An Obama speech

I’m beginning to catch on to the rhythm of Obama’s speeches, which are truly Pat Paulson-esque in their ability to sound almost like real English, while actually saying nothing that isn’t either obvious or meaningless. Here’s the AP, which is fond of Obama, with the perfect headline: “Obama says voters can be both angry and hopeful“:

“Just because you’re mad, just because it seems like nobody is listening to ordinary Americans, that’s not a reason to give up hope,” Obama told the Building Trades National Legislative Conference. “You get mad and then you decide you’re going to change it. If you’re not angry about something you’re going to sit back and let it happen to you. If you’re only angry, you don’t feel hopeful, and you won’t get the energy to change it. I’m mad, but I’m also hopeful.”

The deal is that you first incite paranoia, and then you reach counterintuitive conclusions and make meaningless promises. If I were Iowahawk, I’d write a lovely parody of an Obama speech. Sadly, parody isn’t one of my talents, so all I can do is point out what I see, and sit back in disbelief at the number of people who find this kind of meaningless, pandering blather “uplifting.”

Incidentally, with regard to speeches that really said something, I was reminded during my visit to the Reagan Library that he really was a great communicator. Whether or not one agreed with his positions, no one could doubt his absolute clarity. Given that clarity, I don’t think it’s particularly surprising that history has shown that his positions were correct. He meant what he said, and he did something about it. Obama can only hide what he means and, while I have no doubt that, if he is President, he will try to put his Leftist agenda into effect, no one will be able to go back in time and match his actions to his words — because he says nothing.

For those of you too young to remember, here is a classic Pat Paulson sketch, with him as a politician speaking out of both sides of his mouth.