He had the urban struggle and suburban successes that make him well rounded and relatable. His kids are cute. His wife is no joke and Barack and I could play one-on-one b-ball should he get a bit of down time. Not sure that we’re going to church together though.

This is the reveal, the narrative in full effect. These are the internal story reels that we all have that allow us to make a psychological fit. Here they’ve been highlighted and reinforced through speeches that are extended in hopes that we find some authenticity that allows for recognition, engagement and that secures our vote.

Obama is the Joneses in this respect, everyone is trying to keep up with him.

Clinton, in her speeches, is less fuzzy. This is not a bad thing. Nonetheless, it’s ironic and then not so much when you consider the heavy lifting tethered to being the first viable female candidate for the presidency. Conventional wisdom suggests that you go with your strength and Hill’s is that she’s been there.

"I have a lifetime of experience I will bring to the White House... And Senator Obama has a speech he made in 2002."

Wow. There it is.

Again, Clinton’s text and talk suggests that she is betting on her consistent presence and activity within the body politic. Obama is betting on his American story. Both narratives are compelling and each can step into the other’s, but it’s the right mix of both that allow for people to become invested enough to vote one over the other.

The trick is to sift through the calculated portions of the speeches to get to the real, to get to the “you” in the candidate. I can see myself in both Obama and Clinton, and the positive with this election is that there is more “me” there and the stereotypes that typically serve as shorthand in understanding women and black folk is complicated to a point where they’re understood more wholly — a painful process at times — but a progressive one still.

So, my DVR is set and the replay button will be worn a bit as I personally vet the candidates. I’ll reframe their language, consider their tone, look at what they don’t discuss, place Barack’s narrative over Hill’s over John’s — mash it up and pull it apart and figure what it is that they’re really saying, or would say. Ahh, the politics of personality.