If my hunch is correct, I am disappointed. I sincerely doubt any serious commentator, after watching the speech on television or witnessing it in person, would suggest the stadium was the wrong venue or, furthermore, that parts of the speech might have seemed "almost boring".
John McCain is a 20th Century man, not familiar with computers, not comfortable with diplomacy, not concerned by the disintegration of America's name will in the world.
This is not the time for such a man. I applaud his tenacity and ability to survive in prison, but he was in prison because he was bombing civilian communities in Vietnam - a key U.S. ally today. He is fortunate he wasn't executed upon capture.
I admit I need to know a little more about Obama, but given the choice, I'll take my chances with him.
Obama has promised "to fix the broken politics."
How is Obama going to do this????
Obama has picked Biden as his candidate to VP........
Who is Biden?????
Biden HIMSELF has been part of that "broken politics"....!!!
Biden has been a Washington insider for almost.....40 YEARS!!! (10 years more than McCain)
Biden was first elected to the senate in Washington when Obama, the "agent of change," was 12 years....old!!!
Biden voted "YES" for the war in Iraq,... supporting Bush!!!
Biden has voted "YES" for many topics that Obama says oppose to such as NAFTA....
Biden has publicly and many times praised McCain's character, performance, and capacity...!
Biden, in the current electoral process, has said publicly that Obama IS NOT READY TO BE PRESIDENT.......
Biden is the Democratic candidate to VP picked by Obama to "fix the broken politics."
THAT IS NOT CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN............
Obama has promised "to fix the broken politics."
How is Obama going to do this????
Obama has picked Biden as his candidate to VP........
Who is Biden?????
Biden HIMSELF has been part of that "broken politics"....!!!
Biden has been a Washington insider for almost.....40 YEARS!!! (10 years more than McCain)
Biden was first elected to the senate in Washington when Obama, the "agent of change," was 12 years....old!!!
Biden voted "YES" for the war in Iraq,... supporting Bush!!!
Biden has voted "YES" for many topics that Obama says oppose to such as NAFTA....
Biden has publicly and many times praised McCain's character, performance, and capacity...!
Biden, in the current electoral process, has said publicly that Obama IS NOT READY TO BE PRESIDENT.......
Biden is the Democratic candidate to VP picked by Obama to "fix the broken politics."
THAT IS NOT CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN............
For someone who cannot tell the difference between "Know" and "no" you give yourself away. The only sheep left are those who eat the sheep manure manufactured by the Republican party. If you can manage to find a website Dr. No, then you can find all the specifics you need.
Its as specific as any candidate for president ever gets during a campaign.
Focus on the speech's setting is silly. We need discussion of content not stagecraft.
I am assuming you were at the stadium. For those of us at home, the setting seemed just right. The backdrop meant that the tight camera angle gave the effect of a smaller arena. The acoustics cut out most of the crowd noise, but we still got to enjoy the spectacle when the cameras panned out. I think they'd go back to Mile High and do it all over again in a heartbeat.
I think Obama's speech did a great job of molding himself as a bi-partisan candidate, despite his voting record in the senate. He is a democrat that understands that before you can introduce new programs, you need to eliminate or fix the old one's that don't work... to eliminate a "20th century bureaucracy."
People forget that the idea of medicare and medicaide initially was to bring down health care premiums and make health care more accessible, however consistent lobbying by insurance companies, drug companies, and most of all, the AARP has blocked all that money from reaching worker's pockets with a labyrinth of red tape.
Obama understands that trying to get the far left and the far right to agree on social issues is like herding cats, but that they can agree on underlying causes of the issue itself... "We can agree on trying reduce unwanted pregnancies."
I would consider myself a classical fiscal conservative, with moderate libertarian values. Very Barry Goldwater-esque, and I am proud to say that Obama has my vote. Finger pointing never gets any successful legislation put through congress, the only question remaining is whether or not Obama can stand up to the excessive congressional pet-project spending of a democratically controlled legislature.
The Republicans' worst fear is not that Obama is elected and governs poorly, or that Obama loses, and we suffer race riots, as so many Republicans are claiming. Their worst fear is that he wins, and he proves to be a good, even a great, president. Republicans don't hate the Clintons because of their failures. Republicans hate the Clintons because of their successes, which shine so much more brightly in comparison to the many Bush failures. Republicans greatest fear is not that Obama loses, they do not fear that. They do not even expect it. The shell shocked looks on the faces of so many right wing commentators last evening is testament to it. Even if Obama does lose what will likely be a very close election in the this closely divided country, what Republicans really fear, or should, is that all that Bush has wrought will come to roost on McCain, and after four years the country is, finally, not so closely divided. What Republicans fear most of all, though, is that Obama does win, that what Bush has wrought does come home to roost, but that Obama and the Democratic congress govern well, and effectively commence recovery from the Republican debacle.
