today. we're talking a speech that changed the united states. barack obama 2004 speech at the democrat national convention. it was a keynote address. he was a state senator at the

time. now pause and ask yourself, do i know the name of my state senator? i had to check to make sure i had the i did remember the name of my he so unknown at that the major networks didn't the speech live but as he gave the speech and we'll see that in a few minutes he gets the attention of the audience and the nation begins to change obama himself admitted that he was virtually unknown. obama said nobody knew who i was. i after he gave the speech, he was a immediately being touted as a potential president. the united states. mike thomas wrote that he had wowed faithful the country as a beacon of, hope and a future presidential candidate. it writing in the washington

post, dan balz and haynes johnson said in just 20 minutes, it's really 17. albom as political career had changed the reaction. the speech was over overwhelming. after he gave the speech, obama had to beg pack of photographers to please let him go to the bathroom because they were just following up. it was a speech that came politics, christmas you saw a very famous commentator said of the speech. it was an amazing moment in history. people compared him to mario, who had given a great keynote but that wasn't all he was compared to abraham lincoln, martin luther king and bill clinton. i think the first two are closer to being accurate by after the speech. he became the most popular member of the democratic party.

51 months later, he's elected president of the united states. 51 month later, there are only two other presidents in all of american history for. a speech like this transforming an unknown political figure, a nationally known and future candidate for president. successful candidate for president. ronald reagan gave. a speech for barry goldwater, 1964. among reagan scholars, it is simply known as the speech before ronald reagan was thought of as a b level actor. after that he was thought of as one of the leaders of the republican party. he would be elected governor of california and president 16 years later. the other president is abraham house divided speech. you know when in in the same category rhetorical effectiveness as reagan and

abraham lincoln that you're not doing too bad right now our goal here today is to analyze the effectiveness of that speech and figure out why it was so successful. now analyzing effectiveness is not as easy as it might seem to be. you know would think. well we'll just look at effect of the speech but in almost all cases with rhetoric there is no data. if the governor kelly of kansas gives a speech, there's probably going to be no polling, nothing that would tell us whether the speech was effective and if there is, say, six people write letters to the editor or she gets applause three times, it's very hard to tell what that means. was the audience being polite or was really a stirring speech? now, in other instances, as in this one, analyze whether it was

effective really isn't the point. but as we know, it was, this was an unknown and state senator. the speech was so important that he would become president. 51 months later, they elected 51 months later. i have one more anecdote about the importance of the speech. he gave a keynote at the convention that senator kerry was about to be nominated president when obama obama was elected president, he alabama hand on the invitation to kerry who came the inauguration? i'm here because of you and he meant was that this speech he would have been elected president in 2008. so we know the speech was important, know it was incredibly effective. we know in other instances don't have data, but we still have to figure out if the speech or

other rhetoric was well designed. fortunately, there a system for analyzing whether rhetoric is well designed to respond to any partic ular situation and the way we do that is by considering. is by considering first. what's the purpose of the rhetoric. and by purpose we means and requested actions. what's the main point and? what is it that the speaker or writer wants the audience to do? then think about the barriers to achieving the barriers are primarily audience attitudes and values but they also might be lack of interest. they also could be a lack knowledge. all of those things could be barriers. and in a few minutes i'll talk about the barriers that obama confronted when he gave the 2004 dnc keynote address.

and then we. what are the main strategies in the speech and there is almost any equation evaluating effectiveness. you ask were the strategies well designed and overcome the barriers in order to achieve the purpose so for example in this instance there were negative about democrats that were making it hard for a presidential candidate win the presidency and as you will see in a few minutes obama smart brilliantly dealt with those negative attitudes, which were the primary barriers that he faced. so this is a case study of how one evaluates effectiveness because we know the effectiveness this and since and our goal today is to explain why it was so effective and then why it was less effective when ran

for president in 2008. and why two of the strategies much less effective after he became president the united states. so let's talk about a keynote in 2004 at one point the purpose the purpose a keynote and it is exact kind of rhetoric. that is exactly what its name suggests it's designed to hit the keynote for the convention and so he is to sell the country not just the people in the hall, but the people watching on television, other observers that the democrats are the party should support. and in particular, they should support the nominee of the party senator, john kerry. so broadly his message is. but it's to support kerry, but even more broadly is to say democrats are the party best represents and help the american people as a whole.

