411POLITICS BLOG
By Ashish on August 28, 2008, at 3:36AM
I think most of us figured the Joe Lieberman as McCain's VP pick rumors would be dead by now. Well, they aren't. Karl Rove apparently tried to get in the middle of it by calling Lieberman personally and asking that he call McCain and remove himself from consideration and Lieberman REFUSED. We've seen this before. A candidate becomes so isolated within his yes-men and campaign staff that he loses all track of common sense. Picking Joe Lieberman as VP would be as near disaster as a VP pick could be. If Rove is out there trying to get Lieberman to step aside, obviously concern in the Republican party has reached the top circles. Karl Rove doesn't just call anybody to address a silly rumor. This rumor has to have legs.
I still am going to assume that McCain will pick Romney because I don't think the McCain campaign can be THAT out of touch and has the balls to so easily spit in the faces of the vast majority of the Republican party by picking a pro-choice Democrat as VP, but I suppose stranger things have happened. Imagine how quickly a McCain/Lieberman ticket would declare war with Iran. Has a President ever declared war during his inaugural address?
McCain has apparently already decided on his VP and will announce on Friday. If it's Lieberman, look out. In particular, we'll see if Rush Limbaugh is a total party hack or a man who actually has principles. He warned McCain not to pick Lieberman and said doing so will destroy the Republican party. If McCain picks Lieberman, we will either see Limbaugh coward before the party and stay in line, or we will see him stand up and start whatever pro-life revolt of McCain that he hinted at last week.
As I said the other day, a McCain/Lieberman ticket can hardly even be called a Republican ticket. Besides the message it would send to not even have a true conservative on a major party ticket (McCain is not a true conservative as most Republicans will tell you), it would ensure that regardless of who wins this election, McCain/Lieberman or Obama/Biden, this country is moving strongly to the left.
The bottom line after day three is that if you're a democrat and you're thinking about voting for McCain after the speeches of the last three days, you're probably just a jackass.
Second, today was another very strong day.
Bill Clinton was fantastic. Kerry was probably more on point, Biden more emotional, but it doesn't really matter, does it? Bill is Bill, and nobody does it better.
And it was extremely important. One of the creepiest subplots of this election is just how organized the Republican hivemind is. I mean, the minute after Hillary stopped speaking, despite the fact that every sentence of her speech was about how Obama should be the next president, how she had full confidence in him, the web was full of a unilateral Republican attack "Hillary never said specifically that Obama was ready to lead." It was implied a thousand times, of course, but it is true she never actually said that complete sentence.
But this was one of those rare times where the hive mind made a big mistake. Because the number one twofer in American politics had a second speaking spot. And Bill Clinton said, explicitly, several times "Obama is ready to lead. Obama has the experience to lead." There was no taking his comments out of context or twisting them in any way. And, secondly, there is no questioning that Bill's presidency saw unprecedented prosperity, national strength, and international reputation. His pointing out that he was the same age as Obama when he was president, that the same slurs of inexperience were used against him were extremely well taken.
But Clinton's best point, I thought, was when he pointed out that though the Republican agenda has remained the same for decades they never had a chance to put it into play until 2001 when they won the Senate in addition to the White House. Since the years 2001-2008 were an absolutely abysmal national disaster at home and abroad, it's really hard for anyone not a complete idiot to take the point.
With all the important points made tonight concerning McCain's blind dedication to economic and international programs which have already been proven failures, and policies that are not only bad economics but horrifically unjust, there's only one possible concern which could keep someone a McCain voter. That's, of course, the ringing phone at 3 am.
One guesses McCain does already know what he'll do in that situation, and one guesses it's "bomb the fuckers". That's a good reason that's a reassuring thought to many people. And one guesses as well that to many people, being safe in their home is still a bigger concern than the mortgage on that home, fairly or not.
