POLITICS, Move Along...
So, Obama is, for all intents and purposes, the Democratic Nominee for President in the 2008 election. I don't really know much about politics, but I watched speeches from both Obama and Hilary last night, and here are my gut reactions:
Hilary's event was small. I don't know the actual numbers, but she seemed to have less than a third the people in attendance then Obama did, and they said there were a few thousand people outside the hall Obama was in listening to his speech on speakers. And keep in mind that Hilary was in New York, the state where she is a senator, and Obama was in Minnesota. I know part of this may have been money issues (Hilary's been running out of money for the past four months), but what does it say if Hilary can't draw as big a crowd in her home state as Obama can in Minnesota? (And seriously, what's in Minnesota, anyways?)
I was also interested in the visual backgrounds of the two of them as they spoke. Hilary was standing immediately in front of a riser full of in-focus people, who had clearly been chosen to stand there. This was evidenced by the fact that there was a black man (who, honestly, looked bored), a black girl, an elderly white woman, a middle aged "blue collar" working man, an Indian guy, an Asian girl, and a few other white guys to fill out the space. Obama, meanwhile, had behind him, an out-of-focus group of people consisting mainly of white men and women, with one or two black people occasionally visible. It was clear that Hilary's background had been specifically planned and set-up to make her look like she has a diverse following, while the Obama people weren't even planning anything like that.
Obama, in his speech, was very gracious, and generous, both to Hilary and McCain. He continued the trend he mostly keeps up of keeping the campaign about the issues, and not about anyone personally. He also made the entire speech seem like it was a victory more for the people than for himself. Hilary, on the other hand, came off as mean-spirited, calculating, and vindictive. She all but said right-out that if Obama wanted the millions of people who voted for her to follow him, then he was going to have to deal with her. She almost seemed like she would tell her supporters that if she didn't at LEAST get Vice-President, that they should all vote McCain.
I kind of wish I had gotten to see McCain's speech earlier last night, so I could compare it as well, but Brandon said it sucked anyways.
On a final note, Super-delegates tend to be people who are more politically aware and active than the common American, and they've supported Obama better than 4 to 3.
Hilary's event was small. I don't know the actual numbers, but she seemed to have less than a third the people in attendance then Obama did, and they said there were a few thousand people outside the hall Obama was in listening to his speech on speakers. And keep in mind that Hilary was in New York, the state where she is a senator, and Obama was in Minnesota. I know part of this may have been money issues (Hilary's been running out of money for the past four months), but what does it say if Hilary can't draw as big a crowd in her home state as Obama can in Minnesota? (And seriously, what's in Minnesota, anyways?)
I was also interested in the visual backgrounds of the two of them as they spoke. Hilary was standing immediately in front of a riser full of in-focus people, who had clearly been chosen to stand there. This was evidenced by the fact that there was a black man (who, honestly, looked bored), a black girl, an elderly white woman, a middle aged "blue collar" working man, an Indian guy, an Asian girl, and a few other white guys to fill out the space. Obama, meanwhile, had behind him, an out-of-focus group of people consisting mainly of white men and women, with one or two black people occasionally visible. It was clear that Hilary's background had been specifically planned and set-up to make her look like she has a diverse following, while the Obama people weren't even planning anything like that.
Obama, in his speech, was very gracious, and generous, both to Hilary and McCain. He continued the trend he mostly keeps up of keeping the campaign about the issues, and not about anyone personally. He also made the entire speech seem like it was a victory more for the people than for himself. Hilary, on the other hand, came off as mean-spirited, calculating, and vindictive. She all but said right-out that if Obama wanted the millions of people who voted for her to follow him, then he was going to have to deal with her. She almost seemed like she would tell her supporters that if she didn't at LEAST get Vice-President, that they should all vote McCain.
I kind of wish I had gotten to see McCain's speech earlier last night, so I could compare it as well, but Brandon said it sucked anyways.
On a final note, Super-delegates tend to be people who are more politically aware and active than the common American, and they've supported Obama better than 4 to 3.