now the situation album out one barrier he has is he's it really is astonishing that kerry chose obama. he was a state senator running from the front the illinois senate. and by the way, that's a little bit of an eerie parallel with abraham lincoln and the house divided, also running the united states senate. obama won. lincoln did not. and in that race, their races are kerry is running against incumbent president george w bush twice. and for the overwhelming most important issues relate to war on iraq and the war on terrorism. and while things were beginning to go badly in iraq, they not reached the point of quagmire that would occur in the period after the 2004 election, kerry

had been a united states senator from massachusetts. is it because he was from massachusetts as it was easy to stereotype, as too liberal? in fact he was primarily a centrist but other he was also attacked in the campaign odd enough because he was of not supporting soldiers and then veterans. vietnam now kerry had served in vietnam and served with distinction. i know he won a silver star for his heroism, but he was stereotyped as an ty soldier because after he served vietnam, he joined the vietnam veterans against the war and. and what gave a very famous speech in which he opposed the war in vietnam so that that idea democrats are not as patriotic and not as strong on defense as republicans that was a general idea about democrats, but it was also a specific idea about

kerry. now the two primary barrier is that obama has overcome or at first the perception i mention democrats are soft on defense. the pew research center said at the time. and research that 53% of the american people overall thought the best way to protect american security was through military strength. that's basically reagan's doctrine peace through strength that was 69% of republicans thought that, and even 44% of democrats. and the war in iraq still relatively popular in october of 2003. so little bit before that, 53% of independents said the war in iraq the right decision, along with 85% of republicans so later public opinion has turned against iraq. but it had not done that at that point in time. so a needs to persuade the that

democrats are not soft on defense and a party of weakness. i think domestic and the barrier about policies was even more important and. that was the perception that were too liberal and wasteful programs that didn't work very well. pew in 2005 that's the pew research right after the election that 39% of the public labeled themselves as conservative if you may be thinking, well, it's only 39%, only 19% labeled themselves as liberal. so that natural, strongest constituency for democratic party is only about 20% of the public. and one more statistic from the pew research center, nine in ten republicans and 63% of democrat thought, listen to this line. poor people have become too

dependent on government assistance programs. it's democrats that support what are sometimes called social programs and. certainly kerry did and obama did in 2004 and obama did as president. so can hear in that statistic that he has to overcome a barrier of persuading the public that democrats really want to spend money on programs that programs that are wasteful and programs that will help poor people lift themselves out of poverty, not remain in poverty. and by the way, if you're thinking that there probably was a racial to that, that there were perceptions that were about race and poor people, i think you're right. of course, poor people are more white than any other race. but there's a negative, an unfair steering type that people

had. the thing about rhetoric is, one can can decry the unfair stereotype, as i'm sure we do. but obama still had to confront it. so those are the barriers now going to watch about minutes of the speech. and what i want you to do is watch as the audience response builds. and then i want you to think about the strategies that he's. and then we're going to come and i'm going to talk about what happens in the first 10 minutes. and remember, there will time for a discussion at the end of this. so let's watch first that at the beginning people are kind of milling around and then gradually he their attention and that and the cheering gets louder and and in the last six and a half minutes, it gets louder. so let's watch that first 10 minutes.

thank you so much. thank you thank you. thank you. -- durbin. you make us all proud. on behalf of the great state of illinois. crossroads of the nation land of lincoln. let me express deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention tonight. a particular honor for me, because let's face it, my presence this stage is pretty unlikely. my father was a foreign student and raised in a small in kenya. he grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin shack. his father, my grandfather was a cook, a domestic servant to, the british. but grandfather had larger dreams for his son through hard

work and personal. my father got a scholarship study in a magical place, america, that shown as a beacon of freedom, an opportune pity to so many who had come before. while studying here, my father met. my mother, she was born in a town on the other side of the in kansas. her father worked on oil rigs, farms through most of the depression. the day after pearl harbor, my grandfather signed up for duty, joined patton's army, marched across europe. back home, my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on bomber assembly line. after the war, they studied on the gi bill bought a house through fha and later west all the way to hawaii in search of

