Found Poems On The Campaign Trail

The Democratic Primary, at times, seems to center around Barack Obama's preternatural rhetorical ability and Hillary Clinton's attempts to overcome it. Obama is Walt Whitman on the stump. His crowds ooh and aah even as he ticks off requisite thank yous to local politicians. You get the sense people would line up to hear him read his phone bill--and would make signs. Credit Obama's speechwriters, in part, for this. They write strong cadences into his text. Look at an excerpt from his victory speech in Iowa. The rhythms roll forward so forcefully that it almost stands as a poem:

...That is what we started here in Iowa,

and that is the message we can now carry

to New Hampshire and beyond;

the same message we had when we were up

and when we were down;

the one that can change this country

brick by brick, block by block,

calloused hand by calloused hand -

that together,

ordinary people can do extraordinary things;

because we are not a collection

of Red States and Blue States,

we are the United States of America...

It's no wonder a class called "The Poetry of Barack Obama" is now in session in the Doonesbury comic strip.

Hillary Clinton, while a solid speech giver, comes across as uninspiring and unpoetic in comparison. I imagine this must be incredibly frustrating for her. Last Sunday in Providence, Rhode Island, it seemed she finally cracked a bit, raising her voice and then her arms in a dramatic impression of Obama:

"Let's just get everybody together.

Let's get unified.

The sky will open,

the light will come down,

celestial choirs will be singing,

and everyone will know we should do the right thing,

and the world will be perfect."

Watch the performance here:

I'm guessing the campaign prepared this, which I find a little sad. Of course, she's not trying to inspire here; she's trying to mock her opponent. But the lines aren't funny. They aren't scathing. They're just dull. They make me itch for my next Obama fix. Unfortunately for Hillary, her campaign did a far better job of mocking her, albeit accidentally, with the YouTube smash, Hillary4U&Me (choice of hip spellings theirs). Cue the trumpets and the dancers!

Hillary for you and me!

Bring back our democracy!

In this country, proud and free,

Let's stand up for Hillary.

Fighting in the war,

but we don't know what we're fighting for.

It's clear we're testing minds

But we're leaving our children all behind.

The world is getting hot,

but our global warming plan is not.

Our goals are out of range,

so whoo-hoo it's time for a change!

(spirited horn section jam session)

Now Hillary will fight

for what we all know is right.

Experience is great.

Instead of war we can negotiate.

Education health and world affairs

Hillary is the one who cares

this lady knows how to lead

In this president's race she will succeed.

Hillary for you and me!

Bring back our democracy!

Oh from sea to shining sea!

Everyone for Hillary!

Oy. If you're questioning all my exclamation points, you need to watch the video. It really does call for them. In fairness to Hillary's campaign, I could see Hillary4U&Me working on seniors. The problem is seniors aren't on YouTube. This clip sums up the youth reaction.

To put things in perspective, Hillary just destroys the speeches on the other side. Inspiration and Republicans, I guess, don't mix these days. Here's Mitt Romney ceding the Republican bronze medal to Ron Paul at CPAC. His ridiculous and offensive partisanship is almost lost in the stiff, robotic presentation:

If I fight on in my campaign,

all the way to the convention,

I would forestall the launch

of a national campaign

and make it more likely

that Senator Clinton or Obama

would win.

And in this time of war,

I simply cannot let my campaign,

be a part of aiding

a surrender

to terror.

God I miss that guy. And finally, here are some excerpts from John McCain's speeches. For realism, you should spend five minutes getting angry before reading them:

In a time of war

and the terrible sacrifices it entails,

the promise of a better future

is not always clear.

nothing,

nothing should unite us more closely

than the imperative

of defeating an enemy

that despises us.

They're like little haikus against hope. And here's McCain in a "lighter" moment:

I'm not interested

in trading with Al qaeda

all they want to trade is burkhas.

I don't want to travel with them--

they like one-way tickets.

Umm...ha? Considering how McCain's speeches come across worse when he delivers them, I don't think he can win in November. Inspirational speeches, of course, are only part of a campaign, but when you consider how they've galvanized Obama's hordes of volunteers and more than a million individual donors, it's obvious that they can play a big, big part. His campaign now has the feel of poetry in motion.

