A Cry for Help

If you're not watching the Democratic National Convention, you're missing out. Last night Al Gore, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton addressed the convention (and the nation). Gore was great. He trotted out his SNL-ish one-liners on the recount, and was disarming. He wasn't breathing fire as he had been in the last few months, and all in all very good. 537 votes…

Of course, Bill Clinton outshines everyone. If you're like me and didn't have a policy interest during the 90s (being more concerned about issues like trig homework and getting your drivers license), then you probably don't have the baggage to get in the way of enjoying his oratory. I particularly liked his self-deprecating humor, lumping himself in with Bush and Cheney as those who found a way out of serving in Vietnam ("During the Vietnam War, many young men—including the current president, the vice president and me—could have gone to Vietnam but didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it too. Instead he said, send me."). I think Kerry should get the Big Dog out on the campaign trail more.

Tuesday night's lineup was even better. I watched Howard Dean, whose welcome was overwhelming ("I'd hoped for this kind of reception. Though I was hoping it would be on Thursday [the nominee's night], not Tuesday"). The speech was actually kind of weak, but that didn't matter too much to me, I can't watch Gov Dean without thinking what could have been.

After Dean I watched about 95% of Barack Obama's keynote address. He was flat out incredible (he's running for US Senate in Illinois). Mike IM'ed me to tell me he had trouble remaining dry-eyed during the speech, and my eyes welled up a couple times too. Edwards/Obama in 2012? Seriously, though, this man made me proud to be an American. I think that's the first time I've said that about a politician in a loooong time.

Ron Reagan, the late president's son, also spoke on the issue of stem cell research. I thought he was very good, too. I think this is an important issue, and I hope a lot of Americans consider this one when deciding thier vote.

I missed Theresa Heinz-Kerry, John's wife, but the clips I have seen were underwhelming. Tomorrow tune in for John Edwards, and Kerry accepts the nomination on Thursday. This is your chance to hear what the candidates want to say to you directly, you shouldn't miss it.

AND MORE: You can watch Obama's speech here on the CSPAN website. Watch it. Seriously, amazing stuff.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2004 at 1:01 am and is filed under 2004 Election. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.