"So Why Does Obama Keep Winning?"

(Brookfield, Wisconsin)

Greetings again from Wisconsin. I am glad to report temperatures have risen from sub-zero. Today we may actually warm up to a sweltering 30 degrees!

Many people have asked me for my opinion on why Barack Obama keeps on winning. A year ago few people knew him.
The number one thing is probably the tone of his message, not the content. The comments that I hear most often including the words "hope, optimism and inspiration." He does give a "feel good" speech, even if it is lacking on specific program and issue details.

This is NOT a new invention. John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan are two examples from opposite ends of the political spectrum who were nonetheless beloved for their great rhetoric. Why is that, and does Obama have the same skills?

The basic answer is that Americans want to feel good about their country and about themselves. In 1980 for example, Ronald Reagan said "It's morning in America," and described the nation as a "shining city on a hill." It was very optimistic stuff.

President Jimmy Carter on the other hand, said the nation was in a "malaise." It was downright pessimistic. People don't want to hear the place was "going to hell in a hand basket" even if it is true!

So Obama has that very same touch...the idea that "America's best days are ahead of us, and not behind us." It is a message, that has lifted many politicians into office. Bill Clinton had a bit of that charm too! The problem is many voters look at Obama as "new and different" and at Hillary Clinton as "been there, done that." No it's not fair to her, because she is her own person, but that is the political reality. Jeb Bush may get the same response if he runs in 2012.

There will be a challenge to all of this. At some point, Obama will have to lay out the specifics of his programs, either in a challenge from Hillary Clinton, or in the general election against John McCain. The press has a responsibility to question him in minute detail as well.

The public has a right to know, who will run the country, how they will do it, what it will cost and who will pay. Sooner or later the feel good speeches will have to make way for an honest to goodness road map!