"My job is to be so persuasive that if there's anybody left out there who is still not sure whether they will vote, or is still not clear who they will vote for, that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany ... and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama"
Lebanon Opera House, New Hampshire. January 7, 2008.
There is some dispute as to the original version of this Divine Prophecy. Following are the results of our investigation (-- The Obama Seminar):
- "Obama: For Now, Perspiration Over Inspiration", by Andrew Romano Newsweek January 31, 2008:
Reading the recent flurry of stories about Barack Obama--the Clinton-slayer! the youth candidate! the next Kennedy!--it'd be easy to imagine that his campaign is all inspiration and little perspiration at this point, with rainbows and starshine bursting from the tailpipe of his tour bus. Obama both lampoons and slyly encourages the perception. In New Hampshire and South Carolina, for example, the senator was fond of telling audiences that "at some point in the evening, a light is going to shine down and you will have an epiphany and you’ll say, ‘I have to vote for Barack.’" Next up: levitation.
- "Is Obama's Constitution Strong Enough?", by Nat Hentoff Village Voice:
Once in a while, Obama makes a passing reference to our diminishing individual liberties, but hardly ever in his stump speeches. At an early-morning rally the day of the New Hampshire vote, he told some 300 students at the Dartmouth College gym: "My job this morning is to be so persuasive . . . that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Barack."
- "Seeing the Light in South Carolina" Columbia Journalism Review January 26, 2008:
The local field coordinator, Kevin, a short white guy with glasses and a goatee, got so excited that even his warm-up speech sounded southern fried. “We’ve been told too many times to wait,” he screamed. “That our time had not yet come!” [...] When the senator did arrive, he gave a pitch-perfect stump speech, surfing the enthusiasm of the pulsating gym. When he took the stage he said, “At some point in the evening, a light is going to shine down and you will have an epiphany and you’ll say, ‘I have to vote for Barack.’”
- Obama, McCain win New Hampshire's first votes CNN Political Ticker 10:23am January 8, 2008. The original story read:
... Among Democrats, a CNN/WMUR poll found Obama with a nine percentage point lead over Clinton, 39 percent to 30 percent. Edwards, who edged out Clinton for second place in Iowa, ran third with 16 percent.
At a morning rally, Obama praised the student volunteers working for his campaign and gave them one last mission: to persuade undecided voters to cast their ballots for him.
My job is to be so persuasive that if there’s anybody left out there who is still not sure whether they will vote, or is still not clear who they will vote for, that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany … and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama, the Democrat said in Hanover.
Clinton has tried to turn the tide by emphasizing her record as a change agent, as a senator and as first lady. ...
The original quote was removed entirely from the article in later publication, but we offer as evidence this reposting of the CNN article in full on January 28th by blogger 'Fair Proxy Web'; as well as cited by Roberto Davila-Loyola in January 8th, 2008 1:16 pm ET responding to original with this commentary:
"My job is to be so persuasive that if there's anybody left out there who is still not sure whether they will vote, or is still not clear who they will vote for, that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany … and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama," the Democrat said in Hanover.
The above words by Senator Obama as reported by CNN are troubling as they show Senator Obama believing that he has the power to cause a divine manifestation to the undecided voters of New Hampshire which will show them that he is the chosen one. Alternatively, he is contemptuosly using as political rhetoric the Christian concept of what happened on the Feast of the Epiphany (just celebrated on January 6,) when a divine manifestation (the Star of Bethlehem) announced the birth of the Baby Jesus.
This version of the quote is likewise attributed to CNN campaign coverage by "Mike in Kentucky" on 1/08/08. - "Riding the Wave" ABC News: Politics. January 8, 2008:
"There's something stirring around the country," Obama said in a stump speech today. "It started in Iowa and now it's happening here in New Hampshire."
"I'm going to be so persuasive that a light will shine through the clouds and say I must vote for Barack and you'll have an epiphany," he told voters in Lebanon.
- CNN CNN Newsroom. Aired January 7, 2008 - 11:00 EST. Transcript (of video of Obama himself?):
That's his job, get you to the polls, vote for Obama. My job is to help him do his job. So I am going to try to be so persuasive in the 20 minutes or so that I speak that by the time this is over, a light will shine down from somewhere.
It will light upon you. You will experience an epiphany. And you will say to yourself, I have to vote for Barack. I have to do it.
- CNet.com:
"My job this morning is to be so persuasive...that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Barack," he told a crowd of about 300 Ivy Leaguers--and, by the looks of it, a handful of locals who managed to gain access to what was supposed to be a students-only event.
- Washington Post ("Swept up in the Obama Moment") "The Trail" Campaign Blog. January 6, 2008:
An Obama event is not a friendly place for cynics, skeptics, or the chronically unimpressed. This is revival-tent stuff. The senator from Illinois used the metaphor of a religious conversion: "I am going to try to be so persuasive, so that those of you who are still wavering...will suddenly come to the conclusion -- a light beam will shine through -- will light you up -- and you will experience an epiphany -- I have to vote for Barack!"
- Obama's Cocky Messianism", by Christopher Beam Slate January 6, 2008:
Inside the gym, packed to capacity with 2600 people, Obama was describing to the crowd how his speeches generally work: “At the end—or maybe somewhere in the middle—a shaft of light comes through and hits you and you experience an epiphany: I have to vote for Barack.”
Obama has attracted Jesus comparisons since announcing his candidacy. He’s been described as the party’s savior. A Chicago art gallery displayed a sculpture depicting Obama crowned with a neon halo. Slate’s Timothy Noah kept tabs on these and other revelations in the "Obama Messiah Watch."
But now, with Iowa as his witness, Obama is he starting to sound like he believes the prophecies, too.
