On August 28th, like 40 million other Americans,  I watched the democratic convention live on TV (actually the Internet), and like the 84.000 in attendance at Invesco Field, I was electrified by Barack’s acceptance speech.

As the moment for Barack to make history by accepting the democratic nomination for president approached,  the stadium literally rocked (I would have killed to have been there.)  “As John Lennon’s “Power to the People” faded out another tune faded in…a Tune I could have Named in 2 drum beats, it was so etched into my soul. I’m sure most anyone in their late thirties through their fifties, especially black people, can identify with what I felt. McFadden and Whitehead had created a timeless classic with the release of “Ain’t no stopping us now” back in ‘79.  It’s one of those songs, like “Good Times” by Chic, “Love is the Message,” by Mother Father Sister and Brother (MFSB), and Mister Magic by Grover Washington Jr. that tug on my heartstrings and induce a wave of yearning and nostalgia both overwhelming and uplifting.

Those violins, that bass, those ladies chanting, those gentleman preaching… and yes, it was a sermon: A little Gospel you could shake your ass to, designed to reach those God-Fearing masses that couldn’t get up early on Sundays cause they were too hung over from a Saturday night spent at that Rent party in the projects…only this music wasn’t about a power descending from heaven or the glory that awaited us come Judgment Day. it was a spiritual yet impious message of a rapture that needed no unseen hand, a message directed at a certain “Us”.

Ain’t no stopping US now. WE‘re on the move! Who was this US and WE?

Well, in 1979, I was a different person and I had a different answer to that question.

At the time, blacks were at one of a dozen turning points on our path from actual slavery to mental freedom. Heroin had contaminated our communities,  dropping people like flies, and Crack, it’s evil step-child, was incubating in a lab somewhere like some kind of test tube baby. We were post Malcolm X and MLK, post-Panther and ‘Nam, Post-Afro-American and Pan-African and pre-African-American. Soul Music, Dashikis, and Afro-sheen had made way for Disco, Gheri Curls and leather suits. Nevertheless, we were still Black and Proud and not afraid to say it loud, like James Brown had instructed us.

The economy was shot, gas stations were parking lots 5 blocks long servicing only those with the designated alphabet on their license plates. President Carter was moments from being decapitated by Reagan and Daddy Bush, and the Neo-Cons were nearby, counting our babies and scapegoating.  Brooklyn, New York, in Bed-Stuy / Crown Heights, my hometown, barely recovered from the ‘77 blackout, was experiencing, as usual, high levels of police brutality and corruption. Jobs were scarce, crime was high, drugs were rampant, and tempers were roiling. Our schools were falling apart, the teachers were mostly unqualified, indifferent or unable to control the unchecked violence within. Our brothers were locked up, our sisters were knocked up, our mothers were crying and our fathers were dying.

But, there was a feeling. There was always a feeling. An anger and dissatisfaction held in check barely by creativity. A well of energy that converts nothing into something was desperately seeking an outlet. Music has always been one of our most reliable outlets. But every time we found a groove, Mass culture and commercialism would borrow / steal, dilute and defile, milk and kill it. This had been the fate of most of our previous creative outlets…Blues, Jazz, Ragtime, Rock, R&B, Soul, Funk, even Motown Pop, and, by 1979, the Bee Gees were in the process of doing the same thing to Disco. Hip Hop was still a fledgling Rug Rat up in the Bronx somewhere…

Something had to give; or else.

And none of this was news. It was just more of the same. Politicians came through, mostly democrats, promising help was on the way. For example, Robert Kennedy came to Bed-Stuy in the 60’s, saw the wretched destitution and promised a restoration. if he hadn’t been assassinated maybe he would have done more. It is said that Jimmy Carter offered very little assistance to inner cities. he just kind of left them to rot, and The Big Apple was truly rotting.  But, I also remember as a child many social programs that eased my families plight. I grew up on welfare and Medicaid, without which me and my 5 brothers and sisters would have surely perished. Someone saw hunger in the ‘hood and the ‘hood got free lunch.  Bologny Sandwiches on stale bread, a piece of fruit, and a pint of warm milk to wash it down. I remember it well! Free Lunch became free Dinner many a night in my house. You could fault the democrats with their so-called bleeding hearts, but you better believe for every family that was taking advantage of these handouts, abusing the system, as it were, there were a 1000 families like mine that free lunch sometimes made the difference between a full and an empty belly.

And, amid all of this craziness and despair, McFadden and Whitehead had the sheer audacity, the unmitigated optimism, to release a song called, “Ain’t no stopping US now!”

What the hell were they thinking???

From all appearances, WE had been stopped, cold. But, like MLK, who had a dream, a vision of a world where black people wouldn’t be hosed down in the streets, subject to attack dogs, or hung from trees, these guys also had a vision. It was a progressive vision.

I was barely a teenager, and to be honest, at the time, I was more into the groove than the lyrics of the song. I mean, it had  a mean bass line. And it had an all-important break, something for the dee-jays to loop and scratch. Sure, you could Hustle to it, but you could also do the Freak to it. The Hustle represented the past. John Travolta and the Bee Gees had hijacked disco. The Freak, however, as a dance, represented the future, and it was ours. It was a free-style, a dance derived from one’s own creativity. No school could teach it. You  could watch “Soul Train” every Saturday morning and still not learn it. From the outside, it looked like chaos, the way Jazz sounds like chaos unless you listen with more than your ears and brain.  You could either do the freak or you couldn’t. And, “Ain’t no stopping…” was freaky. It was also VERY popular at the neighborhood roller skating rink. Empire Rollerdome, in Crown Heights was the most popular in Brooklyn. And, “Ain’t no stopping…” was an eternal crowd pleaser. The song might have charted for a few weeks but in the ‘hood it was something of an anthem.

I knew the lyrics. Everybody did. I understood the lyrics. I sang the lyrics. I mean, I REALLY knew the song. Even the long ass 11 minute version. Every inflection, every grunt, every holler, I could mimic. The lyrics could be interpreted many ways. You could extract portions of it, as I did, and apply it to various people or institutions in your life. Like, when the lyrics invoke the “They” and “Them” and juxtapose it with the “We.”

I know you know someone who has a negative vibe, and if you’re trying to make it they only push you aside, they really don’t have nowhere to go, ask them where they‘re going, THEY don’t know!”

