10 percent chance of change. Ha!
Twas awesome.
He made a lot of excellent points.
Oddly enough, he addressed an issue I've long had with him in that so many of his past speeches had an "above all that petty politics" quality where he seemed hesitant to get into fights about issues and, well, sound like a politician.
No question, this works well in a primary and did much to contribute to the sense that his supports believed, in the words of Rebecca Traister, he was “built entirely of altruism and hope and, I don't know, puppies.”
But I (a) thought it was really annoying and (b) hadn't been sure he was going to be able to adapt his style into the "Vote for me, not him" dynamic necessary for the general election. And when it comes down to it, those petty political fights are about real issues that affect real people and I think if he'd kept the "above all that" style people would have seen it as a copout.
I stand corrected. He took the gloves off and gave a great, and unabashedly political, speech.
CC
5 comments:
Oh yeah. Great speech. I watched with 35 folk at Ferry Beach, and there were moments that even through a TV screen were just electric.
It'll be interesting to see what the whining about it looks like (from the "nation of whiners" crowd).
I had thought the era of good political speeches had ended, but he has revived it. No blows below the belt, and yet he managed to define McCain so well that Republicans well have to waste precious airtime countering it. No hubris or "My mother used to sing me to sleep with the union song" style of pandering, but still laying out his own qualifications. I haven't heard a speech like that since Reagan left office.
Obama is, I believe, genetically programed to be a peacemaker and diplomat. Being a peace monger myself, I'll bet he has little taste or respect for the traditional slash & gouge of politics. However, in order to achieve the position that will allow him to lead through peace, he had to be able to slug it out at his opponent's level -- and that's just what he started doing last night! And it turns out he can go it with enormous energy and lots of hard facts!! Oh, how I hope it'll be he who takes the oath of office in January...
Linda Senn
I just hope the voting public was watching.
Early on, when they asked Obama if he could fight hard, his reply was, "I'm from Chicago!"
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