Comments and discussion

This part of the study guide is designed to give you some additional points and ideas that you can comment on or discuss in relation to Barack Obama's announcement speech.

An interesting aspect about the speech are the repeated references to Abraham Lincoln. Though Lincoln is one of the most popular Presidents in US history among members of both major parties, mentioning the US President who ended slavery in the US could risk making Obama’s speech seem too oriented towards African Americans like him. However, Obama manages to balance this by not making a direct reference to African Americans in the speech at all. 

Both of these actions can be seen as risky. For example, for some parts of the electorate (white and rich), Obama’s speech might not seem very appealing as the references to slavery or the poor lower classes might make them feel uncomfortable. At the same time, not directly mentioning African Americans has the potential to alienate some African-American voters.

Another aspect...