Obama spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus on Saturday. The key quote that came out of his speech was:
"I expect all of you to march with me, and press on," Obama said. "... Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We've got work to do." (at the 11:30 mark in the video below)
I was kind of surprised that he'd take such a forceful tone with a black audience who have suffered the most under Obama (with unemployment near 20 per cent).
My favorite quote of all time is by Gandhi (who Obama is apparently a huge fan of), who said: "Poverty is the worst form of cruelty." Although some say the quote is "Poverty is the worst form of violence."
So if Obama truly is a Gandhi fan, I'm a bit taken aback that he's saying to those living in poverty to stop complaining and stop crying. On the surface it seems like a dumb thing to say.
But from a PR perspective it's actually quite smart (yet also a big gamble). The reality is things are going to get worse over the next year, not better. So he has to get out in front of their anger and channel it away from him. The best way to do this, to slip in to a leadership role, is to try and embrace the 'parental' role.
In the same way that a parent will be harsh with a child for their own good, so Obama is attempting to be harsh with the black caucus in an effort to get them to view him as their parental figure (which is essentially as good as being seen in a leadership position). This will allow him to direct their anger away from him and towards his opponents (thereby garnering him votes).
Despite it being a good strategy, I don't think it will work.
Obama's big problem is that he has no 'street credibility' at this point (he doesn't talk the language of the common man if you will). He doesn't come from the streets. He doesn't know poverty, he's never lived in it and it shows. This is also his problem on the economy, he's never run a business or even worked in one and surprise surprise, businesses don't have confidence in him (partly because he doesn't talk in their language).
He's an academic that understands everything through an academic lens. And one thing about academics is that within academia, losing your cool is frowned upon. Which is why Obama finds it so hard to motivate his base right now, because he doesn't know how to lose his cool (it's a foreign concept to him, he's use to maintaining composure).
What Obama needs is a Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr moment (which I think he tried to have in this speech), but I don't think he's going to have it. There's just no way around it, he's no Malcolm X (who, in my opinion, puts Obama to shame when it comes to giving a speech).
We'll have to continue to watch whether this 'tough love' strategy plays out in his favor though. I think in six months from now when things are worse than they are today economy-wise, this hardline, rally the troops speeches he gives will fall flat. I think the turning point will be that at some point he's going to start hearing boo's from the audience, and then it will finally sink in that the people have lost confidence in him.
He's a smart guy, he's a brilliant speaker, but with the crisis currently unfolding, he lacks the authenticity required to lead the people through it. He just hasn't realized this yet and still believes that he can rise to the status of past great black leaders through calculated PR maneuvers in his speeches. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and he'll surprise me, but I don't think I am.
Listen to the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. talks below and you'll hear a great example of what authenticity and conviction really sound like. I can't even imagine the kind of speeches Malcolm X would be giving today in light of current events, but I can tell you this much, the narrative in America would be very different than what it currently is.
"I expect all of you to march with me, and press on," Obama said. "... Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We've got work to do." (at the 11:30 mark in the video below)
I was kind of surprised that he'd take such a forceful tone with a black audience who have suffered the most under Obama (with unemployment near 20 per cent).
My favorite quote of all time is by Gandhi (who Obama is apparently a huge fan of), who said: "Poverty is the worst form of cruelty." Although some say the quote is "Poverty is the worst form of violence."
So if Obama truly is a Gandhi fan, I'm a bit taken aback that he's saying to those living in poverty to stop complaining and stop crying. On the surface it seems like a dumb thing to say.
But from a PR perspective it's actually quite smart (yet also a big gamble). The reality is things are going to get worse over the next year, not better. So he has to get out in front of their anger and channel it away from him. The best way to do this, to slip in to a leadership role, is to try and embrace the 'parental' role.
In the same way that a parent will be harsh with a child for their own good, so Obama is attempting to be harsh with the black caucus in an effort to get them to view him as their parental figure (which is essentially as good as being seen in a leadership position). This will allow him to direct their anger away from him and towards his opponents (thereby garnering him votes).
Despite it being a good strategy, I don't think it will work.
Obama's big problem is that he has no 'street credibility' at this point (he doesn't talk the language of the common man if you will). He doesn't come from the streets. He doesn't know poverty, he's never lived in it and it shows. This is also his problem on the economy, he's never run a business or even worked in one and surprise surprise, businesses don't have confidence in him (partly because he doesn't talk in their language).
He's an academic that understands everything through an academic lens. And one thing about academics is that within academia, losing your cool is frowned upon. Which is why Obama finds it so hard to motivate his base right now, because he doesn't know how to lose his cool (it's a foreign concept to him, he's use to maintaining composure).
What Obama needs is a Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr moment (which I think he tried to have in this speech), but I don't think he's going to have it. There's just no way around it, he's no Malcolm X (who, in my opinion, puts Obama to shame when it comes to giving a speech).
We'll have to continue to watch whether this 'tough love' strategy plays out in his favor though. I think in six months from now when things are worse than they are today economy-wise, this hardline, rally the troops speeches he gives will fall flat. I think the turning point will be that at some point he's going to start hearing boo's from the audience, and then it will finally sink in that the people have lost confidence in him.
He's a smart guy, he's a brilliant speaker, but with the crisis currently unfolding, he lacks the authenticity required to lead the people through it. He just hasn't realized this yet and still believes that he can rise to the status of past great black leaders through calculated PR maneuvers in his speeches. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and he'll surprise me, but I don't think I am.
Listen to the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. talks below and you'll hear a great example of what authenticity and conviction really sound like. I can't even imagine the kind of speeches Malcolm X would be giving today in light of current events, but I can tell you this much, the narrative in America would be very different than what it currently is.
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