Insightful and beautifully expressed.

Thank you. That is a beautiful piece of writing and observation.

Great stuff. Interesting observations. I've had conversations with others who felt Obama needed to turn it up a notch on the power of his speech. Think he was right in how he used his skills.

Obama is more comfortable in his own skin than any politician in my lifetime, except possibly Ronald Reagan.

From solitude to Swiss Family Robinson

Eventually I wore her down. After a firm picnic, she drove me back to my apartment, and I offered to buy her an ice cream cone at Baskin-Robbins across the street. We sat on the curb and ate our cones in the sticky afternoon heat, and I told her about working at Baskin-Robbins when I was a teenager and how it was hard to look cool in a brown apron and cap. She told me that for a span of two or three years as a child, she had refused to eat anything except peanut butter and jelly. I said I'd like to meet her family. She said that she would like that.

I asked if I could kiss her. It tasted of chocolate.

--The Audacity of Hope

McCain's choice of Palin not only shot down his lack of experience argument, but also made the mocking of "the one" a bit humorous.

After all, who better exemplifies a vacuous star better than Gov. Palin. She's been able to draw huge numbers on sheer made-up rock star appeal provided her by Limbaugh and other wingnut gasbags.

I think the past couple of months have shown it's McCain who's decisions are lacking and Palin's appeal to be Spears/Hilton like.

Thanks for writing this. Reading this post was a breath of fresh air, relative to much of the cynicism of a protracted campaign season.

We might have preferred to have witnessed and be stirred by the unrestrained Obama more often -- heaven knows we've needed an articulate expression of hope and change.

But if this reading of Obama's personality is correct, we are luckier than we yet know ... a president-elect of substance who has had to force himself into the limelight, who doesn't live for ego, and who understands pacing and what it takes to execute long term strategy.

That is change we can use: ultimately more inspiring than rhetoric.

Obama reminds me of a true scholar, scientist, or philosopher. He does his work based on how he apprehends the world and his (our) place in it. The fashions of the day, which drive the shallow scientist, historian, or philosopher, are noticed, but ignored. Consequently, his work is done with great style and has great substance...much to the chagrin of his political opponents, who are now only grasping this truth. We are deep in a ditch that may be impossible to get out of. It will be impossible to right ourselves unless Barack Obama is our next president.

Fantastic and very thought provoking post. Thank you.

I agree with the previous expressions of congratulations for an insightful and finely written article. I particularly thought that your observation about Obama not being inclined toward craving attention was spot on and is a welcome difference of attitude from what we have seen in far to many national-level politicians.

Good observations. When I watched his interview with Rachel Maddow I was struck by the feeling that he was "real." I could feel the down to earth presence of his mind. Don't know how else to put it. Perhaps a bit like the Dalai Lama. Now that's something I'd never thought I'd say about a presidential candidate. I have no idea what his policies are going to be going forward but I do believe they will be inspired by thought and concern for the well-being of the Union. What a blessing.

Very well put indeed. A couple of months ago amidst many attacks I was hoping for Obama to show a bit more emotion, but as time went on I saw the strength in what you point out. There's a time and a
place for everything (the cliche goes) and he seems to almost always choose correctly. For some, the scariest thing in the world is the thought of someone like Obama actually inspiring the population
to allow change to happen. "Ask not what your country can do for you" comes to mind. I think many of us see this as a major turning point as to whether we are going to continue down this road of greed where we care less and less about each other or whether we wake up and realize that that's not really working out so well.

I guess I thought of this during the primaries, but not much since. Hillary--like most all politicians--has an intense need to be liked. (More or less the personality of a salesman.) Obama really didn't have this trait.

Yet he turns some people off. Those who don't like "elitists". But you can't say he comes off as a smarty-pants, just smart. So, it boils down to these anti-elitists being so insecure, they are turned off by anyone who came from humble beginnings but is more talented. (Those born to exalted position, I assume are treated as exceptions.) Big money is in the offing to an academic whose demographic survey can discern the psychological make up and motivation of these anti-elitist Palinites.

