Barack Obama Dominated the Medium and the Message

Wednesday night was a turning point in American politics: for the first time since the 24-hour media cycle sensationalized the race for the White House, a candidate for president cut through the clutter and reclaimed his -- and our -- national purpose. We have seen this medium and message domination before by two great communicators -- John Kennedy commanded TV's imagery with his debate performance in 1960 and Ronald Reagan commanded TV's advertising with his "Morning in America" montages in 1984. Wednesday night, for 30 minutes, Barack Obama commanded TV's 24-hour news cycle, transcending soundbites to deliver what he promised 20 months ago: a substantive campaign offering hope and change to we the people.

For Americans craving values-based leadership with humanity and humility, Barack Obama delivered. He cut through the clutter of sensationalist headlines and connected directly with the American people. He told his own story in his own words -- but spent more time telling an American story about the challenges all of us are facing. Now most politicians would not be able to resist talking about themselves for 30 minutes; others would be tempted to demonize the opposition; still others might place blame for intractable problems. Obama resisted each of these: he told his story in the context of the larger American story; presented his family as part of the larger American family; spent zero time on McCain-Palin's shortcomings; and pledged to listen to everyone while trying to solve problems. He treated us like grown-ups, not consumers, with substantive ideas and -- yes -- hope that we can work together for the common good.

As a result, Barack Obama looked more human and presidential -- which is the ultimate test of any campaign ad. Rather than bemoan the ad out of jealousy or pique, Team McCain should ditch their incessant terrorist plumber ads and spend that money on a more inspiring presentation -- such as the GOP convention video -- that will show us who McCain is, not what he thinks he needs to do to win. Till then, once again, Barack Obama dominated the medium and the message.

Help him finish the job at www.barackobama.com

Comments

[vigilantwarrior]

It is true that Americans are "craving values-based leadership with humanity and humility", that is why so many cannot understand why Nancy Pelosi refused to use her position to stop atrocities like this:

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/confess/

[M1]

Great article.....Obama and his team are brilliant.

[gladiatorpodolsky]

We're just electing another dictator. We've got an imperial presidency now, thanks to the Bush gang. Hopefully this one will be better. But Obama voted to fund Iraq, for warrantless surveillance, and to bail out the real estate gamblers. He's a big phoney getting by on personality. Congratulations, America.

[pegbo]

And mcfailin is any better? I would say much worse.

[gladiatorpodolsky]

Oh yeah. You've got me there. Let's discuss this again when Obama suspends the rest of our civil liberties and sends storm troopers into the halls of congress.

[gaja]

Do yourself a favor, and actually LISTEN next time to what politicians SAY instead of what a bunch of hate-mongering pundits try to scream at you... Obama beat Hillary mainly because he DID NOT vote to fund the Iraq war and received a lot of heat because he was outspoken against it. (Even McCain will not disagree on THAT point.) He also worked for years as a constitutional lawyer. Listen to his discussion with Brian Williams. He openly discusses his views on Supreme Court justices and easily shows his KNOWLEDGE of the Constitution - which is a LOT more than we can say for McCain OR PALIN, who DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE VICE PRESIDENT'S JOB IS!!

The ONLY person who talked about how great it would be to run this country like a dictatorship is McCain! And Palin constantly talks about "changin' things around, and gettin' in there and changin' policy that the Senate comes up with..." NOT in the Constitution... Sorry!

There's a good reason why lots of INTELLIGENT people are backing Obama... Think about it...

[UrbanRube]

Personality, extreme intelligence, a history of personal excellence (see scholarships and Harvard Review editorship), a positive campaign focused on ideas, character, gifted advisors, the ability to inspire and motivate supporters.... He's getting by on a few things like that.

[gladiatorpodolsky]

You still haven't explained why he voted for warrantless surveillance. Instead you cite a lot of vague stuff, but nothing on his track record as a senator.

[DANISMOM]

i believe obama will get unnecessary programs eliminated. i see in him the intelligence and wisdom we americans deserve in a leader. government is a necessary tool for a society to function. our government has never been so large until the last 8 years. that's what you get when you have an adminstration that's worried about what's happening in everyone's bedroom. i've never felt so empowered in an election. i've been canvassing, phone banking, things i thought i'd never do. i want my country back. go obama!!!!!!!!!

[PNOGUY]

What? A tired infomercial is some sort of major "turning point" for our country? All it signifies is that BO broke his promise and decided to spent millions more on the campaign than his adversary. How many more promises will he break?

The reason he doesn't need to "go negative" is that the media is doing that job for him. He can keep his nose in the air and pose for holy pictures while NBC and the rest dig up the dirt. Have you seen the figures evaluating what percentage of stories in the media have been negative about the candidates? The major networks are overwhelmingly negative about McCain. There has been no semblance of fairness in the media, thus saving BO from having to dirty his hands.

[jorydozier]

Maybe the conclusion you could make from your gripe about the media coverage is if you run a negative campaign the coverage will be negative. Run a positive message and campaign and your coverage will trend positive. Positive things happen to positive people.

[PNOGUY]

OH geez, now you're conducting a New Age campaign. Think positive and good things happen! Norman Vincent Peale would be your ideal candidate. People are positive about Obama because they can believe anything about him and get a warm fuzzy feeling. There is no evidence that he can do any of the things he promised. World leaders will laugh him off the stage, when they're not taking advantage of his wide-eyed naivite.

