Hearing Obama's Call--Hillary vs. Obama on Rhetoric

[TwilightGardener]

For those who cling to the meme that Obama's speeches are pretty but empty, I'd like to offer my own husband as an example of why Obama's rhetoric is finding a large and enthusiastic audience.

My hubby is a former Repub, now an Indie. He shied away the Democratic Party, not for its actual policies, but because of the rhetoric of the Dem Presidential candidates of years past. He HATED the "Laundry List" of gimmes: I'm going to give you child care! I'm going to give you health care! I'm going to give you maternity leave! I'm going to give you college tuition breaks! I'm going to give you a raise! That's what will transform America and make it great--greatness through taking care of your every personal need! Etc., etc. While all of those things may or may not be things that he wanted, he disliked that appeal, because it didn't speak to his idea of what made America great. He felt it spoke to our WORSE, more selfish natures, not our better natures--classic Republican thought which I happen to share, even though I've always been a Dem. He believes it's the OPPOSITE of "Ask not what your country can do for you..." that our last truly great Democratic President espoused. My husband has found more inspiration in the speech of Republicans over the years, sadly: the overarching principles of what makes us great, what can make us even better as a nation. He wanted a "big picture" leader, not a Santa Claus or a pander bear, even though he dislikes many Republican policies, especially the neocon foreign policy and the trickle-down economics.

He has found what he's looking for, finally, in the Democratic Party with Obama. He loves Obama's pragmatic problem-solving approach, his unifying and non-ideologic message, his vision of a country in which we can restore our greatness on the world stage, and his use of the Constitution and American history to show us what were, are, and can be. Obama does this while still promising the "gimmes" that we need--not by going "micro" and focusing on the promised goodies themselves (which is all my husband hears from Hillary) but by going "macro"--the plan to change the TONE and ATTITUDE of Washington to finally make it serve the people, while at the same time reminding Americans of the need for us to do OUR part to make these changes happen, to be responsible citizens. My husband is a career military guy, and believes very deeply in service and sacrifice and patriotism, and he hears those features in Obama's speeches--it's a message that has a chance to reach those of a Republican mind-set, even though Obama has an ultimately progressive agenda.

Perhaps that's why many on this forum keep saying Obama's speeches and debate performances are "empty"--they're not, he makes plenty of classic Democratic promises and gives plenty of concrete examples of what he wants to do, despite the "all style no substance" myth perpetrated here. But a good number of Dems resist anything but a nuts-and-bolts, agenda-driven, box-checking policy wonk message. They seek the "Bill Clinton" model, a candidate with a roster of targeted promises to the various interest groups that make up our party, combined with enough political cunning and muscle to try to ram this agenda past a hostile opposition. This approach delivered mixed results in the 90's, and seems tired to this lifelong Democrat, and doesn't resonate with non-Democrats like my husband. That's why we hear Obama's call.