Democratic Convention
Well, it will probably come as no surprise that I'm very impressed with what I've been hearing out of the convention in Boston.
I've missed some of the speeches, might listen to those [archived by the arrogant jerks at NPR on their coverage page] and update this entry.
Al Gore and Bill Clinton were wonderful. At first, I thought it odd that Clinton illustrated the Bush tax cuts by using himself as an example. It really was genius: people who like him get the point...and those who hate him will say "I don't want that rich SOB to have a tax cut" and hopefully make the connection that sooooo many other rich SOBs are also the ones benefitting, while regular folks like us get nothing, get screwed.
Barack Obama was magnificent. Follow the link on that NPR page and listen to what he had to say. On some level, the divisive, hateful, xenophobic Republicans will be all over him because of his name. In their world, every American must be named Johnson or Smith or something easy. Likewise for Theresa Heinz Kerry's speech, in which she had the nerve to speak briefly in several languages...including French! The fact that she speaks with a slight accent will also be fodder for the Republican hate machine. The only time they want "foreigners" around is when their mansions need cleaning or they need to pretend they have a big tent at convention time.
The content of Ted Kennedy's speech was good, but his voice kept breaking and he seemed tired.
Al Sharpton, who first entered the limelight as an uneducated, troublemaking, NYC windbag who cared much more about cameras pointing at him than what he was saying as they rolled, has matured a lot. His speech and his answers to the pResident's digusting appearance before the recent Urban League conference were very good. Some great quotes in there.
I expected a better John Edwards speech than we got. Maybe it's just that he read it too fast...without enough emotion. Still, I think he's a good man. He can do the job.
Kerry was good. He proved a lot in the speech. He is strong, smart, aware. Like most speakers, he went too fast, as we now know that's because he was trying to finish before 11pm ET exactly, when the networks said they'd end their coverage, regardless of what was happening. Do the networks have incredible nerve and no shame? Ohhhhh yeah. Are they a disgrace to journalism, to democracy, yup. Are they whores for the money? Uh, yes.
Regardless, Kerry must now get out and prove to America that he's not just a bright guy, a politician, a veteran and a war hero; he must prove that he's a real, folksy, human being, not a stiff like Mike Dukakis. I hope he and his people realize that.
As for "journalists" Ann Coulter and Jonah Golberg: just more niche marketing prostitutes who'd probably say anything if they knew it would sell. Do they own mirrors? How can they possibly look in 'em??
-M!