I guess I thought of this during the primaries, but not much since. Hillary--like most all politicians--has an intense need to be liked. (More or less the personality of a salesman.) Obama really didn't have this trait.

Yet he turns some people off. Those who don't like "elitists". But you can't say he comes off as a smarty-pants, just smart. So, it boils down to these anti-elitists being so insecure, they are turned off by anyone who came from humble beginnings but is more talented. (Those born to exalted position, I assume are treated as exceptions.) Big money is in the offing to an academic whose demographic survey can discern the psychological make up and motivation of these anti-elitist Palinites.

My husband and I were talking about this last night. Obama seems to be a guy without a lot of personal friends. He relies on his family for companionship more than anyone else. Because he seems comfortable with solitude, he doesn't (unlike Clinton) seem to crave the approval of everyone around him. I am hoping that because he does not seem to desire constant positive reinforcement he'll be able to make harder choices. His speaking skills are his greatest resource when it will come to asking us to swallow a bitter pill or two in future.

Norsecats said exactly what I was thinking - Obama is clearly comfortable in his own skin. He's though hard about who he is and what he wants in life, knows himself well, and likes who he is. He's secure in himself in a way that many politicians - many people - aren't.

This is nothing new, by the way. He's been like this since at least 1996, when I first met him.

Can we nominate this post for some sort of award? Well, I nominate it for one.

Hilzoy, this is my first comment on this blog but by no means is this my first visit. I love Washington Monthly now that you're here. Keep up the wonderfully reflective writing for your loyal audience.
You are a valuable and sane voice amid all the chatter.

Hilzoy, this is my first comment on this blog but by no means is this my first visit. I love Washington Monthly now that you're here. Keep up the wonderfully reflective writing for your loyal audience.
You are a valuable and sane voice amid all the chatter.

Hilzoy, this is my first comment on this blog but by no means is this my first visit. I love Washington Monthly now that you're here. Keep up the wonderfully reflective writing for your loyal audience.
You are a valuable and sane voice amid all the chatter.

Great piece of writing, Hilzoy.

Another voice added to the choir: this is a great essay.

I'm not quite estranged from my extended family, but found it necessary a couple years ago to traverse the continent to get away from them and the close-minded quarters they inhabit. There was a lot of drama and a pretty major falling out just prior to the 2000 election when I unwisely expressed my opinion about the way things were headed, and I managed to completely alienate the whole bunch of them. We still exchange pleasantries, but I've since been expressly forbidden from engaging in political dialogue in any form, though up until a couple years ago I was still required to endure substantial abuse of the W supporter gloating variety. That seems to have tapered off significantly of late. I no longer receive a lot of emails forwarding me columns from the likes of Townhall.com.

But day after day I as I read things compelling to me, I get excited and think, now HERE's something I could send to my Dad and ask him to read it and maybe it would have some kind of impact on his thinking. And day after day I decide ultimately that it's not worth the risk of upsetting the fragile detente in which we're engaged.

This essay comes closer than anything I've run across in a long time toward explaining just exactly why this is the right guy at the right time. I probably won't send it on anyway, it being so close to the election. I know it's not going to change anybody's vote, at least not in my family. Knowing that they're about to be so disappointed, perhaps even feeling as badly as I did four and eight years ago, the last thing I want to do is rub it in.

But it makes me feel a lot better about that anyway.

Thanks, Hilzoy. You done good.

When John McCain addressed a crowd as "my fellow prisoners...", it was abundantly clear to anyone with an IQ over room temperature that he is crazier than a runover dog.

For Obama to use his oratorical gifts on this looney tune is like beating up a child.

"Immediately afterwards, he tells the story of an elderly man who lives in his building, who he sees sometimes, helps with the groceries, but who has never said a word to him. He thinks of the man as a kindred spirit. Later, the man is found dead; his apartment is "neat, almost empty", with money squirreled away throughout. It's clear, from the way he tells the story, that this seems to him to be one of his possible fates, and though his description of the man is kind throughout, it's also clear that Obama thinks: his fate is to be avoided."

