Most of last night’s speech really reminded me of a senator I used to read about named John McCain. About 18 months ago, I appreciated McCain’s attempt at immigration reform, opposition to torture, openness to the press (and thus the public), fervor for balancing the budget, opposition to tax cuts not aimed at middle income earners, and (more importantly) seeming to value an accomplishment higher than “party unity.” I have not seen that lately. But last night McCain spoke of unity over partisanship and chided the Republican Party rather strongly for a convention acceptance speech. McCain even alluded to Republicans’ sanction of torture and implied he would end it (“I know how the military works…and what it shouldn't do”) and one small allusion to immigration (“In this country, we believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential, from the boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers”). In general terms, it was a workmanlike speech delivered as well as expected. It was more stirring in his personal story than any political strategy. I was surprised he went as far as he did talking about his own POW experience. It seemed to me they kept ramping up the POW story and details as the week went along and I thought it reached a macabre (and over the top) crescendo with the “When you’ve lived in a box….” narration by Fred Thompson immediately before McCain took the stage. I assumed they did this to keep McCain from having to do this himself, much like others communicated the historic aspect of Obama’s race so that he didn’t have to mention it. At least McCain gave the best tie-in I’ve heard for why his POW experience is relevant to being President by describing how it personally changed him and created his love of “country.”
The calls for unity in government and personal respect for Senator Obama rang hollow to me given the full-throated display of mean spirit the night before. But the best thing McCain has going for him, in my opinion, is that there continues to be a small disconnect between him and the group gathered in the convention hall. McCain’s biggest reaction came from the crowd the moment he mentioned Sarah Palin’s name. Yet there were stifled boos when McCain mentioned his respect for Obama. The crowd sat quietly when McCain promised, “I'll ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me” and when McCain mentioned, “I've fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes.” He was met with stone silence when he said, “We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us.” All good stuff, but I continue to be puzzled, as I have been all week, how the speakers speak passionately how “change is coming…We’re going to change Washington” etc. with no apparent memory that from January 2001 through January 2007 they held all three branches of the Federal Government and today still hold two out of three!
McCain’s platform elements sounded like the last few State of the Union speeches. To the best of my understanding, McCain is running on a platform of “All the same policy elements we have right now, but with less corruption.” Fair enough. America will decide, and we can discuss specific elements of health care, taxes, etc. here before November.
Showing posts with label acceptance speech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label acceptance speech. Show all posts
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
How Long Must We Sing This Song? How Long? How Long...
I want to be angry but instead I’m sad. I start out furious but end up feeling remorse. I believe a golden opportunity slipped through America’s hands last night. Today I could be talking about how a highly competent but “ordinary” (I mean that in the best sense possible) woman exploded onto the political scene and seems poised to bring common sense and community values to Washington. From what I have seen of Sarah Palin so far I believe she has that in her. Instead, I am dismayed at how someone with her fresh voice and an eager audience chose to use sarcasm and lies to tear a good man down, repeat a major distortion of her own record and offer nothing specific in return other than more oil drilling.
Sarah has a compelling personal and professional story and she did a good job talking about that at the beginning of her speech. I think at that point she was leaning heavily into the desires of all of us who have ever said “I wish someone from my town would have some input in Washington.” The Harry Truman reference was right in line with that too. Then Sarah jumped headlong into the mud pit and never looked back.
You have to hear the audio to get the true feel for the disdain dripping from her voice as she belittles Barack’s community organizer experience. If she has any compassion for people at all, then Sarah cannot possibly know what Barack did as a community organizer. So at that point in her speech, I am already faced with a decision of: 1) she believes spending 3 years giving your life in direct assistance with every aspect of life with low-income Americans is worthy of scorn, or 2) she didn’t bother to find out what it was he did. Neither option is a good one.
Sarah follows that with a mild distortion of Barack’s discussion of why he thinks Midwestern white voters are “bitter.” Lucky for Sarah, very few will actually look up what Barack said because they might say, “hey, wait a second, he might be right!” Her discussion of her own Alaskan record is fine, with one glaring exception discussed below. The whole thing is a tad misleading because most people aren’t up on the unique features of the Alaskan budget. If we dove into it, I actually think Alaska is a good argument for state control of the oil and gas in this country, but that’s another issue.