opportunity and they too had big dreams for their daughter. a common born of two continents. my parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding in the possibilities of this nation. they would give me an african name barack or blessed, believing that in a tolerant america your name is no barrier to success success. they imagine, they imagine me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich because in a generous america you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential. they're both passed away now. and yet i know that on this they don't look down on me with great pride. they stand here and i stand here today grateful. the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents live on in

my two precious daughters. i stand here knowing that my story is part the larger american story that i owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that in no other country on earth is my story even possible. tonight. we gather to affirm the greatness of nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers or the power of our military or the size of economy. our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over 200 years ago. we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable. that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of that is the true genius of america, a

faith. a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles that we can tuck in our children at night and know that their and clothed and safe from harm. and we can say what think right? what we think without hearing a sudden knock on the door that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe that we can participate in the political process without fear, retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least most of the time. this year. in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our to hold them against a hard and see how we're measuring up to the legacy of our forebears and the promise of future generations and fellow americans, democrats,

republicans. i say to you tonight, we have more work to do do. more work to do for the workers i met in galesburg, illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the maytag that's moving to mexico and we're having to compete with our own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. more to do for the father that i met who was losing his job and choking the tears, wondering how he would pay 40 $500 a month for the drugs. his needs without the health benefits that he counted on. more to do for the young woman in east louis and thousands more like who has the grades, has drive, has the will, but have the money to go to college. now, don't get me wrong. the people i meet in small towns and big cities and diners and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all problems. they know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to go into the counties around chicago

and will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the pentagon going go any inner city neighborhood. and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach our kids to learn. they know parents have to teach the children can't achieve unless we raise their expectation and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. they know those things things. people don't. people don't expect government to solve all problems, but they sense deep in their bones that with just slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in america has a decent at life and that the doors opportunity remain open to all they know we can do better.

and they want that choice in this election. we offer that choice our. party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. and that man is john. john kerry understands. the ideals of community, faith and service, because they've defined his life from his heroic service to, vietnam, to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor through two decades in the united states senate. he's devoted himself to this country again and again. we've seen him make tough choices when easier were available, his values and his record affirm what is best in us. john kerry believes in an america where hard work is rewarded so of offering tax breaks to companies jobs overseas. he offers them to companies creating jobs here at.

john kerry believes in an america where all americans can afford the same health coverage. politicians in washington have themselves john kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren't held hostage to the profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil fields. john kerry believes in the constitution, the freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world. and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties, nor use faith as a wedge, divide us. and john kerry believes that in a dangerous world war must be an option sometimes, but it should never be the first option. you know, a while back a while back, i met young man named shamus in a vfw hall in east moline, illinois.

he was a good looking kid. six two, six three, clear eyed with an easy smile. he told me he joined the marines and was heading to iraq the following week. and as i listened him explain why he didn't list the absolute faith had in our country and its leaders his devotion to duty and service. i thought this young man was all that any of us might ever hope for in a child. but then i asked myself, are we serving shamus as well as he's serving us? thought of the 900 men and women sons and daughters, husbands and friends and neighbors who won't be returning to their own hometowns. i thought of the families i'd met who were struggling to get by without a loved one's full income or whose loved ones had returned with a limb or nerve, shattered but still lack long term health benefits because they were. when we send our young men and

women harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the or shape the truth about why are going to care for their families while they're gone. to tend to the soldiers upon their return and to never ever go to war without. enough troops to win the war. the peace and earn. the respect of the world. the tears are going to get louder. you've seen the bulk, the farms and, the main strategies that are this speech. but the themes are that democrats are committed to basic american. he that when he talks about the idea parent that the parents need to read to their kids. he talks about what he called that the slow candor that a kid

with a book who was acting white. he talks about not wanting to waste money on defense or welfare. he it very clear that he's committed to hard work patriotism. his done that. in the section when he talks about kerry's patriotism and going after real enemies. so you see how he directly states that democrats are committed to basic american values and how in so doing he both of the two attitudinal barriers i talked about. he says democrats wear patriotic. we're going to go after our enemies. and by the way osama bin laden would find as president that he meant what he and also that democrats are coming to spending wisely. but he also is making point about our failure to live up the

