There have been other things going on in the world: like the Democratic national convention in Denver, which concludes tonight with Barack Obama’s acceptance speech.
There have been some clunky and cringe-worthy moments, of course. But here are my three favorite speeches so far:
Michelle Obama, demonstrating that she’s pretty impressive in her own right (not to mention gorgeous) and, I hope, going a long way toward dispelling some of the nasty slanders against her.
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, with his bolo tie, his unpolished gestures and body movements, his unforced enthusiasm, and his line about how a “green” economy can help defeat the “petro-dictators.”
Joe Biden. What can I say? I like the guy and his sloppy sentimentality about his dad, his mom, his children and his grandkids. I liked his story about how, as a kid, “when I got knocked down by guys bigger than me,… [my mother] sent me back out on the street and told me, ‘Bloody their nose so you can walk down the street the next day.’ And that’s what I did.”
I suspect his discussion of what ordinary Americans talk about around the kitchen table resonated with a lot of people. And clearly he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to foreign policy and the Bush administration’s failures in that area.
Update: It seems people are commenting on Obama’s acceptance speech before 75,000 people in the Denver football stadium. So feel free to comment away. But stay on topic, please.
My take (very briefly): a speech both substantive and powerful, and a clear signal that Obama won’t cut the Republicans any slack. I was nervous about the stadium idea, but I think they pulled it off. Despite the GOP’s effort to paint it as a celebrity/rock star event, the speech was clearly less about himself than about the millions of people who are hurting economically and in other ways. And he showed flashes of anger at having his patriotism impugned. I don’t think those attacks will work so well anymore.