I would argue, of course, that the blind hawk position has led us deeper into danger than we ever were before, and secondly, that tonight's hammering home of the need to address Afghanistan rather than Iraq—and rather, as opposed to what some expected, than neither—shows he's no dove, he's just willing to think about it a little harder and be more judicious. But it is nice to try to believe that these problems can be dealt with as easily as McCain thinks they can be, isn't it? Hard to blame anyone clinging to the idea that swift retaliatory strikes on anyone who looks at us in the wrong way will keep us safe, since the reality is that we're not and never again will be safe.
Hopefully the fact that Obama's plans are demonstrably superior to McCain's on every other important issue—this really isn't arguable, McCain's policies ARE George Bush's on the economy and energy, and we've had more than enough evidence to show they don't work-- will be enough.
Just one last thought. Clinton was one of the best and most dynamic presidents in recent history, for all that he could not keep it in his pants. Obama is the most exciting candidate since then. Watching the whole thing I couldn't help but note that one major similarity between the two men, and one major difference between them and Bush/McCain. It seems almost silly, but it's hard to deny. While Bush and McCain were failing pretty much every class that came their way, and slacking at pretty much everything they did, Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar, one of the most prestigious awards a college undergraduate can achieve, and Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review, more or less the most coveted position for Law School students nationwide.
It's an old idea, and surely elitist, but maybe we should be led by our best and brightest, especially since it has worked out in the past. Is it so wrong to want the person making the country's most important decisions to be smarter than me? Doesn't seem that way, from here.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 11:05PM
Day three of the Democratic convention was, top to bottom, the most successful day on every account. It didn't have the emotional high that Hillary Clinton's speech had on Tuesday night, but nothing except Obama's speech on Thursday probably will.
Joe Biden got a lot of praise throughout the night, including a big line from Bill Clinton, and managed to deliver a fantastic speech that went right after the groups that Obama is probably weakest with -- white, working class, blue collar workers, and national security people. A lot was woven into the Biden segment. The introduction by his son, Beau, painted a picture of his dad that included blue collar, average Joe, family man values, and a "never quit" attitude. It was very effectively done and got over Biden and his values. Biden's speech itself continued to paint himself as a blue collar/average joe type, the people who made up a big chunk of Hillary Clinton's coalition during the primaries, and then moved to national security, thought to be his strongest area. He pounded away at McCain's judgment being proven wrong time and again. Biden's speech wasn't the jump-up-out-of-your-seat and cheer speech Hillary gave last night, but it wasn't designed to be. Hillary's speech last nigth was designed from beginning to end to go after her supporters and other Democrats not yet on board with Obama. Her speech was all about Democrats. That's why it was a hit live -- everyone in the audience was a Democrat. Biden's speech was aimed at people watching at home, specifically independent & undecided voters. It was a speech designed to cover some of the areas of concern surrounding Obama -- whether the ticket is linked to blue collar America and whether the ticket is ready for the foreign policy challenges of the modern world. Biden also had a very effective line, saying that America doesn't just need a good soldier right now, it needs a visionary leader. It's a line that could have legs -- to get over McCain's soldier mindset, and how a soldier and a President need to think differently. But the thing that continues to strike me about Biden is how great a story he has. He has a very traditional, American story with very traditional American roots. Much of America doesn't know him well yet, but as he spends more time on the trail, especially in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, etc., he could be very effective.
The segment afterwards, with Obama appearing, was a good way to close out the "in convention" aspect of the convention as they will move to INVESCO Field for tomorrow's big speeches. It would have been strange had Obama not shown up to the place where he was nominated. I thought it was also key to have Obama acknowledge the Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton speeches while being in the same building with them, and to get their positive reactions to the praise on air. It was also important to get Biden and his entire family on stage too, as they did at the end, to remind people with doubts about Obama's, let's say, "otherness," that these people will also be in the White House -- a very traditional, very appealing all-American family, from the kids all the way up to "Mama Biden" who had several memorable moments on camera during Biden's speech.
