The Obama show.
The Obama spectacle scheduled for tomight, featuring a set design by the people who did Britney Spears shows, makes me uneasy, like some horrible back alley mating of politics and pop entertainment spawning who-knows-what. True, all candidates in recent years have made ample use of pop media outlets, but the closing night of a convention is supposed to be the candidate’s show, to communicate what he or she is about. It’s not like walking onstage for Oprah or Ellen. So much borrowed interest and showmanship doesn’t inspire confidence.
The Obama show tonight strikes me as pandering to the youth demo at the expense of undecideds, though Obama’s people claim the opposite, that the to-do is all about the people. But it could very easily come across as all about Obama, which for some not of the come-let-us-adore-him persuasion is a turn-off and exposes him to the more attacks on celebrity, arrogance and naivete.
So why would he do that? I’d guess it’s a calculated decision that the youth vote is more valuable (and attainable) to the campaign than the independent/undecided vote, and it probably is. Undecideds and independents, like the wily older demo for advertisers, need evidence and argument. The youth market doesn’t need that kind of persuasion, and something shiny never hurts.
We’ll see what he says, though. Handlers say Obama’s going to deliver actual substance tonight in his speech, and maybe that will offset the impression left by the extravagant production. If he doesn’t, then I think it’s a calculated move to energize and mobilize youth rather than persuade fence-sitters. Either way, if you’re standing next to Chris Mathews, bring a mop.
