Saturday, February 16, 2008

like hope, but different.

That title reminds of me of the slogan Hillary was trying out for a spell that was something like "change through experience". But enough about Hillary. Please. Last Tuesday, after Obama and McCain swept their respective 3 primaries, MSNBC played three speeches: Clinton, Obama, and McCain, in that order. They played part of the typically grating Clinton stump speech where she talked about her Texas roots (?), and then cut it off in favor of pundit analysis; then they played Obama's victory speech in its entirety, running over the beginning of McCain's victory speech; when he was done, they went over to the remainder of the McCain speech. Never has a contrast between 2 candidates been so vividly juxtaposed as it was in that transition. [the Obama vid is long but worth it]




Obama was like a rock star sending shivers through the stadium and the tv and internet tubes. Man, that guy can speak. Then they switched over to McCain reading off the teleprompter, sounding like the guy from the Werther's Originals commercials, like Wilford Brimley without the gravitas (and the oatmeal), and surrounded by the senior citizen brigade. I hate to be age-ist here, but c'mon, dude. Seriously? Was this set in a white nursing home in Virginia?






It was like stepping out of the sauna and into an ice bath. And the pundits couldn't pretend otherwise and marveled at the difference. Chris Matthews (and yes, I am somewhat ashamed that I was watching a show that was co-hosted by Chris Matthews) actually said that Obama's speech sent a "feeling up his leg". (I don't even have a joke for this one.) Anyways, I was still impressed by the impact of the contrast of the two speeches a couple days later, when I read a dailykos report on a Wall Street Journal writer's opposite reaction to the stark contrast of the two speeches. The WSJ writer, Dan Henninger, was moved by McCain's "upward, positive" message in opposition to the politics of Obama which "relentlessly pushes victimology". This man is detached from reality. Get help, Dan. We need you back here on planet Earth. For what, I have no idea, but I'm sure someone somewhere needs you not to be on Neptune.

Some other folks chose to highlight the contrast between Obama and McCain, by collecting musicians and actors to sing/speak in dramatic fashion along with their speeches. Here's Obama's version of hope:



and here's McCain's:



like hope, but different.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Be fair, Dan. Obama is better when speaking prepared remarks and a little shaky of the cuff sometimes, while McCain is weak with a written speech and strong off the cuff. And we all recognize the second video as a parody, right??

Gotta go-- the Obama sign on our front line needs straightening because of the recent wind...

Jeannetto said...

I hate that Obama video.

fuge said...

I prefer to compare him to the Wilford Brimley of the Diabetes commercials...Because he is the only person I know that pronounces Diabetes with an Sh or Zh sound at the end...Diabetesh.

fuge said...

By the way, I just love the look on the guys face when he says...There will be other wars...Classic.

Dan Nolan said...

marshall - I think I'm being fair. I'll take Obama's speaking ability over McCain's in any situation (and I'll take his foreign policy too). I just thought the second two videos were amusing; I wasn't holding them up as scientific proof of the difference between the two. The difference is clear enough in the first two videos.

WI and HI last night. Looking good for Obamarama.

Anonymous said...

Dan,


Do you think Obama is going to be a hawk or a dove, some of his comments with regard to Pakistan are a little hawkish,
"If we have actionable intelligence about high-valued terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will.”

Do you think thats just him blowing smoke or do you think bombing a another soveriegn nation is the "time for change" platform that the american people are signing up for, I hope he is blowing smoke!

Joel

Dan Nolan said...

Well, in my humble opinion, it would be impossible for anyone to get elected by the American public on a truly (or even remotely) dovish platform, so it's a requirement to establish one's hawk credibility. I think he's probably talking about Bill Clinton style strategic strikes (ala Afghanistan missile strikes) rather than a war scale attack. I'm not excusing that type of policy, but there is a distinction there. I'll take it over McCain's 1000 year war.

Great Champion's League game on ESPN2 right now - Arsenal v AC Milan. Unbelievable amount of international talent on the pitch right now.

Anonymous said...

I am a big Clarence Seedorf fan so I have to root for AC but Philippe Senderos is no slouch either,should make for a pretty special match up.

Go AC Milan!!!

Joel

Dan Nolan said...

Senderos didn't get the start but came on early after a Toure injury. The Gunners look the more dangerous side with Adebayor, Fabregas, Hleb, Eboue, and Eduardo spearheading the attack, but Milan is defending well. Pirlo, Gattuso, et al are tough. Not much noise from Kaka and Pato, the Brazilian du Jour and his heir apparent. I think both are coming back from injuries. Might be time to bring in Pipi Inzaghi.

Dan Nolan said...

What a match. Adebayor off the woodwork 4 minutes into injury time. That one will haunt his dreams tonight.

fuge said...

DAMN YOU WOODWORK!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!!!

Dan Nolan said...

Yeah, that was tough.