Night Three: Biden Doesn't Wow, But the Convention (Finally) Gains Momentum
| Wed Aug. 27, 2008 9:04 PM PDT
The good news for the Barack Obama camp: Joe Biden has no more big speeches to deliver between now and Election Day.
In what was the Democrats' best night of the first three, Biden capped the evening with a heartfelt speech emphasizing his middle-class roots that was marred by an irregular rhythm and a series of verbal slip-ups. He said "millions" instead of "billions." He praised Obama for working on an Illinois state health care program that provided coverage to 150 children and parents, not 150,000. Biden blasted John McCain in a predictable manner: for championing tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, for misjudgments regarding foreign policy. There were good and touching moments, such as the tribute to his mother and his empathetic recognition of the everyday challenges confronted by Americans facing hard times. And he tied the need to help working-class families to Barack Obama's appeal: "He has tapped into the oldest American belief of all: We don't have to accept a situation we cannot bear. We have the power to change it." Biden covered the bases but did not rock the house. He was no Bill Clinton. He wasn't even a John Kerry. (See Kevin's somewhat more generous take here.)
But the Obama campaign had an insurance policy. After Biden finished, Barack Obama made an unscheduled appearance and restored the energy level to the room and the convention. Working the Pepsi Center like a talk show host--has he been taking lessons from Oprah?--Obama seized control of the evening and promised a great night on Thursday, when he will accept his party's presidential nomination at Invesco Field.
The third night of the convention--Biden aside--presented a more coherent message than the previous evenings, which were dominated by the obligatory tasks of undoing the rightwing attacks on Michelle Obama and satisfying Hillary Clinton and the Hillary Hold-ons. On Thursday, it seemed as if the Obama campaign was finally able to get down to business: making the pitch.
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The evening program opened with Melissa Etheridge connecting "God Bless America" to progressive favorites, such as "Born in the U.S.A." Then came a series of Iraq veterans and other former warriors who rammed home the point: George W. Bush and John McCain have truly screwed up the foreign policy of the United States. This was McCain's turf: national security. And the Democrats hit it hard by bringing to the stage Tammy Duckworth, a paraplegic Iraq vet, who has as much standing as anyone to question and criticize McCain's judgment on Iraq--past, present, and future.
But even though the Democrats had billed the evening as national security night, it was more than that. With Clinton playing the good cop, and Kerry playing the bad cop, the Obama campaign presented both the case for Obama and the case against McCain in vivid and explicit terms. Clinton's speech was another masterpiece and a reminder that he could be a major asset in the weeks ahead, if he cares to be--and behaves himself.
Largely because of Clinton and Kerry, who was also at his best, it seemed that the convention finally gained momentum and produced emotional energy. But the Democrats still have trouble critiquing McCain without going overboard in celebrating his service and heroism--and that could prove a problem in the next two months. Biden the supposed attack dog felt compelled to say that McCain's courage still amazes him. He took his shots at McCain, but there were no memorable blows. Did the Obama campaign defang him? Or is he hesitant to go full-throttle on a fellow with whom he shares "a friendship that goes beyond politics"?
The Republicans, though, have no reluctance in blasting Obama as practically a traitor. McCain has repeatedly said that Obama puts his own political ambition ahead of what's good for the country, that Obama would see Americans lose a war in order to win an election. Yet the Democrats often limit their criticisms to McCain's policy ideas, not McCain the man. Kerry came closest to doing the latter when he challenged McCain's integrity, accusing him of flip-flopping (remember that?) on issues for political gain. Still, more than the previous nights, the Democrats moved toward a more even mix of positive and negative.
Night Three effectively set up the grand finale. On Thursday evening, Obama will appear before a crowd of 75,000. The Clintons, Michelle, the attacks on McCain, the anti-Bush vets--none of that will matter. There will be one story: the guy in the spotlight. He will stand it alone, and what he does will define the convention more than all that has come before.
(Photo by flickr user barackobama.com used under a Creative Commons license.)
Comments
I disagree with people who are putting down Joe's speech. I am not his target demographic, but his story, and his family, and his comments on stage tonight hit home for me. It gave me more of a feel for who he was and why he would be an asset for Barack.
With so many of these pundits wanting red meat, they forget that Obama has said repeatedly that he would run a respectful campaign. If he turned around and let his surrogates attack McCain's character in a way that I think is warranted, not only would people go crazy because he is flip flopping, but that would also leave the door open for more character attacks on Obama which he doesn't need.
Night three for the D's went well on a few front's. Bill Clinton's speech was brilliant. Too bad he only really meant about his usual 1/2. But no matter--because the viewers were rightly moved.
Biden is an interesting character. He is a lawyer with a conscience. Which makes him a patently ineffective public speaker. But he made the absolute best out of this otherwise compromised situation and came through far better then his general weak talent for motivating and influencing people. Essentially, the speech was custom written to best compensate for his awkward style and so kudos to the actual authors.