Bill Clinton's speech wasn't the emotional hit that Hillary Clinton's was, but it may have a larger, longer term impact that her speech. Bill went above and beyond in his endorsement of Obama, laying out in detail why Obama is ready for the job. The key line, reminding people that Republicans even called him too young and inexperienced back in 1992, will have a major impact, especially among however many holdout Democrats are left. He also was very strong in his attacks against McCain. Calling him an "extremist" is something the Obama camp needs to adopt. McCain is as close to a war extremist as we in America get in mainstream politics, and it's important that they make that known. Clinton also tore up the last eight years and the failures of the Republicans in a very easy to understand way. Keep in mind that the average voter doesn't follow any of this stuff as closely as we all do. Whether Clinton deserves all the credit for the prosperity during his eight years doesn't matter -- the average person considers the Clinton years to have been positive years and he usually gets the credit that goes with that. Clinton laying it all out there -- comparing his eight years to Bush's eight years and linking Obama as the next in line to his administration -- is something that could connect well to the common man sitting at home, fully aware that things are worse off now than they were eight years ago. Bill's endorsement, and constant affirmation that Obama IS ready to be President, will stand out as one of the most important moments of this convention. Major success here for Obama.
And wow, where was that John Kerry in 2004? Kerry spoke with more passion than I've ever seen him speak before. His riff about McCain's flip-flops, how the McCain of a few years ago wouldn't agree with the McCain of today on most major issues, was fantastic and something that Obama and Democrats have not hammered enough. McCain HAS flip-flopped on several major issue (taxes, torture, immigration, etc.) but has not gotten the amount of heat for it all as he should, mainly because the media has largely ignored McCain for months. Anyway, Kerry's speech obviously didn't have the emotion of the high profile Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Biden speeches, but on substance, it may have been the strongest speech of the convention so far. It went right to the core of why McCain isn't acceptable as a leader in today's world and why Obama is. It defined McCain, something Democrats have so far struggled to do. Very effective.
Evan Bayh also seemed to dust off some of the blandness that usually surrounds him and delivered a pretty strong speech that went after Bush/McCain pretty effectively.
Aside from the speeches, the moment where Hillary Clinton came out on the convention floor during the rollcall and called for the nomination of Barack Obama will be a moment that lives on in history. It was a fitting, memorable end to the most historic primary battle ever, resulting in the first ever African American nominee for a major party, being called for by the most successful woman nominee of a major party ever. In that moment, Clinton cemented her positive place in the story, and in that moment, she healed a party that some thought might be permanently wounded. The images at the end of the night, with Bill and Hillary Clinton standing and smiling and Obama praising their speeches from the stage, wrapped it all up nicely.
Those who complained yesterday that Democrats weren't going after McCain enough -- that there wasn't enough "red meat" -- there was plenty tonight. Just about every speaker hammered away on McCain and with the three biggest speeches all delivering big, it's hard to not call the night a big success.
Tomorrow things wrap up with Al Gore and Obama's big speech.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 10:17PM
John McCain has decided on his VP pick and will reveal the pick on Friday. As expected, McCain is hoping to steal away the spotlight from Obama's big Thursday night speech. The favorites remain Romney and Lieberman. If it's Lieberman, well, watch out. And I don't mean that in a good way.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 6:48PM
Ever since the primaries ended back in June, we've had a consistent few stating that Hillary Clinton would try to steal the Democratic nomination from Barack Obama on the floor. Well, not only did that not happen, it was Clinton herself who called for the nomination of Obama. It was a pretty exciting moment on the floor, with many in tears, as Illinois yielded to New York and Clinton then called for a unanimous nomination of Obama about halfway through the rollcall voting (where she did get some votes).
The point being, the Democratic primary is now officially over and Barack Obama has won the nomination. Put the conspiracy theories to rest. Obama is also now the first African American to ever be the nominee of a major American political party.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 5:49PM
The Democratic Party will be putting this image up on busses and billboards in the Twin Cities next week during the Republican convention.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 5:12PM
We have our first strong Obama polling day in awhile today...
