A Speech Every Democrat Should Watch
Jon Ossoff lays out a message that can work for everyone in the party.
Most Democratic speeches suck.
I am, admittedly, an unfairly harsh critic of Democratic speeches. The vast majority of them have no soul. They sound like a poorly stitched patchwork of phrases, focus-grouped and message-tested within an inch of their lives. They tell rather than show. They lack authenticity and passion.
I am, of course, spoiled by having worked for Barack Obama, a great writer who also happened to be the greatest orator in recent American political history.
So it’s rare for me to hear a speech that actually knocks my socks off.
But that happened this weekend, when I started seeing clips from a campaign rally speech by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in Atlanta.
You should watch the whole thing:
It’s genuinely good—and not just because Ossoff is a talented, charismatic speaker. It doesn’t hurt that he is also young, in a party dominated by septuagenarians.
More importantly, the speech does a few things that every Democrat can emulate, even if they are not as young or as charismatic. It offers a model for a party that is still struggling to find a compelling story about what Trump and Republicans are doing to the country.
Be Fearless
Throughout the speech, Ossoff shows no fear and no caution. He is not worried about who he might offend or how centrist pundits will react.
He just lets it rip.
