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Why Obama's rhetoric is Important
Aug. 30th, 2008 04:04 pmGoergia10 at Daily Kos writes ( quoting in full, because her three paragraphs stand as a whole and Barack doesn't mind his words getting more space )
Reaganism has not been dominant because it's a conservative country, nor just because we have a conservative media, nor because people are stupid. It's been dominant because Reagan successfully sold a very specific kind of hokum. And ever since, Democrats have never addressed that hokum on its own terms and debunked it. So, since those are the terms that it's adherents have come to think in, Democrats, even the immensely talented Bill Clinton, have not gotten 50% of the popular vote.
Paul Wellstone (who was more liberal than Obama) and Howard Dean (who is probably closer ideologically to Obama) did make some attempt to do what Obama is doing. But Wellstone died and Dean wasn't sharp enough to sustain a workable public persona in front of constant media scrutiny. And though both had some impact by presenting what we actually believe, neither tailored their message to an environment in which the other sides' lies about us are better known than who we actually are.
Despite his acumen and talent, Obama may lose. Put simply, he might lose because he's Black. It will be a close thing. But win or lose, he's showing Democrats and liberals how to present what we're about.
Reaganism has not been dominant because it's a conservative country, nor just because we have a conservative media, nor because people are stupid. It's been dominant because Reagan successfully sold a very specific kind of hokum. And ever since, Democrats have never addressed that hokum on its own terms and debunked it. So, since those are the terms that it's adherents have come to think in, Democrats, even the immensely talented Bill Clinton, have not gotten 50% of the popular vote.
Paul Wellstone (who was more liberal than Obama) and Howard Dean (who is probably closer ideologically to Obama) did make some attempt to do what Obama is doing. But Wellstone died and Dean wasn't sharp enough to sustain a workable public persona in front of constant media scrutiny. And though both had some impact by presenting what we actually believe, neither tailored their message to an environment in which the other sides' lies about us are better known than who we actually are.
Despite his acumen and talent, Obama may lose. Put simply, he might lose because he's Black. It will be a close thing. But win or lose, he's showing Democrats and liberals how to present what we're about.