-- In New Mexico, CNN/TIME have Obama opening up a big lead over McCain, 53% to 40%. This is the biggest lead Obama has ever had in a poll of New Mexico. Do I think he really is up by 13%? No. But, I do think Obama is in fairly good position to win New Mexico, similar to his position in Iowa. If Iowa and New Mexico remain this way, that being a strong lean to Obama, it puts McCain in a VERY tough position because it gives him basically no margin of error. If Obama wins the Kerry states, as he is expected to, and adds Iowa and New Mexico, that already puts him at 264 electoral votes, just five away from a tie (which will go to the Democrat this year) and six away from the win. McCain would have to win all of the the eight key swing states -- Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, and Indiana under this scenario.
-- In Pennsylvania, CNN/TIME has Obama up over McCain, 48% to 43%. This is about in line with what we have been seeing in PA. McCain remains close, but has not been able to move upward in the state despite massive spending.
-- In Nevada, CNN/TIME has Obama opening up a lead over McCain, 49% to 44%. This is the biggest lead Obama has had in any poll of Nevada since February. The state was looking good for McCain for awhile but has gone from leaning to McCain to total toss up status over the past few weeks. Obama has been pushing the Yucca Mountain issue in Nevada lately, an issue McCain is on the wrong side of there and which is always a hot button issue in the state, and that could be having an impact.
-- In Colorado, CNN/TIME has McCain and Obama in a virtual tie, 47% to 46%. This is a number McCain will take, as he has turned Colorado from leaning to Obama to a total toss up. Out of the last four polls done of the state, two have shown McCain ahead, two have shown Obama ahead. We can go ahead and add it to the list of total toss ups which also includes Ohio and Virginia.
-- And in Florida, Strategic Vision has McCain ahead of Obama somewhat comfortably, 49% to 42%. It's safe to say that McCain seems to have a 4% to 7% lead in the state. How much Obama continues to invest in the state will be interesting to see, as he is going to have a hard time flipping it.
It's hard to say if any bounce has been figured into polling yet. All the CNN/TIME polls were done Sunday to Tuesday. The responses on Tuesday may have been impacted some by Michelle Obama's Monday speech. We'll probably have to wait until around Friday to determine if Obama gets any bounce from yesterday's Hillary Clinton speech and may have to wait until Monday to see if Obama gets any overall bounce from the convention. Bounce or not though, today's numbers are strong for Obama, especially in New Mexico and Nevada.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 4:41PM
"This is not the time to have somebody with no executive experience as President of the United States," Rudy Giuliani told Brian Williams today.
Guess that means Giuliani won't be voting for anyone this year, since neither Obama or McCain have what is usually considered to be executive experience (they both have other things that some might consider executive experience, like Obama running the Harvard Law Review or McCain leading a Navy training squadron for a year back in the 70s, but usually executive experience is considered to be being a Governor, Mayor or major business owner).
It isn't surprising that Giuliani thinks this, as he criticized McCain throughout the primaries for not having any executive experience, but for him to come out and say it on TV now is pretty surprising and WAY off the talking points.
The Obama campaign, as expected, is sending the quote around to everybody.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 4:26PM
Earlier reports that Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi would play tomorrow night at INVESCO Field are apparently false. Stevie Wonder and will.i.am will perform prior to Obama's speech. It makes sense since many of the campaign's main theme songs are by Stevie Wonder, and will.i.am is the artist who put together the "Yes We Can" song that became a hit on YouTube.
After the Clinton unity speech last night at the DNC, I flipped on Larry King who all week is providing Republican rebuttals after each session (he'll be doing the same come the RNC next week). The final segment of the show featured Larry grilling a Hillary supporter by the name of Elizabeth Joyce, a member of the "Just Say No Deal Coalition," who claimed that she was probably not going to vote for Obama and implied that her vote will, if cast, be for McCain. Here's an excerpt from the conversation...
KING: I'm sorry. What does he have to do?
