I must admit that I'm having trouble finding motivation to write about politics today. Following President Obama's speech last night, I thought to myself - "It's done! It's over! The conventions are through! 24 hours of convention coverage in two weeks is finally complete! Where's my drink?" No, I didn't drink, but so long as I'm feeling up to par this evening, I think I'll be deserving of a couple.
The evening went as I expected it. To my disappointment, Betty White didn't come out and talk to an empty chair. The world didn't end when Obama accepted the party's nomination to run for a second term. Osama bin Laden didn't magically appear and say, "Boo!" No, it went pretty much as could be expected. As typical, there were about three speeches which stood out to me from the rest.
The first such speech was given by Georgia Congressman, John Lewis. He focused his attention on voter suppression and related it to the civil rights era, of which he was a part.
With regard to that time, he told a story about being beaten due to the color of his skin and his standing up for equal rights. Years later, one of these men came to Mr. Lewis' office in Washington D.C. and the congressman told the story as follows:
"He came to my office in Washington and said, 'I am one of the people who beat you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me?' I said, 'I accept your apology.' He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we both started crying. This man and I don't want to go back; we want to move forward."
Lewis then talked about the voter suppression which is occurring in the run up to November's election, saying, "Today it is unbelievable that there are Republican officials still trying to stop some people from voting. They are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote. The Republican leader in the Pennsylvania House even bragged that his state's new voter ID law is 'gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state.' That's not right. That's not fair. That's not just."
The congressman then closed with this - "I've seen this before. I've lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote. We have come too far together to ever turn back. So we must not be silent. We must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never before."
That had to have been one of the most raw and emotionally-affecting speeches at either convention. If one didn't feel a knot form in their throat, their eyes get watery or lips start to tremble, I'm placing money on the fact they're not human.
Speaking of human, Vice President Joe Biden is certainly that. The guy is not always the smoothest talker. He, at times, comes across as the Democrat's version of George W. Bush due to all the Bushisms (Bidenisms in his case) he makes. He misused the word "literally" last night on multiple occasions. Yet, when it comes down to it and no matter how much I almost habitually shake my head when seeing that he's about to speak, it's difficult to not like the guy. Here's a politician who wears his heart on his sleeve (figuratively speaking...if it were "literal," Biden would have himself a serious problem on his hands, or on his sleeve, I guess). He choked up when giving his thanks to the troops toward the very tail-end of his speech. While he is anything but an eloquent speaker, his words feel genuine and sincere unlike most politicians. The guy actually means what he says. For as un-poetic as his speech was, I have to hand it to the guy - he almost had me choked up toward the end of it as well.
Finally, we reached President Obama's speech. As usual, he was his grand oratorical self. He inspired the masses with talk of hope and change, which was soaring and contagious as usual. However, that's not what really stood out in the speech to me. No, it was his sense of humility that stood out. Obama is a great inspirational speaker. It was a big factor, if not the ultimate deciding one that put him over the top of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic Primary. However, with those great inspiring oratorical skills, Obama has had trouble at times in toning things down a notch and getting personal, giving a heartfelt presentation. When he did so last night, it really struck me - perhaps because it felt so out of the ordinary for the president, yet at the same time felt real.
The one quote which stood out among all the rest for me was when Obama said this - "While I am proud of what we have achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, ‘I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go."
The president then continually reminded the crowd and viewers at home of what has been accomplished in his first term and that it's not him who really caused the change, but them (us). This was a nice touch, I thought, to try and showcase that while change and progress has not been easy, it has been occurring and we mustn't lose hope that our fights and votes will go for not. He really made it a point to remove any attention off himself and what he's done while in office and place the spotlight on the voters and volunteers, because without us, these changes would have never been possible.
