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Oh 'Bama O'Bama
I was really lit up inside when I saw video of Obama's speech in that quaint farm setting in South Dakota. He fired up the crowd of 2,000 supporters, and looked very much like a Nominee.
He was wearing his American flag lapel pin for what must be a record fourth straight appearance, and looked sharp in a dark blue suit and striped blue tie. His remarks, condemning the attacks from George Bush and John McCain, were spoken with what sounded like sincere conviction, rather than "partisan" ranting as the Republicans later claimed.
By media acccounts of the speech, Obama comes out looking like a tough fighter of a campaigner, a proud Democrat and American, and someone who could stand on a global stage and denounce terrorism with authority.
I was personally invigorated by his robust posture in speaking. His authoritative voice and empassioned words speak to many people.
Comments (20)
I like the apostrophed O'Bama. That could have helped him with those Scotts-Irish Appalachian votes, or at least made up for the "Who-sayn'" part of his name.
Seriously, though, the speech was indeed immensely encouraging; the sort of performance I trusted he would deliver for the general election campaign.
May 17, 2008 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hate to say it, but it's like Kennedy-Nixon redux. If you put Obama on a stage next to John McCain, he looks like a true leader. Some might say capital 'L' Leader, (conspiracy theorists).
May 17, 2008 5:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd love you to be right, but Kennedy only won that election by a small fraction. I think McCain is a FAR more likable guy than Nixon ever was and Obama's race is likely more of a burden than Kennedy's religion was. OTOH, Nixon was following a popular Republican president, was more tied to him (as VP) than McCain is to Bush, and times were generally perceived as being MUCH better than they are now.
So I'm optimistic and dedicated, but a part of me is really cautious. Although I'm behind Obama 150% and most of the white folks I know feel the same way, I travel in relatively comfortable circles. We're his constituency. And there's a skeptical part of me that will believe this country will elect a black president only after we've done so. I hope this is the year, but I won't be comfortable with it until I wake up the day after the election and he's won a clear electoral victory.
May 18, 2008 8:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
He was wearing his American flag lapel pin
And people say he doesn't know how to connect with working-class Americans.
May 17, 2008 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think he recognizes a picture of him in a flag pin makes him look damn-right American.
The photos from the speech are priceless.
May 17, 2008 6:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think folks will find that Obama's demeanor with republicans is gonna be a leetle bit different than it was when he was talking to Mrs. Clinton, a democrat. He's no meanie, but if they thought he was gonna be a lamb to the slaughter, they'll soon learn that they got a tiger by the tail.
May 17, 2008 6:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Like the Clintons, the Republicans will underestimate both Obama and Americans.
May 17, 2008 6:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yup, I've been saying it for a while now, put him against a republican instead of a fellow dem and he isn't going to pull any punches. I love it.
May 17, 2008 8:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are quite right--he was actually hampered in the contest against Clinton because he has human decency, ethical standards, and concern for the future of the party and winning in November--even though he was up against a candidate who didn't care about any of those things.
Against the real opponent he's going to be a lot tougher.
Obama '08!
May 17, 2008 9:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
...because he has human decency, ethical standards, and concern for the future of the party and winning in November--
I must have missed that day of his campaign.
May 17, 2008 10:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
You mean the time he brought up Bill's impeachment? Or all the bimbo eruptions? Or the fundraising scandals? Or pardongate?
Oh, wait. He never did that. Why, do you think? Surely, it would have helped him politically, to remind people of the scandal-riddenness of the Clinton years. But he never did. The word impeachment never crossed his lips. Do you think Hillary and the "Rev Wright never would have been my pastor" would have done the same thing?
Come on. Do you want a Dem in the White House or don't you? Do you want Dem gains in the house and senate or don't you? Obama people get accused again and again of drinking kool-aid, of falling under some cult of personality, yet it's a few Clinton supporters on this site who accuse everyone who supports Obama of either stupidity or some selfish intent, who can't begin to see that some people might objectively choose him over Hillary, who threaten to sit home and sulk in November and claim that a John McCain presidency will be a-okay.
I'm sorry your candidate lost. It sucks. I'd have been quite crushed if Obama had lost, I was very sad when it became apparent Edwards couldn't win. But somethings are more important than personalities. Obama is not the evil person you think he is, and his agenda is very close to Hillary's. If you support that agenda, you'll support him.
May 18, 2008 12:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
"You are quite right--he was actually hampered in the contest against Clinton because he has human decency, ethical standards, and concern for the future of the party and winning in November--even though he was up against a candidate who didn't care about any of those things".
LOL. Please stop. The selfish Hillary stuff will soon grow old and be thrown in the toilet when enough Democrats realize they will have to genuflect repeatedly in her direction in order to win, and the people who continue to hound her will be consigned to the dustbin of blogospheric irrelevancy. But the stuff about the decency of Senator Obama is the kind of stuff that makes any real student of politics have continuing doubts about the what he is really all about. Human decency had nothing to do with the campaigns of Obama or Clinton. One ran a better campaign at the threshhold and it entitled him to the high ground for most of the duration.