This was a very moving post, and depicts a another aspect of Obama's unusual and introspective character. There was a story in the New York Times many, many years ago about a young, pretty, intelligent woman from Colombia who emigrated here, but she had the same kind of personality, where she sought solitude and contemplation instead of noisy social interaction. Tragedy befell her, and she died unattended from some ailment I no longer remember, and it was only after her absence from her employment where inquiry was made, and she was discovered dead, in her apartment, with no loved ones or friends to notice her passing, much less to care or grieve. And so the term "shadow" persons was borne, those people who live silently around us, nearly invisible, never making any mark on our society, who nevertheless should count as much as anyone else.

And so it seems that Obama has the sensitivity to see even these people, and to understand that he needs to represent them, too.

What amazing insight this post demonstrates.

I emailed Digby a youtube of Obama's "Cheney endorsed McCain" speech last night because it reminded me of a post I swear she put up awhile back. It was a video of JFK late in the 1960 campaign mocking Repubs for claiming he was inexperienced while they brought in Henry Cabot Lodge and other old warhorses to "tell Nixon what to say". Her caption to the clip lamented that we didn't have Dems with that kind of spine anymore. When I saw Obama's "McCain earned Cheney's endorsement" video that post immediately came to mind so I asked her if she might like to juxtapose them. She can't find that JFK clip, neither can I, if anyone has it please send it to her.

But like I told her there's a time and a place for everything. And now's the time to make those kind of speeches. It gets me to canvassing HQ half an hour early with a bag of apples and bananas because junk food and Halloween candy is no way to fuel canvassers. And in the evening it keeps me going to the end of the street even though it's too dark to see the walk sheet. There might be another vote I can get at that last doorstep.

Hilzoy keep this post for your resume. That's the kind of writing that keeps us coming back for more. Lots more.

We're headed for hard times. We're gonna need every bit of Barack's brains, eloquence and spine that we saw in the Philadelphia speech and for me the New Hampshire speech. After that upset loss, he didn't give an inch, didn't back down and by the time he was done I was more convinced than ever he was going to be next president and I was was going to do whatever I could to make that happen. You don't get it all the time, many of his speeches leave you wanting more.

But his eloquence is a powerful skill. But like any great skill he can't overuse it to rouse the masses or it'd just become schtick. Now's the time to belt out stemwinders. In the months and years to come he'll need that other understated eloquence he showed in Philadelphia to pull us together for the momentous societal changes we need to make. There's a time and place for everything.

But it also shows a sense of how to pace a campaign. I have wondered for years why politicians are so obsessed by the daily news cycle: most of the biggest stories on any given day will have been forgotten by most voters within six months. It's a real relief, after years of watching politicians grab as hard as they can for each micro-advantage at each moment in time, to see someone with larger sense of what matters: of the arc of a campaign, of when you can afford to hang back and let your opponent wear himself out, and when you need for everything to come together.

This paragraph is excellent, and encapsulates something that really only became obvious to me after the conventions. I had been one of those who was perhaps overly 'concerned' about the restraint Obama seemed to show in his responses to attacks and such, and I equated that with aloofness or timidity. But after the Palin pick, and seeing how his campaign numbers ballooned in the days following the conventions, it all made sense, what Obama was doing and why he was doing it the way he was.

I don't know for sure that Obama somehow foresaw the type of campaign implosion that McCain & Co. experienced, but he sure seems to have anticipated something. In any case, the way he has overcome his inherent disadvantages (running against a celebrity 'war-hero' and media-adored politician, and having a name belong to a dictator against whom we engaged in a very recent war) is really quite astounding, and illustrates an extremely high level of political acumen. AND, as you expressed very well, Hilzoy, patience.

Counterpoint.

He's doing this because he knows damn well he's about to inherit one of the most historically gigantic piles of steaming shit that any human has ever been asked to confront, and he's managing expectations.

