After listening to Barack Obama’s speech Thursday night to wrap up the Democratic National Convention, I reflected on the weeklong convention coverage. It was near constant coverage of everything that happened. So much in fact that long time Democratic Strategist James Carvel, covering the event as a pundit, remarked in the first hour of day one that the Democrats just had not pulled it together yet. It is hard to get such a large operation going in the first hour it is open but with this much media coverage that is what is needed.Still the Democrats kept the ball rolling and seemed to have a solid plan to build the excitement and anticipation on a slow march towards Obama’s planned Thursday night speech. They started slow with Michelle Obama speaking Monday night in a well done but conservative speech that did not attack John McCain or President Bush, but instead introduced herself to the audience. In doing so she also introduced us to Barack and his family. This also addressed a lot of the internet whispers that have been a staple of the last few campaigns about her being an angry black woman. Instead, she presented a calm well spoken, intelligent and professional mother, and wife who simply wanted people to get to know her husband better.
This, of course, drew the ire of the media and pundits who were upset they did not give her a good sound bite to run over and over Tuesday. They almost seemed angry later when quipping about how “people are saying Michelle Obama wasn’t tough enough on John McCain” to their guests. You got the sense that by people they meant their producers. These upset talking heads quickly got over their hurt feelings though as the big news Tuesday night was Hillary Clinton’s speech to the convention. They reported to us what we already knew; a staple of the modern media, Clinton would try and unite the party by telling her supporters that she, and they, should support Obama in his bid for the presidency.
Before Hillary took the stage the Democrats staged a long build up of speakers. They came from all backgrounds, positions in government, and political clout, and spoke about a range of issues and personal stories. While I understand the need to allow a wide selection of Democrats to speak about what they are passionate about, and bring a full spectrum of issues to the floor, this part of the convention was torture. Many of the people speaking had little to know speech giving talent. With monotone, short bland statements they told us why Bush and McCain are bad and Obama is good, but with such poor speakers bringing the message, it was hard not to tune them out and to simply focus on the awkwardness of their presentation. Not until the final three or four speakers before Hillary took the stage did anyone with the capability to address the crowd, let alone the nation, take the stage. This was a shame because several of the stories could have been powerful. Workers who lost their jobs to outsourcing, people who went bankrupt trying to pay medical bills insurance didn’t cover, and soldiers and teachers, and more with real stories to tell. The party would have been better served having a qualified speaker relate these stories to those watching and simply show the real people on camera to acknowledge them, their stories, and their message.
When Hillary did come out she was introduced by her daughter Chelsea, and a full length profile video which highlighted her upbringing and political career. The speech itself was well done. It was obvious that she and her staff worked hard to craft a speech that strongly supported Barack, attacked McCain and Bush, and spoke to her supporters about how much they had worked for and how much of that would be for nothing if McCain and not Obama was elected. Clearly Hillary understands if Barack Obama loses this race barring a major misstep on his part she will be blamed by party leaders and supporters and her political career will take a huge hit.
While her speech was well crafted and struck major points with powerful words and left those watching eloquent catch phrases. I could not help but feel Hillary just didn’t have the power and passion needed in her voice and delivery. She obviously believed what she was saying and is motivated to have Barack in the White House but it still seems she is struggling to get very excited about it being someone besides herself as the Democratic Nominee this year.
The following night though her husband Bill gave a much more charismatic, passionate and powerful speech. Though his words seemed to lack the importance of Hillary’s, speeches have always been a strong point of Bill’s and he delivered a well articulated, funny, and emphatic speech about our nations security and future as it stands now then contrasting the future under a Obama administration and a McCain administration. While Bill’s speech did not carry the weight that Hillary’s speech did, he was able to use his oratory skills to showcase a more passionate and energetic speech advocating Obama’s candidacy by focusing his passion on the issues.
Following Bill was Senator Joe Biden from Delaware, Obama’s Vice Presidential Nominee. Biden relished his position as the seasoned and veteran statesmen. He used his now greatly increased public presence to rail against the policies of McCain and Bush. Highlighting his knowledge on foreign affairs and blue collar America Biden spoke to what has failed continually under this administration, and articulating which of those ideas John McCain wants to continue. Biden who is known for being longwinded and can occasionally put his foot in his mouth, stayed on topic and to the point. He made his points in straight forward, short and well articulated statements. While the Obama campaign clearly will knock on McCain’s record and policies, it is clear the true attacks and clever jabs will be coming from Biden.
Finally on Thursday night, Obama accepted the Nomination. As has become par for the course with his campaign, the event was historic on multiple levels. Not only did a major party nominate a bi-racial male for president, but they did it on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream speech”. Obama gave an excellent speech to mark the occasion and acknowledged the significance of the day on several occasions. He addressed specifics of his plans to help our economy and improve our schools. He attacked McCain more strongly on his record and his statements over the last few months. He even addressed McCain’s advertisements which portray Obama as a celebrity and not a legitimate Presidential candidate. All in all, the Democrats put on a nice show but they where upstaged by their own candidate who showed clearly why he has risen so fast in their party to accept their Nomination for the Presidency.
Now the nation will turn to the Republicans to see what they have in mind for our future. McCain announced Friday he has selected Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate to try and steal some of Obama’s thunder from the convention. This week, the Republicans will try to throw a better convention that tops the Democrats and gives McCain a nice bump to start the final stretch of this election year.
Ted Trevorrow is a fourth-year student majoring in English. he can be reached at ET666499@wcupa.edu