The dominant theme of anti-Obama critics is that he's a man of "pretty words," but no action. We hear it from the Clinton's, who say that it took an LBJ - a master insider - to get civil rights legislation passed, not MLK. We hear it from Edwards supporters, who say that they want a fighter, someone who will punch the corporate interests in the mouth and keep punching, not someone who preaches peace.
Not that Obama is MLK by any stretch - but, in terms of the various theories of how to effect social change, he's MLK-esque in his approach, and it's like he's got LBJ on one side (Clintons), and Malcolm X on the other (Edwards). I feel like I've seen this movie before.
To characterize Obama's speeches as just "pretty words" ignores a two-hundred year history of social change in America. Obama often calls the story of America an "improbable" story, and if you stop to think about it, he's right. Yes, it took an army of fighters to actually win the battles in the end, but the Revolutionary War was won years before, not with guns, but with words. Words that moved a people to realize that they were colonized and oppressed, to organize to highlight the injustice and build the cause. Think: Boston Tea Party. By the time the first bullets were fired, a wildfire of change had already been ignited with words. By that time, it was too late for the British.
The history of social change in America tracks these revolutionary footsteps. Abolition - the great cause that ended slavery - didn't start on the battlefield. By the time the first bullet was fired in the Civil War, abolition was a legitimate battle cry in the mouths of poor soldiers and rich Northern elites. Yes, it took an army of fighters to actually win the battles in teh end, but the cause of abolition was won years before, not with guns, but with words. Words that moved a people to realize that black slaves were just as human as their white masters, that moved a people to organize underground railroads and to highlight the injustices of slavery. Think: the Emancipation Proclamation. By the time the last bullet was fired, a wildfire of change had already been ignited with words. By that time, it was too late for the pro-slavery cause.
You could go on and on. Women's Suffrage. Prohibition. Civil Rights and the end of segregation. From the right, the Pro-Life movement (you have to give credit where credit is due, they have mobilized for decades and look at the makeup of the Supreme Court now).
Progressive (and sometimes conservative) causes were championed in the end by legislators like LBJ, yes. Sometimes, they inspired fighters like Malcolm X (or John Brown), yes. But social change has been most effective when the main legwork has occurred behind the scenes, through subtle acts of organization and leadership that light the wildfire of change that inspires a nation to act. The reason that "pretty words" matter is that they can ignite that wildfire movement that is necessary for social change to occur.
Let's assume John Edwards or Hillary Clinton could speak as eloquently as Barack Obama. Why then should one still favor Obama's words?
Unlike Edwards and Clinton, Obama is running a campaign unlike any we've seen before. We're used to candidates getting up on the stump, decrying injustice and poverty, and promising tax cuts, increased job training, economic stimulus, and other assorted goodies. In other words, we're used to politicians doing two things: Identifying a problem, and Promising a Policy Solution.
Obama does that to some degree, but that's not the focus of his campaign. This is why a lot of critics of Obama wonder what his agenda really is about, and question his progressive vision. He's not up there promising the moon and the stars and the heavens above.
No, he's up there preaching about social change. His policies are designed to make social mobilization easier. He's promoting ethics reform, to remove the taint of lobbyist influence and corporate power from the process of governance. He's promoting transparency, so that industry advocates cannot strike backroom deals hidden from the public. He's promoting Open Source Government, where the Code is revealed to all, and the power of social change is brought closer to the people.
So when you say, "but he's going to sit at the same table as industry!" What you don't understand is, by that time, it will be too late for industry. Before he needs to fire the first bullet, the wildfire of change will have already been ignited. Don't believe it? Listen to his speeches. See the crowd's reaction. If we elect Obama, we not only elect a leader, we elect a movement.