american dream. he talks about us who are not taking care of and all the other veterans who are not taking care of. he talks about that, that the the people who have lost jobs. he talks the girl in east in east saint louis who who has the grades has the will but isn't to go to school because she doesn't have the money. and although he doesn't say it, he's obviously talking about a diverse group of americans. and he is saying that that that with his line is with just a slight change in our priorities. we could provide a country would help all of those people. the father who lost his job and now isn't going to be able to provide his child with the drugs the child needs. so the thing is what he's saying is that the american is not

being fulfilled, but it could be now the action is obviously to vote for kerry, but more broadly, the requested war for the country to see the democratic is not exactly way you thought the democratic party was. but he's also preaching the democrat that we need to be a party that reaches out to everybody, that recognizes these barriers, and no one wants to waste money. so you see, he's doing. what's role in this? and you bet it's both an and a narrative at the same time. he's telling story about individual people, but he is making an argument and he himself is part of that narrative. he says in no other nation on earth would my story even be

possible as was at africans stood in his mother from kansas. he's just one more ordinary american who has succeeded, both because he had opportunities and because of his own hard. he's proof that if we have that slight change and a priorities the that we can help everyone because unfortunately not everyone will have the ability of a barack obama. so in terms of strategy you see he makes a strong argument. and then he tells a narrative vignettes the narrative supports the argument. but the vignettes are also part a larger story. our most important national, the american dream. it's our national myth, not myth in the sense of a false story, but a myth in the sense of a

very fundamental story. and. and he appeals to basic values like commune or day patriotism, responsibility. and also, he's beginning to talk about our shared that. we are both a diverse and all same because we're all americans. now i said you and you watched at the beginning as the cheers were modest and then they got louder. then they got much much. we're about to see cheers get much much louder cheers that in a way still resonate in country. so let's watch the conclusion. now. now, let me be clear. let me be clear. we have enemies in the world.

these enemies must be found. they must be pursued. and they must be defeated. john kerry knows this. and just as lieutenant kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served him in vietnam, president kerry will not hesitate. one moment to use our military might to keep america safe and secure. john kerry believes in america. and he knows that it's not enough for just some of us to prosper. for alongside famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the american saga. a belief that we're all connected as one people. if there is a child on the south side of chicago who can't read that matters me, even if it's not my child. if there's a senior citizen who can't pay for their prescription drugs and having to choose between medicine, the rent that makes my life poor, even if it's not my grandparent. if there is an arab american

family being rounded without benefit of an attorney or due process that threatens my civil. it is that fundamental belief. it is that fundamental belief. i am my brother's keeper. i am my sister's keeper that makes this country work. it's what allows to pursue our individual and yet still come together as one american family, e pluribus unum out of many, one. now, even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us. the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of goes. well, i say to them tonight, there is not a liberal and a conservative america. there is the united states of

america. there is not a black america and a white america and latino america and asian america. there's the united states of america. the pundits, the like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. red states, republicans blue states for democrat. but i've got news for them, too. we worship an awesome god in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. we coach little league in the blue states and yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. there are. who opposed the war in iraq and they're patriots who supported the in iraq. we are one people, all of us, allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the states of america.

in the end. in the end, in the end, that's what election is about. do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope? john kerry calls on us to hope. john edwards calls on us to hope. i'm not talking about blind optimism here. the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will away if we just don't think about it or health care crisis will solve itself, we just ignore it. that's not what i'm talking about. i'm talking about something more substantial. it's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs. the hope of setting out for distant shores. the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the mekong delta.

the hope of a mill son who dares to defy the odds. the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes america has a place for him to. hold hope in the face of. hope in the face. of uncertainty. the audacity of hope. in the end, that is god's gift to us. the bedrock this nation. a belief in things not seen. a belief that there are better days ahead. believe that we can give our middle class relief. and provide working with a road to opportunity. i believe we can provide jobs to the jobless homes, to the homeless and reclaim young people in cities across, america from violence and despair. i believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads history.

