Freedom of Speech

Are you watching Day Four of the Democratic Convention? I am.

I confess I can be a bit of a political junkie. I love getting up early on Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee and the paper and settling down to "Face The Nation," "Meet The Press," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "This Week with George Stephanopolous," and "The McLaughlin Group." So four nights of political speech-making (while daunting to some) is something I get excited about.

As a Democrat, I'm obviously inclined to get even more excited about the Democratic Convention. But I will admit that days one and two had me worried. Monday night was saved by the unexpected, yet deeply moving, appearance of Ted Kennedy. And the remarkably powerful speech by Michelle Obama. This woman has presence. And I am very excited at the prospect of having her as our next First Lady.

Day two was also somewhat lackluster, until Hilary Clinton took the stage. Whether you love her or hate her or fall somewhere in between, there's no denying the fact that she is a major leader in the party, a historic figure herself, and she did exactly what she promised and what she needed to do to pull the party together.

Day three featured four outstanding speeches, in my book. First, was former President Bill Clinton. He too did everything the democrats hoped for and a little more. He underlined Hilary's sentiments and put an exclamation point at the end of them. Next came John Kerry. The crowd seemed non-plussed by his appearance, and did really respond to his opening remarks. But Kerry let loose the toughest indictment of John McCain the delegates had heard all week, and suddenly the convention hall came to life. Kerry won them over. An unexpected surprise was Beau Biden's introduction of his father Joe. Beau gave a deeply heartfelt and emotional introduction of his father which spoke to his values and his character in a way that held the audience riveted. The evening closed with Joe Biden's acceptance of the Vice Presidential nomination. Joe's speech was praised by some commentators and chastised by other as disappointing. For me, as a viewer, it hit all the right notes, and provided a strong close to the evening. It may have been a bit rough around the edges. But so is Joe. It was earthy, personal, strong, energizing, and emotional.

Tonight we were treated to Al Gore and Barack Obama. I found it quite telling that Barack shared his stadium platform and his national moment with Al Gore and not Bill Clinton. Al was quite commanding. His speech, though somewhat rushed, covered a lot of ground, and hit the Bush/Cheney/McCain party hard. In fact, Al was the first person I heard who directly wove the disastrous Dick Cheney (arguably the architect of the disastrous Bush Administration) into the dialogue and debate. I also found it impressive that Al's speech was quite cerebral for a stadium audience, yet held the crowd. The message wasn't dumbed down to platitudes. It respected the intelligence of the audience.

Those are some impressive speakers to follow. And having already given several memorable speeches, the pressure was on for Barack to step up once again and deliver big. He did. There was concern that this outdoor arena, and the pageantry of the presentation would potentially feed into this idea of the Obama celebrity. But Barack took the stage with confidence, not cockiness. He was commanding, not egomaniacal. And from moment to moment as a viewer it would flash that I was witnessing an indelible moment in history. I sat with my friend and we drank up that moment. And simple words like Hope, Change, Purpose, Integrity and Unity took on deeper meaning. And the recognition hits that the responsibility to make this change happen is not Barack Obama's. It's mine. It's yours. It's ours.

The Better Left Unsaid "Stream-of-Consciousness" Index
Democratic Convention...Michelle Obama...Hilary Clinton...Bill Clinton...John Kerry...Beau Biden...Joe Biden...Al Gore...Barack Obama

A Heartbeat Away

Okay, I have to admit, I'm not sure I get the point of blogs. Certainly not this one. Yeah, yeah, blogging is now all the rage. Everybody's blogging. Anderson Cooper and his pals at CNN are blogging at this very moment, I'm sure. He keeps telling us they're blogging during his newcasts. "We're blogging during the break!" Ummm, why don't you spend more time fact-checking instead of blogging your opinions. Your a newscaster, friendo.

But I digress.

I'm not sure what form this blog will take. At the moment these are my opinions. The opinions of a 45 year old man living in New York. Wow. That sounds pretty depressing. Who gives a shit what a 45 year old New Yorker thinks. Seriously. At 45, I'm too old to be an influencer of pop culture. But, then again, if that's my goal -- influencing pop culture -- you might say I'm aiming low. Today it's Myley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers. In my day it was Leif Garrett and The DeFranco Family (The Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat, baby). There's no accounting for taste in any generation, apparently (all due respect to Tony and his siblings).

I actually just turned 45. And when that event suddenly dredges up references to The DeFranco Family you know your mid-life crisis has officially begun. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit generous to myself by calling it a mid-life crisis. That means I'm confident of hitting 90 doesn't it? Well, I do think the pharmaceuticals and medical procedures will be there for us folks born in the early 60's. The question is will any of us be able to afford them.

Another guy who just had a birthday is Barack Obama. We were born on the same day (only two years apart). He just turned 47. And is running for President of the United States. Me...well, I'm beginning to think I peaked after being elected Vice-President of my Senior Class in High School. And speaking of Vice-President's. Barack announced Joe Biden as his running mate today. Meaning of Barack is elected, Joe will be just a heartbeat away from the Presidency (and my DeFranco Family reference completes its planetary loop!). I've always liked Joe Biden. I think I relate to him a bit. He's a straight shooting, common sense guy who sometimes gets into trouble for saying too much. Much like me. And that's what worries me. Here's hoping he knows when and how to hold his tongue over the next few months.

The Better Left Unsaid Stream-of-Consciousness Index
Blogging...Anderson Cooper...The Jonas Brothers...The DeFranco Family...Mid-Life Crisis...Barack Obama...Joe Biden