“Change” is a powerful word that can mean different things to different people. Culturally and philosophically, we all have a unique understanding of the word; however, the word “change” can unify a community because we all have some basic similar understanding from each other. Change can be an exciting time or a stressful time; it can be an opportunity, a challenge, or a way to motivate. Most importantly, at such difficult times in our nation, change means hope for everyone. Obama’s key campaign message for change touched emotions and feelings of individuals, the nation, and the entire world.To craft a good message it’s important to take into consideration the audience, the speaker, the tone, and the current historic environment that is affecting the public. Obama with his strong presence, diction, and excellent delivery captivated everyone. His ability to choose words that people can personally relate to is very impressive. “We meet at a moment of great uncertainty for America,” said Obama as an introduction to many of his speeches. These particular words set the tone for what was coming next on his speech; it also made the audience perceive Obama as a part of the community and believe that he could also feel the pressure of the economic challenges that the United States faced.
Obama not only took his message across the nation traveling from town to town, utilizing the media, and attending town hall meetings, but he did something that no one else has done before: he took his message to the social media networks and the heart of the households of the disenfranchised communities. From technology to the lowest level of grassroots community outreach, he touched everyone, and with that he became the buzz of the world and the conversation at the dinner table of American families.
Like Martin Luther King, Jr. before him, Obama delivers his message following the sermonic tradition, which includes a disclaimer at the introduction, exaggeration of some of the facts, body language to emphasize certain words, a challenge to the audience to take action, a connection with God either by quoting or interpreting Scripture, a specific path or direction for hope or a better end, incorporation of past actions and ancestors’ past goals, and an open-ended statement that finalizes the speech with an accentuation on certain words to create consciousness of the message.
At his inaugural speech at the White House, he started with the disclaimer, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” His hyperbolic style is clearly seen in the exaggerations when he makes points about the economy and the state of the financial crisis in America, such as the following sentence: “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.”
His body language matches the tone of his words by standing upward, switching between looking at the audience and making eye contact with individuals, gesturing emphasis on words, and using facial expressions that create deep connections with the crowd. During his speech he also challenges everyone to be part of the change and become hopeful of a great end: “For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.” He constantly mentions God as part of the movement, making connections to faith and sacrifices for a better future: “This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.”
Following the sermonic tradition he also makes associations with the ancestors and the past but also make remarks about looking ahead: “We the People have remained faithful to the ideas of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.” And finally, he ends his inaugural speech with an open-ended statement:
“This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”
But he also achieved the goal of creating excitement, energizing the community, maintaining the commitments made during his campaign, and setting the tone for realistic expectations: “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.”
On a micro level he uses figurative language such as images and personification: “The words have been spoken during tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace,” symbolism and color such as “the snow was stained with blood,” the use of similes like “They sow America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions,” and metaphors such as “what the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them.” His speech creates a poetic rhythm cadence of strong messages and soft comparisons of the reality, kept in time by diction that stirs deep feelings in the audience.
Every communication sent by the Obama campaign focused on the message of hope, change, and a “we can do it together” attitude. Messages were delivered at speaking engagements, major media networks, the Internet, and at the grassroots level. In Austin in particular, the community was pleased to have Obama at a town hall meeting where regular people such as attorneys, secretaries, housewives, single men, etc. could sit very close and ask him questions. This strategy allowed the people who were still undecided to have a closer encounter with the candidate and decide whether to support Obama. In other words, he took his campaign to the level of the masses and to the level of the individuals.
Internet and social media are relatively new communications strategies. Social media started with the concept of a network of “friends” where advertising and publicity communications were not acceptable a few years back. Now, these communication avenues have become a necessary part of any campaign, though they are still very new and risky.
This is where the genius of the Obama campaign team came together under his leadership: Internet and social media became one of his key communication channels to send his message and get connected to everyone that uses a computer anywhere in the world. One of his Facebook sites, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/barackobama?ref=ts includes pictures, videos, comments from supporters, and a network of over 5 million people, but interestingly enough, his Facebook site targeting the Latino community http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Latinos-for-Obama/22203686533?ref=ts only has a little over 15,000 supporters.
This key sample shows that even though United States still has a large gap in technology between the minority and non-minority populations, Obama decided to maintain a site specifically for the relatively few Hispanics who are connected through the Internet and expanded his campaign to the grassroots level for this specific target market.
The “Proyecto Latino Para el Cambio” was the guiding document to target the Hispanic/Latino community. This document laid out the plans, strategies, and needs of the Hispanic/Latino community with clear, perfect Spanish and simplicity that everyone at just about any education level could understand.
Communication cannot be analyzed as a flat piece of information because it has many layers that make it complex. Visually, Obama picked a logo that was pleasant to the eye, easy to attach to the key message, and marketable enough to add on a series of products such as bumper stickers, t-shirts, baseball caps, purses, etc. The logo was strong enough that it could stand by itself and people could recognize it as the central graphic for all the communication efforts performed by either Obama or his team.
Delivery is another strong talent that Obama presented on every occasion. With a strong stage presence and an easy and calm way to speak in public and under pressure, he made his audience feel that he was the ideal person to represent the nation in domestic and international matters.
During the different debates with his opponent John McCain, Obama demonstrated a presidential air, authority, active listening, openness, and firmness that surely increased the popularity of his campaign and message and the backing of the voters.
Critics might say that Obama only uses rhetoric with lack of substance, or they might say that it was all a political campaign; the fact is that he does have a track record and so far his campaign and first one hundred days as President have sent a strong message to the opposition, to his supporters, and to the world that the United States will prevail and we will become a nation respected by all once again.
Works Cited
Primary Sources:
Hudson, Julie. "Literary Terms." Huston-Tillotson University, Austin. 21 Jan. 2009.
Hudson, Julie. "Sermonic Tradition." Huston-Tillotson University, Austin. 21 Jan. 2009.
"Gospel." The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Eds. Henry L. Gates, Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004. 19-20.
Obama, Barack. Words that Inspired a Nation. New York: Fall River Publisher, 2009.
Secondary Sources:
"Barack Obama Speeches: In His Own Words." Organizing for America BarackObama.com. 01 May 2009 <http://www.barackobama.com/speeches/index.php>.
Mendell, David. Obama from Promise to Power. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 2008.
Proyecto Latino Para El Cambio. 01 May 2009 <http://obama.3cdn.net/f3fe74c297f597139d_e4m6i2awh.pdf>.
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