A popular and well-known political figure has been sweeping the nation. With his skilled use of language and charm, he has taken the hearts, and minds, of many Americans. He has offered the different ways in which we can approach the future. Instead of the traditional ways of leading a country that may or may not have proven to be acceptable, he is choosing to lead the country in a more radical manor. If you haven't guessed it by now, that man is the democratic candidate for he 2008 Presidential Election; Senator Barack Obama.

Barack Obama is consistently capturing more and more minds of the people. His various tactics and techniques are used to grasp the public's eyes. Senator Obama, like many political figures do, creates advertisements to appeal to a specific eye. In doing this, he allows himself to gain more supporters in different categories whether it be based on race, gender, or age. One of the many ways in which Obama was trying to appeal to a specific group of people was his music video.

The Obama music video is none-the-less a very useful and smart technique. I feel as though he is aiming for the younger audience. The video contains many people such as celebrities and very important political figures. Together they sing and praise the idea of hope and power through the very persuasive words “yes we can”. These celebrities chant this throughout the video and promote the idea of change and make it become a necessity. Obama and his campaign editors were smart in choosing a melodic approach to reaching out to the younger voting audience. Also, to use celebrities in the video was a wise choice because the majority of celebrities act as a role model whether it’s trough their own publicized experiences, their talents, or their physical appearance. The video is use strictly as a means to get everyone excited and hyped up.

I think if he spent more time focusing on his plans and relaying the truth about what he wants to do as president, then people will be able to vote for what’s right instead of what seems more appealing. I respect the people who vote for him based on his views rather than the silly music videos and stuff like that. As for the people who know nothing about his plans, I can’t help but to deem them as fake. People are so pro-Obama and striving for change, yet they have no idea what that entails. If you ask me, I kind of find it embarrassing that people will fight till they're blue in the face that Obama is better than McCain and they have no idea what he stands for. The same thing goes for McCain.

The majority of people are uniformed about the views form each candidate. They just base it on the exterior. McCain’s age and Obama’s skin color affect the majority of the public’s vote. That brings me back to the music video. I think it was a wise choice that the video was in black and white because that was one step closer to being more equal. It sounds dumb – I know, but in the long run, it’s the small steps that contribute to the greater whole. The video inspires people, but to do what? It provokes them to vote, but for what? If people know the majority of things he stands for, chances are they don’t agree. And if they do agree, more power to them. I respect a person who stands for what they believe in and not just goes with the flow.

One of Senator Obama's more popular skills resides in his mouth. It is quite evident, and most people agree that he definitely has a way with words. Everyone seems to fall under this spell he exclaims. He talks and talks and everyone is mesmirized as if they were speaking to God himself, and then there is me. I feel like he is always talking but never has anything to say. He often repeats him by using different words, yet always restating the same subject of matter. But then again, that is a popular technique for pretty much every political figure. He has what I believe is known as the gift of gab. He knows how to say what and when to say it.

That is defiantly a good trait to obtain especially throughout the “harsh” debates. Honestly, I think the debates are a crock of shit. I think the whole thing goes back and forth without getting any information. If Obama says that he will do something or he did something in the past, McCain will say no you haven’t and vice versa. Obama, like many politicians, say stupid little slogans and catch phrases about Americans moving forward and change and all the crap that hasn’t been a part of the American culture since the 60’s. Half the country isn’t proud to be American, the other half aren’t American.

Stupid little chants and phrases are used to promote the idea of unity and to convey the basic aspects of what life should be like. I'd rather listen to a boring bulleted list of what he plants to do for this country instead of fill me with hope and not deliver in the end. When you think about it, you can’t move on as a whole with any foundation as a whole. There are too many different aspects of this country that make it impossible to move on from the mess we’re stuck in.

Back to his techniques, I feel like because he has a lot of extremely powerful people on his side, he’s going to win. Oprah’s endorsements, and the support of the majority of the people on the cover of People magazine all add up to his success and most probable future as president of the United States. He took a different approach from the other traditional runner for President and that’s what’s going to cause him to win. All in all, Barack Obama can be viewed in many different ways by many different people based on many different factors.