In both content and cadence, the elegiac oratory of Barack Obama to commemorate his historic victory reminded me a lot of Martin Luther King’s historic Lincoln Memorial speech in 1963.
Obama’s repeated ‘yes we can’ at the close of the beautifully judged 17 minute speech echoed King’s ‘I have a dream’ refrain. It is a technique more common with preachers than politicians but is highly effective in building the momentum of the words to a climax.
Obama’s calm, conciliatory tone is also reminiscent of another great black leader Nelson Mandela.
Placing Obama on a par with such towering figures may be premature but only such superlatives seem appropriate at this point.
Seeing Jessie Jackson fighting back the tears was an incredibly moving moment and to inspire such a response is a measure of Obama’s charisma and illustrates the huge expectations that follow his unbelievable victory.
The sense of negativity and apathy towards politics seems for the moment to have been swept aside.
Truly a defining moment in world politics.