Comments

[JerseyBob]

Your thoughts on Romney mirror mine. When you write of "his ridiculous and offensive partisanship" being almost lost in a "stiff, robotic presentation", I am motivated to think of the Stepford Candidate. And as you put it, "God I miss that guy." Yes, and Godspeed. To borrow & corrupt a bit from Thomas Moore's "Last Rose of Summer": "Since the losers are sleeping, Go, sleep thou with them. "

Recently I posted the following elsewhere. As it underwrites your estimation of Romney's aura, if you will, I offer it here. It presupposes the reader is familiar with Wilde"s work and it was written before Romney withdrew. Miss that guy you say? I weep. .

A Portrait of Mitt "Dorian" Romney
(Also known as Portrait of a Flip Flopper)


Some blues have turned to red,
and his head"s a bit awry.
An eye has gone to bed,
and an ear is on his tie.

The portrait in the attic
is true to Mitt"s bare soul;
and it"s really quite dramatic
to see this hidden toll

As oils run in that dark place,
on a portrait kept at bay.
Romney runs a heated race,
a race to lose on a clear bright, bright day.

(Thanks Oscar Wilde.)

[TomZart]

WAR IS THE GREATEST PLAGUE OF MAN


As war is fought it takes charge
And events spin out of control.
The madness of men can alter the soil
Which nourishes the roots of their soul.

Many things will forever change
Far more then wished to be.
As the wrath of war starts to destroy
Those things we fight to keep free.

War is the greatest plague of man,
Religion, state, and sanity.
Any scourge is more preferred
Than the one which disables humanity.

When war breaks out, boundaries change
And all who die are a token
Of the rage that must run it's course
Before words of peace are spoken.

War I hate, though not men, flags nor race
But war itself with its ugly face.
When we lose faith in the brave, which die
Then we're not fit to greet those who cry.

What distinguishes war isn't death
But that man is slain by fellow man.
Crushed by cruelty and injustice
With his enemy's murderous hand.

War tends to punish the punishers
So the losers won't suffer alone.
The essence of war is but violence
Till the survivors come marching home.

Sometimes it's hard to defend what's right
Sometimes we're forced to rise up and fight.
Sometimes we survive, while others must die
Sometimes never knowing the reason why.

The rush of combat is a natural buzz
Caused by fear, leaving nothing as it was.
Hunting one another like wild game
Without a shortage of those to blame.

Sometimes victory comes too slow or quick
Sometimes the cost on both sides is sick.
Sometimes God is asked to intervene
To help stop the savage from being so mean.

War is a hell we visit before death
Fueled by the whisper of the devil's breath.
There must be a reason man destroys man
But why it is so, I can't understand.


SEPTEMBER 11th


After suffering the wrath of a sneak attack
America now mourns to her very core.
Though soon her enemies shall all but flee
From the sound of America waging full war.

Let there be no doubt, no doubt at all
That the devil has decided to give us a call.
We shall defeat hell"s soldiers and cast them out
And if we die; that's what freedom is about.

We shall seek them out wherever they may hide
Street by street, house-by-house, cave by cave.
They will be eradicated from the face of the earth
By the righteous, the loyal and the brave.


SATAN"S HORDE SHALL BE REMOVED


Overrun with war and uncontrolled leaders
Our world becomes more dangerous each day.
dishonest politicians, criminals and the media
Survive by their falsehoods at play.

Bible believers preach, that the end is near
Our world as a whole is beyond reform.
God will eradicate all which is wicked
By His fire of eruption and storm.

To evil"s victory, I will never concede
May its supporters anguish in hell.
By the grace of God and the power of faith
The goodness of man will prevail.

What we accomplish is heaven"s measure
As patriots respond to the threats of man.
Protect and defend what we love till death
As the soldiers of Satan arise from the sand.


SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF WORLD WAR III


Our sons and daughters serve in harms way
To defend our way of life.
Some are students, some grandparents,
Many a husband or wife.

They face great odds without complaint
Gambling life and limb for little pay.
So far away from all they love
Fight our soldiers for whom we pray.

The plotters and planners of America's doom
pledge to murder and maim all they can.
From early childhood they are taught
To kill is to become a man.

