Barack Obama: Can Mr. Cool Get Hot?

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Can Mr. Cool Get Hot?
By David Ignatius
Thursday, October 11, 2007; Page A19

Politics is about self-control and staying on message. But it's also about letting go. And it's this second attribute -- the politician's equivalent of getting "into the zone" -- that Sen. Barack Obama will have to discover if he wants to ignite voters and win the Democratic nomination....

Obama is certainly charismatic, so much so that people often describe him as a rock star on the campaign trail. But he's more Paul McCartney than Mick Jagger -- so cool and self-conscious that it's hard to imagine him saying "let it bleed." He may be the smartest candidate in either party this year, and also the most visionary. But traveling with him, you get the sense that he's tight as a tick. He's Mr. Cool, holding himself back, wary of letting audiences see either his passion or his vulnerability....

***

I've watched Obama, in person and in some of the dozens of campaign clips assembled on YouTube. The man gives a good speech, but it's distanced. He senses the crest of that wave RFK mounted, but then he seems to pull back, keeping himself in check. Even his voice modulates downward toward the end of a big sentence, robbing it of its full power.

Nobody tells the story of the American dream better than Obama, as he did in his address to the 2004 Democratic convention, which three years later remains his galvanizing political moment. But I sense more reserve now and less exuberance....

***

Does Obama have that ability to let go? He is behind Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points in the polls, and even Democrats who like him worry that the nomination may soon be out of his reach. We'll find out during the next few months if Obama has that higher gear -- that ability to lose himself in the power of the moment. If he doesn't, he's going to lose.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/10/AR2007101002115.html?nav=most_emailed

[opihimoimoi]

1. What can anyone say? He WAS HOT....back then...but as of now...the numbers show him to be too cool

I like the dude...maybe too early for him? Who knows...?