Obama is NOT Charismatic
I don't get it. I'm seeing the same speeches as everyone else, and yet, I just don't perceive Obama as a charismatic individual . When he talks, he is somewhat persuasive, but bland - very bland - to the point of sending me to Drowsyland. Am I so out of step with things that I fail to recognize an extraordinary, even messianic leader? Nah. I've heard truly inspiring, engaging speakers before. Pope John Paul II, in the early years of his pontificate. Martin Luther King. Heck, even James Carville has a certain something - he is passionate in his convictions, and it shows. You feel drawn to him, even though you detest his politics. Probably accounts for his happy marriage to a dedicated conservative. Obama is overly measured and cool. Kind of John Kerry, without the accent or goofy overstatements. Perhaps what observers see is an aura of mystery - probably from the disinclination to talk much about himself. There are MAJOR chunks of his life that we know nothing ...