Glog

I watched the famed Obama Informercial this morning before work (I luv the net; time zone differences would have meant I needed to be up at some ungodly hour to see it “live”, and I’m grateful the big Intertron was at the ready position to deliver it when it was more convenient for me to watch it, although I was dissapointed I could not find it on Mr. Obama’s official site). It is a fine piece of work on many levels, and I did watch it from beginning to end (minus the “live from Florida” bit at the end). Clearly, it was engineered (yes, designed) to deliver a strong punch days before the election, with enough time to spread and give people time to think about it and digest it.

There are no earth shattering revelations in the video, but there are quite a few worthy elements to it, starting with Mr. Obama’s role as the chronicler (noted far more eloquently by Eve Fairbanks at The New Republic; James Fallows at The Atlantic also wrote a brief piece), which was the very first thing that caught my attention. Mr. Obama’s oratorial skills are well documented, but this role gave him the added benefit of reporting in the first person: he went, he saw, he’s reporting, he will act. If anything, Mr. Obama looks both approachable and, more importantly, engaged based on the input he has collected. There may or may not be a lot of approaching when he becomes president (he will have his hands full), but as long as he remains genuinely engaged, it is welcomed engaging change.