Barack Hussein Obama gave a 3rd world style demagogue speech in Tuscon, Arizona the other night. As a someone who has studied the movement, his speech sounded like it was coming right out of the mouths of Chavez and Castro. He lectured people about being civil when it’s his side that engages in name calling. Most Americans aren’t familiar with 3rd world style rhetoric, so many thought it was a great speech about national unity. It wasn’t. Obama all but claimed he was the savior of the nation and that he will lead us towards a new era. Many elitist Republicans like Peggy Noonan fell for it and are now praising the man.
I begin grouchily to underscore the sincerity of the praise that follows. About a third of the way through, the speech took on real meaning and momentum, and by the end it was very good, maybe great. The speech had a proper height. It was large-spirited and dealt with big things. It was adroit and without rancor. The president didn’t mourn, he inspirited.
It began to turn when Mr. Obama started to make things concrete. Vaporous talk of victims turned into specific facts about real human beings: Phyllis Schneck was a gifted quilter, Dorwan Stoddard spent his spare time fixing up the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. But the speech came into its own when the president spoke, again in concrete terms, of the condition of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: “I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here.” He had learned that “right after we went to visit, a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues in Congress were in the room, Gabby opened her eyes for the first time.”
This was met with thunderous applause. He repeated the sentence: “Gabby opened her eyes for the first time.” More and deeper applause. Something seemed to shift at this point. Suddenly the president was fully integrated into the text, he was it and it was him. He lauded the heroes who did specific things. To Daniel Hernandez, in the front row: “You ran through the chaos to minister to your boss.” “We are grateful to the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload.” “We are grateful to petite Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition.”
Read the rest: Obama Rises to the Challenge
What we saw Wednesday night was Obama’s 1st campaign speech for 2012. He is presenting himself as a healer whose very presence creates miracles. The economy is stagnant and America is the laughing stock of the world, so Obama’s re-election campaign will be about him and not the state of the nation. With a powerful machine behind him, he will connive people into voting for himand not his job as President. This is what 3rd World demagogues do when they can’t discuss the actual conditions of their governance, they personalize it. Then they demonize the opposition and blame the nation’s troubles on them.
To defeat Obama we will need a candidate who will make this argument. Are you concerned about Obama’s job or yours? If we make it a clash of personalities, he will win because of his machine. When Republicans like Noonan fall for this cult of personality, its shows Obama’s ability to deceive. Don’t underestimate him and to be honest, if we don’t make it about issues he will win.
Tags: 3rd World Liberation Ideology, Cult of Personality, Peggy Noonan