They exploit their young as weapons of choice
Teaching in heaven, virgins will await.
Destroying lives along with their own
To learn of their falsehoods too late.

The fearful cry we must submit.
And find a way to soothe them.
Where defenders worry if we stand down
The future for America is grim.

Now's not the time to fight one another
Or kiss our enemy's cheek.
All through history it remains the same
The strong enslave the weak.

May God continue to bless America
Refusing evil, the upper hand.
It's up to us to stay resolute
Defending the liberty of Man.

By Tom Zart

[TomZart]

NEVER BE AFRAID TO BE PROUD of AMERICA


America, the abundant, the place I was born
I'll cherish till the day I die.
Where the bones of past heroes lie buried in the ground
Who loved her the same as I.

Her mountains are so tall they reach for the sky
With prairies where the green grasses grow.
There's billions of trees where wild birds nest
With creatures that flourish below.

That blue gold called water with which we are blessed
As raindrops or crystallized snow;
Changes to rivers and fresh water lakes
While the winds of our seasons blow.

There's the haunt of a whistle from a lonely freight train
Racing on ribbons of steel
With the harvest of farms and from the factories
Balanced in a box on a wheel.

Some cities have buildings a hundred stories tall
Structures of concrete, glass and steel.
A statue in a harbor, a present from France
Describes how, inside, we feel.

That flag on the moon with red and white stripes
Proves America"s dreams come true.
A country of heroes who line up to protect
The past, the present and the few.

We"ll defeat terrorism as it should be fought
Never letting Satan"s horde chase us to our door.
Safeguarding our borders and system of life
As our forefathers sacrificed before.

Never be afraid to be proud of America
And march with the brave, faithful and just.
Refusing to summit to the will of our enemies
Standing firm to preserve what we trust.


By Tom Zart

[TomZart]

THE JUST AND THE UNJUST


The just and the unjust shall clash as before
As both sides seek victory valor and more.
The tyrants of evil hate that which is good
Freedom, with justice, living life, as we should.

Where the oppressed suffer the heartless rule
Using murder, fear and torture as a tool.
With a twisted mind they cause others to die
Their souls are corrupted from living a lie.

At the end of their rain most are jailed or killed
The remains of their victims litter the field.
After death, they're judged through history by us all
Condemned for ignoring sweet liberty's call.

For as long as mankind has struggled on earth
Most seek a path, to show others their worth.
While the just feel compelled to defend what's right
The unjust ravage, plunder and kill with spite.


POLITICIANS


Most of the time as a politician stands up
Along with the truth, their brain sits down.
Promising anything and everything to anyone
While posing to the public, to be on common ground.

The higher the office the greater the corruption
As candidates compete for those dead presidents of green.
While we're taxed to death to fund their pork
Our cost for everything has become obscene.

Thank God there are some better than most
Not squeaky clean, but more honest than others.
Regardless of party, they deserve our vote
For they share our thoughts like sisters and brothers.

Politicians who wish to be revered by history
Must earn their fame by living the truth.
Any who continue to mislead and deceive
Must be shunned by the voter at the booth.


By Tom Zart

[TomZart]

OBAMA'08


A soldier for the people
Who"s been up and who's been down
Though while on his journey
He has never turned around.

Facing more than flesh and blood
With Worthington"s two-faced hoard.
Opposing all who test his soul
With integrity as his sword.

The wicked casts their dark net
Over any they may charm.
Plotting to mislead the flock,
While pretending to do no harm.

He"ll expose the devious daily
As he works for you and me.
We're not alone in our struggle
To preserve America the free.

His personal goals of well being
Will never stand in the way
Of doing his public duty
No matter what others may say.

His devotion shall prove contagious
It's the brilliance of his kind
What you find within him
Is great character of mind.

With faith and courage, he must live
For his life to be complete
With good morals and family life
He"ll triumph, even in defeat.

He was raised to participate
Within his community
With his fellow men and women
He"ll enrich life, hope and liberty.


McCain'08


We'll defeat terrorism as it should be fought
Never letting Satan's horde chase us to our door.
Safeguarding our borders and system of life
As our forefathers sacrificed before.

Never be afraid to be proud of America
And march with the brave, faithful and just.
Refusing to summit to the will of our enemies
Standing firm to preserve what we trust.