I emphatically disagree with the comment above that the stadium was not the best place to deliver Obama's electrifying speech last night -- I was absolutely thrilled with the speech, the large audience and the amazing enthusiasm!!! The speech was a homerun and reminded me all over again why I left the Republican party 5 years ago to become a Democrat. Obama offers a new politics suitable for the 21st century and unlike John McCain is not "stuck" in the mindset of the Cold War. I am really looking forward to an Obama presidency and know that he will mobilize millions of Americans to rejuvenate our country once again!!!!
OH! OK!! My bad!!!
So much for the politics of change...
Oh, I get it! It's the new BI-POLAR politics. We are to believe Obama is a change agent, yet when he does not embody the change he wants, we are also supposed to accept that he's like any other politician.
Wow, what where you watching? The setting was a major part of the story as where all those shots of Americans from all parts of our society sitting there responding to Obama speech as if they where on a sting, a common sense of purpose.
Yeah, I guess you where watching something different then I was.
That is a great post!
84,000 American flags waving in unison is the wrong setting? Not in my book!
And boring? Not for a second. Obama needed to step to the plate and show why we should elect him. We've all heard the loftiness - now was a time for meatiness - and he delivered. Republicans immediately yelled the same exact charges that yelled before the speech - i saw them on larry King - ben Stein - the guy who pitches eye drops, told us that Obama was mean and nasty and more of an empty suit - one Republican told us that it was just Britny Spears in a greek temple...
I can't be sure, but my gut tells me they're finished...
You know people have missed the point of The Speech when all they can bitch and complain about is the setting, which while I admit was grossly over-dramatic and built to hold Obama's enormous ego, has nothing at all to do with his speech...
...which, while outlining his plans for our New America, failed to explain HOW these new plans, tax cuts, independence of oil from the Middle East, and new jobs were going to be PAID FOR. But as usual, it all sounds "good enough" for Obamites, or to people who don't look for answers in a presidential speech.
Election Day is going to be a terrible, terrible day for me: vote for John McCain, or don't vote at all. At least I no longer need to consider the Democratic candidate.
OBAMA '08!!!
Are you another Republican in denial? The speech was fantastic...you try to keep 80,000 people sitting on every word and millions at home doing the same. You may not agree with the message, but admit as Pat Buchanan said last night...it was a great speech. Stop making stuff up! John Stewart hit it right when he said about Fox and writers like yourself, "Barack Obama could cure cancer, and they would paint it as an economic disaster."
Listen to yourselves. Obama is asking us to dream again. He is asking us to believe - not so much in him - but in ourselves. He is asking us to believe that the promise of America is within our collective and individual grasp. He is asking us to shed our cynicsim about the future, throw off our lament about the past and to step into the potential greatness that is born from our unified national character.
For so long, we Americans have gotten the government we deserve. He is actually calling on us to change our thinking and put in ourselves in a position where we truly DESERVE better government than we are getting.
Haters will hate. But how can you not enjoy the feeling that speech gives you. Traveling abroad helps you understand what GW has done to our reputation. I'll take Obama any day over a wrinkly old pilot who got shot down. Duh!
OBAMA-always and forever
Obama is not ready to be President. We need guys with experience like Cheney and Rumsfeld. Guys who know how to kill over 4,000 American men and women for no reason and still sleep at night. We need guys who will make sure that the Wall Street pigs will still be able to feed at the trough and pick the pockets of America's middle class.
As far as anyone thinks of the specificity of his speech, the article spells it out quite simply by comparing it to a State of the Union address. It is an outline for the year to come. Giving such a specific speech as a candidate is quite a step towards assuming the role of the president, in my opinion. Obama is basically answering the questions of whether he is ready to lead by doing what is first required of a President: telling people what you are going to do. That is what Obama is doing here.
And if anyone is question Joe Biden as the Vice Presidential pick on grounds that he is the "old politics" of Washington, perhaps you should understand the balance that Obama has struck between his politics of change and the way Washington has been. The same people who criticize Biden as a Vice President because he has too much experience as a Washington insider are the same people who criticize Obama because he lacks experience in Washington. He admitted his fault with Biden as a running mate; and he addressed it.
I know leadership when I see it and Obama has it. People laud McCain for his quick pat answers to questions, but the 21st century does not lend itself to that kind of thinking and leadership--it's too one dimensional. The Obama campaign seems to be hitting on all cylinders. If he can make the federal government run like his campaign, he'll do just fine. Bring on McCain and the green background.
Mr Robinson:
All of the "HOW" answers were given in the speech last night. Either you weren't paying attention or you were just having a senior moment.
As a Presidental nominee you can only lay out policies that you want to work toward, you can't get more specific than that no one ever has. You have to be flexible so that ideas from congress and the private sector can influence direction,and policies that will will make changes work. I'm 54yrs old and I have never seen a nominee have the ability to say verbatam how they plan on getting their policie thru. You need to be a team player and use all the resource to your advantage because some on might have a better idea than you. Something that I've noticed the republician don't believe in.