MMM

Well it definitely seems to be getting better doesn't it? It had its ups and downs (ouch to be that lady who followed President Clinton!), but the headliners were pretty effective. Of course to the general population they were only as effective as the mainstream media will allow them to be through soundbites.

Harry Reid was as usual, sharp and biting but filtered through his soft-spoken manner. If only we could mix his message with Kucinich's delivery...




As everyone - except the mainstream media - has already noted, Kerry was on top of his game, holy crap. He spoke with more life and fervor than I had ever seen him do. I kept thinking, much like with Gore circa 2003-ish: Where the fuck was this passion when he was running for fucking president? Damn!




Biden was charismatic and smooth. He speaks in a casual manner that will hopefully balance out the ticket with those who are daunted by Obama's gravitas. It seems that the Democrats are making this the charisma ticket: two very likable men with a flair for public speaking. This wasn't Biden's best speech ever, but it got the job done I think:




Unsurprisingly though, it was Clinton who stole the show. Easily the most effective speech so far, historic actually. The line that will make history:

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

It's a brilliant quote - quintessential Clinton wordplay - that should appeal not only to anti-war liberals, but also to traditional conservative and libertarian isolationists. True, he didn't exactly govern with that principle 100%, but he is free to make the statement simply by comparison to the current Bush's brazen interventionism. Sorry to say that Bill Clinton completely outshone Hillary Clinton - he will never admit it, Obama will never admit it - but it's true. Who knows how effective it will be - again mangled through the media filter - but it was inspiring nonetheless. The only person I could see rivaling the speech will be Obama in his acceptance speech tonight, which makes for a nice political narrative.

Here is Clinton's speech:



PS. Watch around 1:28 where Bill actually starts getting pissed at the audience. Not surprising I guess, I kinda wanted to give those corny sign-waving Democrats a collective slap across the convention floor...