Of course, the song never mentions white people, or the government, or your friends or even your parents.  Just the ubiquitous “They” and the writers left it to the listener to replace that pronoun with any entity they so choose. And, so I did. I think as a teen, and a product of the Pan-African movement, I usually applied “they” to those black people in the community with a crabs in a barrel mentality, who go out of their way to make sure everyone stays in the barrel so that their misery always has company. And even though I had inherited a gripe with white people, or “The Man,” from my parents, at the time, I had never had a white person do me any harm so it was difficult for me to infuse the lyrics of that song with any animosity for any particular group. On the contrary, I feel that the lyrics allowed me to further fuse myself to other black people. As I said, I sang it, and everyone I knew sang it, proudly, and with reverence, like one might sang the National Anthem if one were patriotic.

I guess, to me, the WE and the US in that song was black people, and the song was a tribute to those that had sacrificed in the past (There’s been so many things that’s held us down, but now it looks like things are finally coming around…), a recognition of the continuing struggle (I know we’ve got a long long way to go and where we’ll end up, I don’t know) and a fuel to keep the engine of that struggle alive. (But, we won’t let nothing hold us back…we’re pulling ourselves together, we’re polishing up our act…if you’ve ever been held down before, I know you refuse to be held down anymore!“)

Now those are some powerful words!

But, here we are, some 30 years later, and Barack Obama has chosen this song to incorporate its message into his campaign message of change and share it with 40 million Americans, most of which were not black.

You would think that this would trouble me having long ago embraced this song as an anthem for black people to raise themselves up (by the much touted bootstraps.) You would think that I might feel that Barack had somehow betrayed black people. You would think that his usage of the song for such a clearly political reason would somehow diminish it in my mind and heart.

Well, I’m happy to say, it didn’t bother me in the slightest!

In fact, as it followed Lennon’s call to arms aimed at “the people” it was consummately timed and perfectly appropriate. In fact, I immediately (and I’m still kind of shocked at how quickly it occurred for I am a purist when it comes to music, ask any of my friends) detached my old feelings of “WE” meaning black people exclusively and reassigned “WE” to mean all of us, all Americans, who share a vision of what is possible if we could embrace the words of this song as an anthem of sorts, to redefine America’s role in the world.

I grew up in a very divisive America. A very black America, within the traditional boundaries of the true America. But, I’ve come to believe that If America truly stood as one nation, indivisible, and that was the message we not only exported to the world but impart to the next generation, then America could become a place that I’d be more than proud to call home.

Optimistic? Idealistic? Maybe. But, Barack’s message does that for me. And it’s about time for a change I can believe in.

Have a listen to the full song below! McFadden and Whitehead on Soul Train

by Pete Talbot

Montana bloggers, both left and right, commented extensively on Gov. Schweitzer’s DNC speech. Writing about Barack Obama and the convention in Denver, The New Yorker’s David Remnick also weighs in, briefly, on the Good Gov:

“Even Montana’s stoutly appealing governor, Brian Schweitzer, performed with a cuff-shooting, shoulder-shrugging panache. Who knew that Buddy Hackett was a Catholic rancher in a bolo tie?”

A little snarky, for sure, with references to “stoutly” and “Buddy Hackett.” On the other hand, “appealing” and “panache” aren’t bad descriptors. And the fact that Schweitzer’s performance was mentioned in the same paragraph as Michelle Obama’s and the Clintons’ is noteworthy.

For the most part, Remnick is right on in his assessment of the convention, Obama and the campaign ahead. It’s a good read.

[Bumped] This fabulous post has been bumped for your sleepless pleasure.

Suspending Rules and Winning “By Acclamation”

I am proud to call on the Senator from New York to make the following presentation, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton:

Madam Secretary, on behalf of the great state of New York, with appreciation for the spirit and dedication of all who are gathered here, with eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with a goal of victory, with faith in our party and our county, let’s declare together in one voice, right here, right now that Barack Obama is our candidate, and he will be our President. (yays and boos)

Madam Secretary, I move that the Convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the roll call vote. All votes cast by the delegates will be counted, and that I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this Convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. (yays and boos — Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, chanting)

“Wuh Roo?” said Scooby Doo, “What Did I See On TV?”

This was bothering me. Many of you have moved on to whatever’s next in your PUMA/Just Say No Deal/Democrat or anti-establishment lives. But I’m not that way. I can’t move forward until I understand and sort out what I have witnessed.

What exactly did we see on the “Democratic” Convention floor last Wednesday, August 27, 2008? Why was the roll call halted halfway through? Why did state after state in which Hillary won the primary election and a majority of delegates declare their votes for Obama? Who and what do all those delegates’ votes represent? As each “Great State of” our Union called out its numbers, I wondered, what was the actual delegate count? I felt compelled to compare the roll call vote with the delegate count that we were supposed to get. After all, why pull the lever if it doesn’t even matter? Wow, now that’s deja vu all over again, ain’t it?

What About My Vote?

I will recap three points that we’ve been saying for months. I’m restating, because many citizens do not realize what happened right before their eyes: The delegate count in this election was not a fair reflection of the Democratic Party electorate. 1) Hillary Clinton WON the popular vote. (Resources and numbers nearly impossible to reconcile, based on FL, MI, and caucus votes) 2) There exists growing documentation, compiled by Lynette Long and ordinary poll and election worker reporting, that caucus fraud was rampant. This occurred in the form of systematic, deliberate suppression, misinformation, pressure, and bullying, mishandling of voter and caucus rolls, and ignoring basic caucus rules. 3) Each delegate elected from a district or region in a primary state represents approximately 12,225 primary voters, but only 2,110 voters in a caucus state. Accordingly, a caucus delegate represents about 5.8 times fewer voters than one elected in a primary. So, when Obama “won” a caucus, each of those delegates stood for far fewer voters. This is especially important in the general election in the red and swing states. Pat Buchanan called Wednesday’s spectacle a phony roll call vote in his op-ed, “And If Obama Loses.”

Why Is This Year Different Than Any Other Year?

Laying that aside for now, let’s talk about how the Democratic Party screwed Hillary Clinton and everyone who was connected to her around that roll call vote. At least that was my impression leading up to and viewing it on TV. Even the scheduled time was in flux. In my recollection, in every other election year, it had been held at night for everyone to view. But this year, Hillary Clinton, the person who won the most primary votes in history, had to negotiate for her right to be on the ballot and have a roll call vote on the convention floor. Her supporters wrote thousands and thousands of letters, emails, and blogs. They raised money, ran political ads, and spoke out in the media to help the delegates stick with the one that brung ‘em. All this, because the DNC leadership and Obama’s campaign were so afraid of Hillary’s success after saying they could win the general election without all of us old and new dedicated party regulars. All year they tried to strong-arm us in to Unity and make her quit.

