Prompted to write.
Mr. Obama's nomination acceptance speech tonight was very powerful to me. I went into it trying to expect lofty and non-substantive rhetoric (as they are often accused of Mr. Obama by his detractors). While the words that he spoke were near poetry, I truly believe that Mr. Obama "delivered," so-to-speak.
I believe that he did an excellent job portraying himself as an agent of change and a delegate for the people of America. Mr. Obama even expressed a profound fact that the government cannot fix society's ills, but it must work together with the individual to accomplish those goals:
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
Though this was not the bulk of his speech, I also believe that he defused a lot of attacks from the McCain camp, expressing that this election isn't about one's character or one's patriotism. Mr. Obama could have whined about the McCain campaign's vicious and desperate advertisements, but chose to not make himself the martyr. Instead he presented himself as one who wants to be above the fray. He doesn't want to debate about petty attacks on each candidate's patriotism. He expressed the belief that the differences between himself and Mr. McCain are not a matter of character, but a matter of ideas. I believe that was a pledge to stay away from the excessive mudslinging that the McCain camp has taken part in over and over again even. We'll see what Mr. Obama follows this up with.
Mr. Obama also did an effective job of painting McCain as a President Bush clone, in that McCain has voted with the President on 90% of legislation that reached them both in the past eight years. Maybe some time I'll do a point-by-point analysis of this speech, labeled by CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen as a "political masterpiece." But for now these are most of the things that really struck me. At one point I was so affected by Mr. Obama's words I even welled up with tears, an uncommon experience for me. I was touched by his desire to see people succeed, especially those who are at a disadvantage, the ones we marginalize on a daily basis.
In the end I prefer the Obama camp's tactics over those of his chief rival. McCain's camp continues to push how ignorant and ill-equipped Mr. Obama is for the job and it seems as if they are more interested in teaching people to hate Barack Obama than they are in painting McCain as a perfect fit for America's next President. They're not used to simply talking about Mr. McCain's strengths on the "Straight Talk Express," or perhaps more appropriately, the "Shit Talk Express." It seems as if their entire strategy is centered on Mr. Obama. I don't necessarily blame them, even tonight being the eve of Mr. McCain's announcement of his VP and the media could hardly care less. There certainly has not been equal coverage of both candidates, and I'm not excusing that, but maybe it's simply because Mr. Obama is more interesting. Either way it would be more civil of Mr. McCain to find himself and demonstrate why he is a better candidate and not simply why Mr. Obama is worse.
For those that know me well, you know that I do not award sensational praise very easily. With that in mind I must say that I was greatly impressed by Mr. Obama tonight.
Video of Mr. Obama's acceptance speech on the Democratic National Convention Committee's website and transcript on AHN's website.
I believe that he did an excellent job portraying himself as an agent of change and a delegate for the people of America. Mr. Obama even expressed a profound fact that the government cannot fix society's ills, but it must work together with the individual to accomplish those goals:
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
Though this was not the bulk of his speech, I also believe that he defused a lot of attacks from the McCain camp, expressing that this election isn't about one's character or one's patriotism. Mr. Obama could have whined about the McCain campaign's vicious and desperate advertisements, but chose to not make himself the martyr. Instead he presented himself as one who wants to be above the fray. He doesn't want to debate about petty attacks on each candidate's patriotism. He expressed the belief that the differences between himself and Mr. McCain are not a matter of character, but a matter of ideas. I believe that was a pledge to stay away from the excessive mudslinging that the McCain camp has taken part in over and over again even. We'll see what Mr. Obama follows this up with.
Mr. Obama also did an effective job of painting McCain as a President Bush clone, in that McCain has voted with the President on 90% of legislation that reached them both in the past eight years. Maybe some time I'll do a point-by-point analysis of this speech, labeled by CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen as a "political masterpiece." But for now these are most of the things that really struck me. At one point I was so affected by Mr. Obama's words I even welled up with tears, an uncommon experience for me. I was touched by his desire to see people succeed, especially those who are at a disadvantage, the ones we marginalize on a daily basis.
In the end I prefer the Obama camp's tactics over those of his chief rival. McCain's camp continues to push how ignorant and ill-equipped Mr. Obama is for the job and it seems as if they are more interested in teaching people to hate Barack Obama than they are in painting McCain as a perfect fit for America's next President. They're not used to simply talking about Mr. McCain's strengths on the "Straight Talk Express," or perhaps more appropriately, the "Shit Talk Express." It seems as if their entire strategy is centered on Mr. Obama. I don't necessarily blame them, even tonight being the eve of Mr. McCain's announcement of his VP and the media could hardly care less. There certainly has not been equal coverage of both candidates, and I'm not excusing that, but maybe it's simply because Mr. Obama is more interesting. Either way it would be more civil of Mr. McCain to find himself and demonstrate why he is a better candidate and not simply why Mr. Obama is worse.
For those that know me well, you know that I do not award sensational praise very easily. With that in mind I must say that I was greatly impressed by Mr. Obama tonight.
Video of Mr. Obama's acceptance speech on the Democratic National Convention Committee's website and transcript on AHN's website.