Love-fest aside, lets talk McCain:
To gain the R nomination he was required to sell his soul--or, whatever amount of soul he started out with. He is now a mouthpiece for the economically all-powerful.
Vietnam BTW is absolutely the one U.S. war in the last 100 years that I would have point-blank refused to participate in. It was by far the most immoral. Why? Well for one small thing, the USA was only on the wrong side. Our people were told that we were defending democracy when in point-of-historical-fact, we were preventing democracy. So, therefore, guys like Kerry DO NOT impress me either. Especially so because he wants to be a war hero and a peace activist at the same time (that's what happens when lawyer politicians have no conscience).
The only good thing I can say about McCain (the New and disproved McCain) is that he is NOT retarded like George Bush-W. Tanks God for small miracles.
It's taken five and a half bloody, discouraging years to get to the point where mainstream discussion would allow the idea that we can question the president and his war, but criticizing (or being seen to criticize) soldiers and veterans is still extremely dangerous. I'm not sure that Obama and friends' decision to keep their hands off of the service side of McCain is a bad one. I think anything they do there would be all too likely to blow back in their faces.
I guess you were watching the same speech as Brokaw, David.
I, too, noticed the verbal slip-ups. I think I also noticed the start of a stutter.
But what I noticed even more was the passion of the man and the human connection he was making to his audience.
And I noticed how effectively he was slicing and dicing McCain on ISSUES, not on personality. On G-D POLICY issues. Very effective.
Finally, I noticed how good he and Obama looked together.
Boy, do we Dems have a good-looking ticket or not!
By contrast, unless Old Man McCain picks LIEberman, he'll be visually overwhelmed by his running mate.
OBAMA AND BIDEN OFFENSIVE
Obama and Biden, as leaders in the American Cultural War, shall take the offensive in restoring traditional international good will, patriotism, Christian culture, and Constitutional rule of law.
The Republican Party suffers from malignant Podhoretz Neo-Conservative cancer; and the Democrat Party suffers from malignant Leiberman Neo-Liberal cancer. These Crypto-Neo-Marxist cancers are mutations of that malignant Marxist cancer that mortally devastated Russia, by successfully dividing her patriots against each other.
The America People got these Crypto-Neo-Marxist cancers at the end of the Second World War, when they naively accepted millions of pitiful defeated Marxist refugees from Nazi Germany and Marxist Soviet Union. History suggests that by systematically working together in the Cultural War, the Kennedy Liberals and Reagan Conservatives can ultimately destroy these malignancies.
I understand your point Tim, that it would be unwise for Obama/Biden to attack McCain's "War Hero" status. However, I have to say I can't understand why McCain is a war hero.
John McCain few a jet aircraft loaded with powerful destruction technology over a country that never attacked the United States. When he released all that fury on the ground below, he had no idea how many men, women, children, and animals he destroyed.
McCain came home alive after his incarceration in Viet Nam. Many who were subjected to the weapons he released never had that option.
Duncan Bruce:
McCain gets special status because he was tortured in a prison camp, one that did not comply with Geneva convention. However, you are correct in that he was a willing and eager volenteer, not drafted or even a 'National Guardsman' duped into a few mandatory tours of duty. What exactly he did 'in country', (drop napalm or cook potatoes) is less relevant in my view.
Ho Chi Min was a VERY popular leader in Indo-China (like a father figure) and he was a GIANT admirer of the USA. He was our close ally in WW2 and may have made a great positive difference in beating the Japanese--(who we soon adopted as our second best friends--just after the #1 Germans). Ho Chi Min was accused (mainly by the Johnson Admin.) of being a commie--but he himself denied it and the proof is that he and fellow Japanese-adversary, Chairman Mao did NOT get along.
Much later, after the war, Vietnam did fall to the commies but our excuse for supporting Pakistan in their 1947 succession from India was to prevent their slippage into communism. The same might have been applied to our close allies, the Viet-Min.
In reality, Johnson was a psycho who had nightmares (perhaps day-mares) of commies under his bed. While he did some positive things during his inherited term, he, like the other (initially unelected) Texas President (Bush-W) enjoyed pushing military buttons and both gave the U.S. treasury away to the (heavily Texas) defense contractors.
If you read one of Johnson's many biographies BTW: he liked to start fist-fights as a youth. He was known for making moves on occupied girls (especially in other towns) and although he was generally FAR bigger then most kids his age (like 'Larry-Bird Johnson'), he always got the piss beat out of him--(sometimes by puney guys).
No mention of Bush's crimes such as the WMD lies. No mention of impeaching the criminals Bush and Cheney.
The fact remains: Bush and Cheney belong in prison. The Democrats are frightened that if they grow a spine they will lose the election. So they talk about 'free' health care, etc.
There will be no quid pro quo for me. I don't want your 'free' anything. I want the criminals Bush and Cheney to face justice.
