Obama's speech

So far as I can tell, Obama blew McCain out of the water on his overseas trip. McCain was rowing while Obama was in a speed boat.

My reaction to Obama's speech in Berlin follows. The motto for this blog should be, "Only five news cycles behind!"

First he said "citizens of the world," a silly notion. I would have stayed away from that one. But perhaps that's why I'm not working for the campaign. It makes him look presidential, right? So what if it's silly. I'm worried about the whole aloof thing though--Obama cares more about strutting his stuff abroad to fawning foreigners than the economic troubles we face at home. Obama had better not get too far deep into this rut, and come back and mingle with the masses pronto. McCain's doing these town halls in Smallville USA. But those pictures of him golfing with Bush 41 were terrible. You don't look like you care about Joe Sixpack in a golf cart with a blue-blood former president who didn't get reelected because he was aloof.

However, he did look presidential. And he talked about all the dangers in the world. "We cannot afford to be divided." This resonates with the US audience. A president has to be somewhat aloof. And Obama's problem is that people hesitate to see him as president. So he can use his weakness as a strength, by appearing presidential. The only problem would come if there's a backlash and people want to stick it to him. People wanted to stick it to Bush 41 and John Kerry. But they have to be given a credible alternative. And McCain is part of a discredited administration, whether he likes it or not. That is to say, you can't rely on a fit of spite to win an election, since people would much rather be voting for something. If they are just voting against something, they'll stay home in higher percentages. You have to give them a reason to pull the lever for you. This is McCain's task; it's a tough one.

Obama has history going for him. The whole "hope" motif was interwoven in his address; he referred to the "lessons of history." Whites want to believe that race relations are getting better, and Obama offers tangible proof of that. A black president shows progress. McCain doesn't have anything like this. But I can bash McCain all I want to, but this is eerily familiar to last summer when I was interring McCain prematurely. When Obama slips up, it's a whole new ballgame.

It was interesting that Obama said "I know my country has not perfected itself." More awkward than just saying "My country's not perfect." Yet it fits so well into American exceptionalism!