The big distortion that really irks me, I might even call it an outright lie, is this whole “bridge to nowhere” thing. It’s a fact that Sarah Palin was for the bridge and was “upset” that a community in her state was being called “nowhere.” Even more importantly, it is a fact that Alaska took AND SPENT every cent originally marked for that bridge. So what is the reform in that? What is the truth in “I told them thanks but no thanks”?
From there on to more attacks on Barack. If you were hoping for substance in them, I have bad news, more sarcasm: “What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?” Followed by more lies: “America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it.” (against producing more energy? Are we even supposed to take this statement seriously?) “Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit.” (is she aware that the Iraqi government agreed with Barack’s plan for troop withdrawals and now the Bush administration is agreeing too?).
I wish I had more time to pour some passion through my pen, but in the interest of getting this out there so I can hear your feedback, that’s all I can say at this point. (what about that line of hers deriding Barack's concern for the human rights of prisoners?!Agggggghhhhhh!)
Okay, one other thing, I heard from commentators after the speech that the crowd was chanting “Drill, baby, drill!” and this was apparently a refrain for the evening. A reasoned debate of the pros and cons of starting to drill in places that are not currently being drilled - that we can have! And I suspect at the end of that we'd end with a small increase as a stop-gap measure and for future use in case the mid-east shuts off our supply.
But wildly stomping and cheering "drill baby drill" is short-sighted and devoid of reason, and when you add in that many of these same people also cheer wildly that oil companies are evil, it makes them look stupid.
Look at me, I’m right in there calling people sheep. That’s why I end up feeling remorse over this. Barack is calling us to hope and a better tone in politics, imperfectly of course, slipping sometimes himself of course, but calling us all nonetheless. But the politics that divide us is an easier path to take…
Sarah has a compelling personal and professional story and she did a good job talking about that at the beginning of her speech. I think at that point she was leaning heavily into the desires of all of us who have ever said “I wish someone from my town would have some input in Washington.” The Harry Truman reference was right in line with that too. Then Sarah jumped headlong into the mud pit and never looked back.
You have to hear the audio to get the true feel for the disdain dripping from her voice as she belittles Barack’s community organizer experience. If she has any compassion for people at all, then Sarah cannot possibly know what Barack did as a community organizer. So at that point in her speech, I am already faced with a decision of: 1) she believes spending 3 years giving your life in direct assistance with every aspect of life with low-income Americans is worthy of scorn, or 2) she didn’t bother to find out what it was he did. Neither option is a good one.
Sarah follows that with a mild distortion of Barack’s discussion of why he thinks Midwestern white voters are “bitter.” Lucky for Sarah, very few will actually look up what Barack said because they might say, “hey, wait a second, he might be right!” Her discussion of her own Alaskan record is fine, with one glaring exception discussed below. The whole thing is a tad misleading because most people aren’t up on the unique features of the Alaskan budget. If we dove into it, I actually think Alaska is a good argument for state control of the oil and gas in this country, but that’s another issue.
The big distortion that really irks me, I might even call it an outright lie, is this whole “bridge to nowhere” thing. It’s a fact that Sarah Palin was for the bridge and was “upset” that a community in her state was being called “nowhere.” Even more importantly, it is a fact that Alaska took AND SPENT every cent originally marked for that bridge. So what is the reform in that? What is the truth in “I told them thanks but no thanks”?
From there on to more attacks on Barack. If you were hoping for substance in them, I have bad news, more sarcasm: “What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?” Followed by more lies: “America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it.” (against producing more energy? Are we even supposed to take this statement seriously?) “Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit.” (is she aware that the Iraqi government agreed with Barack’s plan for troop withdrawals and now the Bush administration is agreeing too?).
I wish I had more time to pour some passion through my pen, but in the interest of getting this out there so I can hear your feedback, that’s all I can say at this point. (what about that line of hers deriding Barack's concern for the human rights of prisoners?!Agggggghhhhhh!)
Okay, one other thing, I heard from commentators after the speech that the crowd was chanting “Drill, baby, drill!” and this was apparently a refrain for the evening. A reasoned debate of the pros and cons of starting to drill in places that are not currently being drilled - that we can have! And I suspect at the end of that we'd end with a small increase as a stop-gap measure and for future use in case the mid-east shuts off our supply.
But wildly stomping and cheering "drill baby drill" is short-sighted and devoid of reason, and when you add in that many of these same people also cheer wildly that oil companies are evil, it makes them look stupid.