Our dedicated coalition members worked tirelessly to have a full roll call vote and a nominating speech for Hillary on the floor during prime time. We appealed to delegates and Superdelegates with petitions, and petitions on top of petitions. We didn’t know what would happen until the last minute, although we suspected. The same with Bill Clinton’s speech: off on, off on, but not during prime time, after they edited him.

And Then It Happened . . .

All of a sudden the roll call was on, but many of us were unable to get the live-streaming on our computers, so we ran several blocks away to a “Hillary-friendly” Denver bar. We saw states yield to other states on their votes, then the Convention floor was all abuzz, as our candidate was introduced as a simple Senator, with no mention of her historic win — just one of the guys delegation. She was on the floor with her fellow NY legislators. Then they made her eat sh*t, while they had her turn around and f*cked her up the a**, while reading a “stop the vote, we’re all onboard” speech. (Oh, I should have warned you: XXX, not my usual sedate lady self, is it? I feel a little strongly about this.) Everything was orchestrated, as CA, IL, and NM yielded so that Hillary, in a great show of U-N-I-T-Y, could cast all votes of her own NY State for Obama, throwing the delegate totals over the top. Oh, right, she likes it like that, because she’s a politician. But I’m not.

Yes, we’re all good soldiers and must move on to the next front. Many already have and are considering both individually and as a group what to do leading to November and beyond. However, many people aren’t clear about what happened, and are incensed that the vote was stopped mid-stream. Below, I’ve compiled the number of delegates won by state and candidate, how the numbers changed during the roll call vote, total number of delegates, and total number of votes cast. This list is variable, depending on the source and date and because it contains Superdelegates. On the morning of the roll call vote, 10 delegates flipped back to Hillary, and the petition effort was contacted by several Superdelegates who wanted to switch to her as well, some under the lights of the press.

Fair Reflection? Arkansas, Florida, and Michigan

Just a few words about fair reflection: Arkansas flipped. The Chairman of their delegation and DNC party head, Bill Gwatney, had been murdered two weeks prior. Heard anything in the news about it? Word is that his entire delegation had signed the 300 petition to ensure that Hillary’s name be placed on the ballot. In a twist of irony, his wife delivered their state’s votes to the Convention: Unanimous for Obama, after Hillary had won their state of origin by the largest margin of the primary: 70%. Arkansas.

Florida and Michigan votes were denied and blocked by Obama, until the May 31, 2008 DNC RBC meeting when he became a charity case. The committee donated four of Senator Clinton’s Michigan delegates and all the uncommitted vote delegates, which had included votes for other candidates. Obama had removed his name from that state’s ballot, fearing a loss would taint his chances in Iowa. However, Clinton kept hers on, stating that although the votes wouldn’t count, the voters should have a say. She was smart and right.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee refused to tackle their problem of fully seating delegates representing 2.3 million voters in both states. Instead they made each delegate into half-votes, and referred an incensed Harold Ickes, attorney for Senator Clinton, to the more appropriate Credentials Committee to contest their ruling in Denver on August 24, 2008. On August 5, Obama wrote a letter to that committee, requesting that those delegations be seated and counted in full. On August 20, when they no longer had any effect on Hillary’s campaign, as they would have had they been counted when she won them, those delegations were seated in-full. I learned on August 24 that the Credentials Committee and the Rules and Bylaws Committee were comprised of the exact same people. So I guess they really meant: talk to the hand.

How Am I Driving? Pass and Yield

Lastly, how about that orchestrated roll call, pass/yield deal? It began like any other roll call. Hillary would have her due. It had been rumored for over a week that she might release her delegates before a roll call vote on the floor. This prompted a new 20% or 826 delegate petition requiring a vote. Then came word of a secret hotel vote, then a Wednesday meeting with Clinton and all her delegates in which she released them and advised they vote their conscience. She’d cast hers for Obama.

Back to the roll call: First, California passes on casting their 441 votes, of which Hillary won over half. As Barbara Boxer yields to Hillary supporter Art Torres to make the announcement, she gleefully turns to her delegation and giggles. It’s as if Boxer was saying, “Ooo, what a coup! Aren’t we clever!” Come their turn, Illinois passes. New Mexico yields back to Illinois, who yields to New York. Then a hustle bustle on the floor, so Clinton could deliver the perfect Unity blow, right into her own back. Gee, it just doesn’t get better than this, does it?

Is It Safe To Vote?

Exactly, why do we vote if “delegates” can just switch their votes, and on the first ballot no less? Why should Superdelegates be able to have a more influential vote than any ordinary citizen, enough to sway their state and an election, as perpetrated by a biased and corrupt political party? I am committed to reforming the system to one person one vote. If we don’t have that, what do we have as citizens? It’s our most basic democratic right.

The chart below shows by state the combined delegate/Superdelegate count awarded to each candidate, the first ballot floor vote, total number of delegates per state, and total votes each cast during the convention. I completed the chart for the rest of the states. By directing Superdelegates to declare their endorsements before the convention in a DNCC and DSCC letter, in press conferences and public appearances, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid nullified their original intent. The numbers, which include SDs seem less close than they actually were.

Democratic Delegate Count vs. Roll Call Count

Democratic Convention, August 27, 2008

STATE      HRC DELS  BO DELS  HRC ROLL  BO ROLL  TTL DELS  TTL CAST

AL           28        29        5        48        60        53
AK            4        14        3        15        18        18
AM SAMOA      6         3        0         9         9         9
AZ           35        31       27        40        67        67
AR           38         8        0        47        47        47
CA          232       200       PASSES             441         0
CO           23        45       15        55        70        70
CT           36        24       21        38        60        59
DEL           8        14        0        23        23        23
DEMS ABRD     4         7        2.5       8.5      11        11
DC           13        25        7        33        40        40
FL          104        78       51       136       211       188
GA           29        70       18        82       102       100
GUAM          4         5        3         4         9         7
HI            8        21        1        26        27        27
ID            3        19        3        20        23        23
IL            0         0       PASSES               0         0
IN           42        41        6        75        85        81
IA           17        35        9        48        57        57
KS           10        30        6        34        41        40
KY           40        16       24        36        60        60
LA           26        39        7        43        67        50
ME           10        21        8        24        32        32
MD           39        55        6        94       100       100
MA           66        51       52        65       121       117
MI           76        72       27       125       157       152
MN           27        58        8        78        88        86
MS           13        25        8        33        41        41
MO           41        46        6        82        88        88
MT            7        17        7        18        25        25
NE            8        22        3        28        31        31
NV           13        20        8        25        34        33
NH           12        15        0        30        30        30
NJ           71        55        0       127       127       127
NM           20        17       YIELDS TO IL        38         0
IL           49       133       YIELDS TO NY       185         0
NY          159       121        0       282       282       282
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           1321      1482      341.5    1831.5    2907      2174

