Obama Acceptance Speech: Great Job But Will It Matter?
When it comes to Senator Obama and his speaking ability, there is little doubt that he is one of the best. His address tonight to the 75,000 people at Invesco Field was among the best delivered speeches in recent memory. Nobody can deny that his soaring rhetoric was delivered with near perfection.
The visuals of the large crowds and the cheering delegates on the field were impressive and the final display of fireworks exploding in the air were like a movie studio spectacular. His attacks on Senator McCain gave red meat to the party delegates on the field and his soaring words inspired many in the stadium.
But……
I think there are a few chinks in the armor that will start to emerge as the campaign moves on and I wonder if the emotional power of tonight will have much impact once we move into the regular campaign. As I watched the speech I was struck by something that I just couldn’t put my finger on. There was something that felt out of place and I wasn’t sure what it was.
When I started watching the various talking heads one of them mentioned just what it was. While the speech was clearly very well received, much of the energy for the first 2/3 to 3/4 of the speech was on the field and not in the stands. The delegates were deliriously swept away from the very start but the crowds in the stands did not really get into the speech until close to the end.
When you look at the various sections of the speech (as posted all over the net) I find that the sections which got less energy from the crowds in the stands were the more policy-oriented statements while the sections that got them on their feet were the sections that everyone could agree on, things like the goodness of Dr. King or the need for all of us to come together.
Other parts of the speech were fairly boilerplate: I’m going to cut your taxes, I’m going to make the economy better, I’m going to make things better. These are things we hear in every speech from just about every candidate for just about every office. I don’t fault Obama this, it’s pretty much standard fare for a convention speech but that tends to make convention speeches fairly minimal in their long-term impact.
It is partly for this reason that I think the glow of the speech may not have as much of an impact on the campaign as Obama would have hoped. This is not really his fault and I am not sure that there is one in recent memory that really had much of an impact on the campaign. Indeed, given the hype prior to the speech, it is probably enough for Obama to have done as good a job as he did.
But I would not count on it to seal the deal in the way that some of the commentators think.
I also think he left himself a bit more open to critical comments than he would have wanted to. His speech was long on a lot of promises about how he would cut taxes as well as increase spending. He said that he will show how he plans to pay for everything but when you cut taxes for 95% of the taxpayers and increase spending then it is going to be tough to avoid further deficits.
He also made a lot of promises in terms of solving problems but, from what I have seen of his campaign, he has not fleshed things out yet. While in the short term the soaring emotions of this address are giving him a positive buzz, I think in the long term making promises without fleshing them out in greater detail could hurt with his empty suit problem.
Overall of course one cannot deny that tonight was a triumphant event for Senator Obama. Just five years ago he was an obscure state senator and tonight he spoke to millions of his fellow citizens as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. That is an amazing accomplishment and he deserves every bit of praise for his success.
In addition his nomination is also a great step for starting to move past many of the racial divides of the past.
But, unlike many of my fellow bloggers, I am not sure that it will have much impact. By this weekend we will have moved on to Senator McCain and the GOP convention (or possibly the impact of Hurricane Gustav). Parts of the speech may show up in a campaign ad but that won’t be much different than the clips of prior speeches in his current ads.
Obama did what he needed to do tonight but I think that it is a fleeting glory.
36 Responses to “Obama Acceptance Speech: Great Job But Will It Matter?”
That speech was a regurgitation of just about every one he's ever made. Just a bigger crowd and more fireworks.
Pundits correctly advised beforehand that that speech needed to be about his credentials and qualifications. Failing that it needed to be about specifics for change and not just “hope” for change. He delivered neither.
Disappointingly it turned out to be about “hope” again.
I'm beginning to fear “our” candidate is a one-trick pinata with no candy inside.
Thank God for Biden.
I disagree. Even as an Obama supporter I didn't think he would be able to address Republican attacks against him, lay out specific reasons to vote for him, and do so in a way that maintained his message of being a different kind of politician. Obama categorically dismembered every Republican attack against him over the past several weeks (eg: “Now, I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead”), spelled out specifics that most voters can identify with (eg: tax cuts for 95% of Americans), and made a point of saying that we can agree even on divisive issues (eg: reduce abortion by reducing unwanted pregnancies).
With McCain having focused almost exclusively on attacking Obama rather than outlining his own vision for the country it now makes the Republican's job much tougher. Three days ago the pundits were faulting Democrats for an inability to respond to Republican attacks; in one night it seems like Obama has done a remarkable job in silencing those concerns and putting McCain on the defensive.
Patrick, the sad thing is that Obama's plans will increase the debt quite a bit more over ten years (not sure about the deficit projections). He says that's not one of his main priorities but I strongly disagree with him on that. I think it needs to be the top, especially since one of the very few economists that correctly predicted our current state back in the late 90s did so because he did a comprehensive study of economic collapse and ran all the numbers through and found out that we were extremely vulnerable due to high deficits (both trade and budget).
