Haven’t I Heard This One Before?

Perhaps, given the flurry of press coverage he has received, Americans are already tired of reading about Senator Barack H. Obama. So readers should free to yawn, turn to their latest problem set, and declare Obama passé.

But if you’re still reading, you’re one of millions for whom Obama is anything but passé, and we need only hear him speak to see why. The secret to Obama’s success lies, to use the words of a certain senator, in his extremely “articulate” rhetoric. His stirring presidential announcement, for instance, smacked strongly of two great orators: Presidents John F. Kennedy ’40 and Abraham Lincoln. His public image lives and dies with his successful impressions of the two.

In his inaugural address, Kennedy sought to lead “a new generation of Americans” to face the challenges of the Cold War. Obama wants to be a modern incarnation of that figurehead; throughout American history, he proclaimed, “a new generation has risen up and done what’s needed to be done. Today we are called once more—and it is time for our generation to answer that call.”

His announcement’s crescendo even called for “a new birth of freedom,” borrowing verbatim from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Calling for national unity, Lincoln said in 1858, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” “Divided, we are bound to fail,” would-be President Obama said, on the same note, 149 years later.

Of course, it’s little secret that Obama’s campaign wants to draw parallels beyond mere flowery speech. Kennedy was seen as a fresh face; anti-establishment, youthful, full of “vigah” and hope, he represented a new wave in Democratic politics (including the civil rights movement). Obama’s desired image happens to be that of a fresh face; anti-establishment, youthful, full of vigor and “audacious” hope, he represents a new wave in Democratic politics .

The Kennedy comparison also delivers a subtle reminder that anyone can be elected president. Kennedy defied all expectations that a Catholic was unelectable; Obama wants to do the same as an African-American. Kennedy was only the second sitting U.S. Senator to be elected president; Obama would be the third. Kennedy was perceived as inexperienced; Obama actually is.

Of course, Lincoln had even less experience than Obama—he served one term in the House of Representatives before being ousted by the people of his district—yet he too rode a new wave of party politics to become one of our greatest presidents. Like Kennedy, he had a pretty good civil rights record of his own. Oh yes, and he was from Illinois. In fact, Obama even went as far as to make his announcement at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Lincoln’s old stomping ground.

The point that the Obama campaign is trying to make is ingeniously simple: Obama is this troubled generation’s Kennedy or Lincoln—the inexperienced and unprecedented candidate who breaks out to become a presidential legend.

But while words will win a campaign, ideas made Kennedy and Lincoln influential administrators. Obama has already done a great service in politically energizing so many who had been apathetic, but he cannot rest on his laurels. Good ideas and sound policies should be the next step for the senator’s campaign because, with them alongside his rhetoric, his performance in the Oval Office will live up to the hype.

Nathaniel S. Rakich ’10, a Crimson editorial editor, lives in Greenough Hall.