NC           51        78
ND            5        15
OH           82        74
OK           25        21
OR           23        41
PA          101        80
PR           42        19
RI           21        10
SC           14        39
SD            9        12
TN           46        35
TX CAUC      29        38
TX           79        75
UT           11        17
VT            7        14
VI            3         6
VA           33        63
WA CAUC      31        61
WV           23        12
WI           34        53
WY            6        12
--------------------------------
            675       775
          +1321     +1482
--------------------------------
           1996      2257

Source, delegate count: CNN Primary Results Scorecard
Source, roll call vote: CSPAN live tape up top

Total number of delegates: 4234
Number delegates for nomination, including FL, MI: 2211
Chart numbers include Superdelegates: Obama 438, Clinton 236

Et tu, Brute?

So why did so many states flip? Sources say that on the morning of the floor vote, everything was complete. Many opinions say it was finished on or before the May 31, 2008 DNC RBC meeting. But not believing our eyes and ears, in service of democracy, we kept on to preserve our and the rights of our candidate. We’ve since learned that as late as August 27, during the convention, swing-state delegations were being threatened with loss of Party funding for their states and candidate campaigns if they didn’t vote for Obama. Evidently, Obama needed Hillary more than she needed him. Otherwise, they would not have had a sham roll call or a Mile High speech to prop him up.

Oh, and as far as going Repug, it ain’t me, babe, although I will never cast a vote for Obama. In my life, the means are absolutely as important as the end, and I cannot support a candidate who derives power “by any means necessary.” If I have to cast a protest vote, I will. However, remember who brung Brazile? Her info emails with Karl Rove beginning in 2003 helped him help her promote the most unelectable Democratic candidate. So, let’s not forget who’s still trying to pull the strings and who’s still laughing all the way to the bank. Criminal, ain’t it? Too bad, Dems still ain’t got a clue.

In conclusion, Hillary and Bill Clinton were in an impossible, lose-lose situation. Some supporters got disgusted and thought they caved. I don’t think so. In order to come out of this, being seen as having done everything possible to nominate and elect Barack Obama — a far more generous and political act than exists in his little finger — The Clintons did everything possible, Bill while holding his nose, and came out smelling sweet as a rose. Party people all the way, and on to the next challenge. Yes, I’m getting there.

["Evita," music Andrew Lloyd Weber, lyrics Tim Rice]

[cross-posted from Lady Boomer NYC]

addendum: Sorry, I had a columns formatting problemo, and while editing the post it went offline. Here ’tis again, hopefully all will stick. LBNYC

Tonight Barack Obama set the bar high. He had a structured outline of what he needed to communicate to the American people and had calculated in what his opponents might offer in terms of a rebuttal. It was a brilliant first move. Rest assured, the battle for the White House began tonight.

Outside of my own self-adulation, I use the term ‘brilliant’ sparingly. Here is why I believe Obama’s speech was brilliant, sans hyperbole. He began and ended his speech deep within the patriotic confines of the very Constitution which bestows upon each of us explicit rights. How could a Republican, even a fork-tongued one such Rove, undermine the ideals of the foundation of our rights?

Here is what I mean. Obama talked early in his speech about American promise. This would equate to American pride or Rah-Rah USA in GOP-speak. He linked it, necessarily so, to the concept of individual responsibility. He has taken two core concepts from Republican thought, Jingoistic Flag Waving and Get the Government Out of My Face-ism, and presented them in a reasonable format entirely at ease with a liberal audience. He proclaimed that our country has a history of greatness and is something to be proud of but part of that pride comes from individuals doing their part for the greater good.

The Republican attack manual will require McCain, at some point next week, to accuse Obama of being another big government liberal. Obama used his speech tonight to acknowledge that he has some big ideas, even going so far as to say that:

America, now is not the time for small plans.

He did this but made certain it was within the context of personal responsibility:

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves.

He lays out that we should have the kinds of freedoms we consider essential, to make our own lives, to engage in a free and open market, but that there is an element of personal responsibility there that will be required of each of us. We are individuals but we ‘rise or fall as one nation.’

This clearly hearkens back to Kennedy asking us to ask ourselves what we can do for our country. We have a responsibility as a citizen to treat one another with respect, conduct business responsibly, to parent our own children and then our government, in turn, can focus on the things which are beyond our means.

As I was listening to him, the Preamble to the Constitution began running through my mind:

We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

These are the words of a young nation, ill at ease with a centralized form of government, agreeing to come together to do the things beyond the means of the individual: provide defense, insure justice, promote general welfare. Senator Obama is asking of us nothing more than our founding fathers asked - be an individual, be responsible and be comforted knowing the government will only step in to handle that which you cannot.

How do even the most rabid attack-yderms criticize a candidate for echoing the thoughts of Madison and the rest of the brave people who gave birth to our great nation? It was a stroke of brilliance - patriotism, individual accountability and government programs wrapped together in the pursuit of a more perfect union.

This was merely the backdrop though, a preemptive shot across the bow of all the Repub’s foaming at the mouth, desperately hoping to keep their powder dry. Obama, while demonstrating the tie between his ideas and those of our founders, also talked about righting our most recent history of failures, mostly those of Bush. Within the framework of discussing how we can work together to fulfill our promise, he described the way our government is broken.

Again, this anticipates a standard rebuttal from the GOP, accusing Obama of being big government, but he assuages those fears one might have of the government by saying the problems we have today are not necessarily the product of government, but rather of a government broken by the mismanagement of its principles by Republicans such as Bush, Cheney and McCain. He highlighted some of the successes of Clinton’s term and then contrasted them against the abysmal administration of George W. Bush. He even gets to reemphasize our American pride when he chides Bush and company by saying:

America, we are better than these last eight years.

He refuses to allow the idea of patriotism to be the sole domain of Republicans, as they would have us believe. This will be an important point towards the end of his speech.

Once he established that our current government is broken he wasted no time in pointing out that John McCain, though a good man and a war hero, has lined up with Bush to push through these broken policies over 90% of the time. McCain the man is to be respected but it is part of our individual duty to call into question his judgment and the decisions he has made. By straying from the Bush flock less than 10% of the time, McCain represents nothing in terms of a solution to our current troubles.

