Watch this video of President Obama giving a postmortem on the previous night's debate. On top of making great points, he does something at 4:02 that transcends his immediate remarks.
I jolted when I heard it. Maybe because I'm not used to politicians, even Obama, articulate a point that so badly needed articulating. It's like when someone in a group is being a jerk and everyone lets them get away with it to keep the peace, but then one day someone launches into them with one cutting statement and everyone's relieved. The build-up itself is something to behold, but the casual aside takes it to a new level. "There's a theme here — he keeps on loving stuff and then, wants to end it or cut it or not help it!" Even in the negative arena of politics, you rarely hear something that comes off so unmeasured in a non-gaffe sense (even if it was measured).
But even more importantly is the manner in which Obama talks here. This is a man who is confident and playing offense. Even your most gifted orators can fake confidence only to a degree. For all of this media narrative about a horse race, the election reminds me more (as you might imagine) of Super Bowl XLIV. Obama is the Saints and Mitt Romney is the Colts — one team playing to win and another playing not to lose. One team that will chance the mid-game onside kick and one relying on a tried-and-true playbook that everyone's already read. It's close for a long time, everyone's nervous and it could theoretically come down to the last play — but the final score tells a different story. Let's hope.
I like confidence. And I love what's behind that confidence.
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