America has survived all attempts to destroy
Knowing the cruelty and sorrow of war
And we who remain must help keep her free
For those who can march no more!

Those who wish to be President
Must practice what they teach.
For their people need inspiring
To believe what they preach.

Take heed therefore, unto yourselves
You overseers of the flock
Or the voters shall cast you out
For your futures are not of rock.

Life may place us in deep waters
Though it doesn't wish us to drown.
It's our past record that lets others know
Who we are as we smile or frown.

If you wish to be remembered
From the truth you must never part.
Power corrupts the best of us
When we stop listening to our heart.


Hillary'08


An angry woman opens her mouth
And shuts her mind to reason.
She who stays slow to anger
Is loved by more each season.

Anger snuffs the lamp of thought
And it's hard to stay serene.
Where anger rules hatred thrives
Then the world we love turns mean.

She who fans the coals of hate
Has no reason to complain.
If some hot sparks scorch her face
Her anguish is thus her pain.

Anger is a human madness
Which consumes the heart and mind.
She who rules her spirit with love
Shall be praised by all mankind.


Tom Zart

[TrueBlueMajority]

Um, I don't think that guy is actually responding to Hillary4U&Me...

The Hillary song has been dubbed over his reaction to a... different video.

That's all I feel free to say in mixed company.

[wndrwrthg]

The problem is Hillarys' "prose is to prolix".

[joje]

Obama writes poetry and prose, evoking Martin Luther King. Why can't he be America's next poet-laureate and let Sen. Clinton ,as president, govern the nation?

[Redmom]

When the bombs were falling on London it was the voice of Winston Churchill that kept them steady.
The American middle class feels that the bombs are falling on them.
I've lost my home. I've lost my job to a disability. But, I hear this poetry. And, he hears me in a thousand other voices. I will be steady. I will turn the page. And, tomorrow night I will celebrate that hope at the Houston Rally.

[in4success]

beautifully said,

[JerseyBob]

HuffPost's Pick

Poets, lawyers, and politicians, many of them I would think, successful ones, manifest a certain gravitas and likability. Gravitas? Several years ago political and social pundits were tripping over themselves in an effort to say gravitas first, or second, or third on the Sunday morning television news panels. The word is less heard still gravitas remains an element critical to a candidate's image. A stump speech, a formal speech, or impromptu banter are all enhanced when the speaker possesses this gravitas yet quickly is able to join it with wit. Gravitas sounds somewhat serious, so sober. But it is a bit of that. Yes gravity and...likability. Huckabee has it. Obama has it. Others don't. (Having said that, I think Hillary looked and sounded great on SNL last night.)

James Michael Curley, a Mayor of Boston, was known for his oratory. When he campaigned his neck size increased so much that he needed a shirt with a larger collar. He was essentially a jump up street urchin who learned the hard way how to take the vote. Yes take. He learned to quote from literature and poetry. He might not have read the book but he was able to quote from it, make his point, and by inference his audience might consider him well educated. Poetry and literature were in his bag and well he used those clubs. (I golf).

Abraham Lincoln. Imagine listening to him! To have been at Gettysburg, to have been at one of his debates with Douglas. A politician who aspires to high office or an ambitious lawyer would do well to study great speeches and continually study the art of debate. Although debating and attendant rhetorical skills are important and can be learned, gravitas and likability cannot.

Poets, politicians and lawyers (and their campaigners) leave us with unforgettable words:"Tippecanoe and Tyler too!", "I like Ike", "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit!"

The poet? Well, as someone must win and someone must lose, look to Whittier who left us with "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been."

[kfdan]

Better Obama's inspiration than the Hill/Bill grunt & rut on the stump!

[Stirner]

There is more prose than poetry in the talk of Ron Paul. Probably because he writes his own speeches. The revival-tent preaching of Obama have attracted a congregation. Hillary's unhappy effort to sound firm with her stiff cadences arouses more suspicion than trust. Poor constipated McCain's "My Friends" interjections are hardly friendly. So, when it comes to walking the walk after talking the talk, I'll go with the prosaic Paul.

