Course, IMHO, Keyes against anybody, Keyes wins. Keyes is a fair to middlin orator with the mind of a Founding Father.
He was the guest speaker at my brother’s high school graduation. I like listening to him but his oration doesn’t fit the modern sound-bite mentality of most Americans. Many people have such a short attention span they can’t follow an argument from premise to conclusion.
It’s probably why TV programs have gotten shorter as they cram more commercials into a programming hour. They even did away with many TV themes and they run promos during the closing credits. People have to be constantly entertained or they tune out. See the movie Idiocracy for an example of this.
I admire the man and I sent him money when he ran against Obama, whom he debated; but he lost against Obama. His high-minded language flies above the heads of too many of today's dumbed-down citizens. Blacks reject him because they as an overall group are suspicious of education; they tolerate it in Obama because he affects the dropped 'g' and other ghetto slang when he is pandering to them. Keyes exudes an air of intellectual superiority that I know he has earned and that conservatives admire him for; but liberal dummies don't like it. It saddens me greatly. But as a movement, conservatives need to think more strategically.
He’s certainly brilliant. And no one can argue the pro-life issue more lucidly, whether it’s abortion or assisted suicide he’s discussing. Politically, he’s too strident. When he talks about abortion, he gets that edge in his voice that turns people off. I think he could get elected if he would just tone it down a bit.