Reviewing Barack Obama’s Big Announcement

Barack Obama’s long-awaited announcement that he is—if you can believe it—running for the presidency was an excellent speech. I really appreciated the lack of polarization in Senator Obama’s address. Unlike the recent speeches given by Senator Clinton, Senator Obama’s speech was not centered around George Bush and his failures. It was nice to see a serious presidential candidate actually discussing the future instead of only criticizing the passed.

Senator Obama used today’s speech to try a different version of former Senator Edwards’s “two Americas” rhetoric. While Senator Obama mentioned the same general themes that Senator Edwards focuses on—most notably poverty—he did it in a far less confrontational way. Senator Obama did not use words like “moral outrage” as former Senator Edwards likes to use. In Senator Obama’s world things like poverty seem to be something that we can—and will over come, but he doesn’t seem to get worked up over them. It will be very interesting to see if Senator Obama’s calm, collected approach will translate into electoral success in a Democratic Party that is so angry.

I was surprised that, while eluding to the Civil War, Senator Obama referred to the “captives” rather than using the word slaves. In my opinion, Senator Obama’s choice of the word “captives” was deliberate. I am afraid that it was Senator Obama’
S way to hint at the terrible racism that was behind the Civil War, while trying not to say anything that might be frowned upon by whites. I hope that my assumption is wrong, because if Senator Obama is elected, I hope he is elected as a person who will say what needs to be said even if some people don’t really want to hear it. If Senator Obama really is, as he says he is, about changing the culture of Washington he must begin by being willing to do what most other politicians are not—speak the truth!

What did you think of Senator Obama’s speech? Do you think that he is choosing his language too carefully? Do you think his more congenial approach will work? Can someone, in today’s political climate, really win trying to appeal to a vast majority of Americans?