Fighting the ignorant

Dude:  You know, Obama is just a empty suit.

Me:  What makes you say that?

Dude:  He gives good speeches, but where's the details?

Me:  You want Al Gore back.

Gore was smart.  He presented specifics on why his plan was going to work, and on everything he.  Was.  Right.

He lost.  Why?  Because people were bored.  He didn't know how to sell himself.

Now we have Obama, who says "If you want to details, go online, read my books.  While you're there, volunteer."  He combines the power of the net roots to get people to act, with the power of the spoken word to inspire people to move.

You tell people the simple truths:  I support a woman's right to choose.  I will start pulling us out of Iraq as soon as I took office and called in the generals.  I will issue this health care plan to do X.

So far, I'd say Obama's style is working very well.  He tells us we're going to have to work hard.  We're going to have to sacrifice to get energy independence.  He tells us that we're going to up against people who will tell us "You can't have health care and security and environmental protection!", and that they will fight us tooth, claw and nail because they want to hold on to the power of their dollar.

That's honesty, and specific enough to people who haven't had a reason to get involved before to start getting involved.  Once they are, they can learn the details through his writing (you know - books and things), or on his web site.  But if you're too lazy to go that far, and want to sit back and be spoon fed all of the information, then we can't help you.

We're too busy working.

Dude:  You talk a lot.

Me:  Yeah.  And get more done.

Blogged with Flock