Tuesday, March 18, 2008

BARACK OBAMA, MITT ROMNEY

The Obama Equivalent of Romney's Mormon Speech

Barack Obama gives his equivalent of Mitt Romney's "Mormon speech" today, starting at 10:15 Eastern.

I liked Romney's speech, and he seemed to get generally glowing reviews. (Some called it his finest hour; it certainly was his most eloquent moment on the campaign trail.) But looking back, we can wonder whether Romney really did what he needed to do; he seemed to address Mormonism in a manner that was satisfying for those who didn't really have a problem with his faith. Considering how poorly Romney did in deeply religious states that would seem to be receptive to his socially conservative message, we can wonder whether he would have been better off speaking in detail about what makes his faith unique, and whether he should have refuted unflattering and distorted portraits of it (like the polygamous breakaway sect depicted in Big Love).

Obama's task is larger, of course. The speech is an inherent acknowledgment that the initial response — essentially arguing that Obama never heard Wright say any of the truly jaw-dropping comments — is no longer operable. In this speech, he's going to have to answer, how do the teachings of a divisive figure like Jeremiah Wright generate a man who claims to want unity like Barack Obama? Is Obama's warm, inclusive, optimistic rhetoric a false face to hide... what? Anger? Resentment? Paranoia? 

Like Romney, it's easy to imagine Obama giving a typically eloquent speech that garners raucous support and effusive praise from everyone who already likes him, and in the case of Obama, who weren't deterred by Wright to begin with. But the Wright revelations clearly dislodged a few soft Obama supporters, according to recent polls. The real question will be whether those folks come back, or whether their preference for Hillary (or McCain, I suppose) solidifies.

03/18 09:05 AMShare