Hard News: Awesome
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I think anyone could be forgiven for flubbing a line or two in that particular environment.
The size of that crowd was pretty amazing, for a convention acceptance speech. Nuts.
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Part 1
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Part 4
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Well, he didn't sound like 1) an out-of-touch elitist fawned over by his celebrity pals, 2) a slick but hollow preacherman, or 3) an Islamofascist-Marxist Manchurian Candidate. Mission accomplished!
Yeah, well put. Plus, he hit McCain directly and consolidated his position as first mover (even if he was responding to some of McCain's lines). McCain now has to respond in a way that matches the substance and the style.
It's been particularly interesting to see how earlier speakers set up McCain with feint praise. He's a "nice guy", a "good senator" but is a crappy candidate, a has become a photostat of GW. Kerry did it best, I think, but so too Clinton and Obama made clear the contrast; himself vs. GW III (queue the "8 is enough").
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OMG.
Pat Buchanan called it the greatest convention speech ever.
Check out the slack-jawed expressions of the other pundits, and Olbermann's line at the end.
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For what it's worth, an email release from a Democrat-aligned polling firm:
**Obama's Convention Speech Research Shows Dramatic Movement**
Denver, CO. August 29, 2008. On this historic evening, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner/Democracy Corps conducted qualitative research in the swing state of Nevada among 39 undecided voters or weak supporters of either candidate who watched Obama's speech.
Participants answered a series of questions about the election, the candidates, and the major issues in this campaign. They then watched Barack Obama’s acceptance speech live, followed by another series of questions on many of the same topics. Two follow-up focus group discussions with 21 of the participants allowed for significant exploration of reactions to the speech. While this was clearly a qualitative exercise and not a representative survey, the movement we saw in attitudes toward the election and Barack Obama was dramatic:
After viewing the speech, more than 1-in-4 of these swing voters moved from undecided to supporting Barack Obama or from supporting John McCain to undecided.
On a thermometer scale of 0 to 100, Obama’s mean score rose 9 degrees (from 57 to 66 degrees) after voters saw his speech.
Obama achieved gains on every personal attribute tested in this exercise, with the most dramatic movement coming on some of the most important measures in our polling – ‘on your side,’ ‘has what it takes to be President,’ and ‘will keep America strong.’
In a head-to-head match-up with John McCain on which candidate would better handle a series of issues, Obama again gained ground on every measure, with the most significant movement coming on ‘national security,’ ‘strengthening America’s relationships with other countries,’ and ‘sharing my values.’
In the focus group conversation after the speech – one group with those who shifted toward Obama and another among solidly undecided voters – it was clear that the introductory video and speech made a deep impression.
Voters spoke emotionally about the importance of family to Obama and the central role that family plays in his life and his beliefs. They applauded his emphasis on personal and mutual responsibility, his commitment to veterans, and his refusal to engage in negative personal attacks on McCain. They came away with a firm belief that Obama understands the challenges facing our country, and particularly middle class and working families. Perhaps most importantly, from his plan to cut taxes for small businesses and the middle class to his commitment to alternative energy and victory in Afghanistan, they believe he has the right ideas to produce the change these voters desperately seek.
Voters in both groups cited the unique atmosphere at Invesco Field as one of the most memorable aspects of tonight’s speech. They found the sheer size and scope of the event very impressive, but they were most impacted by the audience and the fact that it didn’t look like a typical convention audience. Looking at the crowd tonight, they saw real people who reminded them of themselves and their neighbors, reinforcing the focus on the middle class that so many of them saw running through both Obama’s personal story and his policies.
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Craig:
When it comes to the qualities you want from someone with their finger on the button, I don't think standing up at Saddleback and blustering about following Al Quaeda to "the gates of hell" screams sober and considered grown-up to me.
May I please note for the record that my original rhetorical question was whether America couldn't do better than both the alternatives now on offer.
Anyone who, when confronted with GW Bush, doesn't point and laugh (because booting him in the keyster would get you shot) and, what's more, hugs the guy has totally lost it.
Even if you secretly carry a picture of Dubya in your wallet basic political strategy suggests you don't grab-ass the most unpopular man in the country you hope might elect you.
It's just that, for all the "aww shucks, two cute little black kids in the White House" stage-managed "we love you daddy" satellite-linked hype, I don't see anywhere near enough substance.
If only Teddy Kennedy hadn't been a booze hound...
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...and Olbermann's line at the end.
Who'd've thunk that; not me in a million years.
May I please note for the record that my original rhetorical question was whether America couldn't do better than both the alternatives now on offer.
Definitely so, definitely. But I've heard lots of commentary suggesting that the Republican division on McCain remains his biggest challenge and he'll have a job to get voters to turn-out... somewhere up thread, I think this point was made already... but I don't think Obama will have that challenge now and for that, he really does owe the Clintons.
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And might I say, damn that was some fine speech-writing.
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A TPM reader digs out Josh Marshall's post about Obama's 2004 convention keynote. Back then, Marshall pulled out this passage:
Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
Both the similarities to and differences from today's model are interesting.
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I just watched The Speech (complete with its following crazy-dogwhistling-spin from the Fox commentators). Christ I hope he wins. It would be so nice to have someone not actually despicable in that office...
(I'm also going to go all Queen Latifah and say that I truly love his message of unity. I've been ranting about how pernicious and stupid the Red State/Blue State thing is for years. I *hate* that meme. It's just an excuse for dismissiveness.)
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Two quick things.
Back then, Marshall pulled out this passage:
I'm not sure what Marshall's point is; my take on this is that it's an earnestly held belief... one he's improved on (actually, in rhetorical terms, perhaps not).
Christ I hope he wins. It would be so nice to have someone not actually despicable in that office...
