The 2,297 words uttered over 17 minutes changed Obama's profile overnight and made him a household name. The keynote speech that Barack Obama delivered on Tuesday, July 27, 2004, galvanized the delegates who packed Boston's FleetCenter and electrified a nationwide television audience. "His public image changed because of that speech," says Illinois senator Dick Durbin. "One thing that he was very clear about telling us," says Gibbs, "-and I think it was largely out of that experience of the weekly radio address-was he wanted to write this speech and write it in a way that was personal."Ī star is born:Obama soaks up the cheers moments after finishing his keynote address. So it was not exactly a surprise when, one week later-after John Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, called Obama and told him that he had been picked to deliver the Democratic National Convention's keynote address-Obama gave his aides a firm directive: he would write the speech himself. "It was kind of obvious that he was recording the words of somebody else." "It was good, but it was nothing awe inspiring," recalls Gibbs. And the radio waves showcased Obama's trademark baritone-deep in pitch, authoritative and reassuring in tone.īut Obama thought the address came off flat. The eloquent and well-argued talk hit all the right Democratic buttons. In his remarks-written entirely by his longtime media adviser, David Axelrod, and by his chief press aide, Robert Gibbs-Obama criticized Bush on a litany of economic issues, from rising health-care costs and unfair tax policies to job outsourcing. The speech offered the new Democratic Senate candidate from Illinois one of his first big moments on the national stage. On Saturday, June 26, 2004, Barack Obama sat in a recording studio in Chicago to give his party's response to President Bush's weekly radio address.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |