Is it just me? Or has Obama begun to morph into his former self on the campaign trail within the last week—you know, the constitutional law professor? Where is Obama the preacher/politician? That Obama is much more interesting and invigorating. Professors bode well in academia, but politicians bode better in the public square.
I was one of the lucky ones. I got to see Obama deliver a rousing speech before an enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 in an Ohio arena. Yet after witnessing much of Obama’s stump speech before voters in Jackson, Mississippi on March 10, 2008—I couldn’t help but think that the Mississippi voters might have felt a little cheated.
After all, it appears they missed out on the grandiose, Obama-mania like fanfare field with the lively, uproarious, pop-concert-like-crowds, and rousing speeches for which Obama has become so famous. The speaker that evening: Professor Obama—discussing his policy agenda—as well as his contempt for Senator Clinton’s audacity to extend VP privileges to him when he’s the one in the lead.
In Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania on March 11th, Obama held a quasi town hall meeting with workers inside a plant. Certainly not everyone in the audience was an Obama supporter. Hence, there were no signs or clamorous applause. But so that no one can allege that Obama can’t answer the tough questions, he answered in fairly lengthy detail, each question asked.
I know the effort to increase the number of smaller venues and “town hall” settings are in direct response to the accusations that Obama is all “talk” and no solutions, but Obama must find the fine line between giving people the inspiration they crave, and the information they need.
How did he do in the town hall setting? Well, I thought he did well—considering the audience wasn’t full of his typical fawning fans. The Pennsylvania crowd was more of a skeptical audience-jury that was waiting for the charismatic lawyer (Obama) to convince them that he is their guy. I believe that if they were going to be swayed, it was going to be by the preponderance of evidence presented.
The workers at this plant definitely weren’t the young, idealistic, touchy-feely, warm and fuzzy types you find at many Obama rallies. The individuals at this plant represented the hard-working, meat and potatoes, bread and butter Americans. The questions they asked weren’t the theoretical, ideological, global agenda-type questions. These folks wanted to know how are you going to help the single working mom who has an autistic child for whom she has to pay out of pocket for services, and who at the same time is also taking care of her mother; or the Mexican American who asks, “What will you do for Mexican people?” Or the woman who needs help sending her two children through college.
Obama needed to show that he could respond to such questions—and he did. However, I think Obama could stand a few pointers if he’s going to continue engaging in the town hall type of event in his six-week camp-out in Pennsylvania. Here’s my two cents:
- Make it uniquely your own. You give great speeches—so give one. Get folks excited about you and your message.
- Smile more. I know you’re tired, but you gotta keep your energy up and continue to put on the charm. Look the voter in the eye and make your first response to every question one of the following: “Great question,” “That’s a good question,” “Great point,” “Thank you for asking that question,” “I appreciate you asking that,” etc. You get the point. It’s important to immediately make that connection with the voter, affirm the individual asking the question, and make him or her feel good—realizing it took real guts for them to ask the question, especially if they revealed something personal. Pause for a second as to ponder the question. Then proceed to answer the question.
- Be concise.
- Be more conversational. Don’t morph into Obama the professor. Keep your answers upbeat in tone.
- Always remember to maintain the demeanor of Obama the visionary leader. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, voters are looking for a leader they can believe in and a leader who inspires them to believe the best in themselves and others.
Obama is demonstrating that he can give voters what they want and need—whether it’s inspiration or information. But I guess it’s to be expected: visionary talk is just a lot more exciting than policy talk. Voters want to hear visionary talk and see practical results. It’s only the stuff in the middle voters aren’t all that interested in.
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