John Kerry gave the speech of his life, the speech needed to win the election and replace George Bush.
John Kerry made a clear, clean commitment to doing what is needed to get the country going again.
At a more technical rhetorical level, Kerry spoke in the language of
Americans, not the language of old line democrats and union
leaders. For example, he spoke of the “middle class” not of
“working families.” Indeed, the Democratic Party has made a major
shift this year in language–unnoticed by most pundits. The most
powerful speeches–Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Kerry–used no
traditional Democratic code language. Instead, their language was
that of most Americans, and their allusions were to the shared
zeitgeist of Americans–the shared experience of Americans who follow
the news and think about leadership and governance.
The nation’s experience includes a great deal of frustration with the
Bush administration. Brilliantly and subtly, Kerry’s speech was
laced with allusions to these shared frustrations, and the more focused
frustrations with George Bush. Others can provide more serious
examples, but I had particular fun with Kerry’s line about the nation
needing “a president who believes in science.” And yes, we do
need a “fact -based” approach to decision-making.