A key element to political speech is colorful detail and anecdote. McCain is better at that. The story about defying Reagan on the Lebanon deployment, the bracelet belonging to the mother of a dead soldier, the firing of Chris Cox, the bear DNA. These things breathe life into policy positions and prevent the eyes from glazing. It's something Obama could learn to do better.
P.S. "I've got a bracelet, too"--one that teaches the opposite lesson. That's contemporary America politics in a nutshell, ain't it?
--Michael Crowley