Obama campaign infomercial - You Tube

Part 1: Presidential, serious, sober. They might have even tweaked the bass a bit when he speaks. Subtle classical music in the background. The public discourse in America now describes the working class as the middle class (from what I understand). They are an aspirational people, so no-one seems to mind the dropping of "working class". The way they talk about class now it's either "middle class" or "super-rich". Working class, the working poor, the ghetto etc. are yesterday's political paradigms.

Part 2: Case study of a ruined retirement for a struggling couple. Energy independence, including gas and oil drilling. 5 million jobs created. Promises subsidies for car makers. Spending cuts and budgets, withdrawing from Iraq. CEO of Google endorses him. The musical accompaniment is now the strains of a mournful Appalachian folk violin. You will notice in Obama's campaign that they use white American music, like country or classical, rather than black music like Jazz (and its many offshoots like rock and hip hop etc.) to down-play the black side and create a subconscious white vibe. I've picked up on it, I'm not sure the Americans would really notice.


Part 3: Widow - an over-worked teacher - with a mortgage: case study. Obama reassures the voters that his Dad (the Kenyan one) was absent from his life. Education - mentions bonding for college. Health care - will reduce costs by $2500 for average family. Michelle Obama on Barack and their kids. Obama gets to tell the story of the evil health insurers stiffing his dying mom - this is the most compelling tale I've heard through the campaign. Biden gets his appearance: Obama questions Condi Rice and that impressed him. Obama shows the love back.


Part 4: And just to prove me a liar, Obama voices over some old black and white footage and mentions "working class" - but it's in an historical context - a context of them moving upwards to the middle class after the WWII. Obama's grandfather fought in that war - which he mentions. Promises to rebuild the military, finish the Taliban off. He starts on about "the story of America" - at this point (4:40) the orchestra swells in a mawkishly saccharin movement that coincides with some black and white photos of Obama in various poses. Amongst the still shots the compulsory Kennedyesque silhouette. And at the point of Americana over-drive they cut live to a rally he's addressing in a stadium in the key state of Florida (5:20). "Change" "middle class" "healthcare" "education" "energy" key word after key word. Then an appeal to get out to vote and volunteer.

Wow. Slick does not come close to describing it.

I bet he's putting shades of grey on his hair, so that in this last week he has a visible greying of the temples to just put that final touch on his presidential look - just that final touch that people will subconsciously register as a reassurance that he has the right look, the right feel, to be President.