Obama at the National Archives: Political Theatre at Its Most Powerful
Today's speech by President Obama laying out his plan for closing the detainee center at Guantanamo Bay was a masterful example of the power of political theatre, in all the best senses of that term. I was honored to be in the Rotunda of the National Archives to hear the President speak.
As at any theatre performance, even before the performers take the stage, you take note of the set. By choosing to speak at the National Archives, flanked by the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the President's embrace of the rule of law was dramatically reciprocated; he was, in turn, embraced by our most fundamental laws.
You also take note of the audience. President Obama's exhortation to adhere to the rule of law was emphatically clear, especially to the front row of his audience which included the Attorney General; the Secretaries of State, Defense, Homeland Security; the Director of the CIA; and the National Security Advisor. Every good director knows you need to have the key characters on stage at the key moments. Their future actions will be shaped by what they hear.
What about the script? The script, the message, must be at the heart of great theatre. And this was the key to the power of today's speech. The President knew what he wanted to say, he spoke to both our loftiest values and to the gritty specifics of the situation. He grounded his approach in our most deeply-held values, but in doing so made clear that his approach was not about idealism for idealism's sake. He said:
We uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens our country and keeps us safe. Time and again, our values have been our best national security asset - in war and peace; in times of ease and in eras of upheaval.
All of this, of course, is not to say that there is no room for substantive disagreement. Although we are encouraged by President Obama's plan to close the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay and reform the process through which detainees currently held there will be brought to justice, the Reform Movement continues to have concerns about the use of the Military Commissions system to try detainees and by the abuse of the State Secrets Privilege.
Finally a word about the performer. I found this to be among the President's most effective speeches (and, yes, that's saying a lot). He was clear about what he was doing and why, but never cocky. He was forceful, but not bullying. As he usually does at his most effective, he connected his life story with the policy he was expounding.
It's easy, too easy, to write off the atmospherics of speeches as mere staging. Sometimes, though, the theatricality of an event can do exactly what great theater can do - help us to better understand our world.
What about the script? The script, the message, must be at the heart of great theatre. And this was the key to the power of today's speech. The President knew what he wanted to say, he spoke to both our loftiest values and to the gritty specifics of the situation. He grounded his approach in our most deeply-held values, but in doing so made clear that his approach was not about idealism for idealism's sake. He said:
We uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens our country and keeps us safe. Time and again, our values have been our best national security asset - in war and peace; in times of ease and in eras of upheaval.
All of this, of course, is not to say that there is no room for substantive disagreement. Although we are encouraged by President Obama's plan to close the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay and reform the process through which detainees currently held there will be brought to justice, the Reform Movement continues to have concerns about the use of the Military Commissions system to try detainees and by the abuse of the State Secrets Privilege.
Finally a word about the performer. I found this to be among the President's most effective speeches (and, yes, that's saying a lot). He was clear about what he was doing and why, but never cocky. He was forceful, but not bullying. As he usually does at his most effective, he connected his life story with the policy he was expounding.
It's easy, too easy, to write off the atmospherics of speeches as mere staging. Sometimes, though, the theatricality of an event can do exactly what great theater can do - help us to better understand our world.