An Underwhelming Moment in U.S. History
August 28th 2008 23:14
Over the hills and far away, the week is closing on the Democratic National Convention. There’s been a cavalcade of political icons traipsing through. It was a virtual who’s who throughout the week- Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Joe Biden, Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi... I even saw Michael Dukakis slinking around the Convention floor during the week at some point. In the past the Convention was a useful tool. It was used to nominate the candidate and kick off the campaign. But these days, the candidate is expected to be decided before the convention. These days the campaign kicks off weeks and months ahead of this week. So what is it good for? Well, it makes a hell of a party. All the Convention is useful for in the current political landscape is allowing one party to dominate the news cycle for a whole week and providing a hell of a rally for the candidate. Hell, Barack Obama didn’t even show up in Denver until the end of the week. Throughout the whole thing he’s lingered around the periphery, always being mentioned but never quite there, excepting two minutes at the end of Joe Biden’s speech yesterday when he made a surprise appearance. Maybe Obama thought it would be too embarrassing to be sitting in the audience listening to some of the heavy-weights of the political scene praising his efforts. Regardless, the point is that he didn’t need to be there. The anticipation for his arrival achieved far more than his constant presence would ever have done.
The big highlight of the week? The man from a little town called Hope. Say what you will about blue dresses and interns, but William Jefferson Clinton still knows how to get a crowd revved up and ready to go. When Billy Boy stepped out on stage you could see the atmosphere was electric. The crowd cheered and chanted his name for a full ten minutes. No matter how much the former President tried to settle the crowd and get his speech over the done with, you can’t subdue that many rabid acolytes. Let’s face it. Despite being the only President in living history to face impeachment Clinton went out of office on a high note as one of the most popular Presidents ever. You could see Bill getting visibly agitated when the crowd wouldn’t shut up. I have a feeling that Billy Boy didn’t really want to be there. We’ve all heard the rumours. Obama despises Bill Clinton and Bill has been heard around town referring to Obama as a typical “Chicago thug”. I think Bill just really wanted to do his duty, get out on stage, say his bit and get off as quickly as possible. Hell, Bill didn’t even stick around for Obama’s acceptance speech today. He said his speech, watched Joe Biden speak and left town as fast as possible.
Nevertheless you have to hand it to Bill. On the third day of proceedings Bill was the first one to deliver what the general public have been looking for: tangible reasons to vote for Obama. The others who have spoken, notably Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, have spent most of their speeches defending something. Michelle defending her patriotism, which has been in question since her comments that she has never been proud of America until now. Hillary defending the fact that it’s okay for her supporters to switch their allegiances to Obama. But then you have Bill, who could have easily slipped into an empty rhetoric, especially since his heart wasn’t in it.
But Bill didn’t fall into that trap. No. Bill stepped up and he laid out exactly why Obama was the man for the job. Bill said that Obama would help rebuild the country at home and improve its image abroad. Simple and effective. It’s something the other speakers have danced around, alluding to it but never clearly getting a theme out that is easy to digest. That is what makes Bill Clinton the consummate politician. He knows exactly how to sell an idea. It is unfortunate that in such a historic Democratic National Convention, the first to nominate an African-American for the Presidency, it takes former President Clinton to fully encapsulate a theme, someone who doesn’t even really like Obama.
So the Convention draws to a close with Obama’s speech tonight, perfectly timed to fall on the 45th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream Speech’. You can only hope Obama goes out on a high note. He needs to go out with a bang, otherwise by the next day McCain’s selection of a running mate will dominate the news cycle, followed by a week of Republican Convention. Obama truly has to make this last speech one of the historic ones in the history of the United States.
After all, there is nothing I hate worse than a wasted opportunity.
The big highlight of the week? The man from a little town called Hope. Say what you will about blue dresses and interns, but William Jefferson Clinton still knows how to get a crowd revved up and ready to go. When Billy Boy stepped out on stage you could see the atmosphere was electric. The crowd cheered and chanted his name for a full ten minutes. No matter how much the former President tried to settle the crowd and get his speech over the done with, you can’t subdue that many rabid acolytes. Let’s face it. Despite being the only President in living history to face impeachment Clinton went out of office on a high note as one of the most popular Presidents ever. You could see Bill getting visibly agitated when the crowd wouldn’t shut up. I have a feeling that Billy Boy didn’t really want to be there. We’ve all heard the rumours. Obama despises Bill Clinton and Bill has been heard around town referring to Obama as a typical “Chicago thug”. I think Bill just really wanted to do his duty, get out on stage, say his bit and get off as quickly as possible. Hell, Bill didn’t even stick around for Obama’s acceptance speech today. He said his speech, watched Joe Biden speak and left town as fast as possible.
Nevertheless you have to hand it to Bill. On the third day of proceedings Bill was the first one to deliver what the general public have been looking for: tangible reasons to vote for Obama. The others who have spoken, notably Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, have spent most of their speeches defending something. Michelle defending her patriotism, which has been in question since her comments that she has never been proud of America until now. Hillary defending the fact that it’s okay for her supporters to switch their allegiances to Obama. But then you have Bill, who could have easily slipped into an empty rhetoric, especially since his heart wasn’t in it.
But Bill didn’t fall into that trap. No. Bill stepped up and he laid out exactly why Obama was the man for the job. Bill said that Obama would help rebuild the country at home and improve its image abroad. Simple and effective. It’s something the other speakers have danced around, alluding to it but never clearly getting a theme out that is easy to digest. That is what makes Bill Clinton the consummate politician. He knows exactly how to sell an idea. It is unfortunate that in such a historic Democratic National Convention, the first to nominate an African-American for the Presidency, it takes former President Clinton to fully encapsulate a theme, someone who doesn’t even really like Obama.
So the Convention draws to a close with Obama’s speech tonight, perfectly timed to fall on the 45th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream Speech’. You can only hope Obama goes out on a high note. He needs to go out with a bang, otherwise by the next day McCain’s selection of a running mate will dominate the news cycle, followed by a week of Republican Convention. Obama truly has to make this last speech one of the historic ones in the history of the United States.
After all, there is nothing I hate worse than a wasted opportunity.
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