Obama then turned directly into the heart of darkness, the vaunted domain McCain claims as his own: National Security. Obama knows that if he has a weakness against John McCain it is national security. McCain has cut his chops throughout his career on the fact that he is a war hero. Obama turned the argument from McCain’s service in Vietnam to McCain’s judgment in more current affairs:

For while Sen. McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing it would distract us from the real threats that we face.

By demonstrating that McCain’s service record will not be the ‘decider’ but we will have to rely on his judgment and that his judgment took us away from the real enemy and landed us in a quagmire called the Occupation of Iraq, Obama demonstrates that McCain’s security credentials are perhaps overrated. The real enemy is still at large and McCain, to the bloodthirsty cheers of the GOP faithful, extolled his willingness to follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell but Obama points out that bin Laden was actually in a cave and McCain chose to leave him there.

Obama tonight refused to give McCain a free pass on security credentials merely because McCain was a POW. His service is admirable but it will be his judgment upon which the safety of our country relies and that judgment has been lacking. Obama framed the national security debate in these terms:

That’s not the judgment we need. That won’t keep American safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

This also marked a shift into a subtle attack on John McCain. Obama began focusing on moving forward, on taking American promise into the future, and as he was doing so he cast McCain as a relic. McCain is a war hero, but those days are behind him and now he is just another Washington insider making bad decisions. By aligning McCain with Bush and the failed policies of the last eight years, when the discussion shifts to the future there is a stark contrast between what McCain represents, broken government, and what Obama represents, American promise.

Obama then returned to patriotism and, as I mentioned earlier, he states that ‘patriotism has no party.’ He framed the upcoming election in terms of civil debate and civil disagreement in which neither party should challenge the other’s character or patriotism. Obama insisted that:

We all put country first.

He again denies McCain one of the few tricks he has left, abject patriotism. Obama gave a moving talk about soldiers, regardless of party, fighting and bleeding together. They fight as Americans. We are all Americans. We all put our country first. By offering up this vision of unity he also sought to mitigate the polarizing topics of abortion, gun control and same sex marriage. All three of these will be targeted by the GOP but again Obama took the preemptive shot.

He conceded people do not agree on abortion but asked that surely we can all work together to reduce unwanted pregnancies. This is entirely reasonable. Then he pointed out that rural hunters may have a different view of guns from inner-city families but certainly we can all work to keep AK-47’s out of the hands of criminals. Who would argue with that? Lastly, he mentioned there are varying opinions on same sex marriage but we should all insist that this is no ground for discrimination. He took three very polarizing topics and gave people on each side a reasonable common ground.

He then went one step further and anticpated another attack. Obama clearly stated:

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk…And that’s to be expected. Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.

Obama knows that people will say he is pie in the sky hopeful, but just because an idea is novel does not mean it will not work. We are to expect grave fear talk from the GOP starting tonight, I am sure.

Before coming back to his Constitutional beginning, Obama made a key point in his speech. He rejects the idea that this election is a referendum on Barack Obama but insists it is about the American people. It is all the people who worked for Obama and who worked for Clinton. It is about all the people who want a better life and can’t see it right now with the way things are working. It is about all the folks facing a dead end but believe there is something better. This election is not about one man or one idea but is about all of us working together.

And suddenly, there we are. He is ending his speech, focusing on the future and fulfilling the American promise first dreamed up by Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison and letting each of us know that we too have a part to play. We are part of that promise. We are a key to tomorrow. We have the ability, working together, to change our nation and then change the world and never have we seen that change so necessary as it is today.

It was never about him. It was certainly never about McCain. It is we the people of the United States of America - working together to form a more perfect union.

Brilliant.

God bless America.

The Democratic Convention: Obama Accepts the Historic Presidential Nomination

On Thursday, the 2008 Democratic National Convention moved to Denver’s Invesco Field so that more Americans could be a part of the fourth and final night of the Convention, where Barack Obama would accept the Democratic nomination for President. Invesco’s doors were opened at around 4:00 p.m. (local time-Denver, MST), and the event was scheduled to end at 10:00 p.m. (local time). A crowd that is now estimated to be almost 85,000 people attended the final convention assembly to hear Senator Obama’s acceptance speech.

Oscar-winning singer and Broadway actress Jennifer Hudson (from Chicago) sang the National Anthem near the conclusion of the first segment of the event (4:00-6:00 p.m. local time). Between 6:00-7:00 p.m., there were live performances by will.i.am (accompanied by John Legend, Agape choir, and band) and Sheryl Crowe. Stevie Wonder appeared in a live performance toward the end of the 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. part of the evening. Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be flying in to perform two acoustic songs before Senator Obama gives his acceptance speech, and some preliminary accounts of the event speculated that after Obama’s speech, Bruce Springsteen would close out the night.

Former Vice-President Al Gore spoke in support of Obama at 8:00 p.m. (local time). Gore directed heated criticisms at the public policy positions of both Senator McCain and President Bush with regard to a number of issues, which included the environment, the economy and foreign affairs. U. S. Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois then presented a biographical video of Obama, directed by Davis Guggenheim, the Oscar-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth, and afterwards Durbin introduced Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee. Barack Obama gave his groundbreaking presidential nomination acceptance speech at 9:00 p.m. (local time).

Senator Obama’s acceptance speech was given on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. It was on August 28th, 1963, that King, the most revered civil rights leader in the nation’s history, proclaimed on the steps of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ “

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Dave Stewart’s All-Star Music Video: My Prayer

Live-Blogging: Obama Nomination Acceptance Speech Event

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With Profound Gratitude and Deep Humility, I Accept

Music Audio: The O’Jays/Love Train

Barack Obama Wins Historic Presidential Nomination

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Patterico makes the case. Too funny!!!

by Rebecca Schmitz

That John Kerry who was breathing smoke and fire from my television last night–where the hell was he four years ago?

Rosemary Lappin, NewsCenter 5 Senior Producer in Denver
From your living room the Pepsi Center offerings may seem like a series of lesser speakers that eventually lead to a big name act or two. And you’d be right. For every Michelle and Hillary there are endless people at the podium whose thoughts you really don’t want to hear. And neither do some of the delegates.

When you walk the Pepsi Center at night the corridors that circle the arena are filled with restless Democrats. They wander with cell phones at ear, check Blackberrys and shop for Obama collectables. Every once and a while this ritual is interrupted and suddenly the foot traffic stops. You start to wonder what famous person is ahead that the flow of ped-democracy has been compromised?

