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Jan. 4th, 2008 03:45 pmSo I was trying to explain to my roommate, Donna, about the awesomeness of Obama's victory speech last night. "He sounds like Martin Luther King!* It's fourteen minutes long and I thought I'd get bored like five seconds in, but I wasn't! I wanted to go out and vote for him like three times RIGHT NOW!"
Donna, who volunteers as a poll worker every November, just grinned and said, "You know where I work. We might be able to arrange that."
I share this story because, after having bitched about her a little while ago, I thought it only fair to also show her sense of humor.
*(Yes, I know this seems both hyperbolic and racially convenient, but here's the thing - his vocal patterns in the beginning of the speech actually did remind me of King's with "I have a dream." And even after that faded out, he still had the kind of charisma, passion, timing, and way with words that King had. I mean, I repeat: the guy held ME spellbound for fourteen minutes. With a political speech. This is a new record. I think the last record for holding me spellbound with a political speech was thirty-seven seconds. Obama came to speak in Maine a couple of months ago, and I am deeply, profoundly sorry that I missed it. If he can have that sort of effect in a little YouTube square, I can just imagine how electric a speaker he must be in person. Part of me was in thrall to his sheer presence, and the other part of me - the part that sits back and analyzes everything I'm reading or watching because of my fascination with language - was deeply impressed by how deft a speech it was. The man knows exactly what he is doing and how to do it. I think we should all be grateful that he is using his powers for good.)
Donna, who volunteers as a poll worker every November, just grinned and said, "You know where I work. We might be able to arrange that."
I share this story because, after having bitched about her a little while ago, I thought it only fair to also show her sense of humor.
*(Yes, I know this seems both hyperbolic and racially convenient, but here's the thing - his vocal patterns in the beginning of the speech actually did remind me of King's with "I have a dream." And even after that faded out, he still had the kind of charisma, passion, timing, and way with words that King had. I mean, I repeat: the guy held ME spellbound for fourteen minutes. With a political speech. This is a new record. I think the last record for holding me spellbound with a political speech was thirty-seven seconds. Obama came to speak in Maine a couple of months ago, and I am deeply, profoundly sorry that I missed it. If he can have that sort of effect in a little YouTube square, I can just imagine how electric a speaker he must be in person. Part of me was in thrall to his sheer presence, and the other part of me - the part that sits back and analyzes everything I'm reading or watching because of my fascination with language - was deeply impressed by how deft a speech it was. The man knows exactly what he is doing and how to do it. I think we should all be grateful that he is using his powers for good.)
