Obama Announcement Speech: Smart, Authentic, Digital

A TV pundit over the weekend uttered an absolute political Truth: an anti-Iraq War stance is to Democrats in 2008 what the abortion issue was to Republicans in 2004. That is, essential to win their party's nomination for the presidency.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has yet to grasp this corollary, and she suffered mightily over the weekend for her prideful political blindness.

In contrast, Sen. Barack Obama comprehends this immutable fact. His impressive announcement speech on Saturday voiced a clear stance to the cheers of an astounding 15,000 supporters:

"Most of you know I opposed this war from the start. I thought it was a tragic mistake.

Today we grieve for the families who have lost loved ones, the hearts that have been broken, and the young lives that could have been.

America, it's time to start bringing our troops home. It's time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else's civil war. "

Read here for the text of Obama's 2002 Speech Opposing the Iraq War.

Parsing Obama's Speech
After poring over Sen. Barack Obama's 2008 Run Announcement Speech, I find it to be smart and unsentimental, yet obviously authentic.

Obama's words held no ring of falseness. He was not mouthing words merely because they poll-test favorably. He's espousing stances because he actually means it... which is a wildly refreshing change from the last six years under the Bush/Cheney administration.

But the most pervasive theme, and striking element, of 45-year-old Obama's announcement speech was his call to be the generation that "transforms this nation... Let us be the generation that reshapes out economy to compete in the digital age."

And by inference, to leave behind baby-boomer-style partisan politics that tore apart college campuses almost 40 years ago, and that are tearing apart the U.S. today. (George Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton are baby-boomers. Sen. Obama is 14 years younger than Sen. Clinton.)

Unlike a handful of his past, platitude-laden speeches, Sen. Obama wisely laid out specifics, including:

* Recruit more teachers, offer better teacher pay
* High standards for schools, more school accountability
* Make college more affordable
* Invest in scientific research
* Bridge the digital divide via broadband access in rural areas and inner cities
* Adequate health care for all
* Use technology to cut health-care bureaucracy
* End poverty via job training, job opportunities and fair, living wages
* Spur production of fuel-efficient cars
* Harness U.S.-grown alternative fuels

Appealing to the Under-45 Generations
I'm a classic baby boomer. I have two adult children born in the Gen-X generation, and their (and their spouses') political philosophies range from moderate Republican to Independent.

They're unanimously disgusted by the present polarized state of partisan politics. They're also repelled by the religious right fundamentalism controlling the Republican Party. (My non-political son asked me if the religious right is a cult... ) And yet, they equally detest the welfare-state, everyone's-a-victim mentality of 20th century Democratic policies.

Here's what startles me: I just got off the phone with my daughter. To my unreserved surprise, Barack Obama has captured her imagination and that of her husband... two Gen-Xers who've rarely, if ever, before voted for a Democrat. They watched his speech on Saturday, and were entranced. Obama spoke their language, and he spoke to their concerns.

And here's the eeriest part to me: when he delivered his mature, measured speech, Barack Obama sounded like an adult. He sounded like the first fully-formed adult I've heard on the political scene in... well, since 1992. And it felt like a huge relief.

Which is strange since he's the youngest person to be a serious presidential contender since John F. Kennedy.

Oh, and did you notice? Never once in his announcement speech did Obama mention the words Democrat or Republican. Not even once.

Be sure to read Barack Obama's Brilliant Speech Announcing 2008 Run for the White House.

Recommended Reading
Barack Obama in 2008 Race - Info Center Hub
New York Times, Feb 12, 2007: For Clinton and Obama, Different Tests on Iraq