JOYCE: Well, he could certainly ask for my vote, first. All I get from Senator Obama and the DNC in my e-mail box are solicitations for money. I'd like to actually learn more about him as a person. And I'd like him to ask for my vote and not for a donation.
KING: Every time you've watched him speak he hasn't asked for your vote?
JOYCE: Well, I've actually seen him speak live, once, and that was in Indianapolis. And actually he was speaking do to a crowd he felt had already gotten his vote. He didn't ask me, no, or the Clinton supporters with whom I as standing.
Astonishing enough in its Juvenal nature, but when pressed further about what Senator Obama needed to do specifically, Joyce had this to offer....
JOYCE: He needs to reach out. He needs to reach out more to Senator Clinton's supporters. We need to feel like we are included in the party. I am staying in downtown Denver. And what I have witnessed by people that are wearing Obama garb, they're not really including me if I walk through my hotel lobby with my Hillary pin on.
KING: They don't pay attention?
JOYCE: I think that they need to reach out just -- not so much. I mean, I honestly -- they certainly could each out to us as much as Senator Clinton wants us to reach out to them.
Huhwahuh? So this woman is basically looking for a direct person-to-person overture from Senator Obama and for the other kids in the sandbox to include her in their dig to China. If you go to Barackobama.com there is a rather prominent link with a Clinton photo that says "WELCOME HILLARY SUPPORTERS, GET INVOLVED." I don't see the "welcome Mike Gravel nutcases, let's get this crazy train movin!" button. This sort of narrow-minded, nonsensical thinking may in fact doom the dems come November. What's the sense in voting for a person who supports none of the same legislation you support, because you're spiteful? Or perhaps the question should be, "why not support someone who holds close the same values you do?" Say what you will about the primaries, but they're dirty all around. Everyone takes their lumps; I'd argue many more than they should in a battle amongst like-minded politicians. But the fact is that if you truly support Hillary Clinton or her politics then you'll vote for Obama. It's just that simple.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 2:11PM
Tonight should be another interesting one at the Democratic convention following the high of Hillary Clinton's fantastic speech last night.
A lot of attention will be paid to Bill Clinton's speech. Since the primaries ended, it has seemed as if Hillary got over the loss faster than Bill has. That being said, Bill was extremely happy following Hillary's speech last night. He and Barack spoke for several minutes afterwards and had a very pleasant conversation about Hillary's speech, and so I think Bill's mood tonight will be a continuation of what we saw from Hillary last night. With today's topic expected to focus on national security, expect a lot of talk about the dangers of McCain as President and the need for Obama's diplomatic style and the need to repair America's image around the world. I'm sure Bill will go off topic a bit and talk about other things such as the economy and being a Democrat in general, as well.
Joe Biden's speech will serve as his introduction to many Americans. Biden isn't the best speaker behind a podium but he always has plenty of one-liners and funny lines to get him over with the crowd. I'd expect Biden to come out on the attack tonight against McCain. It's one of his main strengths, being an attack dog.
There are also a few other big names speaking tonight -- Bill Richardson, John Kerry, Jack Reed, Tom Daschle, etc. Kerry and Daschle are particularly close to Obama. But all of these guys have the expertise to put Obama over on the important "Commander-in-Chief" test as all are foreign policy experts.
By Ashish on August 27, 2008, at 1:49PM
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe explained to at the convention today a few strategy points, some of which are pretty interesting.
* They are targeting Democrats who don't always vote and independent swing-state women. Said their internal polling currently has Obama with a double digit lead among these groups.
* Plouffe seemed to hint that they plan to hammer McCain on his anti-abortion and anti-equal pay positions as a way to further increase their lead among women.
* They don't care at all about national polls and don't pay any attention to them. Their entire strategy is about winning their share of the 18 states they identify as battlegrounds. He also said they don't follow any national polling data and that all of their decisions are based on their own internal polling and the campaign's own identification, registration and canvassing efforts. Ignoring polls is similar to the primaries where the Obama camp focused completely on winning delegates (which is how you win the nomination). The focus now seems to be completely on winning over a few key groups in swing states and voter registration and turnout in swing states.
