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Edited on Sat May-03-08 01:08 AM by milkyway
The bumpy road Barack Obama has experienced lately is bringing out the best of him and making him a stronger candidate. This week he has reworked his speeches, with the back half becoming much more powerful. I think he began using this new speech on Monday; I heard it for the first time in Chapel Hill Monday night, where it was very good but still needed a bit of sharpening.
Tonight at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Raleigh, Obama gave a knockout speech that provides a framework for his presidency. Near the end he spoke of the GI BIll that his grandfather got after returning home from WWII and the federal home loan his grandparents used to purchase a home, and how the federal government helped build a strong middle class for the returning vets. He also talks of his mother and himself getting federal student loans. After weaving this personal picture of what good government can do for the average American, he ties it into his own candidacy, listing various demographic groups--black, white, rich, poor, young, old, etc--and then saying they are ready to stand as an earlier generation stood up. He uses an incredibly powerful new line: "We want everybody under the banner of a new America."
Obama has also changed the visuals of his events this week. For the first time I can recall, he has used bunting as a backdrop, and his speeches explicitly address his patriotism. Obama has been reticent to highlight his compelling personal story, or to use the visual signifiers of patriotism. Maybe he considers them both a form of pandering, a cheap way of getting votes without addressing the issues, but they are essential to contemporary campaigns.
He has also changed the music that is played when he enters and exits the stage. For as long as I can remember, he has used U2's "Beautiful Day" for the entrance and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" when leaving. But this week in Indiana he entered to John Mellencamp's "Our Country" and exited to "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen.
"Rising" is an apt description of the narrative I think will become evident on Tuesday. With the media overkill of the Wright controversy and with just the right amount of time to reverse the flow, I think the tracking polls this weekend will show Obama moving up again and peaking for him on Tuesday. The media has lowered the expectations for Obama in NC and Indiana, and they won't realize that the momentum has turned until they start counting the votes on Tuesday. I expect a very strong night for Obama, winning NC by double digits, maybe closer to 20 than 10, and a win in Indiana by about five points.
The Democratic party has decided that they want Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States, but they have been hesitant in their commitment, unsure of this unusual candidate. But his having been knocked around really has made him a stronger candidate, and his renewed energy, changes in the types of campaign events, the updated speeches, and his strong clarion call for a new America are giving lift to his campaign that will become evident on Tuesday night.
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