Obama's prime-time 30

Media headlines are calling it Obama's "infomercial," or his "commercial ad," which of course it was. But it was so much more than what was implied by those words. It was the essence of the man and what his campaign is about. It was a taste of what it might be like with this man in the White House. As someone said, "Obama has revived the fireside chat." Only those old enough to remember FDR will quite appreciate that; Jimmy Carter tried, with his cardigans, but he didn't capture the tone. Obama does.

Snarky critics said it was boring, there was nothing new. Of course there wasn't. Everything's been said, and it wasn't meant to entertain Obama's opponents or the jaded pundits.

It spoke to the American people about what they can expect from an Obama presidency, beginning with a man who understands and cares, one who has solutions to propose and a vision to inspire. At a time when McCain, Palin, and Elizabeth Dole are wallowing in campaign mud of the worst sort, he spoke not a word of attack against his opponent. He raised the level of campaign image and language to one we can be proud of.

Norman Ornstein, scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute said:

Was it effective? You bet! It was a great piece of television, flawlessly produced and paced beautifully. It reinforced every theme Obama wants to hit. . . . At this stage of a campaign, control of the message for each day is critical. Today and tomorrow, Obama controls the message. For McCain, the bad news is this: If you are behind with six days to go, you can't afford to lose two of them.

Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics, said:

It was brilliant to end the half hour magazine-show style presentation by moving to a live closing. Realizing the show was suddenly live sent a jolt of electricity through the room in which I was watching; everyone sat up and gasped.

The live ending reflected back on the prior half hour: here was Obama, looking and sounding exactly as he did in the produced segment, and this was real, so what came before must have been real, too. It also sent a very eloquent metamessage: that Obama could time the closing of his talk to tens of thousands of people so perfectly and seamlessly, gave the impression of control, discipline, and breathtaking competence that are exactly what is needed in a leader, especially now.

I only want to add my heartfelt admiration for the campaign that Obama and Axelrod and Plouff have run. This production was the culmination of everything that has gone right. There has never been anything like it: unprecedented involvement of millions of new voters, prodigious internet fund-raising, a message of coherence and consistency, a tone of dignity, family warmth, and humor. It has reflected the candidate himself, who of course is ultimately responsible. Not since the youthful John Kennedy occupied the White House have I felt such pride in my president.

OK. I'm jumping ahead. If that's problem, save it and read it next week.

Ralph