I want to write some larger impressions of the Huckabee rally I just attended later, but as a quick thought, if Huckabee and Obama with their respective nominations, you'll see a battle between two insurgent campaigns both powered by precisely opposite styles of rhetoric. Obama orates. Huckabee talks. Both, at their best, are better at their respective speaking styles than just about anyone I've seen. But listening to them in close succession creates a kind of whiplash. Obama speaks from the mountain top, adopting a preacher's cadence, booming his voice, building to crescendos, pulling back for lulls. Huckabee does exactly the opposite. He chats. He doesn't raise his voice. Doesn't lower it. Doesn't build. You feel like you just had a conversation with the guy, even though you never said a word. It's an amazing effect. Where Obama is inspirational, Huckabee is deeply empathic. Where Obama is cerebral, Huckabee is folksy. Both are impressive. But they couldn't be less alike.
