Oh, 'Bama As Young Man

This video of a young Obama is incredible. The polish we’re familiar with isn’t really evident here at all, but his brilliance is – or maybe it’s the lack of politician-polish that allows his brilliance to shine a little more evidently; he’s less guarded and careful here, answering questions frankly, thoughtfully, and pretty quickly.

We can see flashes of his charm – the smile pops up a couple times – but he isn’t yet very comfortable speaking in situations like this. A number of times he leans upon the podium, for example.

But it’s a fascinating glimpse of a great orator as a young man. Seeing this a few days after his eulogy at John Lewis’ funeral made the difference starker. I loved this.

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