Of course McCain's plans would increase the debt more than a trillion dollars more than Obama's and without most of the programs Obama mentioned. His plans would mostly just be to give the top 1% and corporations huge tax breaks. His only stated idea for reducing the government is to target earmarks — about $20 billion worth a year (even while reducing revenues by about $500 billion a year).
So Obama is more fiscally “conservative” relatively speaking.
Anyway I think the high points of his speech that COULD have a major impact are that he started to defuse the culture wars by pointing out compromises that 80%+ of the population supports that we should work together towards regardless of ideology and also making allusions that Republicans didn't always hate government — for a long time they were about efficient and competent governance. It's only when government is ineffectual that it's seen as bad in and of itself. If he expands on those two themes then McCain is going to have a hard time.
Patrick, I think you pointed out one of the real issues with the way we run campaigns in this country. You highlighted how there wasn't as much energy for the policy-heavy section of the speech. But then you also say this:
I think in the long term making promises without fleshing them out in greater detail could hurt with his empty suit problem.
But he couldn't really in this venue right? If he had gone more in depth, he would have just been criticized for being lower energy (or even Mark Warner boring). Or even worse, fallen into the trap of being too academic and elitist.
It is very difficult in this day and age for politicians (especially newer ones) to clearly elucidate their policy positions while building an exciting campaign. Hopefully Obama can prove this conventional wisdom wrong over the next few months by continuing to hammer on the points that he raised and flesh them out in a way that is interesting and engaging to the public.
The speech was exactly like every single one he's made since day one: about nebulous hope and dancing around specifics but never quite getting there.
Maybe you missed something..no, you absolutely missed something because it was a fabulous speech clearly providing details of change on 29 points besides nailing McCain on his own words..
You better listen to it again!
You were listening to a different speech than me then apparently. I heard about as many specifics as a pol can get away with in a big speech (It's not like Sen. Clinton ever really clearly outlined specific policies). I also noticed that the word hope was largely absent from this speech.
You were listening to a different speech than me then apparently. I heard about as many specifics as a pol can get away with in a big speech (It's not like Sen. Clinton ever really clearly outlined specific policies). I also noticed that the word hope was largely absent from this speech.
A note for those who complain about Obama's perceived lack of specifics: I don't think people care about “specifics” for any reason other than to have something to complain about. Obama actually appears to have more specifics on issues than McCain does – compare http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ to http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/, where Obama has detailed plans, links to whitepapers, etc. McCain's site is noticeably lighter.
“Specifics” are great, and Obama has plenty of information available for those who are interested. That said, given how easy it is to find this information it seems (to me at least) that who fault him for lacking specifics are more interested in finding fault than in the actual specifics themselves.
A note for those who complain about Obama's perceived lack of specifics: I don't think people care about “specifics” for any reason other than to have something to complain about. Obama actually appears to have more specifics on issues than McCain does – compare http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ to http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/, where Obama has detailed plans, links to whitepapers, etc. McCain's site is noticeably lighter.
“Specifics” are great, and Obama has plenty of information available for those who are interested. That said, given how easy it is to find this information it seems (to me at least) that who fault him for lacking specifics are more interested in finding fault than in the actual specifics themselves.
Silhouette said: “The speech was exactly like every single one he's made since day one…”
Now if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black NOTHING is!
Silhouette said: “The speech was exactly like every single one he's made since day one…”
Now if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black NOTHING is!
He's given specifics before, but the criticism always still seems to be– he never gives specifics. Either those complaining aren't listening, or think its a good way to write him off. Anyone who wants more specifics can go to his website.
He's given specifics before, but the criticism always still seems to be– he never gives specifics. Either those complaining aren't listening, or think its a good way to write him off. Anyone who wants more specifics can go to his website.
Patrick said: ” He said that he will show how he plans to pay for everything but when you cut taxes for 95% of the taxpayers and increase spending then it is going to be tough to avoid further deficits.”
That's why Obama DESERVES to & WILL be the next President of the United States…
Washington Post – Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
Follow link for graph comparing the Obama and McCain Plans
Patrick said: ” He said that he will show how he plans to pay for everything but when you cut taxes for 95% of the taxpayers and increase spending then it is going to be tough to avoid further deficits.”
That's why Obama DESERVES to & WILL be the next President of the United States…
Washington Post – Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
Follow link for graph comparing the Obama and McCain Plans
Thanks for the feedback.
Let me once again remind my 4 or 5 readers that I have not picked a candidate yet so I am not a 'McCain supporter' and will be making the same kind of posts next week on the GOP convention.
