Barack Obama and John Edwards, it should be said, are spectacularly good at giving speeches. One thing American politics has lacked since, well, Bill Clinton, is a truly effective rhetorician. Edwards was good in 2004, but not this good. And while Dean's clipped, aggressive delivery was exciting, his oratory isn't going to land in the history books. But at this point in the race, both Edwards and Obama have proven themselves repeatedly able to speak of progressivism, in their own ways, with astonishing force and eloquence. Weaker speakers tend to fall back on easier topics, like their records, or their opponent's weaknesses. Edwards and Obama sell their ideologies. It's a real difference, and entirely a function of their oratorical talents. For those who believe that Reagan's skills as a communicator proved a president's rhetoric can significantly alter the ideological direction of the country, Edwards and Obama both offer slightly different, but nevertheless completely plausible, models for how a liberal politician could do the same.
