Tonight, Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) announced that he will accept the nomination of his party for the Presidency of the United States of America. I have discussed the historicity of this occasion in the other post on the Democratic National Convention this evening. This event is the climax of the Democratic Convention in Denver, CO. This event is being held in Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.
Senator Obama was nominated by his party after defeating his closest competitor, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). He will run against the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, Senator John McCain (R-AZ). It is rather surprising to me therefore, that the speech is following the growing rhetoric of running against President George W. Bush. This is surprising because of course, President Bush is not running for a third term, since he is constitutionally unable to do so nor is John McCain President Bush!
Senator Obama is attacking Senator McCain's voting record as being in agreement with President Bush 90% of the time. It is interesting to note that many votes in the Senate are for things like motherhood and apple pie. It is no surprise that there is 90% agreement. Dick Morris noted on Fox News just before this speech that Barack Obama has probably voted in agreement with John McCain nearly 90% of the time!
Senator Obama is introducing his primary campaign theme - CHANGE!!! Everyone seems to know that Mr. Obama stands for change. The problem is - no one seems to articulate what the changes will be. When someone tries they tend to just spit out the typical Democratic rhetoric. Wow - that is what Mr. Obama is doing right now. Basically it sounds as though Mr. Obama's idea of change is really no change at all!!!
Up to this point, Mr. Obama has not yet articulated why he is qualified to be the President of the United States. I find it to be very interesting that when Democrats are asked to articulate even one reason that Mr. Obama is qualified to be the President - they are unable to do it and refuse to do anything but change the topic! Could it be that there are no reasons that are able to be articulated.
Mr. Obama has been purported to be a great orator by many. Many have come to hear him speak for months and nearly 80,000 have come to hear him speak tonight. The problem is - there seems to be no great oration taking place in Denver tonight. His delivery is ok but not fantastic. He does not sound all that Presidential and he certainly does not sound as strong as Senator Clinton did on Tuesday, nor as strong as his running mate, Joe Biden or President Bill Clinton did last night. This raises a question in my mind - why is this the guy who is the candidate?!
Mr. Obama is now explaining what change is all about. Thankfully we finally get an answer. Here is the list: Taxes, no Capital Gains for small businesses (but they will be huge on 98% of those who pay capital gains),we will end dependence on Middle Eastern Oil in 10 years, world class education for children, affordable-accessible health care, family leave, equal pay for women, social security, and the like. So where is the change? Most of these are long-time Democratic positions. There is nothing earth shattering here. Some of these are again motherhood and apple pie kinds of things and the rest that are uniquely Democratic are just that - the same old Democratic rhetoric!
Mr. Obama is arguing that we need a President who is focused upon the future not the past. Then he notes that he is from the party of Roosevelt and Kennedy to show that Democrats will defend the country. Correct me here if I am wrong folks - but that sure doesn't sound like looking towards the future - I mean I am pretty sure that F.D.R. and J.F.K. are both figures of the past!
Senator Obama is seeking to illustrate places where bipartisanship is possible. There may be some things on his list where this is true. The problem is that his list is a list of some of the major issues in the United States. Included were isues of abortion, gay rights, and immigration. There may be points of agreement at basic levels under some of these issues but it is erroneous to argue that this makes bipartisanship possible.
Mr. Obama says that this election is not about him but about the people. If he truly believes that, then why is trying to make himself look like a Greek god in front of his temple?!! It sure looks like this is about him to me!
Mr. Obama brought a great deal of hype to this evening. There is a huge crowd there to see him. This speech is the most important of his political career to this point. This speech is the climax of his nominating convention. This speech is the key piece in Senator Obama's campaign to this point. The problem is - this is not the most powerful speech that could have been delivered! Speeches delivered earlier in this convention have been stronger. Speeches delivered by Obama earlier in the campaign have been stronger. Even with a flourish of images from forty-five years ago at the end of the speech, the speech seemed to lack the full-punch it needed. The speech seemed to lack what was necessary to live up to the occasion and setting demanded. The crowd may have believed that it did do this - but from my living room it did not seem to do so!
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