Here's what I like the most about 45-year-old Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama: when it comes to communications, he's the anti-Gore. That's a compliment.

When he ran for president in 2000 Al Gore was so stiff when speaking he could have been stuffed. He didn't seem real and as GOP communications guru Frank Luntz told one reporter, " ... 'real' is in for 2008."

And, hopefully, 'real' is in permanently.

Obama's been real for some time. Think back to his passionate speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. His delivery was emotive and almost evangelical; he weaved a series of stories - most notably his own - into a narrative that electrified the crowd and lifted this self-proclaimed, "skinny kid with a funny name" to national prominence. In one speech. In just 20 minutes.

Obama is a new voice but he isn't naive when it comes to the political jujitsu of framing issues and smoothly delivering talking points. For example, if you dissect his Aug. 22, 2007 appearance on "The Daily Show" you can easily see his stock response to the issue of his relative inexperience, something his political opponents often raise. His two talking points in response to that question are:

1. Nobody had more experience than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
2. What people really want is good judgement.

But the real magic of Obama is that when he delivers those message points he sounds totally conversational and completely compelling. Take a look at the this 90-second clip on YouTube and you'll see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrSOekKHacA

Notice how Obama subtly reframes the question by saying, "When people talk about experience what they really want to know is 'does he have good judgement?'" Then he continues in an extremely engaging manner, controlling the interview.

By contrast, Gore (or John Kerry) would probably have launched into a lengthy dissertation on the value of experience and a laundry list of parliamentary votes he cast to illustrate his experience and political resume. And three minutes in, everyone would have been asleep. Obama not only knows what to say, he knows how to say it and he knows to get there quickly - and that's quite different.

Running for president is a complicated endeavor. However, if Obama wins the Democratic nomination or even the general election, effective communications will be a big reason why. In fact, Obama's communications skills should put a lot of the more wooden presidential candidates on notice. Gore isn't running this time. But, as communicators, rival Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards aren't in Obama's league.

It's a long time until Nov. 4, 2008, but if Obama keeps his message simple, keeps delivering it well and keeps away from the gaffes that can derail any campaign, we could have someone in the Oval Office who actually talks like a human being - a refreshing thought in many ways.

Links
Obama 2004 DNC speech part I
Obama 2004 DNC speech part II
Daily Telegraph article on Obama