So on Super Tuesday, I stayed up until California was called (around midnight, ET, if memory serves), which means I was awake for the Obama 'victory' speech.I've seen his stump speech so many times I could probably recite the core part of it back to you, so I was watching he and his crowd more closely than what he was saying the other night and I have to admit I got chills up my spine...but not the good kind.
As I've observed here and to friends, there's just something different about Obama. There's an energy he's tapping into that others are not. He's taking this to a plane I really haven't seen another politician do since I've been a grown-up.
You see, I'm always leery of people who can convince others to do things they might not otherwise do. This is not always a bad trait. In practice, this makes a good leader, but, dammit, it's spooky, too. While I can sometimes teeter on the edge of sounding paranoid, a quick refresher course on the Milgram Experiments might help the reader see where I'm coming from.
Further, it's no accident that "Obama and messianic" returns entirely different kinds of results on Google than "Hillary Clinton and messianic" does. For once, I'm with Chris Matthews who also said that the most noteworthy line of his Tuesday speech was, "We are the people we've been waiting for."
Not your run of the mill "elect me!" line.
(I'm also on the campaign's email list and got one last night with that line as the subject, so the campaign clearly sees some sort of value in this kind of imagery.)
Now I don't believe for a second that Barack Obama is up to no good and will lead people into acting in a collectively evil fashion. Perhaps it's quite the opposite and he's a force for good like we have not seen in some of our lifetimes. I'm in no way drawing a moral equivalence between him and some of the hideous leaders this world has seen.
My only real observation here is that it's just a little scary how such a simple overall message he brings
1) We need "change"
2) We need healthcare
3) I was against the Iraq war from Day 1
can whip people up into such a frenzy. I appreciate that candidates have to boil their message down in an effort to bring people into a campaign, but I don't think the above is an unfair characterization of his core justification for office.
Of particular interest to me, in his mesmerizing speech the other night, is the woman over BO's left shoulder. Keep an eye on her. She's so enthralled with every word that comes out of his mouth and acts as if it's all so enlightening. This is weird, of course, because if she's a true believer, she's heard this speech a dozen times. If this is the first time she's heard it, why was she placed right in the middle of the money shot?
Why, indeed...
Obama's Super Tuesday "Victory" Speech, Part 1Obama's Super Tuesday "Victory" Speech, Part 2
3 comments:
I think the message may be even simpler than that. I think it simply is "I will work to empower you to be part of the process."
Which I think is eerily a lot like RPs message, also met with fanaticisms.
I think that he is really tapping into the sentiment that people feel so disconnected from their government.
Couple that with a energized and excited democratic base who think that Obama has a better chance at winning that Hillary and you have the fanatical masses. Over 75% of the people in MN who went to caucus on Tuesday participated in the democratic caucus.
Also, one can't dismiss the wide sentiments of frustration with the scorched earth politics of the Bush/Clinton years too. I think the population at large wants to move past it. Whether they will be willing to compromise though is another issue. Hillary has set herself up as the 'revenge' candidate, which is much different than the proposition offered by Obama.
The stars have really aligned for the guy, and whether he is genius enough to have realized it or just damn lucky is indifferent.
One really has to believe though, that Obama can deliver on his assertion that he can be a transformative figure in American politics.
While MN might not be the least-biased baramoter on the political spectrum, I largely agree with what you're talking about. And I was trying to be a little generous with giving him three bullet points. We're pretty much in agreement here.
"Revenge candidate." I like it.
It's nice to be in OH where the vote will probably be relevant. I do know of one person, a former co-worker of yours, who's talking about being a Dem for a Day to vote Hillary. Which, at the end of the day, I can't argue with him too much for voting with strategery.
She is, she is basically saying that she will fight back against the 8 years of bush.
Although, she is much more in line with my own political views, I feel as if I would be trading one master for another.
The direction of the country, however, is much more dependent on the solidification of a working majority in congress, than the next president. IMO.
My dad said he was going to go caucus for Hillary too. With my esteemed former colleague, I will believe it when I see it. It takes effort, and I can't see too many people taking that amount of effort. Besides it is against his interests to do so. Hillary is much more in favor of medical mary jane than McCain. We will be at the bottom of that slippery slope before long with a dem in the Wh.
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