(This post has no pictures because I misplaced my camera but am planning on getting it back later in the day).
Tuesday night was the most anticipated night at Pepsi, given that Obama will be accepting the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field where he can share in the glory of the moment with 75,000 of his biggest fans. On Tuesday night we heard from the keynote speaker, former Virginia Governor and senatorial candidate Mark Warner, and of course Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Just four years ago Barack Obama, in his keynote address to the DNCC, told us his story of being “a skinny kid with a funny name” and the audacity of hope – a message he has never abandoned. The nation was talking about him, we were enthralled and only a few years later he’s back at the convention accepting the party nomination. That’s impressive.
Mark Warner is likely to run for President in the next 4 to 8 years, so he might experience the same time line as Barack Obama but not that notoriety simply because his speech was overshadowed and not memorable.
Besides the fact he was the warm-up act for Hillary Clinton, there are two things I believe really make Mark Warner’s speech unremarkable. For one thing, it was an economy speech. He talked about the building blocks to a great working class, about what America needs to do to stop jobs from going overseas (China specifically). That’s fine. It makes sense. But is memorable? Obama’s speech four years ago told a story, connected us to the person. Maybe the success of Audacity of Hope was in the fact he was this exotic, unfamiliar figure to the nation, which brings me to the second issue with the speech – we kinda know Mark Warner. Mark Warner was once considered, back in the early days of the election, a presidential contender. He has a lot of experience and was considered one of the best governors in the country for a long time. His resume is familiar. He was working class family, made it big in the cell phone industry, ran for governor and won. Been there, done that. We’ve seen it before.
Before I talk about Hillary Clinton, there were two speeches I have to mention that I thought far surpassed Warner’s speech. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, only the second African American to be elected governor of a state, gave a really great speech about the “American Story,” connecting it to himself, his own family and how it is at risk throughout the country. I was taken a back, and really thought that his speech, his rhetoric was one of the better speeches of the convention so far.
The other guy, that I think the entire room would say stole the show earlier in the night, was the huggable Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana. I highly recommend watching his speech simply because you can’t help but smile and laugh. He was affable, fun, and just overall the one guy that made you feel like having a good time. He was the crowd pleaser, the cheerleader, and really the life of the party.
Now we get to the good stuff.
Hillary Clinton was first introduced by what could essentially be called a rock video of her life and her campaign. It could be called a tribute but without the melancholy implication. It really was a celebration video that showered her with praise and respect.
Chelsea Clinton came out and introduced her “hero” and her mother and then like always, Hillary Clinton took the stage with a smile and pantsuit. She made it clear in her speech that it’s pretty much over (though the Hillary signs they were handing out into the audience still had hillaryclinton.com on them, unlike all the others that said barackobama.com.
One of the first things she said was “No way, No How, No McCain,” which is exactly what we were expecting to hear but earlier in the day I had seen the first “Debra” ad on CNN, where a former Hillary Clinton supporter announces her new found love of John McCain.
Hillary had to give an amazing speech that made it clear that it was time her hold-outs, those that continue to see Barack Obama as the enemy, to switch sides and create a united party. Her speech really was all that it needed to be. She made it clear, he was her candidate. She paid homage to her “sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits” who never gave in and never gave up but asked whether they were in this campaign for her, or for the issues, for the things Hillary Clinton stood for. That moment hit a lot of die hard Hillary supporters.
This morning on a local radio show I heard two Coloradians, both Hillary supporters, say that they realized when Hillary questioned the reason for their commitment to the campaign that they no longer had a reason to hold out and to have very much animosity any longer. I doubt all Hillary supporters are like that, but it’s worth taking note that many are “moving on,” as one lady said on the radio.
Related News: Delegates are supposedly voting at their delegate breakfasts, to do it out of the limelight. This afternoon their will be a roll call but it will not be open voting just reporting the votes from this morning.
Best Button of The Convention That I Really Want: Big round red button that says “I’m a Hillary Clinton Supporter for Barack Obama”
Julia Moss' Political Playground 