What Danielle said... and... I'm gonna admit to tearing-up during that speech RB, imagine that this man, this family, is that dream?
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OMG.
Pat Buchanan called it the greatest convention speech ever.
OMG indeed. That's like... like... wow. That's like Pat Buchanan calling it the greatest convention speech ever! That is amazing. I'm going to go drink some Kool-Aid and watch it again and see what I missed.
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy and want him to win. I think the cheesy music (esp that C & W outro) and watching it on the tiny screen contributed to an intermittent sense of "meh" when I was looking to feel an unequivocal "whoah."
Agreed, too, on the rhetorical differences between this one and four years ago. I think by not even mentioning the notion of red state/blue state, but instead specifying things we can "agree to disagree" about, he effectively conveyed something much more like this. Add that to the string of ordinary people who spoke just before his speech - especially the lifelong Republican lady -- and you've got a big, big tent. It would be hard not to feel included in his vision.
It would be so nice to have someone not actually despicable in that office...
I know. It shouldn't be too much to ask, eh?
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Ooh, has McCain picked a woman (Sarah Palin of Alaska) as his running mate? That would be wily indeed.
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That would be wily indeed.
and a very smart post DNC headline stealer. But it's odd to see such a massive who just a potential heartbeat from that job.
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Yes, he has. Right then:
She's pro-life (and a poster girl for it, with a late-in-life 5th child who has Down Syndrome), unless you're a polar bear.
She's a total hard-arse: mother of five, marathon runner, gun-fan, hunter (her parents were out caribou-hunting when they got the news).
She is champing at the bit to drill for oil in the Antarctic National Wildlife Refuge. Bad luck for the polar bears.
Her oldest son (18) is in the military.
She's undeniably cute, under all that make-up.
It's a gamble for McCain: will the Hillary ladies said they wanted a woman in the White House, did they mean any woman? Will Biden knuckle down and take his gloves off in the debates, even if it means beating up on an attractive lady? Can the oldest Presidential candidate ever still play the inexperience card against Obama, when he's proposing to install a person with a similar (and arguably weaker) resume a heartbeat away from the Presidency?
Talk about timing, though. By 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. California time, 7 a.m. Alaska time, and not even sparrowfart in Hawaii), Obama's speech from last night was no longer the top item on the front pages of all major media here. Wily.
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See her speak here - the interesting bit is at 3.00.
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it's odd to see such a massive who just a potential heartbeat from that job.
Too right. Despite McCain's awesomely long-lived momma, by the time his father was 72, he'd been dead for two years. There's also this to worry about, especially in the light of recent news about Margaret Thatcher.
(Pedantic moment: shouldn't the phrase be "a lack of a heartbeat away from the Presidency"?).
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(Pedantic moment: shouldn't the phrase be "a lack of a heartbeat away from the Presidency"?).
You need to forgive me, I've just staggered in from a rather generous wine tasting down the road to a CNN live run on this. Pedantry can wait till the morning.
There's also this to worry about,
What I am worrying is if McCain is related to this fellow.
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You need to forgive me, I've just staggered in from a rather generous wine tasting down the road to a CNN live run on this.
Oh, no need for forgiveness - I used the same phrase myself, but as I typed it I had an attack of pedantry (Google hasn't helped me find its origin but it's a totally standard expression).
Scary pic! Then there's [http://cheesebikini.com/2008/08/27/separated-at-birth-mccain-biden-muppet-eagle/|this]] although I think this guy is Biden's doppelganger.
And Biden SO needs a haircut.
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"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same," said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.
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Phew, I'm not alone: Salon.com's Walter Shapiro was intermittently underwhelmed by Obama's speech, although convinced that the softly softly approach was a wise one.
Interesting strategic choice to skip over Obama's 12 years as professor of constitutional law in that biographical video portrait, and to steer clear of mentioning torture, the Supreme Court, etc etc. I guess the electorate doesn't want to think about anything too complicated or yucky.
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It's a gamble for McCain: will the Hillary ladies said they wanted a woman in the White House, did they mean any woman?
Where the PUMAs are concerned, who knows?
Will Biden knuckle down and take his gloves off in the debates, even if it means beating up on an attractive lady?
As I said above, if Biden's convention speech is any indication of the role he's going to play in the campaign I don't see how he loses -- you know, actually sticking to substantive policy differences, couched in a civil and respectful tone, rather that personal attacks on Palin.
Can the oldest Presidential candidate ever still play the inexperience card against Obama, when he's proposing to install a person with a similar (and arguably weaker) resume a heartbeat away from the Presidency?
Not credibly, but I've got to wonder if credibility (or even some relationship to objective reality) is really that big a concern. While Palin hardly strikes me as some hardcore theo-con nutcase, so did McCain before he started pandering his arse off.
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Or is this some really complicated judo move, an implicit rebuke: is the McCain campaign saying "So you reckon Obama is the *only* shiny, idealistic, inexperienced but enthusiastic, totally mediagenic 40-something out there who could actually make a damn fine President, given half the chance? Wanna bet?"
Are they that clever?
On the one hand, she's Harriet Miers. On the other, potentially the amazing Mrs Pritchard... especially given how many of his heartbeats McCain has already used up.
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McCain: now with extra special pandering and tokenism! I just commented elsewhere that this woman ticks so many boxes it's like she was grown in a lab.
(Except I imagine that she is totally against growing people in labs.)
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this woman ticks so many boxes it's like she was grown in a lab.
(Except I imagine that she is totally against growing people in labs.)
Heh heh. No doubt. Unfortunately, she's white, which was an oversight on the part of the laboratory, but the 1/8 Inuit husband is probably worth a tick.
I'm grooving on her kids' names (Trig! Track! Willow! Piper!), except for poor Bristol (a girl, of course) who will never be able to enjoy that working holiday in the UK.
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