we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us america tonight. if you feel the same energy that i do, if you feel the same urgency that i do. if you feel the same passion that i do. if you feel the same hopefulness that i do. if we do what we must do, then i have no doubt that all across country, from florida to oregon, from washington to maine, the people will rise up. they will rise up in november. and john kerry will be sworn in as. and john edwards will be in as vice president. and country will reclaim its promise. and out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come. thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. you he wrong about john kerry, but he wasn't wrong about the power of the message. you could see as the cheers become in crowd, loud,

incredibly loud. what did he in that last 6 minutes? well, reinforced the theme about making the american dream. a reality for all and i think that's the most important message and the arguments that go with member would just as slight change in our policies. we could help everyone but he also emphasized the theme of similarity. he talked about how we are not black america, white america, hispanic america, the united states of america. and when we wanted to fence social programs, it's possible do that by arguing that we have to help particular groups. and that has been a very common approach taken by democrats from mario cuomo. there were pictures, jesse jackson, who ran for president

and there were pictures jesse jackson earlier in the address as he stood and applauded for obama. and, of course, there are many groups who've been discriminated against to the united states as a country is treated badly. but when you single out groups rhetorically there tends to be a negative reaction from people not in those groups. so obama a different approach he is saying we need to help the people in central cities. he's saying we need to help the people in small towns. but he's saying that we need to help them not because they're different but because they're the same as all of us. they're americans just us. e pluribus unum, he says out many one. and that strategy of emphasizing our commonality, not our differences as a way of of

supporting liberal policies and us be honest there are many communities representing, every possible race, every ethnic group, every gender that have been left behind. that's his. that's the strategy that gets developed. one of the two that in that section along with the american dream and along with a new strategy that had not appeared and that is on partizanship. he talks about the spin master or my astors and the negative peddlers. and that's when he said we're not red states and blue states. and he's emphasizing with that appeal, democrats have strong values. the blue states were coaching little league, but in the red states, they have gay friends. and of course, you know, people are just. that's his larger message.

so those three strategies the america dream is not being fulfilled but with just a slight change in our policies. we fulfill it. the appeal to all americans that. we should help people not because particular interest groups are different. he is not denying that people have been left behind. are people of every race for shamus? he does. tell us what identity is. but it is an irish name. one suspects that shamus was a white young. but in obama's world does, it matter. we were not living up to what we for all the people fighting us. just as we weren't living up to that. that the parents who had who didn't have the money for their kids or the people losing their jobs. so there's this appeal to shared because we're all just people.

and then there is the appeal to produce real change by moving beyond partizan shift. it these strategies that would help obama when the nomination in 2008 and the post-party partizan appeal. but we're not red where blue states that was particularly important in the primary campaign and that and the new speech where he had an unexpected delay lost. and he's all he doesn't have a concession speech written so he audaciously gives his victory speech even. though he had lost he admits he lost the primary. that's where he has. yes, we can land wedge. yes, we can repair. this world. yes, we can fix this nation. but that was based on one other thing he said. and that's speech that was evident in 2004.

he said our part. what got politics? we are not divided as our politics would suggest. now, he when he actually gets the nomination that seem that we're not as divided our politics would suggest. no longer helps him because he is beginning to discover that for much of this nation we were every bit as divided as our politics would suggest. the republican nominee for vice president in 2008, when obama ran the first time sarah palin, the former governor of alaska. i guess the that she then in that campaign that obama had been palling with terrorists and he she accused of being soft on terrorism. obama was beginning to discover that he had not been right when. he said that we are not as divided as our politics would suggest. and he also was beginning say

that for many america icons, the idea that we're all the same ran up against a pretty entrenched prejudice. now, in obama's 2008 campaign that appeal that we're not a black america, america, hispanic america and asian america where the united states america that did get some significant republican support. colin powell, who had been secretary of state in the george w bush administration, former massachusetts governor william weld and some others. he got 43% of the white vote in 2008. that's more than any democrat had received bill clinton. so you can see, the strategy was effective at lauer at some level, but it still only 43%. the thing carried him to victory in 2008 was his appeal to the

american dream. he had made the argument that was a little change in priority. all those different people who hurting could be helped in that campaign. after the republican convention, there was a brief period in which mccain and palin took the lead. obama would go on to win a decisive but only the economic, the depths of. the economic collapse became clear. and at that point, obama must message that we strong arguments for government acting and in in taking those actions we continue the american dream all. that message was what carried him to victory. he also had a very strong debate perform. and as is evident, if you've ever studied obama for even a few minutes, he is very, very good words and argument.