* Said that McCain's house comment was an important development because it helps them show people the real McCain -- that he is out of touch with common people.
* Said they still have work to do on defining Obama to swing electorates.
* He said Colorado isn't a must-win to them and said that if McCain wins Colorado, it increases his chances to win the election by 5%.
* He said Obama has a slight edge in Virginia based on their numbers.
* He said Obama is outperforming Kerry among every group except working class whites over the age of 70.
* Said that their goal in Georgia is to get 47% of the vote, figuring the Bob Barr factor will keep McCain below 47%.
* Said he is "really pleased" with their numbers in Montana.
As I've been saying, McCain needs to be careful in states like Virginia where Obama could overperform polls dramatically due to huge African American turnout. Same thing in Montana where, because McCain is ignoring the state and because pollsters are still using 2004 models, Obama could overperform. It's why he is spending today, the day before he accepts the Democratic nomination, in Montana of all places.
Loved day two. Just great. It seems thematic, so far. The first day was the family, the man, glowing testimonial after testimonial…it was weak until Michelle, who saved the day, but it was still weak. And today?
Today was fantastic.
All facts and logic point to the dems ACTUALLY being the party of the working class, despite the Republicans stranglehold on the demographic. Rich people coasting through life, cutting taxes for other rich people, verse people who want middle class tax cuts, national health care, headed by a guy who earned every penny of his money through his efforts.
And they're seizing that position. Housegate opened the door. Today they did it by extending the energy debate to point out that developing and implementing a new technology will not only bring prices down, will not only make America a global leader once again in a way we've been losing dominance for eight years, but will create countless jobs. Speaker after speaker hammered away at simple economics, at health care and jobs, at fixing the economy, and it is just great because it's all true. As everyone knows politics is governed by assumptions. If you act like you always were the party of the middle class, that's what people will believe has been true. Today they picked up the party and moved it directly on that crossroads.
I thought Warner was great, though a little long, and Schweitzer was fantastic. Engaging, fun, and stirring. Each one underscored what the Republicans have done, pulled no punches on how far the country has fallen and projected resoluteness about picking it back up.
And Hillary could not possibly have been better. She was relaxed, confident, and firm on message. She couldn't have been clearer, either. When she said that her campaign was not about her, but about what she wanted to see done, and pointed out that McCain opposes those things, any Clinton-McCain supporter must have hung their head in shame. Or else forever remain an intractable jackass.
Thematic does seem to be the way we're going, and giving that we've covered the man and the economy, and given that we know Bill's speech will be on national security, I expect a lot on the war and on terror. What I'd love to see is an emphasis on how the Iraq War has made the world much more dangerous than it was previously, and how our neglect of the real front, in Afghanistan, has now landed us in what can only be termed "**** creek" seeing as the Taliban's back bases are in Pakistan which, given recent developments, I imagine will be settled enough to let us get at those again in, oh, say, two decades.
I love it. Dems are better for the economy, better on terror—unless you think Iraq and Iran's terrorists working together and focusing solely on America is safer for us than two nations opposing each other—and if they make that clear, it will be hard for independents to ignore.
Hillary Clinton was never much known for her speechmaking skills, but she improved consistently during her presidential run. This evolution culminated in her concession speech, in which she made famous the metaphor of a glass ceiling with 18 million cracks in it. Tuesday night in Denver, however, Hillary Clinton not only gave the best speech of her life, but gave one of the greatest speeches any Democrat has given since Barack Obama's at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Taking the podium in a shameless neon orange pantsuit, Clinton not only wholeheartedly endorsed her rival Barack Obama, but she wove a grand narrative that managed to both unify the Democratic party in less than 30 minutes, and provide a clear, simple, and emotionally powerful blueprint for not only understanding why the stakes are so high in this election, but how the confused Obama campaign can defeat McCain.
