Obama Brings Substance to His Message of HopePaul Hogarthbyline‚ Mar. 19‚ 2007A diverse crowd of 10,000 people attended a rally at Oakland City Hall on March 17 to hear presidential candidate Barack Obama – confirming his status as the election cycle’s “fresh face” with a powerful message. The vast majority of attendees (including myself) could not even see Obama as he delivered his speech, but they heard him loud and clear as he ended with a clarion call to use his campaign as a “vehicle” for change. While he sounded the theme of hope that has become the staple of his campaign speeches (and reminded the crowd that he had always opposed the War in Iraq), Obama also made some concrete policy-based pledges on health care, education and the environment – and spoke about his prior legislative accomplishments. He did this to address the biggest criticism of his campaign – that it is big on hope, but short on substance. |