these strategies would not work as when after he was president. fact the in particular a little in the reaction to him obama would discover after he was elected president that his post-partisan that we're not as divided as our politics would suggest that had the disadvantage of being false important republican leaders in the congress met before obama was sworn in. and decided that they would oppose everything his administration proposed even they knew what it was even before they. knew what it was. and that happened at a time where the most severe economic crisis country had faced since the great depression. but because of obama's post-partisan appeal, they would then point to their own

opposition as proof obama had failed. you can the rhetorical box that obama was in because of that post-partisan. he had promised to bring the nation together. he had promised are not as divided as our politics would. where said. but i'm the i don't agree with you. therefore that demonstrates you failed. republicans. as one commentator said, would block action and obama would get the blame pretty bad situation. i think we also have to say that obama into the of his appeal that we're all the. and he got a stronger support than any other democrat since bill clinton. and of course the other democrats who ran white and didn't run in the same that obama did.

but you have to recognize that after obama became president there were ugly out of racism any body of the right age received e-mails with names that just reflected racism. i certainly know i received things like that where i set a world record for, deleting them. and there were also at one point i huge percentage of the american people, 34% of the american people that obama had been born in. kenya, which is a pretty astonishing thing to believe since there were birth announcements in, two different hawaii papers. when obama was born in it, obama must have been a pretty as a fetus in his mother's womb. apparently he took out the birth announcements from. kenya. it was absurd. but i'm a little more than a third of the american people

believed. a sign of how endemic racism remains in american society. the message that through throughout presidency was, his appeal to the american dream and. that was the message that unify democrats. that led to a relatively easy campaign in 2012. but i've emphasized the level of partizanship and i've how divided we were as a nation and the appeal to a shared identity because knows we're all just people that that still has power. again obama i got more support than any democrat since bill clinton who didn't run into the same racist reaction and any build a multiracial coalesce and that changed american politics.

and i want to end not a quotation from the 2004 keynote speech, but from his first inaugural, that, as he said the 2004 keynote speech made possible in that inaugural address, obama spoke of his hope for the future for the united states. and i think more broadly for the world. we cannot believe, but believe he said, that the old hatreds shall someday pass. that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve. i think if if now. former president obama were here, what he would say is we are not to that point yet. but many many americans and to a lesser extent around the world have recognized the power of his message that we all just human.

we come from different ethnography, but we have different backgrounds we look slightly different. you know, i often about my surely god not intend my pasty yet the way i look as the default that there are some design flaws there that we're all just people and that although it didn't always help as president is a message that will continue to resonate along with his appeal to make the american dream reality for all. now i've done a lot of talking. now, and i know people have questions and comment and disagreements are always. so what? what questions you have? what comments do you have? and and we have you can speak loudly with the mic everybody can be have loud voice don't be shy.

oh, come on. not everyone will. go ahead and go ahead. do i go. yep. you sure do. come up. it's like a game show. come on down, kid. except for the lack of prizes. what do you. what do you think? so that last thing said about the quote, basically, obama said, we're all just people and we're not at the point yet where we realize there is equality. did i get that right? he said it better than either one of us like that. if have to be as eloquent as obama, we better go home. i, i mean, i do agree that we're all people and that we all, you know, have this similarity of the genetics and on the inside, we are just people. but honestly, the dream that i've him say and many others, i

honestly just don't see that ever happening in the world that we live in with the the partizanship, the hatred that we have. i mean i've seen beautiful with rhetoric that make me the moment be like well, this is possible. maybe this can but like what we just watched at the end, i will actually found myself about to do this and i'm like, oh, wait, we're in a room. but i when i really think about it, i'm just like, no, no, no, this isn't going to happen. i got to be real. let me give you a little help. all right. i hear you. it's hard to. look at the united states and not you know what was it very recently? someone was murdered for having a flag, a flag outside their store, basically saying, we welcome everybody and i'm not going to discriminate it. it's it's hard be optimistic when you see that.