Assume it's done. Assume he's elected and inaugurated. Assume the champagne flurry is dim history, and cabinet officers are being approved, and Senators are posturing, and Republicans are sniping, and columnists are harrumphing.

Assume also that the kind of economic news we just received concerning the third quarter is reprised, but worse (as is likely), for the fourth quarter, and assume that the real effects of that are being felt throughout the land.

What's a president to do?

Obama HAS to hold something in reserve. He HAS to dial down expectations, which means dialing down rhetoric. He HAS to play it cool -- as he certainly is marvelously talented at doing -- if only to have a hope of surviving.

I hope indeed that the upthread hagiography and rapture carries over in some degree to February and March.

Silly Hilzoy, everyone knows Bill Ayers wrote Dreams From My Father (/wingnut)

On TV right now, oddly enough, Obama is admonishing his audience, when he mentions Bush or McCain, "you don't need to boo, you need to vote". Said it three times, and I've been flipping between CNN and the Colts game. Obama doesn't want the people in his audience to just feel the rush of rooting for him, he wants them to think and to act.

I remember being on tour 2 1/2 years ago and having dinner in Chicago of all places and the conversation turned to the next election and who we thought would be the best choice. All of us at the table liked Obama best though some of us disagreed on his electability. I liked his chances and remember my co-conspirators comment about when Obama was asked about his smoking and his response was "the flesh is weak". We all thought it was a pretty perfect response, thoughtful, human and real, and when I think back to that day I'm heart-warmed to see him where he is.

BTW that's the second time this weekend I've heard something about solitude and dying alone. Yesterday's was David Sedaris's bit on Ira Glass's show about his trip to the morgue. An old man who lived alone apparently died falling off a ladder changing a light bulb. They didn't find his body in his non air conditioned apt. for 4 days. Sedaris said it was an advertisement for never living alone.

I've spent almost all of my free time volunteering for local congressional campaigns here in Illinois for most of the last year. Planted yard signs for Foster in February. Phonebanking for Scott Harper since March and walking on the weekends. There's nothing lonelier than hanging up on six cute kid answering machine messages in a row cuz we're not leaving messages.

I took care of my elderly dad until he died in April so my social life has been pretty nonexistent. Dad couldn't talk anymore from aphasia. I had work to do so he spent most of his last months watching tv. Alone. My siblings would come out to see him sometimes on weekends but it was hard on everybody.

I haven't seen a movie outside of the Friday lit bag stuffing parties and the fundraising "W" premiere Harper's campaign arranged. Haven't had a date since May because there's no time. Anything not having to do with politics seems so extraneous, so pointless these days.

That's not mormal. For me anyway. Once this is over I think I'll try to find me a good woman to spend some time with.

Wonderful piece Hilzoy, very insightful.

We do not deserve this man. Obama knows he is in danger from the same thugs who killed Kennedy, Allendale, and anyone else who challenges their hegemony. And yet he goes there anyway.

How ironic that the wingnuts make the claims they do when I can see no one who has a greater love for the idea that is this country of ours.

He inspires me to do better, to be better.

He gives me hope again, and the confidence to dream of a better future. Although it might be raining now with skies dark and gloomy, I can dream of a beautiful sunrise tomorrow. I have been tired and worn down, but I can feel the strength resurgent in me.

One person can make a difference. That person is me and that person is you and that person is Obama.

Yes we can!

When I saw Obama's book "Dreams of my Father" in a special point of purchase display at Safeway (next to the Hallmark greeting cards), I felt that something amazing was happening in the history of the United States. I am holding my breath until Nov. 5. We can all protect President Obama. Yes, we can!

Been thinking the same thing about his oratory. He has deliberately stayed away from the powerful preacher-like phrasing that he is capable of.

His campaign has been remarkable in his choosing to show himself as a role model for a presidential temperament, as he gently brings us back to the issues, and refuses to press the many character and other difficulties of his opponent.

And then we see him strolling with his wife and kids and know that they do not buy $75,000 clothing and live the life of the super rich.

