4 ms·

Obama has almost no charisma? Um, okay....

mynameishere 19y ago
Um, okay.... Sigh. Here's where I explicate my own words. "who actually has almost none" references Ron Paul. Obama's charisma is similar to RP's in that much of it comes from the fact that his supporters are looking at him sideways. One instance from xkcd: I want, for once, someone I can vote for not because I dislike the other candidate, but because I’m proud of mine. Obama is the real thing. Obama has shown a real commitment to open government. Now, the above expresses an actual liking, not just an agreement policy-wise. I really like Ron Paul's platform, by contrast, but frankly find him annoying. It's important to spot the difference there. Now, Munroe, who is by all accounts a smart person, is supporting Obama because of something called "open government", which Obama has "real commitment" to. I don't see this commitment in the platform, which doesn't contain any references to it: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/bios/view.bg?articleid=1063110 http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/bios... What I see in the platform is standard leftism. But even that is not where Obama's "real commitment" is--his real commitment is "civil rights", if that is understood properly. Fine. It doesn't matter. The point is this: To really like a guy for something that is a completely negligble part of his platform is quite dangerous. I'm sure a lot of his supporters are actually supporting him for an even worse reason: Because it is the "moral" thing to do, in and of itself.
- mynameishere 19y ago
  ADDENDUM: There are some standard ethical declarations of the sort Munroe is talking about here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/ http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
- dreish 19y ago
  Obama comes across as awkward and geeky, but have you not seen the 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address? It was one of the best political speeches in the last 20 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNCLomrqIN8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNCLomrqIN8
  - wallflower 19y ago
    As a student of Toastmasters, when I saw that speech live on TV, I knew he'd be a presidential candidate. But in 2008? Never would have guessed so soon. Great speakers connect with the audience. Good speakers merely tell.
    - brlewis 19y ago
      What club do you go to? I go to #9351, Oratory Authority, a lunchtime club in Boston: http://ourdoings.com/oratory-authority/ http://ourdoings.com/oratory-authority/
      - wallflower 19y ago
        After the final surge to get my CTM and moving office locations, I dropped out. I still do get a public speaking fix through some storytelling gigs. I'd rather not say which specific club (I like to think I am a wallflower) but that Toastmaster club is/was a fantastic supportive environment to practice public speaking. For the only way to learn public speaking is to actually do it. The value of the feedback (handwritten comments that you get after a speech) was tremendous - where else can you get honest supportive feedback - people want you to succeed. The fact that it was a corporate club that was not my company was a plus - felt safe to talk about whatever - no coworkers (except the one guy I carpooled with).

Um, okay.... Sigh. Here's where I explicate my own words. "who actually has almost none" references Ron Paul. Obama's charisma is similar to RP's in that much of it comes from the fact that his supporters are looking at him sideways. One instance from xkcd: I want, for once, someone I can vote for not because I dislike the other candidate, but because I’m proud of mine. Obama is the real thing. Obama has shown a real commitment to open government. Now, the above expresses an actual liking, not just an agreement policy-wise. I really like Ron Paul's platform, by contrast, but frankly find him annoying. It's important to spot the difference there. Now, Munroe, who is by all accounts a smart person, is supporting Obama because of something called "open government", which Obama has "real commitment" to. I don't see this commitment in the platform, which doesn't contain any references to it: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/bios/view.bg?articleid=1063110 http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/bios... What I see in the platform is standard leftism. But even that is not where Obama's "real commitment" is--his real commitment is "civil rights", if that is understood properly. Fine. It doesn't matter. The point is this: To really like a guy for something that is a completely negligble part of his platform is quite dangerous. I'm sure a lot of his supporters are actually supporting him for an even worse reason: Because it is the "moral" thing to do, in and of itself.

mynameishere 19y ago
ADDENDUM: There are some standard ethical declarations of the sort Munroe is talking about here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/ http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
dreish 19y ago
Obama comes across as awkward and geeky, but have you not seen the 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address? It was one of the best political speeches in the last 20 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNCLomrqIN8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNCLomrqIN8
- wallflower 19y ago
  As a student of Toastmasters, when I saw that speech live on TV, I knew he'd be a presidential candidate. But in 2008? Never would have guessed so soon. Great speakers connect with the audience. Good speakers merely tell.
  - brlewis 19y ago
    What club do you go to? I go to #9351, Oratory Authority, a lunchtime club in Boston: http://ourdoings.com/oratory-authority/ http://ourdoings.com/oratory-authority/
    - wallflower 19y ago
      After the final surge to get my CTM and moving office locations, I dropped out. I still do get a public speaking fix through some storytelling gigs. I'd rather not say which specific club (I like to think I am a wallflower) but that Toastmaster club is/was a fantastic supportive environment to practice public speaking. For the only way to learn public speaking is to actually do it. The value of the feedback (handwritten comments that you get after a speech) was tremendous - where else can you get honest supportive feedback - people want you to succeed. The fact that it was a corporate club that was not my company was a plus - felt safe to talk about whatever - no coworkers (except the one guy I carpooled with).