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During the semester, I shall post course material and students will comment on it. Students are also free to comment on any aspect of American politics, either current or historical. There are only two major limitations: no coarse language, and no derogatory comments about people at the Claremont Colleges. This blog is on the open Internet, so post nothing that you would not want a potential employer to see. Syllabus: http://gov20h.blogspot.com/2023/08/draft-introduction-to-american-politics.html

Monday, December 10, 2007

Obama in LA

I just got back from the Gibson Amphitheater where Barack Obama spoke and various famous people pledged their support (including musical highlights by Ne-yo and The Goo Goo Dolls). He structured the event by having various testimonials about the hope he has brought and the belief that his supporters have in his ability to lead the country. I know that we talked today about the experience factor that could hurt Obama's campaign. His supporters definitely pushed this tonight, emphasizing that while Obama does not have the experience Washington wants, he has the experience America needs to see change. Obama and his supporters also tried to emphasize his appeal to all types of voters and his goal of unity among Americans.

They also spoke about closing gaps in polling results for many of the upcoming state primaries. They are rallying volunteers to go to Vegas to knock on doors and make calls to bring Nevada over to Obama. By their numbers he has recently gone from 22 points behind, to only 8. 

...Just as a side, more humorous note (and something that was flippantly brought up in class today), Obama mentioned his ancestral ties to Cheney. He joked about it and said it was embarrasing. I have a video clip that I've put on YouTube for this class's viewing pleasure -- it doesn't seem to have gone into the general database yet, so you can find it on my page...
Hopefully that works...the part about Cheney is from about :58-1:33. If you listen to the end, you'll hear a more important, but less humorous part of his speech where he basically summarizes a lot of the problems he has been addressing in his campaign. 

Anyway, there were a lot of press at the event and it will be interesting to see what takes they all have on it. I haven't found any up yet...it only ended about two hours ago...but definitely check them out. 
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1 comment:

Victoria Din said...

I also went to see Obama. A couple of points stood out for me. First of all, it is true that he is a phenomenal speaker. For those of you who haven't seen him, I would highly recommend it, regardless of partisanship. He has great comedic timing, a calm presence, and the ability to connect with his audience.

Secondly, I was surprised by the constant and unrestrained attacks on President Bush. While I understand the benefits of presenting oneself as an ardent opponent to an unpopular president, the extent to which Obama continually bashed Bush's policies and used him as a comedic foil seemed uncharacteristic and a little facile.

Finally, I was reminding occasionally throughout the speech as to the race issue. It seems to be a fine line to tread. Obama must not alienate the black population by appearing too white-washed, but simultaneously cannot over emphasize his ethnicity. Throughout the event, speakers would occasionally mention that Obama is "not white, not black, etc." and underline the fact that he a candidate for all of America. This is exactly what we talked about in class, and continues to be a struggle and theme throughout Obama's candidacy.

December 11, 2007 at 3:44 PM

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