Inspiration vs. Substance
Joe Klein writes in a Time article. Speaking of the Obama campaign, he says,
The man’s use of pronouns (never I), of inspirational language and of poetic meter — “WE are the CHANGE that we SEEK” — is unprecedented in recent memory. [sic] there was something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messianism — “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” — of the Super Tuesday speech and the recent turn of the Obama campaign. “This time can be different because this campaign for the presidency of the United States of America is different. It’s different not because of me. It’s different because of you.” That is not just maddeningly vague but also disingenuous: the campaign is entirely about Obama and his ability to inspire. Rather than focusing on any specific issue or cause — other than an amorphous desire for change — the message is becoming dangerously self-referential.
Klein sums up the Obama campaign, “The Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is.” It is time for Obama to speak substantively.