Obama did something rare at the DNC: He tried to persuade

Barack Obama.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

On the third night of this year's virtual Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama reminded us that he is still his party's best speaker.

Unlike his peers, the former president understands the rhythms of both written and spoken English. He has a formal understanding of rhetoric (his "I understand" anaphora) without being stuffy about it. He moves freely between complex sentences, neat apothegms ("Democracy was never meant to be transactional") and casualisms ("Stay safe. God bless"). He also deploys quotations skillfully.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.