But just to look at the previous comment regarding Obama cutting taxes for 95% of families. Aside from the fact that I am not sure incurring more debt is a good thing, his promise is technically impossible.
I'm not going to quote exact percentages to avoid a debate over numbers but the fact is that a significant portion of families currently pay no income tax at all because they don't make enough money versus deductions available.
So this opens him up to criticism by his opponents.
Again, it's not ME personally having an issue with what Obama does or does not say. I am looking at his speech from a political point of view and showing where I think he would be vulnerable. I realize it's a tad unusual but I don't have an agenda here, I'm just a political junkie who likes looking at things from all sides.
Like I said, next week I will offer a lot of comments on where the GOP is blowing it (as I did earlier today regarding Alaska)
Thanks for the feedback.
Let me once again remind my 4 or 5 readers that I have not picked a candidate yet so I am not a 'McCain supporter' and will be making the same kind of posts next week on the GOP convention.
But just to look at the previous comment regarding Obama cutting taxes for 95% of families. Aside from the fact that I am not sure incurring more debt is a good thing, his promise is technically impossible.
I'm not going to quote exact percentages to avoid a debate over numbers but the fact is that a significant portion of families currently pay no income tax at all because they don't make enough money versus deductions available.
So this opens him up to criticism by his opponents.
Again, it's not ME personally having an issue with what Obama does or does not say. I am looking at his speech from a political point of view and showing where I think he would be vulnerable. I realize it's a tad unusual but I don't have an agenda here, I'm just a political junkie who likes looking at things from all sides.
Like I said, next week I will offer a lot of comments on where the GOP is blowing it (as I did earlier today regarding Alaska)
Kritt,
You're exactly right. People say he doesn't have specific policy proposals are just spouting conventional wisdom in order to sound smart and reinforce their own preconceived notions and biases. These people have no interest in actually reading the policy papers that the Obama campaign has released.
The fact is Obama's plans are far more specific than McCain's.
Kritt,
You're exactly right. People say he doesn't have specific policy proposals are just spouting conventional wisdom in order to sound smart and reinforce their own preconceived notions and biases. These people have no interest in actually reading the policy papers that the Obama campaign has released.
The fact is Obama's plans are far more specific than McCain's.
I disagree with APR on a lot of things but his indictment on the political process rings completely true. The thing that I found most striking was the fact that political figures giving their best speeches after they leave their races. I think Obama's speech was not as soaring as his 2004 speech but he did what he needed to do. I found the last 3rd or so very, very good.
Sadly the faults in these processes lie not in the stars but in ourselves.
Sillhoutte has to be a Republican operative, but dude, check in with headquarters and get some new talking points, these are getting really boring.
I disagree with APR on a lot of things but his indictment on the political process rings completely true. The thing that I found most striking was the fact that political figures giving their best speeches after they leave their races. I think Obama's speech was not as soaring as his 2004 speech but he did what he needed to do. I found the last 3rd or so very, very good.
Sadly the faults in these processes lie not in the stars but in ourselves.
Sillhoutte has to be a Republican operative, but dude, check in with headquarters and get some new talking points, these are getting really boring.
I thought he proved that he was strong, committed, and ready to lead. And that's what he needed to do.
And kritt is right, he's said specifics many times but this is politics. You keep saying the same thing about someone to get it in the voters minds. I don't expect any presidential candidate to turn into a policy wonk in an acceptance speech. Obama didn't and McCain won't either.
Overall, a fine speech for Obama and a historic moment that made me feel even better about our country. But I'm still a third party voter. The debates will seal the deal for me (BOB BARR FOR THE DEBATES '08).
I thought he proved that he was strong, committed, and ready to lead. And that's what he needed to do.
And kritt is right, he's said specifics many times but this is politics. You keep saying the same thing about someone to get it in the voters minds. I don't expect any presidential candidate to turn into a policy wonk in an acceptance speech. Obama didn't and McCain won't either.
Overall, a fine speech for Obama and a historic moment that made me feel even better about our country. But I'm still a third party voter. The debates will seal the deal for me (BOB BARR FOR THE DEBATES '08).
Greetings from Tokyo!
Those who call Senator Obama an empty suit are just saying it in spite. His acceptance speech was an absolute exclamation point. 9 out of 10. I think he raised confidence in many Democrats that he can handle McCain in the debates. Which is where he needs a few more exclamation points. Nevertheless, the man is not an empty suit, looked presidential, sounded presidential, and was freakin' inspiring. McCain has his work cut out.
Your post raises some valid points Patrick and I always appreciate looking at things from all sides.
Greetings from Tokyo!
Those who call Senator Obama an empty suit are just saying it in spite. His acceptance speech was an absolute exclamation point. 9 out of 10. I think he raised confidence in many Democrats that he can handle McCain in the debates. Which is where he needs a few more exclamation points. Nevertheless, the man is not an empty suit, looked presidential, sounded presidential, and was freakin' inspiring. McCain has his work cut out.
