Town Hall in Powder Springs, Georgia

Good

Hope and change are the two keywords of Senator Barrack Obama's campaign speech in Powder Springs, Georgia, and he presents them with charisma and sincerity. He maintains an image of success while staying comfortable with the audience so that they feel like they can truly connect with him on a personal level. Not only does he appear as a problem solver, protector, and great potential leader, but he allows himself to seem like a friend in which this country can trust.

One of the most important, if not, THE most important aspects of a candidate for President of the United States is being able to please your voters. In this particular speech, Senator Obama uses colloquial diction and charisma to create a comfortable connection between him and the audience, making it seem as if he is one of their own. In order to create this connection, he speaks with a southern accent, much like one you'd hear in Georgia. He has been known to change his accent depending on where he is speaking, and because of this, it makes it easier for those particular Americans to relate to him. For instance, he makes a movie reference in one of his concepts, claiming that if McCain were to be elected, he would "create more debt and more deficits, something of a deficit Groundhog Day in the White House". By doing so, he creates an equal ground of understanding for everyone, as well as causes a few chuckles.

Because he is so optimistic and persuasive, Obama gives a lot of hope to his audience. This particular audience in Powder Springs consists of many middle class Americans, many who are being hit the hardest by economic and healthcare issues. He makes it clear that he's aware of this as he opens with "I am running for president to put the American dream within reach of every American." He continues throughout the speech in this manner, raising their hopes little by little for an apparently perfectly ideal presidential candidate. Halfway through, he has even spoken very highly of the working class. "You are good people, who believe in hard work and personal responsibility." Everyone wants a president who acknowledges the hard work and turmoil they endure, as well as one who tries to ease their daily obstacles as best he can.

The largest obstacle that the public is currently facing is a struggling economy, as well as many policies that are creating hardships for anyone making less than $250,000 per year. Senator Obama is very aware of these issues in his speech, and makes an effort to address them with hopeful and relatively plausible solutions. He addresses unemployment ("36,000 jobs have been lost since January, and those who are still working feel as if they're working harder for less..."), ridiculously high prices ("the cost of everything has rise, from a gallon of milk to a gallon of gas..."), and bankruptcy ("in the first 6 months of the year, 500,000 people filed for bankruptcy, which is 30% higher than this time last year..."). With every issue brought up, he is met with loud applause in approval and agreement. By the way he speaks to the audience, he truly appears to be uneasy about the absurdity of the woes of every American and how easily they can be fixed (should the government take the time to aid its people). It is helpful and important for him to be speaking in such a manner; if he doesn't appear to care about the issues at hand, then he can't be trusted to attempt to fix them.

As for the problems, he considers John McCain to be nothing but a contribution to them, and he makes this perfectly clear to the audience. He very wisely chose to compare McCain to George Bush, whom the majority of middle class Americans are entirely fed up with. "Like George Bush, McCain doesn't believe that the government has a real role to play in protecting Americans from unscrupulous lending practices." Obama automatically becomes a hero to the public eye, while McCain becomes nothing more than a corporate sellout. He continues to point out the extent to which McCain has addressed the public's more severe issues. "John McCain doesn't have an answer to the housing crisis, education crisis, or a plan to rebuild our infrastructure. The only plan he has is to not only continue Bush taxcuts to wealthy corporations, but to increase them." Once again, McCain appears inadequate compared to Obama, who makes promise after promise to better the lifestyles America currently lives in. By juxtaposition, he creates a much more positive and successful image than his opponent.

It is difficult to find someone in a position of potential power who has any sort of morals or values that are in the best interest of the American people. By the end of his speech, Obama has given hope to every American listening that he is willing to look out for the people of this country, and that change will come.
And as he should, he ends his speech on a very powerful note: "It's going to change when I'm President of the United States of America."

Let's keep our fingers crossed.


Evil

It's difficult to respect a man running for president when he is the very manifestation of lies and deceit. After listening to his speech made in Powder Springs, Georgia, we are allowed to see how Barrack Obama's attempts to please the majority have blinded the American population completely. This particular speech (as well as all of his other speeches) is an attempt to please and relate to middle-class Americans with little patience for an "unproductive government". It is undeniable, however, to assume that many or all of his claims have been made strictly to please and persuade the public, rather than to actually set them into action.

This is noticeable within the first few minutes of hearing him speak, as he has adapted a local southern accent (such as one that you might hear in Georgia). There is also a hint of colloquial diction in his opening statement, using slang and informality to create a comfortable connection with his audience. Through his arguments (which I will discuss later) and informality, he allows the audience to believe that he is no different from them, and that he perhaps has a deeper understanding of the issues they are facing. Is it a coincidence that he happened to obtain an accent of this sort the day he was scheduled to give a speech in Powder Springs? I think not. The fact that he adjusted his accent suggests that he is manipulating his voice and diction in order to appeal to a particular crowd. If a man has the nerve to deceive through something as simple as an accent, it is not out of the question to assume that he would, in fact, lie about more serious matters.

A larger part of the message that Obama conveys is hope and change, stating "Yes We Can". He appears charismatic to the public, making promise after promise that he will change America and transform it into perfection. The only outcome of all his many promises is false hope to a public that has already been disappointed for far too long. He made the promise of providing tax cuts for 95% of the American population (or everyone who made under $250,000 per year). It's much easier for people to hear that there is hope for them to be pulled out of debt, rather than hearing how tiny the chance is that it will actually happen. The middle-class population seems to have taken a liking to him because of this ability to give hope. Hope is not something America needs. America needs action. He has elaborated very little on his actual plans for these kinds of promises, and it's not likely that there are any at all.

Part of the promise that Obama makes for the country is funding for alternative energy sources, which would include a gateway to thousands of job openings everywhere in the United States. This is but another effort to give the public false hope, or at least hope of something that will not happen for many years. Promises of this magnitude are delusions of grandeur, and it's cruel to keep hard working Americans dangling on a string.

When referring to his opponent, Senator John McCain, Obama tends to be very absolute in his descriptions. He claims that "while Senator McCain is an honorable man...he is part of the problem, not the solution", and that he "sides with the banks instead of the people". It's understandable to try to simplify complex issues for the public in a speech, but it would appear that he is over-simplifying his opponent to a point where he is hiding important facts about the senator that might change the public's perspectives. Since he has very little experience compared to McCain, Obama has to result to insulting him instead of contrasting with his own better experience. He then appears cowardly by spending time trying to dampen McCain's reputation instead of focusing on creating and maintaining his own.

America is facing a new reality that has yet to be dealt with, and the promises Senator Obama makes for our future are mere fantasies that would take years to accomplish. His presentation in Georgia was nothing more than an attempt to win over and manipulate the working class by dumbing down language and appearing as normal as you or me. All his efforts to please are based on nothing more than a desire for power, and it's clear that a man who has to manipulate his image has a lot more to hide than a few ulterior motives.