One of the most remarkable skills President Clinton had as a communicator was to somehow take a complex web of problems, a world that was confusing, frustrating, and dangerous, and explain it all in a grand unified theory of sorts that he was able to express in clear language accessible to both ordinary folks and elite intellectuals alike. Hillary is a different woman than she was when she started her presidential campaign – a better person, warmer, more empathetic, less brittle, and for the first time, larger than life. The speech she gave tonight bore the same unique trait of her husband's, and while he surely contributed to it, it could not have been more clear that the Hillary Clinton who spoke tonight before the country was her own person, articulating her own vision, and choosing – enthusiastically – to entrust that vision to Barack Obama.
Surely confounding the legions of pundits and left-wingers in the blogosphere, Hillary made it clear that her campaign was never about her, but about the suffering Americans she met while campaigning. It's not about her, it's not about Barack Obama – it's about our country, which has been brought to its knees by the ruinous Bush policies that John McCain intends to continue.
Hillary's speech may be a game-changer in this campaign, not just for its evident unifying power, but because someone finally figured out how to go for McCain's jugular and do it with a smile. The Obama campaign's continued discomfort with the notion of punching McCain in the solar plexus should dissipate, if they look carefully at how Hillary Clinton drew the differences between where the country will go – forward with Obama, or backwards with Senator McCain, and the terrible price of the latter choice.
A wise friend of mine sent me a text message after the speech which I think sums it up nicely -- "It took a woman to give the Democratic party some balls."
By Ashish on August 26, 2008, at 11:18PM
Hillary Clinton's speech went above and beyond tonight with her speech. Anyone who thought she would phone it in was proven wrong tonight as she spoke as passionately and with as much life as I've ever seen here. I don't even recall seeing her speak with such passion during her own campaign. She definitely had a purpose tonight and set the crowd on fire. I thought she was very effective in the route she took to try and win her supporters over. As I said earlier today, her supporters who are still holding out on Obama are never going to be won over by his personal story. They are never going to love Obama. But they do have many issues where they probably agree with Obama on and they probably are united in their dislike of Bush and the last eight years. That is what Clinton focused on. That beyond her and Obama, this election is about the issues that unite both of them. Had she come out and started praising Obama the man, I feel it would have fallen flat with her supporters because it would have been transparent. Her talking about the issues and views her and Obama share is very real and is a very justified reason for her diehard supporters to support him in this election. Her asking her supporters who they were in this for, her, or the people they are trying to help, was a powerful way of reminding them that Obama, not McCain, stands for the policies she supports. And her Bush/McCain Twin Cities line is, at least so far, the highlight of the convention. This speech was so well structured, peaking with her calls to "keep going" which really pumped up the crowd. The shots of Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama in the crowd, smiling and clapping along added even more to it all. This is a united party after tonight. Any Clinton supporter who still refuses to support Obama after tonight either doesn't really believe in Democratic principles or has some sort of rage towards Obama founded in things that I think most of us can figure out.
Beyond Hillary's speech, the other highlight of the night was Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer delivering a very entertaining speech that showed exactly how he was able to win the Governor's chair in a red state. The guy talks in a way that connects with average people. He lays things out very clearly and was able to amp up the crowd more than Mark Warner, who gave the keynote address. Schweitzer was mentioned as a dark horse candidate for Obama's VP slot as he and Obama do get along very well. The guy definitely has a bright future in the party.
As for Mark Warner's keynote address, I think the content of his speech, framing the race as past vs. future, was solid. His delivery, however, was flat. He came across a bit lifeless and as anyone who has given a speech before knows, it's just as much how you say it as what you say.
The day's tone was a bit more aggressive towards McCain today, but probably not as much as some (James Carville, I'm looking at you) want. Several Democrats took shots at McCain, including a few mentions of his house fiasco. I'd expect that to amp up even more tomorrow when Joe Biden speaks.
Overall, day two was much stronger than day one and the main goal of the night (and, perhaps, for the entire convention) -- for Hillary Clinton to deliver a fantastic speech -- was more than accomplished.
