Not Just Talk

Increasingly I've been hearing from people who feel Obama is good at giving an inspirational speech, but only talks in generalities. This is not true - his policies are thorough and considered. For instance, check out this great recent speech on his economic policy. I've already partially discussed this in an earlier post: Sure Sounds Nice But Where's the Beef? where Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz discusses an Obama speech that was filled with policy proposals:

How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being long on inspiration and short on details? The answer is that journalists are not accustomed to covering a candidate who moves crowds the way Obama does, who uses speech cadences and rhythm like Martin Luther King Jr. without making his talk explicitly about race. Sen. Clinton already owned the policy-wonk slot, so by default, Obama was cast as the poetic one.

Though I think there are certain reasons this concern is resurgent at the moment. First off, it happens to be the new Clinton (and now, McCain) campaign talking point - Obama's all talk, we're solutions. Secondly, I think the problem is that the most immediately appealing thing about Obama are his speeches, which are often shown decontextualized in clip form, or in the form of an "inspirational" music video like the "Yes We Can" clip. Initially I found myself thinking reacting the same way: I like what he says, but "change" is a rather vague message. Although I appreciate his ability to stir emotions, I distrust someone who ONLY plays on our emotions. But looking into his policies, looking at who advises him, comparing his approach to Clinton's I know that there is real intellectual acumen and a fresh pragmatic approach behind his message: its not all talk.