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When I start a school for budding politicians, Mark Ridley-Thomas is going to be my first hire.
If he were advising the Obama campaign, I would tell John McCain to go home for the next 5 months, peek out on Election Day, issue a brief concession speech and then go back to whatever he was doing before.
Put state Sen. Ridley-Thomas and Mr. Obama on the same stump, and the Presidential candidate would blush. He might even follow Mr. McCain home.
Standing in front of the senator’s home in Leimert Park yesterday morning for a day-after news conference following his primary victory over Bernie Parks, I thought I was watching Picasso, back from the dead, paint once more.
Listening to Sen. Ridley-Thomas answer reporters’ questions is sheer terpsichorean torture, like enviably watching the gift-wrapping specialist at Macy’s fancily package a present in less than 30 seconds.
What is the Meaning?
Meanwhile, a radio reporter and the candidate were parrying a question about whether the autumn campaign would be different from the just-completed one.
Of course, said the senator.
How? persisted the reporter, and then the fun commenced.
“The strategies will shift,” said the senator,. “You will see them as they unfold. A very different election is on the horizon.”
That was a tantalizing vault-ful to ponder.
May I See an Interpreter?
Whaddee say? What does it mean?
I thought I was trapping smoke with one hand as I listened.
Did I miss the No Turn sign?
“The strategies will shift” — a provocative response that suggests the Ridley-Thomas campaign will shift into a different gear. I think.
“You’ll see them as they unfold.”
Isn’t that tickling your nose with a feather?
Mr. Obama would stand the adoring national media on its heads if he told them something that clever.
Do You Believe in Re-runs?
Run it past my ears one more time, asked the reporter.
“Strategically, we will be in a better position,” said Sen. Ridley-Thomas.
Why? the reporter still wondered.
“Because of the ethos of the moment.”
Hmm?
What the heck is the ethos of the moment? I think he meant the uniqueness of an Obama campaign throws out all of the traditional rules and creates new benchmarks, with journalists asking questions they never would have asked of Mondale, Reagan or Carter.
Forget definitions or literal meanings. The true value of Sen. Ridley-Thomas’s artful parrying is that it made me, a typical listener, feel good. A politician does not have to be the smartest guy on the block, although the senator is.
Bush’s Failure
At least 60 % of his job description is to make you feel good. FDR, by all evidence, was no scholar. But he talked soothingly. Forget the war and the economy. George Bush, first and deepest, fell down because he didn’t — and does not — know how to convince stressed-out people to feel better .
Mr. Obama’s resume must have been put through the wringer at Curves. That is how thin it is.
But, heavens, does he make people feel good. Even those who actually listen to his words.
Sen. Ridley-Thomas was gifted with a similar talent, only a better version.
As the senator magically weaved his message, I got lost, not always sure whether he was referring to Mr. Obama or himself.
But I felt as if I had been somewhere, rhetorically. Mark that man for an A-plus.
When the radio reporter asked, for the severaleth time, what do you mean, the senator did not miss a beat.
Are You Ready?
“The country,” he said, “is headed toward a new, enlightened leadership that is not an apologist for the status quo, and this is essentially my history. It will project itself as effectively as I can. I will be one of the principal interpreters of this point in time.
“And, I will work hard. I am going to work right now on this campaign. Why? Because it’s important to me, and it’s important to the people I represent.”
Stubbornly, the radio reporter insisted on jousting with the master. “Diane Watson got the most votes in the primary election in 1992, and she still lost. Couldn’t that happen to you?”
Snapped the senator: “You may note that, But this is a different race, a very different point in time. I have been a candidate for nearly 20 years now. And I’ve never lost a race, particularly when I started out ahead, as I am this time. I expect to finish ahead.”
A little dizzy from the verbal skydiving by the time it was my turn, I posed a risk-averse question as Sen. Ridley-Thomas prepared to move on to another interview.
“You will not take a holiday or any kind of question?” was my safe inquiry.
With a slight titter, he said, “I am on holiday right now.”
Hastily, I followed with my final question:
“Thank you.”