Overall, I think it was a very good speech and while there were definitely some similar elements in his speech last night as there were in his back in the run up to the 2008 election, there were some striking differences as well. I personally don't think his speech was quite as masterful as Bill Clinton's, but it didn't need to be. While Clinton went through all of the details, especially with regard to healthcare reform and Republican Party claims and talking points, Obama did what he does best - inspire, and I think that's all he really needed to do to close what was a great week in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Democratic Party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/john-lewis-speech_n_1862843.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/purdum/2012/09/oarack-obama-dnc-speech
The evening went as I expected it. To my disappointment, Betty White didn't come out and talk to an empty chair. The world didn't end when Obama accepted the party's nomination to run for a second term. Osama bin Laden didn't magically appear and say, "Boo!" No, it went pretty much as could be expected. As typical, there were about three speeches which stood out to me from the rest.
The first such speech was given by Georgia Congressman, John Lewis. He focused his attention on voter suppression and related it to the civil rights era, of which he was a part.
With regard to that time, he told a story about being beaten due to the color of his skin and his standing up for equal rights. Years later, one of these men came to Mr. Lewis' office in Washington D.C. and the congressman told the story as follows:
"He came to my office in Washington and said, 'I am one of the people who beat you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me?' I said, 'I accept your apology.' He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we both started crying. This man and I don't want to go back; we want to move forward."
Lewis then talked about the voter suppression which is occurring in the run up to November's election, saying, "Today it is unbelievable that there are Republican officials still trying to stop some people from voting. They are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote. The Republican leader in the Pennsylvania House even bragged that his state's new voter ID law is 'gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state.' That's not right. That's not fair. That's not just."
The congressman then closed with this - "I've seen this before. I've lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote. We have come too far together to ever turn back. So we must not be silent. We must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never before."
That had to have been one of the most raw and emotionally-affecting speeches at either convention. If one didn't feel a knot form in their throat, their eyes get watery or lips start to tremble, I'm placing money on the fact they're not human.
Speaking of human, Vice President Joe Biden is certainly that. The guy is not always the smoothest talker. He, at times, comes across as the Democrat's version of George W. Bush due to all the Bushisms (Bidenisms in his case) he makes. He misused the word "literally" last night on multiple occasions. Yet, when it comes down to it and no matter how much I almost habitually shake my head when seeing that he's about to speak, it's difficult to not like the guy. Here's a politician who wears his heart on his sleeve (figuratively speaking...if it were "literal," Biden would have himself a serious problem on his hands, or on his sleeve, I guess). He choked up when giving his thanks to the troops toward the very tail-end of his speech. While he is anything but an eloquent speaker, his words feel genuine and sincere unlike most politicians. The guy actually means what he says. For as un-poetic as his speech was, I have to hand it to the guy - he almost had me choked up toward the end of it as well.
Finally, we reached President Obama's speech. As usual, he was his grand oratorical self. He inspired the masses with talk of hope and change, which was soaring and contagious as usual. However, that's not what really stood out in the speech to me. No, it was his sense of humility that stood out. Obama is a great inspirational speaker. It was a big factor, if not the ultimate deciding one that put him over the top of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic Primary. However, with those great inspiring oratorical skills, Obama has had trouble at times in toning things down a notch and getting personal, giving a heartfelt presentation. When he did so last night, it really struck me - perhaps because it felt so out of the ordinary for the president, yet at the same time felt real.
The one quote which stood out among all the rest for me was when Obama said this - "While I am proud of what we have achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, ‘I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go."
The president then continually reminded the crowd and viewers at home of what has been accomplished in his first term and that it's not him who really caused the change, but them (us). This was a nice touch, I thought, to try and showcase that while change and progress has not been easy, it has been occurring and we mustn't lose hope that our fights and votes will go for not. He really made it a point to remove any attention off himself and what he's done while in office and place the spotlight on the voters and volunteers, because without us, these changes would have never been possible.
Overall, I think it was a very good speech and while there were definitely some similar elements in his speech last night as there were in his back in the run up to the 2008 election, there were some striking differences as well. I personally don't think his speech was quite as masterful as Bill Clinton's, but it didn't need to be. While Clinton went through all of the details, especially with regard to healthcare reform and Republican Party claims and talking points, Obama did what he does best - inspire, and I think that's all he really needed to do to close what was a great week in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Democratic Party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/john-lewis-speech_n_1862843.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/purdum/2012/09/oarack-obama-dnc-speech
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