The Simplicity of Hope

Since declaring his candidacy, Barack Obama has made it clear that he wants to move away from the typical campaigning methods that Americans are accustomed to, and generally sick of. Based on his performance tonight at the Bill Graham Civic Center in S.F., I conclude that he has failed in all the important ways, and only succeeded in the most trivial.

Obama ran on the stage with the energy of a rock star. The first word out of his mouth, if I heard correctly, was, "Yo!" followed by a series of "Eh!"'s and a comment about how "pumped up" the crowd seemed. My problem is not that his word choices were too unorthodox for my conservative tastes. This kind of language actually seems to be more and more common among candidates of both parties. My problem lies with the fact that at its core, hipper diction is just another form of demagoguery. Interestingly, I think I've even heard Mitt Romney use ebonics more effectively.

Obama's vague, promise-filled rhetoric and unremarkable speaking style reminded me of a mix between a 1920's stump speech (gimme that ol' time bureaucracy!) and a Junior High student council election (7-Up in all of the drinking fountains!). I recognize that this speech format is primarily for fund-raising and rallying purposes, but I expected Obama to live up to his promises and escape the suffocating confines of the campaigning format here, tonight. I would guess that Obama did not pick up nor lose any votes tonight with his overblown talk of change. He can do no wrong in the eyes of those already enamored with his simplistic idealism, or rather those who just passionately hate George W. Bush. Those opposed, myself included, were further repulsed by the realization that Obama is actually even more of a big government liberal than we expected. Lastly, the undecided democratic voters were given no substance nor overwhelming sense of confidence in the man.

At least he raised money, even if it was not entirely honestly. I made a "donation" of $15 expecting that it was the only way to see him speak (surely a most noble and edifying pursuit), when in fact no ticket was actually necessary to get in the door.

I'd like to stress again that I would not blame Obama for using the usual campaigning tricks if he did not emphasize a departure from them as a core of his platform, just as I would not have criticized John Kerry for his military record in Vietnam had he not shown up to the DNC "reporting for duty." Politicians use certain tactics for a reason--even though they will be accused of pandering, muck-raking etc. This is excusable as long as the politician does not pretend to be something he's not.

It's a shame that Obama could not be what he promises as a campaigner. Even though I could never overcome my political differences with him, I would at least respect him for trying to change a system that annoys the hell out of just about everybody.