Well, I am back once again for another night of DNC action. TiVo is once again sponsoring this evening, and CNN is the channel of choice. Tonight is perhaps the most intriguing one of the convention, as what Hillary does here could either really help Obama or throw him under the bus. Should make for some great political drama either way. In even more exciting news, New York Congressman Charlie Rangel has been freed from whatever lockdown he was put under and will be allowed to speak tonight! So without further ado, let's get started...
While the McCain campaign blasted the Obama campaign for playing the race card (Which he sort of did with the dollar bill comment), Senator John McCain can't help but play the POW card. Here is what he had to say to Jay Leno:
Leno "Sen. McCain, for one million, how many houses do you have?"
McCain "I spent five and a half years in a prison cell, without — I didn't have a house, I didn't have a kitchen table, I didn't have a table, I didn't have a chair. And I spent those five and a half years, because — not because I wanted to get a house when I got out."
That's great McCain but just answer the question and joke about how you would love to add another called the White House. Is it me or does John McCain play the POW card every time he is asked a difficult question?
By Ashish on August 26, 2008, at 6:11PM
Some believe the McCain campaign may try to steal the spotlight away from the Democratic convention by announcing their VP selection on Thursday, the day Obama will accept the Democratic nomination. It's a risky move in that the McCain VP pick could actually end up being undercovered due to all the media being in Denver for the convention. That being said, many in the Republican party are growing concerned that McCain may pick someone like Joe Lieberman or another "surprise" pick, as oppose to the safer picks of Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty.
The Lieberman choice has the potential to create serious backlash in a Republican party that is already somewhat lukewarm to McCain. Rush Limbaugh has gone on record with a warning to McCain not to pick a pro-choice VP and that if he does, he will effectively destroy the Republican party. If McCain does pick Lieberman, expect endless protests and marches at the Republican convention next week by pro-life groups upset over the Lieberman pick, and expect serious backlash from other pro-life groups and the Christian right. Lieberman obviously has some positives -- he may be able to reach out to disgruntled Hillary supporters, he would show McCain is independent, etc. But to risk tearing the party in half over the abortion issue is a big one. Plus, while Lieberman may be the most popular Democrat among Republicans, let's not kid ourselves over who the guy is. Lieberman votes with Democrats on just about EVERY issue except the war. That's it. If he is picked as the VP, he will be a pro-war Democrat on a Republican ticket. To think otherwise is to fool yourself. That isn't going to go over well with Republicans. In a year where the enthusiasm gap between Obama and McCain is already huge, McCain cannot afford to further piss off his base. A Lieberman pick would show that McCain doesn't care about the Republican base and assumes they will vote for him regardless of what he does, even if it means turning his back on one of the issues that define the party -- abortion. A McCain/Lieberman ticket would also ensure that whoever wins this election, the country will move to the left. McCain has taken liberal stances on several issues in the past (even though he is trying to hide that now), and Lieberman votes with Democrats over 90% of the time. That's a win for the left even if Obama loses, as it shows that true Republicans/conservatives are no longer accepted as mainstream Presidential & Vice-Presidential candidates. You have to wonder if this is the message the Republican party wants to send out -- that we will be the "Democratic light" party if you let us stay in power.
By Ashish on August 26, 2008, at 6:08PM
A senior official from the Obama campaign tells Marc Ambinder that Michelle Obama's speech last night went over very well in the 18 states they consider as battlegrounds, indicating that the campaign had focus groups set up in every state to determine reaction.
By Ashish on August 26, 2008, at 6:03PM
During the primaries, there seemed to be some real tension between Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton at times, but that burned bridge seems to be put back together. Michelle praised Hillary in her speech last night, and Hillary returned the favor today while speaking at a Emily's List gala this afternoon.
"Wasn't Michelle Obama terrific last night?" Clinton said. "I know a little bit about the way the White House works and you know if the president isn't exactly on your side, call the first lady. And with Michelle Obama we're going to have someone to answer that phone."