[dkerrice2861]

Maybe if Johnny boy had some good things to say, he would get some good media attention! He draws attention to his own downfalls!

[pegbo]

Lets not go there. There is a lot of not so pretty things about McCain that has not been covered much by the media. Obama has been vetted by the media for 2 years and a lot of it has been negative but I think if the same vetting was done to McCain this race would not be close.

[Plank]

Obama strikes me as someone who truely cares about the difficulties we face. He has a natural way to connect with people. He has a big heart and an impressive intelligence.

[Photofarm]

You would be wrong, the national media for whatever reason decided back last November or December to annoint Obama their favorite. They have yet to ask tough questions. Just ask the Hillary supporters how bad the press wants Obama in the White House.

[dutchgirl55]

--or, there is just nothing there but good to report about.

[Photofarm]

That is wrong, there are plenty of tough questions and questionable alliances of Obama. In fact, Democrats would be calling for a Republican to be in jail with the same alliances as Obama.

[steve-in-abq]

Hope and Change and the Common Good. Oh, isn't that nice. We should all hope for change and change how I look at hope. And we should all definitely dedicate our lives to the common good. Hard work, careful planning and self-interest are archaic ideas. Those that have made their way to a descent level in society should gladly hand in their fortunes for the common good. And those that have good healthcare though their employers should pay for the healthcare of others, because, it is a right, you know.

[tonycoyle]

and people who are poor through circumstances beyond their control should simply learn their place. Isn't that how the rest of your story goes?

There is no place in a first world country for any significant portion of the population to be below the poverty line, for malnutrition, for endemic health issues left untreated, for infant mortality to be higher than some third world countries.

There is no place in a first world country to simply step back from global problems and hope the go away.

There is no place in a first world country for followers. We must all lead, and lead for the better of all, not just for our own selfish ends.

[foxbat]

Obama has run a masterful campaign. McCain tried to win the battles and win the news cycles on a day-to-day basis early in the campaign with really frivolous stuff. Obama took the minor slings and arrows and let the cycle die at the end of a one-day or two-day run. In contrast, when Obama won the cycles, he did it with meaningful issues that stuck for a minimum of a two-day cycle. Because McCain had little early on and believed he was "winning" the early cycles, which really don't matter than much, he tried further reaches just to win unimportant days. By the time he needed something, he'd gone to deep in the well. He then had to swing wildly just to get a minor buzz; however, those swings hurt him severely. Now that we are at the end, McCain the Maverick has fired all of his bullets and thrown his pistols too.

In the meantime, Obama's worked the news cycles, when they count, brilliantly. He didn't play all of trump cards early, and he did a great job of getting McCain to waste his and many times make Palin trump McCain or vice versa. For the final five days, Obama's holding the ace, king, queen, jack, and eight of trump. He may give up one trick at the end, but it's highly unlikely to make a true winner on the news cycle for McCain.

[eightisenough08]

I can't agree more. I am impressed with Obama's tone, especially when he refused to say anything negative about Sarah Palin (is there anything positive to say about her?) in the last debate. Nevertheless, some of the rest of us mortals cannot avoid the temptation to draw analogies between McCain & Bush, as well as between Palin & Cheney (see George Will's damaging article for McCain/Palin in the WSJ).
Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRQwPHxM9mM

[adechert]

Obama is taking the high road, and doing well with it. For the first time, I will be voting for a great candidate, rather than voting for the least bad.

[Milash]

I was thinking the very same thing. This is the first election in a long time where I don't feel like I'm voting for the lesser of two evils.

[steve-in-abq]

You're not voting for the lesser of two evil, but rather the greater of two evils. The government should not be nearly as large and powerful as it is. Since the republicans have jumped on the "let's see how we much we can spend and how much we can interfere with the lives of those 'we the people' " band wagon, our suffering has increased. There is a chance that McCain and Palin would reduce the size of the government. Obama and biden, not a chance.

[NeoLiberal]

hear hear

[PNOGUY]

High road? As I've posted before, he only gives this impression because his lackeys in the "unbiased" media do all the dirty work for him. Never before has there been an election where most media outlets are deliberately campaigning for one candidate, choosing to ignore his poor record and bad choice of advisors, while spending their time criticizing his opponent's wardrobe budget and the tax returns of a plumber who dared to question the Anointed One.

[BruceHNV]

He gives the impression of having taken the high road, because he did.

Your opinion of "poor record" and "bad choice of advisors" is your (unfounded) opinion only, and therefore it's no surprise the media has not adopted your choice of negative value judgments as to these matters. This makes YOU biased, and THEM? No so much.

What is a bit more astonishing is the truckloads of dirt on McCain that the Obama campaign chose not to back up and dump into the public discussion - and that in spite of this, in spite of the conventional wisdom that it's NEGATIVE campaigning (such as McCain is practicing) that wins, Obama leads anyway. Perhaps the conventional wisdom need updated - at least for times of economic disaster.

[ShamusDaedal]

Right on! Just as Art Buchwald said of Barry Goldwater so long ago: Goldwater is right. The press has been unfair. They've QUOTED him!

The liberal press is QUOTING McMain.