OK, so by now everyone has posted a blog entry about Obama’s finally wrapping up the Democratic nomination. It was an inevitable moment, but somehow it has been framed as news, as a historic moment in American history. Well, yes and no. If Arnold Schwartzenegger can be Governor of California, why people are surprised when Obama gets the Democratic nomination? It has been a long time coming, and it’s about time. So why did he win, and not Hillary? I don’t live in the U.S. anymore so my take on things is probably a bit warped, but I think part of the reason is language. If you listen to his speeches, it’s always about “Us,” “We,” and “Ours.” If you listen to Hillary’s speeches, it’s all me, me, me. I don’t think that’s a trivial difference. Rhetoric moves people to action. Words do matter because words have power. We’ve heard Obama’s detractors say that he’s all talk but no action, but people were saying that about Ronald Reagan, and now history has somehow deemed him the Great Communicator and the Man Who Collapsed the Soviet Union (I think Mikhail Gorbachev would beg to differ). Although those of us who lived through the Reagan era remember all the homeless and the culture of greed spawned by the “Wall Street” era, I will give Reagan his due in getting the nation beyond the malaise of the Carter years, primarily by his use of language. He projected optimism and confidence, primarily through his voice.  This was what the country needed at the time. This is why “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was made in the 1980s. Here you had B-movie actor from the 1950s running the most powerful nation on Earth. People were looking for Indy Jones to save the day.  And Reagan delivered by playing the role to the hilt. He was of his time. Barack Obama may not be the most experienced candidate to run for President, but he is of his time, just as the Beatles were of their time, the 1960s. This is a new time. Let a new chapter begin. That’s what people want.