Obama Mania ContinuesWho is he? The media, in their rush to anoint him as the "great black hope" of the Democrats, are having a hard time deciding which icon he most resembles. Is he
the new Jack Kennedy?
"I was in the hall when he gave that speech and I heard a future president," says Mr Luntz. "Here was the American dream embodied in a young man running for Senate, a new Jack or Bobby Kennedy."Or is he the
new Ronald Reagan?
Both Reagan and Obama delivered a single speech that captured the public's attention and catapulted them to the front rank of national figures. On Oct. 27, 1964, Reagan as a private, albeit well-known, citizen spoke in a paid political telecast on behalf of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy. The Arizona senator lost in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson a few days later, but Reagan--telling voters, "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny"--became fixed in their minds as a political force on the strength of his message and delivery.
In much the same way, Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention made people take notice of, in a phrase from his speech, "a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too."