I hope Senator Obama continues to wear flag pins and certainly at the right time, and not because he is doing so out of any sense of decency. He is being, as he should, eminently political. And that is what this Party needs to win in November.
Sound cynical? I am about politics (but not about people, except those who deify politicians :)). Save the saviors for church; you ultimately do a disservice to Senator Obama if you cast him as somthing he isn't and can never be in his particular line of work. Politics, like it or not, is about cutting deals, an inherently nasty type of work where nice guys tend to finish as just that, and nothing more.
I am not saying that Senator Obama doesn't have a good heart. I'm sure he does. But he owns no monopoly on virtue or decency, and that sits just fine with this shamelessly yellow dog Democrat.
May 18, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm certainly with you on the "monopoly on virtue and decency" and the skepticism about messiahs. But when you break down what it means that Obama ran a better campaign, you have to take into account the fact that it was a much riskier campaign than Clinton's. He relied on a whole new and much more grassroots type of financing, a new type of language (or at least an unfamiliar one for the past couple of decades), and the faith that his cultural "difference" wouldn't be a dealbreaker with the voters. I'd make a substantive distinction between a candidate who wins using conventional wisdom and the lessons of the past (which is what Clinton would have been) and one who wins by trying to run a campaign that better reflects the values they're both trying to sell.
I'm not saying that to canonize Obama; sure, he's a politician, and he's disappointed me, though less often than many others. I'm saying it because as we turn our attention to "unity," I think it's important that we remember what there was to be valued in Obama's campaign over Clinton's, from the standpoint of virtue as well as that of winning. I'm hoping that future candidates all up and down the ticket get the message, and I hope we keep sending it, that if politics can't be pretty, it can at least be a little less ugly than it has been in recent years. And we like it that way.
May 18, 2008 11:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
And, consistent with his philosophy, he won't be throwing any either.
Poker, not boxing, is his specialty. He learned it from his colleagues in the Illinois statehouse.
May 18, 2008 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
On the basis that 'all politics is local' I went to read the local newspaper account. (Rapid City Journal)
I was touched by one of the comments on the blog
"OBAMA PLEASE COME TO THE ROSEBUD RESERVATION
If prayers could be answered for help of support for one of the poorest counties in the nation~ a visit from OBAMA would be a blessing! Why only eastern SD OBAMA? I invite you to stop in and shake some hands here on the Rosebud Indian Reservation~ we need to see one who shows support for our people here too! The Clintons made it to PINE RIDGE! The last time a political candidate showed ROSEBUD RESERVATION a bit of grace~ was when the KENNEDYS came here eon's ago~ and he made President! Please consider us in your busy schedule and best wishes to your endeavors. HOPE!"
yes I hope he will. It saddens me how the indigenous Americans are never mentioned in this election.
May 17, 2008 9:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I saw Barack the day before the election in 2006 in the Chicago burbs. He'd been crisscrossing the country on the hustings for dozens of candidates that fall and finally came back home for a GOTV rally in DuPage County. The hall was owned by a Peter Roskam supporter who put up about 8 big, almost billboard size signs for him at every entrance and then made sure cops were there to warn us we couldn't touch them.
All the candidates spoke, Dick Durbin said his piece and then Obama took the stage. He was clearly the star of the show, he was the guy all those teevee cameras were there for. The cheap microphone started cutting out so he slapped it, and then he slapped it again, and shouting so we could hear without the mic said this is what we're going to do to the Republicans tomorrow.
Anybody who thinks Obama doesn't have the fire in his belly to take on and crush McCain doesn't know what he's talking about. Once the field is clear of the last of the other Democrats and he doesn't have to worry about being tag teamed just watch. This is gonna be quite a ride and you ain't seen nothing yet.
May 18, 2008 12:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well - yee haw! I can't wait.
I never thought he didn't have fire. He just knows when to hold his fire.
It's so fucking effective.
May 18, 2008 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
One other thing about Obama is his voice. That baritone of his is a very effective tool and he knows how to use it. I know because since the age of thirteen I've politely whispered "excuse me" to people in public trying to get by and they sometimes literally jump. When I speak people listen whether or not I have anything profound or even interesting to say. I'm not bragging, it never fails to amaze me
how impressed people are by superficial physical traits. But nonetheless it really comes in handy when you want to convey an impression of authority.
Obama knows how to use that attribute as well as anyone I've seen.
May 18, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
but of course he's not pandering now that he's wearing his lapel pin.Not like that Hillary with her gas tax thing.
Dream on guys. Ain't gonna happen. If Obama is the dem nominee he will go down in flames bigger than the Hindenberg blimp.
May 18, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nostradamus?
I say Nostra-Dumb Ass.
May 18, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
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