Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union

Barack Obama is a very skillful public orator. After being asked to watch his speech on Race and Politics in America and to read the transcript of the speech, I was only further impressed by Obama’s rhetoric skills.

There is so much to discuss about Obama’s speech without even approaching the political aspect of his words and ideas. To start, I found his attire strategic and worth mentioning. He is not sporting the red power tie, as most political public speakers do. Instead, he sports a medium blue tie with a plain black suit. His choice of blue, especially a medium blue is interesting, seeing as light blue is typically associated with healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness, while dark blue generally represents knowledge, integrity, and seriousness. These are all qualities that Obama seeks to encourage and promote in his speech, particularly this one. Without getting into any specifics about Obama’s politics, it is easy for one to pick up from this speech that Obama is sharing a message of reconciliation – not just of the races, but of himself with the American people following his former pastor’s controversial and “denigrating” remarks. His message, and even his tie, exudes understanding, a desire for tranquility, integrity, softness, and seriousness.

I must preface any discussion on the actual content of Obama’s speech with my personal feeling that his speech came too little too late. Thus far in his presidential campaign, I had never had any real qualms with Obama. I did, however, find it unnerving that it took him so long to share this message with the American public. I felt that, in terms of rhetoric, his ethos was reduced with this speech. I don’t find his “more perfect union” message as credible since he didn’t “apologize” for Reverend Wright's incendiary remarks until it became clear that his campaign could be damaged if he did not. I feel that his apology was an afterthought, a CYA attempt, if you will. That is neither here nor there, however.

Within the speech itself, I noticed several very carefully worded and structured points on Obama’s part. It is obvious that Obama’s overriding message is to unite the American people. He states his deeply-held belief that “we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” This statement, along with many others in Obama’s speech, that repeatedly employ the “we” serve to connect Obama with his audience – the American people. He further connects, and even inspires patriotism and pride within his audience by stating:

“I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one."

I really appreciated this passage. It brings to light the progress America has made in the last several decades and it speaks of the opportunities available to all Americans. It not only connects Obama with his audience, but it connects him and the American people to the international community. His statement that “[he] will never forget that in no other country on Earth is [his] story even possible” evokes a great deal of pride in those hearing his message.

I also appreciated Obama’s attempt to not necessarily defend his former pastor’s words and actions, but to defend him as an individual. Obama states that Wright “helped introduce [him] to [his] Christian faith,… served his country as a U.S. Marine, …and has led a church [for thirty years] that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth.” Personally, I feel that Obama’s willingness to speak kind words about a man who so many now despise speaks volumes about his character.

I respected Obama’s insistence on America dealing with its issues – now. He stated that “if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.” He then proceeded to briefly cover both the black and white American histories, noting that while most Americans today did not live during those turbulent years, the injustices and lingering resentments from those years “have [undeniably] helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation.” Obama spoke about the “larger aspirations of all Americans” and about everyone “taking full responsibility for their own lives.” I wholeheartedly agree with Obama’s feelings about how to deal with discrimination in today’s society. He stressed that while Americans “may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.”

I feel that one of the most important observations made by Obama before the conclusion of his speech was that “America can change. This is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.” I found this inspired, yet simple statement extremely empowering. I will close by saying that while I feel Barack Obama was late in delivering this much needed speech of unity and reconciliation following his former pastor’s remarks, I was not at all disappointed. I was very impressed by his appearance and the style and content of his speech. He is a very respectable and very well-spoken man, and I believe that he has a lot of offer our country.