Obama... The Unity Speech etc.

I read Obama's "response to the criticism that his pastor was a racist nutcase" speech. The speech was a work of art. Yup - indeed it was. It's a huge hit on Youtube. I think the whole issue is going to be a problem for Obama. The Reverend's words were creepy. It's hard to make an excuse for them. Obama took a shot at it. I think he had most of the language in his pocket and ready - either just in case, or maybe some of it was slated to be used strategically.

I think everyone agrees that this fellow (Obama) is a gifted campaigner. We can argue with the substance of his plan or the lack of one, but his delivery is world-class. The notion that he doesn't go into much detail about how things will happen, isn't really the point. In politics, it's easy to have your plans picked apart and shredded - so ambiguity about the detail is not a bad thing for Obama and he clearly knows that. People groove on the fact that he might actually understand the problem - a logical prerequisite to creating a solution. It will also be important to here something other than a framing of the issue. He couldn't go all-the-way without it, could he?

He is so good at describing what hurts that nobody cares if he knows how to fix it. The truth is that solutions are complicated. Too complicated to fit well into the emotional ranting that he does so well. He clearly has that part down. Heads nod in agreement with everything he says. Whether he himself is the answer, or not - he might just get a chance based solely on the strength of his delivery skills.

So maybe he's not capable of being a good President. Maybe he's mostly full of shit like everyone else. The chances are pretty good that he is. I mean he seems to be quite the bullslinger. That feature doesn't help close the deal for me. It kind of rubs me the wrong way - you know what I mean. Maybe he has the world's greatest writers in his camp and all he is is a good actor. Maybe? And... while "the speech" didn't give solutions, it did do an outstanding job as a response to the "Your pastor is a nut" problem. It was delivered well and it was an awesome piece of writing on an important subject. It may rank up there as one of the best in history.

I think it's possible (likely) that the skills of a great campaigner and those of a great President, may not be the same. Then how do we choose?