They’re referring to it on MSNBC as an “infomercial”. I think he dealt with a number of issues.
1. Who is Barack Obama? Well he has a side that makes him just like anyone else, He may be smarter and better educated than a lot of people (the Republicans call that elitist) but he has experienced a lot what the rest of us do. When my students complain about having to work too hard, I’m going to use his mother’s line “It’s no picnic for me either”
2. Obama’s experience-He showed he has an excellent grasp of the problems that are most important to many Americans and how he expects to deal with them. He kept it simple but didn’t go the “just trust me I have a plan” route.
3. Dealing with the character assassinations. There are basically 2 major groups who are against him. the idealogue bitter enders who cannot allow themselves to believe the policies and politicians they have supported since 1980 were totally wrong. The other group is the hearsay voters. Instead of listening to Obama and mainstream journalists, they listen to Limbaugh, O’Reilly the Faux News talking points readers and fringe bloggers. If any of the latter group watched Obama with an open mind, it may not change their votes but it will make them reevaluate their information sources.
Was it well produced-YES. Did it try to touch the emotions?-HELL YES. There was a Spielbergesque flavor to the program. Did anyone expect a professorial lecture with graphs and an attempt to explain the tax code?