Sometimes it’s an HPD– high- profile Democrat like Michelle Obama being escorted into a box with Joe and Jill Biden. Secret service agents secure an area for up to 5 minutes until all are safely seated. And then agents guard the entrance for the rest of the evening. But other times the person attracting a lot of attention and gumming up the Pepsi works is surprising. One night a scrum occured when Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich was in the hallway. Yes, Dennis Kucinich.

For political junkies these conventions are what the Oscars are for movie buffs. Every evening these hallways are red carpets. And the star gazers whip out their cellphones to capture a photo of a passing Jimmy Carter, Bill Richardson and journalists like Ted Koppel. Everyone once in a while a movie star does pass, but they are not swarmed the way those who have had their names on a ballot are. Electoral celebrity is a very personal choice. One woman’s George Clooney is another woman’s Joe Biden.

Rosemary Lappin/Senior Producer/Denver 2008

Barack Obama Wins Historic Presidential Nomination

On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Barack Obama was officially named the Presidential Nominee of the Democratic Party, crowning his historic meteoric rise from a little-known Illinois state senator to becoming the first African-American ever to win a major-party’s presidential nomination.

Initially, there had been an element of dramatic suspense about just how the nomination process actually would unfold. However, before the roll call was taken Senator Clinton had released her delegates to vote for Mr. Obama and announced that she was voting for Obama and his running mate, Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. The roll call proceeded alphabetically, and when New Mexico’s turn came, it yielded the floor to the state of Illinois, Obama’s home state; Illinois, in turn, ceded its position to New York.

At the urging of Senator Clinton, the New York delegation cast all of its votes for Senator Obama, and at 4:48 p.m. local time, Clinton made a motion to end the roll call and to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation. Her motion was passed unanimously by the convention delegates; Nancy Pelosi, Permanent Chair of the Democratic National Convention, then named Barack Obama the official Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

On Thursday night, the National Democratic Convention is moving to Invesco Field so that more Americans can take part in of the fourth night of the Convention, where Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for President. Invesco Field’s doors will open at around 5:00 p.m. (local time), and the event will end at 9:00 p.m. (local time). A crowd that is now estimated to be larger than 80,000 people is expected to attend the final convention assembly to hear Obama’s acceptance speech.

A number of acclaimed musicians are scheduled to perform during the event. Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas will be performing. Jon Bon Jovi is flying in to perform two acoustic songs before Sen. Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech, and the Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson (from Chicago) will sing the National Anthem near speech time. After Obama’s acceptance speech, Bruce Springsteen will perform to close out the evening.

Al Gore is scheduled to be the first speaker of the evening. Then at 8:00 p.m. (local time) Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois will present a biographical video of Obama, directed by Davis Guggenheim, the Oscar-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth and afterwards Durbin will introduce Senator Obama.

Obama’s acceptance speech is being held on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. It was on August 28th, 1963, that King, the most revered civil rights leader in the nation’s history, proclaimed on the steps of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ “

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Marking a Historic Day: Yes We Can

Live-Blogging: Obama Wins Presidential Nomination

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Barack Obama Wins the Democratic Presidential Nomination

Music Audio: The O’Jays/Love Train

Obama Wins Historic Presidential Nomination

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I have been slightly amused the last two days, and by amused I mean strangely alarmed. I have written a couple of posts this week about the Democratic National Convention. The first, Did the Democrats Blow It on Night One, was merely expressing my mild concern that we need to stay on a consistent message. That being:

Republicans have had eight years in the highest office and the nation’s economic and political outlook is extremely poor. The GOP could not manage their way out of a paper bag and now they are putting forth a guy who is just like the last, superficially qualified but profoundly incompetent.

Make no mistake, those little GOP pachyderms are going to march into the Twin Cities next week and have only two things to say: McCain puts country first and Obama is not qualified to lead. Their country first rhetoric will be all about the McCain story. His story is compelling - war hero, adulterer, Senator. I may not have those in exactly the right order, but that is a quick summary.

They will then launch into a hailstorm of attacks on Senator Obama. What else can they say? They cannot talk about their own achievements over the last eight years because they have been egregiously inept. The GOP gave us one of the most incompetent presidents we have ever had in George W. Bush - perhaps neck and neck with James Buchanan. They have taken our national surplus and turned it into a record debt. They have pursued an unjust war through nefarious means. The have soiled the good will the world was ready to give us after the tragedy of 9/11. They are led by a man against whom a reasonable case for impeachment can be made. They have, in a word, FAILED.

George W. Bush is an international joke and John McCain has supported him with his votes 90% of the time over the last seven and a half years according to the Congressional Quarterly Study. McCain claims we are trying to paint him as just another Bush. The truth, Senator McCain, is that you painted yourself that way. Birds of a feather flock together and Senator McCain chose his role model poorly.

Republicans have only two things to talk about and they will beat them into the ground, dead horses be damned! The problem is that many people, upon hearing the same thing over and over, assimilate the message and accept it as truth. The point to my post was that we need to make sure our message is loud and clear:

Republican policies have failed. Their candidate wants to maintain the same course, but that course leads to a dead end. If you want a leader who sings songs about bombing Iran, makes horrible jokes about young girls and admittedly knows nothing about economics - then McCain is your man. If you think we can do things better than we have with Bush - then vote for Obama.

My next post, Obama and the Girardeau Family, simply was an off-the-cuff remark about Obama’s appearance in the Girardeau family living room. I did not object to the appearance, but commented that it came across as a little forced. I had no idea that it would generate the flurry of emails it did nor that it would get a shout out from a Christian website, which is a first for us.

Let me make this perfectly clear - we have supported Obama from the beginning. He is a candidate who speaks genuinely and clearly but the way he chose to convey the message on Monday night seemed stilted. As I pointed out in the post, Michelle’s speech was spot on, ripe with sincerity and effectively introduced the Obamas. Barack’s appearance just after Michelle did not seem as natural.

I have not said we are in trouble nor that the little pachyderms are winning. I expressed a desire to remain cognizant of the goal and to stay on message. I appreciate the emails and the right-wing shout outs, but let’s not go into hysterics. Please feel free at any time to email me your comments, complaints or ideas: jackson @ nakedcandidate. com

The Democrats have a compelling story to tell and a real plan to present to the American people, showing voters how we can fix all the things that Republicans have fouled up since they took over.

I believe we should tell the people exactly that. I believe we should tell them over and over that Bush may be a joke but McCain is the punchline. Voters should know that we have a solid plan for righting the ship.

