Way More Than Just Words

In his brief political career, Barack Obama has gained renown as possibly the greatest and most eloquent political orator of his generation -- a master of metaphor, a repository of rhetorical flourishes and a spellbinding speaker. But last night in Denver, Mr. Obama showed the political world another side to his speech-making skills: that he can do more than campaign in verse, he can campaign in prose as well.

Contrary to expectations, Mr. Obama did not deliver the greatest piece of oratory in American history. He did, however, deliver a political speech that ranks among the most effective ever given. It was as close to perfection as a campaign speech has ever gotten in American history.

Last night he did everything he needed to do in his acceptance speech -- and he did it well.

Frame the 2008 election as fundamentally a question of change versus more of the same: check.

Outline in vivid detail the failures of the Bush Administration and the Republican Party and link them directly to John McCain: check.

Portray the Democratic Party as the party of ideas and the party of optimism: check.

Humanize Barack Obama and make his message of change seem both accessible and comfortable: check.

Lay out a specific set of detailed policy proposals on health care, the economy and energy independence: check.

Ground the Democrat’s message of change in basic American values like opportunity, equality and responsibility: check.

Offer voters a hopeful and optimistic message of national unity that promises a brighter American future: double check.

For those who wanted a healthy dose of red meat from Mr. Obama they were not disappointed. For those who wanted to get a sense of how Democrats intend to govern if they win the presidency, they heard policy proposal after policy proposal. For those who wanted to be uplifted and energized by a unifying message of political change, Mr. Obama finished on precisely that high note. It’s difficult to tell what is more shocking about his speech; the broad ambition of his narrative or the singular effectiveness of its approach.

Mr. Obama’s abilities as a speechwriter were on full display. At various points he wrapped these different messages into a singular and compelling narrative. Take for example the following paragraph:

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land: Enough! This moment -- this election -- is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: Eight is enough.

And other points, Mr. Obama chose the path of simplicity arguing, for example that the United States is “better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.” It’s not hard to imagine millions of heads around the nation nodding in agreement at these words.

But whatever the rhetorical device that Mr. Obama and his speechwriters utilized, the message was always the same: the G.O.P has failed America; it has failed to catalyze the national promise that is so inherent a part of the American Dream -- and Democrats can do better.

One can only imagine the sinking feeling in McCain campaign headquarters on Thursday night. How exactly does one respond to such a performance? In a sense, Mr. Obama set a trap for his political opponents. For the last several weeks, Mr. McCain’s campaign has focused on negative attacks -- from Mr. Obama’s celebrity status to his supposed inexperience. On Thursday, Mr. Obama summed up this approach, “America, now is not the time for small plans” and “If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make big elections about small things.” These words put enormous pressure on the Republicans to offer a more positive message for the fall campaign; a difficult pivot for a campaign that has gone so negative on its opponent.

Mr. Obama’s speech cut the ground out from under the G.O.P. and if Republicans insist on attacking Mr. Obama in Minnepolis/St. Paul next week they run the very real risk of being seen as not only out of touch but also uninterested and unenthused in tackling the litany of national challenges that Mr. Obama laid out.

Mr. Obama’s opponents, both Democrats and Republicans have criticized his speeches for being “just words.” While this criticism was always slightly off base, last night Mr. Obama showed the electorate that he can do more than simply deliver inspiring rhetoric; he can also put meat on the bone and craft hard-hitting political speeches that lay out in compelling detail a governing philosophy and vision. This was a speech on par with both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt , John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and most of all Bill Clinton. Whatever one may think of Mr. Obama’s politics, in Denver he demonstrated, once again, that he is a unique and extraordinary political talent.