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Early on in the primary season, Obama took some flack over his oratory skills--as if the ability to communicate, encourage, and inspire was somehow an obstacle!
We all heard how polished Obama was, how much of a slick communicator he was, and how his speeches were high in feel-good emotionalism, but ultimately devoid of substance. Initially, it seems that Obama was being set up by his detractors as an empty suit.
Compare that to the current views expressed by Clinton and McSame. Listen to those two, and you may walk away with the impression that Obama can't say ANYTHING correctly, and that every other word out of the man's mouth is a misstep, an error, and evidence of his unelectability.
So consider the options...is Obama a gifted speech-maker, or a clumsy, but good-hearted, fool? Will the real Barack Obama please stand up?
I don't know for certain the answer to that question, because I don't personally know the man, and I'm not claiming some astute gift of insight. But I don't believe that Obama is making communication gaffes at all. I propose that Obama is in the process of rewriting his image, and is methodically casting himself as a regular joe.
What's my evidence? Honestly, it's all circumstantial. I admit it. Starting with a disbelief that the same man who was once hailed as a master speech-maker, who earned degrees from Columbia and from Harvard (graduating magna cum laude, to boot), who has written three books, taught and lectured at the University level, and who has held office for years at both the state and national level, would make what have been hailed as "rookie" styled errors. I don't buy it. It's out of character.
But more important than my disbelief, is that FACT that all of Obama's so called gaffes have opened doors of opportunity for him, allowing him to discuss big-picture issues that play to his strengths, and against his opponent's weaknesses.
What kind of a candidate consistently makes "errors" that benefit him so well? What kind of a candidate actually improves his standing every time he gives his opposition another odd-statement, to seemingly use against him like a club?
A damn canny one, I say. And when all is said and done, the last thing that the voters will remember about Barack Obama is that he's a likable, smart guy who gets the issues right, and who cares about "we the people", but who sometimes harmlessly puts his foot in his own mouth.
That quite a bit of a different Obama than the too-slick and too-polished word-smith we once thought we knew.
So you answer the question, from your heart, and from your head. Does Barack Obama "misspeak" or does he say exactly what he means to say, even when he's apologizing for another gaffe, and simultaneously watching his poll numbers climb?
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