[transendentilist]

Sure words matter. The trick is using the right ones, and ones you can live up to. Obama makes wild claims about what "we," can accomplish. His words are inspirational, but to a very naive and young audiance.
Obama is no Jefferson, or Lincoln or FDR or JFK. He is a junior senator from Illinois, that has a way with words. But to think he is going to lead us through some imaginary, Elysian Fields, and bring us all together, is just drippy, sweet campaign rhetoric.

[Superfelo]

Once upon a time Lincoln was no Lincoln; Jefferson no Jefferson; FDR no FDR; and JFK
no JFK. I have listened to Barack Obama; I know Barack Obama; he has no equal.

Enough said.

It is time we stood up for something.

Yes, We CAn!

[HeadScratcher]

And Hillary is no Obama. Words are used to inspire all kinds of activities in our daily lives. Our ministers, teachers, coaches, sales managers - even in talking to your kids. Why people are opposed to feeling inspired is beyond me. I don't know what Jefferson was like as a speaker, as a writer of clear thought, he was brilliant. Those that followed put the words Jefferson wrote into insprirational deliveries that motivated the public. They didn't just read the words, they used the purpose of the words in ways that reminded people what Jefferson's words meant. That's what made them great.

Obama has had the same impact. The fact that he has garnered so much avid interest is that people recognize in him the intelligence and meaning of the words and his ability to express them.

Hillary appeals to a different mindset. Hillary does not have the same ability to inspire and that hurts her. She talks about herself and what she can do. Obama talks about us and what WE can do. It is no wonder that Obama's message is the most compelling.

[alkamm]

I'm 61, so clearly I can't be naive.

When we caucused in Nebraska, we saw a small contingent of naive Hillary oldsters sitting in variously depressed states as the place filled with young and old for Obama. I call them naive because they have bought the blinders that go with supporting the Clintons and their flawed campaign to regain the White House.

Obama is inspirational to young and old alike. To be indoctrinated into believing any candidate was inevitable shows that Hillary's supporters were inspired by the sort of insipid arguments that can only be matched by the insipid Hillary song above.

Although Obama's lack of patrician roots separate him from Jefferson, FDR and JFK, he is certainly of a stripe with Lincoln in his humble origins, oratorical simplicity, effective focus, and clarity of purpose. His resume, however, is perhaps deeper than JFK's brief congressional career. Words reveal depth of character and mind. Without them, what do we have?

It's not the words, stupid! As Yeats said concerning poets and their poetry:

O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?

To the old and naive who want to separate the dancer from the dance, the poet from his words, I'd advise looking to the young for inspiration and clarity. Oscar Wilde advised we oldtimers can learn more from youth than they from us. Children shall lead them is not an naive, empty phrase.

[Crozier]

Jefferson was no George Washington and Lincoln was no Stephen Douglas and yes, FDR paled to his uncle-in-law, Teddy and who would have believed in early 1960 that John Fitzgerald Kennedy would win the nomination and the general election?

The Democrats had once before nominated a Roman Catholic......Alfred E. Smith in 1928....and the Quaker Herbert Hoover won. Bland speech won over Irish American blustery rhetoric.

Obama v Clinton.....for me there is no choice if you want an end to Republican rule. His name is Barack Obama.

[eliandbo]

Roll the dice, it doesn't matter who gets the office of the president, there is a congress that will keep filling its pockets with big business donations. the big question is...who will get pardoned?
Hsu or Rezko?

[MPeter]

Yep, words make all the difference. Obama is poetry in motion. after languishing in Bush's desolate wateland and being depressed about our country and our place in the world, we need inspiration. We need excitement and the feeling of pride being Americans. Obama delivers.

[mouselion]

Good observation.

Our need to be intellectually engaged by our leaders -- as opposed to being talked down to, or worse yet, talked to by GWB, as if we're his dumbed-down peers -- is well-felt by the voting public.

Eight years of no symmetry, semblance of cadence or intelligently parsed sentences by our president reflects the way our nation has been run and how the architecture of those policies does not provide us with a workable framework for the future.

So goes the speech of the politicians, so follows the logic of the policies.

[suntzu]

Words DO matter: Ask Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers, Abe Lincoln, FDR, JFK, and Francis Bellamy.
Francis who? Francis Bellamy -- he wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.

[larry278]

It should be noted that Mr Bellamy didn't see the need to put "...under God..." in the pledge he wrote.