McCain will never be the answer…unless you are asking:

Which candidate will continue the failed policies of George W. Bush? Then the obvious answer is: McCain

Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO reviews the weak and pretty pathetic speech and performance of Bob Casey Jr. during Tuesday night’s Democratic Convention.

Casey is so not the leader that his speech didn’t even dare to mention what is the point of disagreement between the Keystone State senator and the nominee of his party. The word “life” never crossed his lips.

FOX is reporting about a TX delegate who has collected 500 signatures to get Hillary nominated as VP–(reported just before 3 PM ET)

A white-haired correspondent from the Convention reported it to Martha McCallum…

NO, HILLARY…NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Rebecca Schmitz

Okay, forget all the whining below. Someone with a sense of humor at Slate is covering the convention on Twitter. Perhaps there is a reason to look forward to St. Paul.

by Rebecca Schmitz

Last night’s television coverage of the convention reminded me once again why I don’t watch network TV: none of the big boys, even my home slice Jim Lehrer–Jim Lehrer!, bothered to completely cover our Governor’s speech. I started the evening with Jim and his crew of blowhards analysts. (I kid about the “blowhards”; even though I disagree with him most of the time, David Brooks is a conservative I can respect) They missed Governor Deval Patrick because of all the blah, blah, blah, so to make up for it PBS replayed his speech, then cut to more of the blah, blah, blah. By this time I jumped to NBC–no, there’s Brian Williams talking to his analysts, okay, how about CBS, nope, hey, who are those people? Who cares? Okay, how about–nah, forget ABC. CNN? Nope. Commercials. Hmmm, do I dare? Am I ready to lose some IQ points? Fine. I’ll go there. Wait…you’re kidding. FOX is airing a recap of the primary season? Well, shit. This means only one thing.

C-SPAN.

Finally, there was Brian, in the words of our friend Goof Houlihan, “clowning and corny“. But hey, I got a kick out of his speech. The floor loved it. Even Bill Clinton liked it. During the standing ovation, the Big Dog mouthed “I like this guy, he’s good” to Rebecca Gwatney.

I guess there’s only one channel for me. Jill, I know it’s not your fault, but this kind of news coverage–all punditry and no substance–is the reason why I never tune into CBS’ broadcast or that of your competitors. Sorry, Jim, but even PBS dropped the ball this time. One lousy speech, and you guys felt it was more important to talk to the historians on the panel. I’m sticking with C-SPAN for the next two days, and, if I have the stomach for it, I’ll stay there next week for the Republican National Convention. We’ll see, though. It all depends on whether or not Costco sells Tums by the case.

by jhwygirl

Each morning, we can all get downtown via free shuttle buses being provided by the city for all delegates and press and people in limbo, like me. I still haven’t written about yesterday’s ride - but I thought I might write about today’s.

I mentioned this morning, the delegates are getting pretty comfortable. Some of them are sharing rooms - and it all has the air of a college reunion. Not all are legislatures, so they don’t all work together all the time, but it is clear that they know and like each other quite well.

And No - they aren’t really wearing “regular old t-shirts” - I know I said that earlier - but I certainly don’t want ya’all getting the impression they’re down here on vacation. This stuff really is hard work. There’s important stuff to do for the next 2 1/2 months…and you can tell they mean business.

I didn’t get out of here until about 11 a.m. this morning - which put me on a shuttle with JP Pomnichowski, Michele Reinhart, Julie French and Anthony Jackson.

Anthony is a fine young man from Billings - 26 - who is currently working on Steve Bullock’s race for Attorney General.

Michele is our local HD-97 state house representative - who is running for re-election, BTW. I find her to be very much keyed into understanding the how and why behind things. Hell, I almost feel like she’s interviewing me at times. It’s all good, and I don’t mean that to sound bad - it isn’t. She’s my representative, and she’s very interested in my perspective of things. How could an active voter not like that?

Julie French is really a firecracker. You get the sense, from the get-go, that this is a woman that does not take “no” for an answer. That people - men and women - kinda sit there and nod in agreement when she speaks, and that when she tells you that ‘this is the way this is going to be,’ then, that is the way it is going to be.

I won’t tell you who told me, but I hear they call her Grandma. I assure you, it has nothing to do with her age.

Julie defined what a good legislator is - and she was clear to say that it didn’t matter if it was a city council person, or a state legislator or someone in the federal level. A good legislator is a good listener. “They have to listen to people. They have to want to listen to people,” she said. Julie then cited Jon Tester as an excellent example of someone who exemplifies a good legislator.

We segued to Hillary and Obama. Julie was wearing both an Obama pro-military sticker and her Hillary pin. Michele was an Obama girl from the get-go. The topic came up of the media focusing (or over-emphasizing) the Hillary supporters who say that they will not vote for Obama.

“I can’t understand how people can vote a single issue,” she said. “There is simply too much at stake to do that.” She went on, saying that a legislator has to address the needs of everyone that they represent - not just those that elect them.

I couldn’t agree more. We would all benefit from moving away from being parties of extremes.

Julie, BTW, represents the Scobey area, HD-36. Scobey is up there in the NE corner of the state, right along the border.

She spoke to the importance of healthcare - not only in the pure sense of proving healthcare to the community, but the importance of the jobs that it brings to the community. She cited the role that healthcare provides for jobs in Scobey. The healthcare industry, she said, is the largest employer.

In Scobey, immigration issues play an important role, too, in both healthcare and veterinary care - something that is very important, very necessary, and often overlooked in small rural communities. Scobey relies on Canadians to provide healthcare - they have to come down from across the border - and without them, Scobey and its citizens would be at a loss.

The current difficulties brought on by Homeland Security rules have placed hardships on places like Scobey. Green cards are being delayed - sometimes for years - and when it comes to healthcare - or large animal veterinary care - these types of things should not be occurring, and our government should be doing something to help solve these issues.

Public land issues are important to both Julie and Michele - I do recall Michele having sponsored and ushered through last years legislative session a bill that would allow the state to take over weed control on grazing leases when the lease holders weren’t responsible. Her bill allowed the state to do it and then collect back the costs - and Julie pointed out that her county is something like 25% state lands.

We’ll have to work on getting Julie French a website.

Or maybe a blog. I like what she has to say. You would to.

by jhwygirl

Those were former nine term Congressman Pat Williams’ words this morning, when he, too, spoke about the importance of this upcoming presidential election. Pat followed Senator Baucus, who spoke extensively about the same, and time was running short, but those 10 words alone say so very much about not only the election, but the intent energy behind Montana’s Democrats working for meaningful change. Behind all Democratic Party members. Positive change. A positive future.

