A Qualified Defense and a Qualified Criticism of Obama's Oratory

Kaus links to this piece questioning whether Obama is really that great a speaker. Fair enough, except maybe for the "likes the sound of his own voice too much" part. In fact I would argue that Obama's rhetorical skills, purely as a matter of presentation, are no great shakes. But again I think this is the wrong question and clearly we're dealing with the soft bigotry of low expectations. Delivering a prepared text really isn't that hard for a person of moderate competence and intelligence! (There may be some exceptions to this - John McCain is of more than moderate competence and intelligence and he certainly makes it look hard, which isn't to say that he's terrible at it.) Even if Obama were the master orator that many people think he is, so what? It's just not that difficult, and has little or no diagnostic value, to come off well when you've been a politician for a long time and you're delivering a set speech or a stock answer! (I mean if Sarah Palin can do it...) What really distinguishes Obama is the fact that he actually writes his own speeches, or at least the major ones, which lends them an added dimension of authenticity, sincerity, and emotional continuity. But it doesn't, ipso facto, make him a great speaker.