Obama Gets Drama

February 9, 2009 by Jerry 

During his quest for the presidency, Barack Obama was nicknamed “No Drama Obama” for his ability to stay calm and collected through the rigors of what was a very rough and tumble campaign. Not only did he consistently present himself as composed in public, he also mandated that all of his teams inside their headquarters exhibit the same self-control.

Last week, Obama got drama.

With his economic stimulus package running into heavy Republican opposition, he let his frustration show during an impromptu speech to House Democrats at a retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia. Politico.com devoted three articles to the change of his tone. Jonathan Martin, Josh Gerstein, and the team of Glenn Thrush and Patrick O’Connor, all wrote about Obama’s strident delivery. Gerstein described Obama as “indignant, as he swapped the Kumbaya talk of recent days for blunt criticism of the Republican stimulus proposals.”

I decided to see for myself from a presentation point of view, and played the Politico.com’s embedded clip three times:

  • Once with the sound off
  • Once with the sound on, but with the computer screen turned off
  • Once with the full video and audio image

The silent viewing showed a different Obama than we’ve been seeing for the past year. He remained serious throughout, with his brow furrowed, and not one instance of that dazzling smile. His usually restrained gestures were accompanied by a heretofore unseen finger-wagging.

During the sound-only playback, I heard his voice express alternately, petulance, exasperation, frustration, scolding, and anger. At one point, he started a sentence, “You know…” and then hitched irritably. At another, he blurted sarcastically, “Come on!”

In the 5:55 clip, I tallied 18 variations of “not,” a significant departure from the audacity of hope.

And during my third viewing, when Obama was talking about imperfection, he said, “Michelle reminds me every day how imperfect I am,” but he delivered the self-deprecation seriously, losing its impact. He had used the same line—with a smile—to great effect during his second debate with John McCain. It made Obama look warm and yet confident, and stood in sharp contrast to McCain’s petulant behavior during the same encounter.

So our oratorical president is human after all. Given the current economic situation as he described it—“I found this national debt wrapped in a big bow waiting for me when I stepped into the Oval office!”—his turnabout is understandable.

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Comments

2 Responses to “Obama Gets Drama”

  1. Donna St.John on February 9th, 2009 6:14 pm

    THIS American President can relate to families going through difficult times. He is behaving appropriately. Millions of Americans are now out of a job, unable to pay their bills, or pay for gas, or for heat or even for shelter. He knows only too well that this is not a time to look unruffled and cool. He is speaking for his fellow Americans — the people who elected him. And he is being very well received by his audience, because, he’s being serious, candid and demonstrating his concern.

  2. Nabil on March 15th, 2009 8:48 pm

    I consider your opinion analytical for educational purposes rather than critical for political gains (as I know you from your books).

    They say in Arabic: for every stand there is a proper prose. That is exactly what he delivered.

    The sense of urgency painted his speech with assertion and demand. Besides, he is not talking to laypeople outside the political arena where he needs to go down to there emotional level. He is talking to the pros.

    The 18 nots, although a seemingly departure from the “audacity of hope,” I see it as using Mantra as an internal linkage to cement the feeling of necessity and “must.” It is corollary to MLK’s I-have-a-dream and JFK’s ask.

    In the clip you’ve published, Obama used the “Think You” several times. He employed ERA to his benefit. His pointing back when he talks about the economy, the budget deficit and the consituents was so effective. And he really mastered the P&P technique effectively.

    I love this guy. He stimulates me both emotionally and mentally every time he utters a word.

    Please provide more examples from his speeches in your lectures for he is a living example of oratory mastery…

    Rgs,

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