The Olympics held in Beijing, China just concluded on Sunday, August 24th, and by all accounts it appears to have been a great success. Following that Larger-Than-Life spectacle is another ‘OLYMPICS;’ but instead of athletes competing against one another, it will be political speeches competing for the hearts of voters. Michelle Obama will be the featured speaker on Monday, August 25, 2008, the first night of the Democratic National Convention amid the theme of “One Nation.” This is quite an ironic starting topic because earlier in the presidential campaign Michelle Obama created a little controversy when she was quoted as saying, “I have never be more proud of my country until now;” and not only that, but it seems that the Democratic Party itself might still be fractured because of Hillary Clinton’s army of 18 million strong disaffected supporters, those Angry White Female Voters who feel that she was mistreated during the Presidential debates.
Besides all that and the expected contention at the Convention, Barack Obama’s moment will come Thursday, when he will have to score a Perfect ‘10’ by giving the best performance of his political career. This will be a gold medal moment and there aren’t any silver or bronze medals. All preliminaries are over and this is the final event to introduce himself to the American people. It isn’t about making another eloquent speech because we have already heard one after the other. This opportunity is for all the marbles and has to be more than just another appearance before the cameras like a movie star celebrity or in front of a microphone like a Rock Star. Barack Obama has to do like Hillary Clinton did in one of the earlier Primaries, and that is, to find his [inner] voice. Barack has to show emotion, depth, passion, and conviction and present it with powerful words that will touch the heart, mind, and soul of even his most skeptical cynics and detractors.
Barack has to deliver one of those speeches that when you hear it, the words send shivers up one’s spine. Barack has to mesmerize the delegates, invited Convention guests, the National and International print and broadcast media, internet bloggers, the American electorate and International audiences; just like the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics did for all the athletes, the Chinese people and the rest of the world who watched. It is not enough just to blame everything on the Republicans or to say that he isn’t George Bush or John McCain because we have already heard that before. Barack must connect with the voter, the average struggling blue-collar [predominantly ‘White’] American whom earlier he cynically said was bitter, and clung to religion, guns, etc.
Not only must Barack Obama talk about “CHANGE,” but he must represent the living embodiment of that change and use the podium as a bully pulpit to talk about the American values that once made this country great and the envy of the world. It is an enormous challenge and since Barack has raised the bar so high perhaps even he cannot meet the expectation. Barack’s political Ads always mention ‘CHANGE’ that we can believe in, but is he a “LEADER” that we can believe in? This is Barack’s glorious moment in history and will he become an Olympic champion and win the gold medal or will he stumble before he crosses the finish line.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 25, 2008
pbks@hotmail.com