Look at me, I’m right in there calling people sheep. That’s why I end up feeling remorse over this. Barack is calling us to hope and a better tone in politics, imperfectly of course, slipping sometimes himself of course, but calling us all nonetheless. But the politics that divide us is an easier path to take…
Friday, August 29, 2008
Yes He Can
Get elected, that is. As soon as Barack Obama's acceptance speech ended, I said, "Well, I now think he'll win this thing." The speech wasn't what I was hoping for but I believe it struck the chords requested from voters and will give people who want to vote for him enough justification. A historian on PBS gave this pithy assessment: "He sacrificed eloquence for electability."
The next morning, I realize that the most remarkable thing about his speech last night was that immediately after it ended people were discussing its content, its delivery and whether or not this speech helped Barack in this election. Why is that remarkable? This was a black candidate. I cannot do this topic justice, but how about just a pause to comprehend, a deep breath that we let out slowly in deep satisfaction that we are here. In Barack's own lifetime, we have gone from dehumanizing segregation, criminal denial of voting rights and rank prejudice to the actual possibility that a black man will be elected President. Sigh.
Back to the convention speech. I like eloquence, oration, inspiration. This one was not in the same vein as his masterpieces like the Keynote Address of 2004, his speech on religion and politics in 2006, his victory speech in Iowa, his Yes We Can speech in New Hampshire or the Unity speech in Philadelphia. For that, I was disappointed. But I accept the reality that not every voter thinks like me. I read the texts of those speeches and think "I want someone who thinks like that as President." I think Barack's convention speech was aimed far more at the "rest" of the people. For that, the speech was nearly perfect.
I had one serious problem. It was the only distortion I heard, but Barack did say that McCain defined middle class as anyone making less than 5 million dollars a year. I heard the Q&A giving rise to that distortion and while McCain gave a poor answer, that is not what McCain said. McCain has said and done enough to justify accusations that he doesn't know or doesn't get the middle class (as Barack said elsewhere in his speech), but it was a pure distortion to use the 5 million dollars statement like that.
On economic issues, energy issues and education I believe Barack laid out a direction that will resonate with the majority of voters. On social issues of abortion, guns and gay marriage, I believe Barack sought common ground but I'm sure there will be many for whom these issues are all-or-nothing. Health care seemed to me the only traditionally liberal issue laid out by Barack, but in my opinion that is an idea whose time has come.
The best political points of the night were turning McCain's "celebrity" attack against Barack on its head. Well executed and true. And seizing the McCain campaign slogan and deftly exposing its implication.
At least Barack threw me a bone at the end.
The next morning, I realize that the most remarkable thing about his speech last night was that immediately after it ended people were discussing its content, its delivery and whether or not this speech helped Barack in this election. Why is that remarkable? This was a black candidate. I cannot do this topic justice, but how about just a pause to comprehend, a deep breath that we let out slowly in deep satisfaction that we are here. In Barack's own lifetime, we have gone from dehumanizing segregation, criminal denial of voting rights and rank prejudice to the actual possibility that a black man will be elected President. Sigh.
Back to the convention speech. I like eloquence, oration, inspiration. This one was not in the same vein as his masterpieces like the Keynote Address of 2004, his speech on religion and politics in 2006, his victory speech in Iowa, his Yes We Can speech in New Hampshire or the Unity speech in Philadelphia. For that, I was disappointed. But I accept the reality that not every voter thinks like me. I read the texts of those speeches and think "I want someone who thinks like that as President." I think Barack's convention speech was aimed far more at the "rest" of the people. For that, the speech was nearly perfect.
I had one serious problem. It was the only distortion I heard, but Barack did say that McCain defined middle class as anyone making less than 5 million dollars a year. I heard the Q&A giving rise to that distortion and while McCain gave a poor answer, that is not what McCain said. McCain has said and done enough to justify accusations that he doesn't know or doesn't get the middle class (as Barack said elsewhere in his speech), but it was a pure distortion to use the 5 million dollars statement like that.
On economic issues, energy issues and education I believe Barack laid out a direction that will resonate with the majority of voters. On social issues of abortion, guns and gay marriage, I believe Barack sought common ground but I'm sure there will be many for whom these issues are all-or-nothing. Health care seemed to me the only traditionally liberal issue laid out by Barack, but in my opinion that is an idea whose time has come.
The best political points of the night were turning McCain's "celebrity" attack against Barack on its head. Well executed and true. And seizing the McCain campaign slogan and deftly exposing its implication.
At least Barack threw me a bone at the end.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
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