In contrast, Obama has the potential to unite the country around him and, by implication, around the Democratic agenda. That’s an enormously appealing idea, and one that Clinton can’t possibly hope to imitate. It must be the underlying premise of Obama’s campaign. Which brings us to suggestion number three:
Hire a good speechwriter
Obama is good with words — as anyone who’s read his book or heard his 2004 keynote address knows. But in the middle of a campaign, you can’t write your own stuff. What’s missing from his repertoire is a clear articulation of his intentions — something on par with JFK’s “It’s time to get this country moving again.” Without this, Obama has tried to establish credentials through detailed policy prescriptions, which bore voters and leave him open to attacks.
Obama needs to soar above his opponents. So far, he’s been selling himself, “the candidate.” But elections are about the country more than candidates. In times of change and stress, voters need leaders who can help them confront the future — mobilizing support by making voters feel as if they’re part of a great historic movement. Successful candidates convey the sense that, win or lose, their cause stands for something larger than the individual and will ultimately prevail.
That was the secret of Ronald Reagan’s rhetoric — and Winston Churchill’s and Abraham Lincoln’s. And it’s something that Clinton never can impart because her candidacy is inevitably about a nostalgic restoration of the Clinton years, and, in the end, that’s small stuff. Obama, the most eloquent speaker in the field, has his youth and his race behind his message, and can capitalize on the idea of change and progress. His relative inexperience, then, becomes an asset, not a weakness.
Like many of our best leaders, Obama put himself on the political map by delivering a wonderful speech. He must know that even in the Internet age, what defines leadership is the ability to mobilize a nation through effective rhetoric. It’s time for him to put his money where his mouth is.
RACING NOTES
Huckabee is on the move, with rising poll numbers in the early states and a union endorsement. With Thompson finally in the race, Gingrich’s odds decrease.
THE FIELD
REPUBLICANS
RUDY GIULIANI
Odds: 5-3| past week: same
MITT ROMNEY
Odds: 3-1 | same
FRED THOMPSON
Odds: 7-1 | same
NEWT GINGRICH
Odds: 7-1 | 5-1
JOHN MCCAIN
Odds: 12-1 | same
MIKE HUCKABEE
Odds: 25-1 | 40-1
SAM BROWNBACK
Odds: 500-1 | same
TOM TANCREDO
Odds: 150,000-1| same
DUNCAN HUNTER
Odds: 200,000-1 | same
RON PAUL
Odds: 200,000-1 |same
DEMOCRATS
BARACK OBAMA
Odds: 5-4 | past week: same
HILLARY CLINTON
Odds: 4-3 | same
JOHN EDWARDS
Odds: 8-1 | same
BILL RICHARDSON
Odds: 65-1 | same
JOE BIDEN
Odds: 75-1 | same
CHRIS DODD
Odds: 250-1 | same
DENNIS KUCINICH
Odds: 100,000-1 | same
MIKE GRAVEL
Odds: 8 million to 1 | same
