Obama, Edwards, and delivery

Adam Doster

Bob Kuttner makes an important point in this column, discussing the populist rhetoric that Obama is adding to his stump speeches with increasing frequency. This is strong stuff. Coming from John Edwards, similar words were often criticized as divisively populist. But Obama manages to be a unifier—yet around a very progressive critique of what ails America. This jives with Chris Hayes' observation that attending an Edwards speech was "a bit like attending a funeral for the American dream." The man had the right content, but perhaps the wrong delivery, given the American workers' relative lack of class conscious. But if Obama, whose candidacy has already consolidated support among young people, high information voters, and black folks, can mesh his rhetoric of change with specifics that appeal to the (white) working class, his campaign could be the best vessel for economic justice in a long time.

Please consider supporting our work.

I hope you found this article important. Before you leave, I want to ask you to consider supporting our work with a donation. In These Times needs readers like you to help sustain our mission. We don’t depend on—or want—corporate advertising or deep-pocketed billionaires to fund our journalism. We’re supported by you, the reader, so we can focus on covering the issues that matter most to the progressive movement without fear or compromise.

Our work isn’t hidden behind a paywall because of people like you who support our journalism. We want to keep it that way. If you value the work we do and the movements we cover, please consider donating to In These Times.

Adam Doster, a contributing editor at In These Times, is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former reporter-blogger for Progress Illinois.
Illustrated cover of Gaza issue. Illustration shows an illustrated representation of Gaza, sohwing crowded buildings surrounded by a wall on three sides. Above the buildings is the sun, with light shining down. Above the sun is a white bird. Text below the city says: All Eyes on Gaza
Get 10 issues for $19.95

Subscribe to the print magazine.