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
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I always look forward to the big Convention speeches. Problem is they often fall short. Early in the week, I wondered where the energy was.
I don't watch sports much, don't really follow any team or player, but one thing I do love is those great moments you occasionally experience when watching events live with an audience.
The Olympics in Beijing was a fantastic experience, and living in Baltimore was particualry exciting when out in a bar with 60 people urging on Micheal Phelps.
This week with Joe and Beau Biden, Bill & Hill and, Al were just great. Sometimes predictable, but important. Mark Warner - not so much. And how bout that tough Alabama lady who sued Goodyear. Someone had some guts to put her up on stage - but it worked.
And lastly Barack's speech. It was just phenomenol. The bar was high and he surppassed it with a tremendous, personal, humble, yet bold explanation of who he was and why he was running.
He could have played a bunch of pandering attack lines and left the place roaring. Instead, he took the high road and make his case firmly and set John McCain on notice.
There were a few moments when you could have heard a pin drop as people hung on his every word. When he humbly acknowledged the challenge for some to embrace him due to his youth and racial mix with "I get it". Absolutely awesome.
I'll watch the Republicans next week too....Good Luck following that one, fellas!
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