Your post raises some valid points Patrick and I always appreciate looking at things from all sides.
He compared himself to JFK…….JFK led us into Vietnam, authorized the Bay of Pigs and was assassinated. Great Job their Mr. YOUNG and INEXPERIENCED PRESIDENT.
He was compared to Bill Clinton………..Whom was impeached. Good comparison there my friend.
Yeah he had nice rebuttals on a sound bite stage……..in the real world they are going to be torn apart. However for the democrats they did get a nice boast in polling numbers today.
The emotional appeal of the democrats always works well with the common man until they stop and realize that when the Democrats get in power. Nothing happens. They dont fix anything. Hell the last major piece of Welfare was passed by GEORGE W. BUSH and the democrats are bitching about it.
1. Cant afford it.
2. Its not good enough.
No one in DC gives a hoot about the common man. They just bitch for 2 years in hopes it gets them reelected.
When will this madness stop. Balance the budget. Term limits. That will cause the madness to stop. Nothing else will.
He compared himself to JFK…….JFK led us into Vietnam, authorized the Bay of Pigs and was assassinated. Great Job their Mr. YOUNG and INEXPERIENCED PRESIDENT.
He was compared to Bill Clinton………..Whom was impeached. Good comparison there my friend.
Yeah he had nice rebuttals on a sound bite stage……..in the real world they are going to be torn apart. However for the democrats they did get a nice boast in polling numbers today.
The emotional appeal of the democrats always works well with the common man until they stop and realize that when the Democrats get in power. Nothing happens. They dont fix anything. Hell the last major piece of Welfare was passed by GEORGE W. BUSH and the democrats are bitching about it.
1. Cant afford it.
2. Its not good enough.
No one in DC gives a hoot about the common man. They just bitch for 2 years in hopes it gets them reelected.
When will this madness stop. Balance the budget. Term limits. That will cause the madness to stop. Nothing else will.
Neocon,
I don't understand the JFK fetish myself, but it's far less frightening than the Rightwings fetish with Ronald “Treason” Reagan.
Neocon,
I don't understand the JFK fetish myself, but it's far less frightening than the Rightwings fetish with Ronald “Treason” Reagan.
Neocon, both parties have an abysmal record period. And please don't single out Democrats when it comes the emotion appeal! Republicans are masters the emotional appeal as well.
I don't particularly like our two party system and third parties have HUGE barriers in order to just get on the debate stage. But we have what we have and so I just deal with it on that level. But overall Democrats and Republicans don't give a hoot about the common man or woman in the way we would like.
Neocon, both parties have an abysmal record period. And please don't single out Democrats when it comes the emotion appeal! Republicans are masters the emotional appeal as well.
I don't particularly like our two party system and third parties have HUGE barriers in order to just get on the debate stage. But we have what we have and so I just deal with it on that level. But overall Democrats and Republicans don't give a hoot about the common man or woman in the way we would like.
I think you just have to mention JFK as a Democratic party rite of passage. Same with the way Republicans mention Ronald Reagen.
I think you just have to mention JFK as a Democratic party rite of passage. Same with the way Republicans mention Ronald Reagen.
Sorry, Neocon, but you can't use the “Young and inexperienced” argument against Obama anymore. . . Not after McCain chose an even YOUNGER AND MORE INEXPERIENCED vice-presidential running mate.
Not only is Sarah Palin three years younger than Obama, but she's been in government for only half as much time as Obama and has absolutely ZERO foreign-policy experience.
Is this the kind of person that Americans want to be “a heartbeat away from the presidency” if the 72-year-old McCain doesn't make it to the 2012 election? I think not.
And McCain steal of the media spotlight from Obama with his pick of Palin is sure to be short-lived. . .By the time McCain delivers his acceptance speech at the GOP Convention, Hurricane Gustav will likely dominate the news — maybe even pre-empt McCain's speech on TV.
Sorry, Neocon, but you can't use the “Young and inexperienced” argument against Obama anymore. . . Not after McCain chose an even YOUNGER AND MORE INEXPERIENCED vice-presidential running mate.
Not only is Sarah Palin three years younger than Obama, but she's been in government for only half as much time as Obama and has absolutely ZERO foreign-policy experience.
Is this the kind of person that Americans want to be “a heartbeat away from the presidency” if the 72-year-old McCain doesn't make it to the 2012 election? I think not.
And McCain steal of the media spotlight from Obama with his pick of Palin is sure to be short-lived. . .By the time McCain delivers his acceptance speech at the GOP Convention, Hurricane Gustav will likely dominate the news — maybe even pre-empt McCain's speech on TV.