Barack Obama's rolling cadences pose a challenge to his rivals

Barack Obama speaking to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington on September 24 2011. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

It's hard for a sitting (and unpopular) president to win a news cycle with a opposition primary as entertaining as this one, but with his speech to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Obama clearly has. Rolling cadences! Civil rights rhetoric! The candidate that journalists swooned over in 2008 is back.

Obama's speech also contained some policy planks (he noted, correctly if also obviously, black workers would benefit if his jobs bill works as intended), but these aspects are neither new nor easy to highlight in a fifteen second video clip.

Whether the style or substance of Obama's speech will appeal to voters as much as it has to television producers is, of course, an open question. The speech highlighted the Obama's fundamental appeal; he inspires, he believes, he rallies. Indeed, Obama's likeability (still at an astounding 80%) is the thin ice upon which his presidency skates.

As a political tactic, deploying "campaign Obama" may have a greater effect on GOP primary candidate poll numbers than on his own. Right now, the GOP field is muddled by the inability of any candidate to maintain an image of electability. Obama's ace performance on this score could serve to remind voters of the high bar any nominee will have to reach in order to credibly share the stage come next fall.

Which candidate does that help? At the moment, it propels only those candidate who haven't had the chance to fail.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/26/barack-obama-black-caucus-foundation

abc world news now abc world news now anchors abc world news open abc world news sunday abc world news theme