Clinton fans will feel shunned if Obama dismisses Clinton AGAIN, especially after testing the waters.
The complicated relationship between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appears to be ameliorating.
Newsweek reports that the new Republican vice presidential candidate didn’t like Hillary’s ‘whining.’
Clinton to Dems: Keep Going
Late night impressions of day 2 of the 2008 Democratic convention
“Grand slam” said MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann at the conclusion of Hillary Clinton’s keynote speech. After a sleepy first convention day, the Democrats finally hit their stride at the end of day two, with Sen. Hillary Clinton’s grand slam of an endorsement for the man who edged her out in the primary. But before her historic keynote, the day started out much as the day before, with sluggish speeches and too many visuals of dancing Democrats in sporting funny hats.
Three major speeches caught my attention.
The first was by former Virginia governor Mark Warner. It was easy to imagine this man being a contender for the Democratic nomination. While robotic at first, his speech exhibited passion and punch, with short sentences that were easy on the ears and laced with vigor. MSNBC commentators noted that Warner’s speaking slot was moved up due to his reluctance to attack John McCain. Obviously Warner was acutely aware of his own political future, and the opportunities afforded the keynote address (See: Obama, 2004 keynote address). That he used his time to talk about good ideas transcending party is discouraging at best, playing it safe, too safe to be exciting in the foreseeable future. We’ll see where he’s at in eight years.
The most entertaining and fun speech was delivered by Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, cheerfully rolling his round body back and forth as he bashed presumptive Republican nominee Sen John McCain, calling for each state’s delegation to literally and figuratively “stand up!” Which they did, cheering and smiling. Who know a mountain man could be so jolly? As Schweitzer concluded, former president Clinton could be seen mouthing the words “He was good.” And he was. Hopefully we’ll see more of Schweitzer in the future — and not only because his name scores 27 points in Scrabble.
And then the grand slam. Wearing bright orange to contrast the soft blue background, the longest applause of the convention serenaded the longest lasting Democratic primary candidate, Sen. Hillary Clinton. Poised, passionate, and perfectly pitched, Clinton’s speech exceeded all of the considerable expectations placed upon it. “Clinton Delivers…and Then Some” headlined Huffington Post. With a parity of grace and strength, Clinton wove a passionate tale of her life, civil right’s movements, and Democratic values, tying them neatly together in a narrative endorsing Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton’s keynote address
“Nothing but the fate of our nation and the future of our children depend on it,” she said, highlighting the serious nature of this presidential election.
A few notable phrases:
“No way, no how, no McCain”
“She greeted me with her bald head with my name painted on it”
“sisterhood of traveling pantsuits”
“My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for president. This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up,”
She also again noted how many Americans are invisible to the current administration.
“Grand slam” said Keith Olbermann immediately following her remarks, “I don’t know how it could have been better.” Fox News pundits sure could, as they seized upon the speech’s coattails to deride Clinton for not “fully” embracing Obama, stating that she didn’t say he was ready for the presidency, and that he would make the best president. But why the hell should she? Clearly she thinks she would make the best president, all the presidential candidates do. What Clinton did with her speech was help unify the Democratic party by embracing the extent of her honest support for Obama, without lies, without stretching the truth. “Were you in this campaign just for me?” she asked the audience.
But that wasn’t all. Clinton also delivered the convention’s most searing attacks upon John McCain, something only hinted at with the Democratic convention already half over.
Clinton’s message: Unite behind the party, push forward with the weight of history behind us, for nothing but the future of our country and our children depends on it. — Moving words from a powerful persona.
Curious how now, with former president Bill Clinton and presumptive vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden both speaking tonight, that the convention feels like it has already reached its apex. Sure we’ll watch the next two days, but I can’t help but feel like the convention is already winding down, and with only passing mentions of McCain, and few new reasons to vote for Obama.
We’ll see tonight how our nation’s ‘first black president’ speaks about our nation’s first black president. And don’t be surprised if Biden exposes his fangs (someone has to).
Don’t let us down, doyen Dems! There’s only two quarters left, and America is still waiting to be fired up.
Images: cnn.com, huffingtonpost.com
Dem Convention Posts:
The pantsuit coloring of American politics
This is what U.S. politics is truly all about. From ABC News:
Glamour magazine salutes Clinton this month with a photo spread featuring her wearing a rainbow of pantsuits from fire-engine red to light lilac. The headline reads: “Hillary, we loved your pantsuits!”
If you’ve ever wondered why politicians and political parties can’t simply discuss issues and policy in a civilized format and allow Americans to vote based on those arguments, this is part of the problem.
Writing this two hours before Sen. Hillary Clinton delivers her Democratic Convention speech, the media is aflutter with nervous excitement and anticipation, guessing and pontificating on what Goliath will say in support of David, bested by his ‘change’ sling.
Politics is so much more than the issues. It is about personality and stagecraft, about emotion and energy just as much as cold calculation and logic. It is also about the exciting anticipation of what will happen next. Like children eager to tear open a carefully wrapped present, pundits are bouncing off the walls, wondering and prognosticating on what will happen next in this presidential election. Once the present is open, the focus will quickly move on to the next ‘what next?’.
Sen. Joe Biden got so little media coverage compared to the anticipation and guessing game of whom Obama would pick for the veep spot. Americans seem to have short memories, and we crave the ‘what’s next?’.
What’s next tonight is perhaps the most anticipated speech of the election. Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Goliath of American politics, will most likely attempt to cast off doubts of her support for Sen. Barack Obama. Will it work? What exactly will she say? The Obama people haven’t vetted the speech yet?… Oh no! Will we believe her? Does she really want Obama to lose? What if she…
Sigh.
Forget the speech and the message it is trying to convey, the real action will be the analysis of Clinton’s stage presence, what outfit she’ll be wearing, and the penetrating looks of wrapped listeners scrutinizing every facial expression, searching for that indescribable look of honesty and forthrightness on her face, and perked ears critiquing the words she had hoped she would never have to deliver.
Why are American politics broken? Why are negative ads so effective? Why can’t we have a civil debate? Because of our inescapable interpersonal nature. People are interested in people. What is interesting about policy is not the pros, cons, process, and statistics of each issue, but the effects those policies have on people.
Politics is more about people than policy. And political theater plays to that. Presidential politics in particular appears much more about personality than any other type of election. I know more about the presidential candidates than I’ll ever know about my local mayor. Think about what people who don’t like Hillary Clinton say. In my experience, most of what they say have to do with her personality, ambition, or link back to the President Clinton’s affair. Feelings for her are visceral, personal, and often have little to do with her stance on, say, education.
If you want America to be different and your vote to be meaningful, vote for the party’s platform that best aligns with your vision of what is right, rationale, and forward looking. Cause if personality trumps policy on your voting quest, you’re lost in the game of pantsuit politics.
Images: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5656295, http://www.drudgereport.com/
Dem Convention Posts:
Loyal supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton want her to be considered for the nomination at the convention.
Michael Kinsley of Time Magazine is telling Hillary women to do what they are told: Support Obama. Ouch.
Did you “dump Hillary, a proven progressive, for a ghost, someone whose positions we still can’t nail down?”
Are the Clintons keeping a secret list of who betrayed them for Obama? Nope, but the media is.
