FAIRFIELD, IA -- If Barack Obama, in two appearances earlier in the day, fed hungry Democrats a few morsels of his wisdom, the senator served a seven course meal at day's end. 
Obama called Fairfield "ground zero for the politics of hope." The pumped-up crowd whooped and whooped. Fairfield's sheriff told me that the crowd of roughly 1,000 was larger than those he sees when presidents visit.
Veteran Obama watchers told the novitiaties that they were witnessing Obama's full, unabridged, campaign-summarizing stump speech. One reason may have been the presence of C-SPAN cameras; Obama was live. Another might have been the venue: Fairfield really is a cistern of liberalism. And meditation. The town center is ringed with stories that testify to the town's uniqueness. "Revelation" "Somebody Cares." "Healthy Inspirations." Or maybe Obama saved his best performance for last.
In an era when everybody's heard every line of every conceivable stump speech, a good performance can be sublime. Obama came close.
This part of Obama's message really rings home in Fairfield: "What's missing here is not good plans, it's leadership," he says.
That line encapsulates his campaign's argument. In one neat phrase, it attempts to dispatch the questions about Obama's lack of government experience and dismiss the conventional argument that the content of one's plans matters more than the ability to see them into being.
A good performance can also be exhausting; Obama's lucky that the day ends now, that the convoy is rolling to our RON hotel, and he can get a good night's sleep.
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I saw that speech on cspan last night. The one thing I do take exception is the experience thing.
clinton co-opts her husband's resume for her own and the press and people believe her argument that it's her experience. In reality, Clinton has had 6 years experience. Obama has had 11.
Who has the real experience and not just the fantasy that the media buys and promotes?
As for the substance part, Again Clinton has the benefit of having a gullible media believe she is very substantive yet, where is her policy and how is she going to address the issues? Where's the beef. When you listen what you hear is alot of cheap applause lines and a laundry list of Bush's ills. Not much else.
And the media buys the spin - or has made up and promoted the spin of Obama not having substance. He has written a bestseller on the issues, has addressed as well as put out alot of policy proposals. What more does the media want? Especially in light of a lack of substance on Hillary's end.
don't you think it's time to stop letting your profession be such sheep and believe the spin and start looking at the facts and asking the hard questions. And don't you think it's time to admit that Sen. Obama has substance and more experience than Clinton. Lets start demanding truth and put the record straight.
Posted by dlake | July 4, 2007 8:11 AM