McLuhan had Obama down better than all this stuff. Obama:

1) Looks beautiful on television. His color and speaking style (which was softened up for the American people by Bill Cosby) are perfect for television.

2) TV works best at both ends of the temperature spectrum. Obama is "cool" and comes across as someone who is completely at ease with himself.

3) When he gives a really good speech, he "hypnotizes" not by any fancy rhetoric, but by the compelling logical structure of his arguments. He is the first person in a very, very long time who can actually make a substantive argument that goes on for more than one sentence. Once you are locked into it -- and if you watch the beginnings of his speeches, he is very careful to move down the runway -- he is just interesting to listen to: he moves through arguments. He infuses his arguments with emotion, and vice versa.   He almost never rises to emotional heights, but he has what one can call emotional lengths. Even if you disagree with him. Some of this is his professorial and legalistic background. Anyone who has ever watched a Perry Mason show can get a feel for how mesmerizing a speech to the jurors can be.

4) His trouble is that when he isn't giving a really good speech -- when he stops being emotionally attached to his arguments, there is a tendency in the listener to back off slightly. What is amazing is how seldom he is boring.

yours,

Peter T.