I just hope he is well protected.

you hit the nail very neatly.

thank you.

Wonderful post, wonderful comments. I think the biggest difference in Obama and other politicians is, he has confidence rather than ego. He is an inspiration and will be a real statesman, something our government has, mostly, lacked for a while.

Excellent essay.

The thing to keep in mind is that the ability to inspire enthusiasm and adulation in an audience can be both very useful and very dangerous.

It is useful because it can be used to generate the consensus and commitment needed to tackle tough challenges. Once he is Presidient, Barack's inspirational abilities might be the difference in finally implementing some long overdue reforms. Whether that ends up being true universal health care, reordering the economy in a way that gives more back to the worker or creating a comprehensive approach to energy and environmental issues, the ability to convince the American public this is the right way to go could be the necessary step overcome entrenched interests favoring the status quo.

Such inspirational abilities are also dangerous because they can be used to convince people to follow a path that is unwise simply because the leader believes in it, and because it can push some followers to a level of fanaticism that leads them in directions or to extremes not intended by the leader.

Which is why I agree with you that it is refreshing to see a politician who is capable of inspiring great enthusiasm, but who doesn't seem to need the self-validation crowds of chanting supporters provide, and who is willing to dial back on the eloquence to keep the enthusiasm under control.

I'm older than Obama, but I recognize something in him that most of us never achieve; wisdom. It's his wisdom that is the foundation for the eloquence of his Philadelphia speech on race. It's the wisdom that lets him design a campaign based on healing our national divisions by refraining from demonizing half the population. I think we may have to go back to our last Illinois president to find a leader wise enough to heal national divisions through forgiveness and respect. The times are tough but I think we may finally have the collective wisdom to choose the right person for our leader.

Ask yourself when you last heard of a politician who had to warn himself away from solitude, or who saw dying alone, without friends or family, as among his possible fates.

I was going to say the last time we had a guy like that in the White House was 1865.

Then I realized that actually, unfortunately, it was probably 1974.

Brilliant politicians, though, all three of them.

the kind of confidence that allows you to play a long game

Boy howdy, it's been a while since anyone in the White House even thought about a "long game." If there's one thing we need more than anything else, it's a leader with the intelligence and patience to see into the future and do what is right.

Great motherscratching post.

It's as though he's thinking: I could use style and eloquence alone, but I'd prefer something more durable, and more respectful.

This is the kind of thing I noticed and it's why I'll be voting Democratic for the first time since 1992. (And I wasn't happy about it then.)

I have previously voted third party to deliberately "waste my vote", sending a message that I'd rather perform a futile gesture than have a weak Democrat represent me.

Voting for Obama IS my message this year.

I'm also pleased to note that the Al Queda video appears to have gone largely unnoticed (as it should since it's a hollow reverse psychology ploy) so I think Obama will win.

You nailed it! Nice post.

I'm voting for Obama, but I have to say, I don't find Obama's oratory especially powerful or moving. Clearly, I'm missing something - I completely fail to see why so many think he's an amazing speaker. I know I'm an anomaly, and I've come to reluctant terms with the fact that apparently I'm missing out on one of life's great joys. ;)

It's interesting to think that Obama was deliberately dialing back so that he could show that he was a man of substance as well as style. Except that really, during the primary season, he *wasn't* giving substantive speeches at all, and seemed to be deliberately *avoiding* specifics. In all of his speeches that I watched (I didn't watch them all, so maybe I missed the best ones) it was a lot of vague generalities - hope and change and etc., etc.

In fact, that was one of the reasons I *didn't* find his speeches very persuasive - it just seemed like a lot of platitudes. I wanted details. To me, really, he seemed like a Hallmark card.

Now, to be clear, specific policy positions and proposals *were* on his website. I just couldn't understand why he was being SO vague in his speeches. I wasn't looking for a wonky lecture, but I did want SOME level of detail.

He has been giving meatier speeches in the general campaign, however, which has greatly increased my respect for and confidence in him.