and of course, the murder of people of color that occurs disproportionately. you know what we do lots of horrible things to people this country. how can i be optimistic? we used to be terrified of the irish and 1840s. we were terrified of the irish. and wanted to send them back. there was a when we were afraid of the mennonite german ancestry farmers in western kansas, we were afraid of the mennonites. we were afraid of the of the italians. we've been the japanese. the incredible mistreatment of japanese and chinese. the internment camps for the japanese. our horrible. what we've been horrible to any number of groups in this country. but we over time we recognize

that they they the irish are great on more than st patrick's day that mennonite farmers are just farmers are just and we are not there. i understand why you're depressed. afraid i am too. and that treatment of trans americans is just this awful. but. but don't you think obama's message that we're all just people. and because we're people. because we're all just people, that that means we ought to treat everybody with decency and respect. that's not going to get everybody. but i think if he were here today, he'd say, we're close certain to that and we have to keep moving and keep fighting and go ahead. we have a. all right, professor, there you say that. surely god must have made

mistake in the pasty ness of your skin. and my question is what's stopping you from a spray tan? oh, gosh. well, thank for that esthetic suggestion, but mean, don't you think it's obvious i'm stuck in 1939? i mean, i. i am dress to have fresh air would a better 1939 and this just isn't for the camera this is the way i always am. you know, there's a principle of authenticity and rhetoric. you have to know who you are and and be who you are. and i a spray tan on me. and so that means, you know who you are and be who you are and act dress that way and. i'm going to be a pathetic geek with spray tan. now. well, you can tell me how pathetic i am. later. i know that there are other we've had we've had too many

y-chromosome. i guess like i mean it's pretty evident of course that you are like very well educated in politics and you know, even now to this like today in time, not just in our books and stuff, would you say that there's any one of any party in party that is kind of in comparison to speakers like obama or or anyone who, like has potential to be successful rhetorically guess or someone that you are to see in their future. i guess that it's a really question. the truth that rap who use rhetoric rhetoric that's the technical term as skillful as barack obama and reagan they come around and in you know since the dawn the 20th century 1900 i only think of the two roosevelts tr and fdr, reagan

not obama. and of course, dr. king, who's just along with lincoln and a different class than than others. i we get tramps presence reagan and obama once every about 3040 years and secular like lincoln and king about every hundred and 50 years. so it no criticism of the contemporary america to say that there is no one with quite the rhetorical scale of a ronald reagan or a barack obama. and let me add that in narrative about america, his description, a country as an empire of, ideals that we've talked about in this class, his of america, where he says, whether you're an irish american or any other kind of an african, he said, it's your destination that matters more than your origin, that that

that narrative, not the policies. but that narrative of is a great deal like barack obama maybe tells something about the power of the american dream and having an optimistic and, lucid fashion as storytellers about american politics. barack obama and and ronald reagan would have a great deal to talk about. now are people with negative their sense of this country who talk about america as a dystopia and they have a great deal of power in american politics today. but they're not our topic for today so and i think like many times in this nation we don't have anybody with quite obama or reagan's for because people like that don't come around very often. i think we're got one time for one more. the last couple there seems to be like a lack of demeanor.

politicians, i don't know how you feel fair in the last two cycles and whether or not we can get back to a point that's somewhat respectable. oh, gosh, i sure hope so. in our year, that's a lot of smart comment that we've had elections. we had presidential debates particular filled with statements of anger. you know, if you think about it, there's and that then state senator obama gave maybe gives the answer to that that if that and characteristic that's the most important is we're all americans. if we're a nation defined by ideas very similar to something ronald reagan said often if we're a nation defined by ideals, then what does that suggest about how we should talk to each other? when people on other side are making arguments about policy, our values, we should and then they should give us a chance to

respond. we should discuss debate. we should privileged facts because as john adams said facts are, stubborn things and dead, unfortunately. and today, america facts are a lot less stubborn. they are than they have been in the past. if we did that, if we listened to other if we focused on arguments, if we let the other side talk and we talk and we treated everyone decency and respect, that our elected leaders could get together and find real solutions for our problems. you know, they would together. and what obama about transcending red blue might become a reality. i that may sound like a pipe dream today, but that kind of discussion where we listen to each other has in the past and i have that we can get there once

again in a way that's what training for this maybe made it in obama's. when you ran for reelection in 2012, it was a bad economic time. and he and his convention acceptance speech, he he he explained why he was optimistic. he talked about you as optimist again and again. and then he said, let me tell you why i'm optimistic. i'm not because of me, but of all of you. and that attitude that it is in the hands of the american people and to change the nation for the better by listening to people on the other side, responding respectful, and treating everybody with decency and respect by recognizing difference between fact and fiction. we could do that again and that as president kennedy said, is in your hands. and so now that we put the fate of the republic in the hands of

the students in this class, i think it's an hour well-spent. so thank you.

cecily zander and i've got a

little bio herd