Way to go Joe

Wow. And you thought the Clintons were good?

Joe Biden -- your table is ready. And it might be at the Naval Observatory/V.P. Mansion.

Make no mistake about it, this was the speech that a Vice President needs to give. "That's not change, that's more of the same." "We don't need a good soldier, we need a wise leader." Biden laying out the contrasts in stark terms, and making the choice the obvious one it probably should be.

Look, I'm a conservative, but Bush has led the Republican party so far away from anything resembling conservative principles that is impossible for me to support the Republican party. There is no way, no reason, and no rational reason for giving the Republican party four more years. Sorry, John McCain -- but it's time for the Republican party to prune itself of the dead policies and dead limbs of the Bush administration, and return to its conservative roots. And the only way to do that is to vote Obama.

But Biden -- wow. Great speech. Great contrast, great fire, and great "red meat" argument setting out why people should vote for the Democrats, and Obama-Biden.

Applause lines?

Brian Williams says that Hillary worked "thru" applause lines.....

Okay, I LOVED her speech. But she STEPPED on a lot of her best lines. So, as an independent viewer -- I'd say a solid, good speech by Senator Hillary Clinton, but she could have done better if she had let the applause lines continue, or just gone along with the sentiment without stepping on the line.

Hillary did set a high bar for Senator Biden. He should/will pass it....but she made it difficult.

A nit-pick, but a pick nonetheless.

Chad

Back to delivery...

...okay, I was going to make this point earlier, but here it is:

Someone needs to give the Democrats a lesson on live speech-making.

Not to say any speech I've heard was bad. But figure out how to work with a live audience. Wait for the "call and response" lines. Pause. Let the good lines flow.

Seriously, the Democrats should make every potential speaker go thru a "live audience training session." If they cannot pause appropriately, to get the audience in the room (as well as the audience at home) to applaud with them, they should be cut off.

That is all. Seriously, though, find some professional public speakers (both in big audiences and on television).

Apologies

Is it wrong that after a few minutes of Hillary Clinton's speech that I said "Hillary, you have my vote next time?"

It probably is. I'm a conservative, after all.

But, and maybe I'll explore this more fully soon, but Hillary arguably deserves more respectful treatment from me (and others). I gave her a lot of flack for being controversial/dirty from the Clinton years....but, at a certain point, I think we need to give her slack, or, at least, acknowledgement that she has been proven guilty of nothing.

Anyways, the "no way, no how, no McCain" line deserves some props. As does her passion for America, a la my earlier post about Kennedy. (I won't give her the same level of deference that I gave Teddy Kennedy, but I do not doubt that Hillary Clinton loves America, even if I disagree with her politics or her campaign, etc.)

The Democratic Convention, and Public Speaking Classes

I'm watching the Democratic National Convention. Admittedly, this takes a lot of commitment for me -- I believe in small government, in free markets, in states' rights, in the 2nd Amendment. In other words, I'm having to swallow my tongue a lot in my living room just to sit thru this, all in support of my candidate, Barack Obama -- a candidate, I should add, that I'm wishing would sound more "accountable" and less "electable" right now (more on that in a minute).

This post, though, is inspired by what I've seen on cable the first two nights of the Democratic Convention so far. First, let me give some props to Ted Kennedy. I disagree with Ted Kennedy on many, many, MANY political issues. Let's face it, he's a "liberal" lion, and I'm a "conservative" (not Republican) bear. But the man loves America, and I can embrace, respect, and honor any man or woman that loves America, even if I disagree with their politics.

Second, let me say on the record that James Carville is an idiot. You win one election (let's ignore 1996 -- really, the country was gonna elect Bob Dole?) and you're a wise man in your party? Northwestern got to a Rose Bowl in 1995, but no one is saying they are a year-in powerhouse....yet. Carville -- you're an idiot. The campaign did the right thing Monday night, getting people to understand Obama the family man, and the Obamas (Michelle and Barack) as being the embodiment of the American dream. The American people won't buy contrasts that Obama makes regarding himself and McCain unless they TRUST Obama, and that's what Michelle Obama's speech did last night. So let's raise a toast to Michelle Obama -- she emotionally and powerfully made the case that her life, and Barack's life, was the American dream that speaks to all of us. Parents loving each other, parents working hard, parents sacrificing for their childrens' future, education along with family support being the key to an improved future....these are UNIVERSAL themes that appeal to ALL of us, conservative, Republican (note the difference), independent, or Democratic. So good for you.

Third, I'd like to note that Mike Barnicle is the one pundit who noticed in last night's coverage what the most important moment was -- Barack's daughter Sasha (I think) saying "Hi Daddy!" to his face on the screen. Look -- elections in the end are about voting who you are comfortable with. And in that one moment, America thought "Wow, here is a family man, with loving daughters." And don't for a second underestimate the idea that Americans would LOVE to see young children in the White House again. America is, and always has been, a young nation, a nation of futures rather than presents or pasts. It's why Camelot is so beloved, in part. And Sasha (or Malia) made that point powerfully, in one little exchange.

Okay, on to the "accountability" issue. My mom (a lifelong Republican, who strangely enough is considering, though probably won't vote for, Obama -- I hope to sway her) said this earlier this week, and I agree. In the early 1980s (late 1970s) we had gas rationing, and the country lived thru it. And in WWII we had scrap metal drives and victory gardens. Yet ask people today, and the country is in the worst shape it has ever been.

So where is the call for sacrifice? For national sacrifice (born in equal or proportional measure) to address these problems?

The problem with McCain AND Obama (let's be clear, both campaigns have not done this, but I'd say McCain's is a little worse off than Obama), is that they never asked the American people to sacrifice to save this country.

As I write, of course, Mark Warner of Virginia is giving a POWERFUL speech on this very issue, calling Bush on the carpet for failing to ask for sacrifice. We are a SMART nation -- tell us the sacrifice, and we'll meet it. We have serious problems. We ALL know this. But cutting taxes and increasing spending, giving away more and asking less -- we ALL know that this cannot work. Republican, Democratic, liberal, conservative -- we GET reality. (By the way, Mark Warner? He'll be the next Democratic Presidential nominee....this speech is unbelievable.)

So here is how to win the campaign, for either party -- level with us. Identify the problem, tell us how to solve it, what we need to sacrifice to get there, and how you'll ensure our sacrifice will not be in vain. GIVE us this truth that we all recognize. And then? Well, you'll win in a land-slide, and our country will be the better for it.