“What you do will affect the other delegates and future delegates. When you nominate Barack Obama and we elect Barack Obama, what it will do is it will change the lives of children not yet born.”

I think we all took a breath as Pat said that (I know I did) - but only long enough to give him a standing ovation.

Thanks, Pat Williams, for that.

Someone should put you on that podium down there in the Pepsi Center. With words like that, you’d have all of America spellbound.

Rosemary Lappin NewsCenter 5 Senior Producer in Denver

No family knows how to do great political theatre better than the residents of Hyannis Port. Monday night in Denver we witnessed a stunningly powerful and touching message to the American people from the ailing scion, Senator Ted Kennedy. In 1980 he spoke these inspiring words at the DNC as his presidential campaign collapsed, “the dream shall never die.” Now with his health in crisis and the sun getting high on his remarkable life, he stood unshaken and hopeful. “The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.” It was political magic. Ted Kennedy is a true alchemist.

I watched his speech with the Massachusetts delegation in the Pepsi Center. I can’t imagine it was easy for them to truly experience the message with broadcast and print reporters crammed into the aisle studying their every facial move. I was part of that pack. I can report that I saw two women delegates wipe tears away. But most delegates just watched quietly taking in the drama. Some smiled, some cheered and they all jumped to their feet. If you are a political junkie of the liberal persusion, you know you saw something historic.

Monday morning the Kennedy power was again felt at a breakfast in nearby Stapleton, Colorado as the senator’s nephew, Joe Kennedy, thanked Massachusetts delegates for making his uncle feel so welcomed in the Pepsi Center.

The crowd loved it. During most breakfast speeches delegates talk and eat and the din in the room is frequently loud. You feel bad for the speaker. But when smiling Joe turned on the Kennedy charm the room was still, the mood was happy—they were all in the presence of a Kennedy. He made a point to iintroduce his wife Beth and his twins sons Matthew and Joe a full four Kennedy head count at their breakfast. A 24 hour Kennedy cycle and they loved it.

And although I have no proof of this, I suspect some delegates wondered, as the former congressman charmed, if he is quietly planning a return to politics. It’s been speculated before. And the full court Kennedy family appearance this morning before party rank and file will only fuel such speculation.

Live-Blogging Day-Two of the 2008 DNC: The Hillary Kerfuffle

Comments On Michelle Obama’s Speech Last Night: So That’s What Brave Looks Like….

A reader wrote to Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic Magazine:

“I am a 36 year old African American woman. I have two girls ages 10 and 8. The country does not get the full import of this moment. My daughters and I sat together along with my husband to watch Michelle Obama tonight. Mr. Sullivan, we were all in tears. This is a day that cannot be fully described. This country has systematically oppressed Black women for centuries. My ancestors were slaves and my great, great, great, grandmothers raped and treated as property. My daughters have very few Black women to look up to in popular culture as role models. They do not feel seen, they are not held up as the standards of American beauty. We shed tears tonight as a family because Michelle (with her elegance and grace) is holding all of us up with her. You don’t understand the burden that she bears.”

And Dahlia Lithwick wrote in Salon:

“I loved best about Michelle Obama’s speech tonight was that it was fearless, but in a very different way from the fearlessness modeled by Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. Here is a woman with a degree from Harvard Law School, who could have talked about law and policy and poverty, and yet she talked about her kids, her husband, and her family. And she didn’t do that merely to show us that smart women are soft and cuddly on the inside. She did what everyone else in this campaign is terrified to do: She risked looking sappy and credulous and optimistic when almost everyone has abandoned “hope” and “change” for coughing up hairballs of outrage. Every Democrat in America seems to be of the view that optimism is so totally last February; that now’s the time to hunker down and panic real hard. Good for Michelle for reminding us that to “strive for the world as it should be” is still cool, and for being so passionate about that fact that she looked to be near tears. Good for her for speaking from the heart when everyone else seems to be speaking from the root cellar. And if that doesn’t persuade you the woman is a warrior, let me just add that true bravery is letting your 7-year-old turn the first night of the Democratic Convention into open-mic night with the big screen and the party frock. Think any man alive would have done that? Me neither.”

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Celebrity Music Video: Yes We Can

Live-Blogging Day-Two of the 2008 DNC: The Hillary Kerfuffle

Hillary Clinton: To Damn Obama with Faint Praise

The Clintons are masters in the dramatic art of pointing at themselves and saying “attention must be paid to us!” Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton put on a good show of supporting Obama, but it was expressed as having been left with little recourse but to convey support for him, or else having to deal with something even worse, McCain and the Republicans. Watching her gave me the freaky chills, made feel glad that I’m still free enough from any obsession with the Clintons to still be able to peek under their rocks and see what kind of bugs are creeping around underneath.

In Hillary’s speech at the Democratic Convention on Tuesday night, she gave the appearance of momentarily overcoming the narcissistic conviction of personal and political entitlement that has been a long-time congenital characteristic of both Clintons. Feigning to say the right things, Clinton made an “intellectual” case for supporting Obama. Strategically aware that her own short-term political future is inextricably bound to his, she explained in somewhat clinical terms why she supports him, and indicated to her diehard supporters that they should also do so (for the time being).

But Clinton obviously still wants to be president. Hillary’s speech hardly concealed the clear subtext that it is really she who should be giving the major convention speech on Thursday night. Clinton’s performance on the podium Tuesday evening was a calculated theatrical work that directed America to look at what has been lost by her not being the Democratic nominee.

Further, it continues to be clear that Hillary obviously doesn’t like Barack Obama, and that she’s plainly not eager about the prospect of him being elected president. After all the time that she spent during her speech tracing the course of women’s suffrage and talking about what a world-historical figure she was, she failed to make any mention about Obama being a similarly important figure of history.

As a plausible, but much less noteworthy approach, she might have attempted to say something, just anything, about a specifically admirable individual characteristic that Obama might display. Even here, Clinton’s reservations were obvious. While she had open personal praise for Joe Biden and John McCain, she could not bring herself to say anything positive about Obama as a person.

The reasons that Hillary gave for supporting Obama were all ways of saying that Obama is a Democrat. She managed to say some nice “words” about Obama in her speech (she was proud to support him), but subsequently she immediately launched into a litany of the many important issues for which she’d fought and sang out with a paean to all the people who had placed their faith in her.

In the end, it came down to being all about her.

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Hillary Clinton: Well, It’s Mostly About Me

Music Audio: Josh Groban/You Lift Me Up

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