Richard Greene
Posted November 5, 2008 | 05:24 PM (EST)
He's Ready . . . To Be Our Most Able President
On July 27, 2004 I sat in The Fleet Center and watched State Senator Barack
Obama give his 16 minute Keynote Address at The Democratic Convention in
Boston. After it was finished I knew that I had seen "Words That Shook The
World," as impressive in every way as the others included in my book.
A little over two years later, when the talk was that Freshman U.S. Sen. Barack
Obama was far too young and inexperienced to even seriously consider running
for President, I emailed Arianna Huffington and said that it wasn't true and
that if he ran, he would likely win. She said, "Write it and we'll post it."
So here is my post from The Huffington Post on October 16, 2006, "He's Ready,"
and another prediction, very relevant to today. I predict, within the first
three months of a Barack Obama Administration, we will begin saying that he is
the wisest, most able president since Abraham Lincoln. He will lead like no
others in the 20th (and certainly 21st) Century and transform the way that The
White House deals with Congress and, more importantly, the way The United
States of America, forever, deals with the world.
I saw things I have never seen in a politician that July evening. It is
gratifying that the majority of Americans see that now as well and even more
gratifying that we now will have a man with his transformational and even
transcendent qualities leading what has been, and should be, the greatest
country on earth.
Those qualities are even more true today than when they were written over two
years ago in this post:
"HE'S READY"
It was Winston Churchill's ability to give a great speech that defined him as a
leader. It was Franklin Roosevelt's speeches that defined him as a leader. And
John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
The ability to give a great speech is the most visible and, I argue, one of the
most important responsibilities of the individual who leads any nation, and
particularly, the most powerful nation on earth. It also acts as a window into
the soul of the man or woman behind the speech, communicating far more than the
transient issues and positions of the day.
Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention proved that he has what it
takes to be a phenomenal President.
Just that one speech.
The relationship between great speakers and great leaders is extremely direct.
And it is why so many, approximately 40% of all adults, are indeed afraid to
give a speech.
When you stand up in front of an audience you ARE naked. The audience CAN see
who you really are, how much you DON'T know, how sincere you are, how smart you
are and a whole list of other qualities and capacities or deficits and
liabilities.
And they can also see greatness.
That is because non-verbal communication, voice tone, body language and how
they synch, or don't synch with the words, communicates as much as 93% of what
transpires between a speaker and his or her audience.
So, on July 27, 2004, America saw what they needed to see and hear . . . and
what they want to see and hear from every other politician.
They saw intelligence
They saw warmth and compassion
They saw sophistication
They saw thoughtfulness
They saw vision
They heard the story of the American dream
But, more importantly... and politicians sometimes have a hard time getting
this... they FELT a connection to the man beneath the speech.
That is why my clients and audiences, Republican and Democratic, US and
foreign, raise their hand when I ask if they were "touched" by Barack Obama's
speech. They still remember it, they still get emotional about it. It still has
magic.
And it's because Barack Obama does something that few speakers have ever been
able to do.
Bad speakers put on a "performance." Highly memorized and rehearsed with little
or none of themselves left in the speech. They speak "at" their audience.
Average speakers do a "presentation." A very linear download of the facts and
arguments. They speak "to" their audience.
Outstanding speakers have a "conversation" with their audiences. FDR, JFK,
Reagan, Clinton.
But a few speakers go beyond. Their connection with the audience transcends
even the "with-ness" of these great speakers... there is a melding, an almost
spiritual connection where, for a brief, glorious moment, the speaker and the
listener are "one." It is the speaking of a speech from a different place than
most politicians or businesspersons know. And, because the connection is so
very deep, the message and the messenger seem to transcend partisan politics.
THIS is what Martin Luther King did with his speeches and his audiences. And,
in a different way, THIS is what Barack Obama does, and can do.
It is very, very rare.
It takes a knowledge of self and a fearless sort of honesty, on top of
extraordinary intellect and external awareness.
So the call for Barack Obama to run is a reflection of this. He is a "rock
star" and his appeal is, and will always be, deep.
And his election would, in so many ways, change and potentially heal the
country and our world. Instantly.
In one speech, Barack Obama went from 0 to 60, from almost complete obscurity
to almost superstar status, from a non-force on the national scene to a
significant force.
Beyond the benefits of seeing a black man in the White House, once the world
hears this black man speak -- even just one speech -- after eight years of what
they have heard, they will, instantly, regain their respect for our President
and our people. He would be like the other modern Presidents that the world
loved -- JFK and, yes, Bill Clinton -- Ambassadors for America, erasing, in one
world tour, the distrust and, indeed, hatred that the current occupant of the
White House has engendered.
That is also why his name keeps coming up because that would help make the
world, and our country, safer.
And regarding his lack of experience... it should be remembered that there was
a rather young Governor with zero national or international experience who made
the argument that one could and would surround themselves with people of great
experience in those areas. That is always true and would be far more
effectively done with the kind of thoughtful, intelligent oversight that a
former Editor of the Harvard Law Review could provide.
A person is never "ready" for the most important job on Earth. But, if Barack
Obama wants it, the country and the world would be treated to the kind of
leadership that had millions huddled around their radios for "Fireside Chats,"
a million cheering in the Rudolph Wilde Platz in Berlin and hundreds of
thousands spellbound on the Capitol Mall. He's on the cover of Time Magazine
and in people's thoughts because America and the world are "ready" for that
again.
