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Barack Obama’s Debate Weakness

April 7, 2007 | Permalink

With the first democratic debate coming up at the end of the month, we at 2008 Central will be analyzing the debating skills of various candidates. First up, we’ll be looking at Sen. Barack Obama

There’s no debate over Sen. Obama’s oratory skill - he is gifted. Aside from overusing a lightly uttered “uhh…” as a transitional device, his execution is basically flawless. That being said, exceptional delivery does not necessarily translate into a strong debate performance. Debates are dynamic, engaging and force candidates to respond to stimuli in short order; thus, creating a rare opportunity for voters to see raw emotion and hear/see unprocessed responses. Now, I realize that candidates prepare extensively for debates, thereby reducing the likelihood that raw, unprocessed responses slip out. But, they’re still there…

In terms of the debate, Sen. Obama has the most to lose and the least to gain. Obama’s rhetorical abilities are well established and many voters have their impression of his personality already. These existent impressions positive, so a stellar performance at the debate won’t enhance the perception of him, but simply reinforce it. However, if he conducts himself out of character (and expectations are already pretty high for him), he runs the risk of disillusioning his rapidly growing base. In my opinion, the Senator has weaknesses that if exploited could make the debate and the ensuing political consequences very interesting…

Sen. Obama does not like to be pressed. When pressure is applied to him, he becomes visibly agitated. His eyes serve as a billboard for the anger he feels…his hand gestures border on hostile…his responses curt. His debates with Alan Keyes are telling…

In his third debate with Keyes, Obama’s potential volatility are put on display (there are plenty of other examples, but I felt that these happen to be best ones).

  • Obama FaceIn the beginning, the moderator pushes Obama to reconcile his positions on gay marriage, gay civil unions and his religion. Aside from the slight frustration visible on his face, his hand gestures better express his frustration constantly making the “stop” gesture.
  • 1 minute and 45 seconds into this clip, the moderator asks Obama if he thinks homosexuality is a choice. Prior to replying, Obama sighed. This is a pretty common question that I believe the Senator should have expected. A sigh was unnecessary. Obama wasn’t sighing because the question itself, but rather was sighing because he frustrated that the moderator was continuing his line of questioning.
  • He can’t let things go. At 5:40 in this clip, he demands an unnecessary follow up (something he does fairly often)
  • Obama Gesture7 minutes and 30 seconds into this clip, Obama puts his frustration with the debate completely on display with some over-the-top body language and facial expressions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Obama’s performance in the aforementioned debate was bad, or sub par or anything like that. Rather, what I am saying is that the Senator has weaknesses that can be exploited by his rivals that may be better at pushing Obama’s buttons than Keyes. These weaknesses are enhanced by three factors.

  1. Sen. Obama is rapidly becoming the front runner, so poaching his supporters before they become too attached makes him a very attractive target. Edwards has massive incentive to do this.
  2. Dennis Kucinich can be aggressive and personally confrontational in these debates, which may not go over well with someone like Obama.
  3. Sen Obama’s political inexperience only enhances his volatility. Learning how to let comments roll by you and not affect you personally is something that this new big time politico is still learning.

We’ve seen Obama’s raw and unprocessed responses before. We saw it when he got swept up in the moment while discussing Iraq and said that “we have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted” [I'm not saying the comment was terrible, but it was something that Obama said he regretted]. We also saw the Senator respond pretty strongly to Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s attack on him.

Sen. Barack Obama has exploitable weaknesses, a track record of responding strongly to those that criticize him and tends to let unprocessed statements slip out when emotional. With the bar as high as it is for Sen. Obama, he’s going to need to prepare extra hard for these debates in order to avoid losing supporters, while at the same time knowing that it probably won’t gain him any extra. No doubt an unpleasant spot to be in.

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Comments

13 Responses to “Barack Obama’s Debate Weakness”

  1. Obamability » Blog Archive » Barack Obama’s Debate Weakness on April 7th, 2007 10:07 pm

    [...] See original here: 08 Guru AsC [...]

  2. ThinLine on April 8th, 2007 5:18 pm

    Agreed. And there is so much more. Read postings offering a fact based analysis of Barack Obama’s political record since 2003. What you see is not necessarily what you get.

  3. Andy on April 8th, 2007 6:10 pm

    Its sad, but it doesn’t seem like debates matter all that much anymore. At least primary debates, that is.

  4. Fred Zimmerman on April 9th, 2007 10:09 am

    Nice post.

  5. iPol on April 9th, 2007 11:54 am

    Nice work, guys; good post.

  6. 08 Guru AsC on April 9th, 2007 12:32 pm

    Thanks all. We’ll be running debate previews on the candidates as the first democratic and republican debates approach. Just something to watch out for…

  7. Flashback: Barack Obama’s Debate Weakness on April 26th, 2007 1:46 pm

    [...] Barack Obama’s Debate Weakness Sphere: Related Content [...]

  8. Democrat Barack Obama » barack obama April 8, 2007 1:43 am on May 8th, 2007 10:49 pm

    [...] Republicans are afraid of Barack Obama running for president? No. At least not yet anyways. …Barack Obama?s Debate Weakness Barack Obama has exploitable weaknesses, a track record of responding strongly to those that [...]

  9. Y on June 5th, 2007 10:38 am

    I’m afraid I do not understand what the author meant by Obama having a weakness. Emotions do not always cloud your judgement. They often reflect it. A person whose understanding is deeply ingrained in their personality will begin to feel when something is wrong.

    That he has emotions is a good thing. If he doesn’t have emotions, he can’t be passionate, which is the most important quality in a good leader.

  10. The Company Rocks » Blog Archive » Defining Moments on February 20th, 2008 12:21 pm

    [...] (Click here to read the entire article and to watch the video.) [...]

  11. lindabiel on March 15th, 2008 5:12 pm

    I realize I’m just an average american, but this Pastor Right who seems to be hurting Obama by association is just another frustrated American who is speaking out about the policies of this and quite possibly other adminstrations. We do have the freedom of speech, and it is okay to listen to how others are feeling. Thats why I like Obama, he is a good listener. Could you pass this strategy on to him, I think others might relate to this. Also, look at the flag burning during the Vietnam war. Americans are known to let their spirit show it some of the most extreme ways when frustration is unleashed.
    Thank you

  12. tdaxp » Blog Archive » McCain at the National Urban League on August 3rd, 2008 10:44 am

    [...] And McCain took a lot of them. John is clearly fast on his, and it’s not surprising that Barack does not want to debate McCain in an informal [...]

  13. Obama: Not Enough Time for Town Halls - Page 3 - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum on August 3rd, 2008 9:13 pm

    [...] toast of McCain in the debates. Psssst. He went to Harvard. They don’t let dummies in there… didn’t do so well with Alan Keyes the bettors were unimpressed Not much praise here either he may read speaches well but he’s a [...]

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