J Thornton:
It isn't spell-binding on video or when read and no one claimed it was. Nor has anyone, least of all me, ever said his speeches had substance. I wrote specifically that "There is no substance to what he says..." If you go see him speak and want to disagree that he is a very mesmerizing speaker in person (which is my claim) then that's just fine but the above is a poor counter to my point about him being a spell-binding speaker. Perhaps if you re-read my post you'll see why your point above does nothing to refute my opinion that Obama instills a euphoria in his audience. J Gulick:
John! Ease up, friend. AFAICT, I'm with you 95% of the time on 95%of the issues. I was not attempting to vigorously contest your claim that Obama's performance might enchant many. I was simply saying what many here have aleready said: it doesn't resonsate with me, and _I_ don't get it. And that includes the performative aspect, not just words on a page: that's why I referred to "cadence."
Well, I'd better hibernate for a week. I'm over quota by a factor of four. Barack brings out such garrulousness (or diarrhea of the mouth, maybe)! _________________________________________________________________ Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser! http://biggestloser.msn.com/