Breaking News: McCain Picks VP Out of Spite for EDC

So apparently McCain didn't like my accusation that the Republican ticket would be two boring, old, white men. Thus, instead of trying to pick a running mate who is prepared to be President, John McCain has chosen this:


Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), at only 44 was the youngest Governor in the history of Alaska, and will now become the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket. She brings her good looks, her five children, her experience of 2 years as governor, 4 years on the Wasilla City Council (population 5,470), and Mayor of Wasilla for 6 years. In other words, she has less legitimate experience than Senator Obama, whom McCain himself argues is unprepared to be President.

We'll see how this plays out, but by picking a woman, McCain is clearly going after Hillary supporters, who I think are already too solidly back in the Democratic camp to be won over by Palin (who is pro-life and against gay marriage, by the way).

I will say that this probably takes Alaska off the board for Obama, since Palin's approval ratings there are at 80% or higher.

Update: Governor Palin's campaign responds to EDC's attack against her; Palin argues:
"Just want you to know if John does not show up, I am ready to go on. This country needs its Vice-President. And you are gonna deprive them of that because I have breasts? Exquisite breasts?" Yes I know, a bit over-the-top, but how can I resist stealing jokes from Anchorman?


Second, Much More Real Update:

Experience that relates to being President; when I said legitimate, I didn't mean in the sense that the work done by mayors and city council members doesn't matter, I simply meant that it doesn't prepare you to negotiate with world leaders and lead our nation. Obama, who has been accused repeatedly of inexperience, has spent 4 years in the United States Senate, serving on the Committee for Foreign Relations, the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and two years each on the Committee for Environment and Public Works, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. I doubt that Palin's experience as Mayor of Wasilla would have brought her in contact with many of those topics. Before that he spent 8 years legislating for the State of Illinois, two years of which he was actually Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee.

During those 8 years, Palin was serving as Mayor of Wasilla, a town of 6,000 people. Then she ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor. She did serve the next two years as Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and then from 2007 to present as the Governor of Alaska, after being elected with 114,697 votes.

Obama, in being elected to the State Senate in 2002, representing the 13th State Senate district which is a part of Cook County - population 5 million. Then, when he ran in 2004 for Senate, he received roughly 3.6 million votes. My point is, Palin doesn't have significant experience being accountable to a large number of people. More importantly, she has absolutely no record on foreign affairs. If something (God forbid) were to happen to John McCain, she would become President. She would have no idea what she was doing in controlling our diplomatic relations with every other nation in the world. Yes, she knows how to be an executive (albeit on a much smaller scale), and that would probably benefit her in carrying our some of her tasks. However, she's never faced national problems. The closest that any issues have ever brought her to a problem facing the United States of America (instead of just Alaska) was when she argued a Department of the Interior decision that polar bears were endangered species (and subsequently declared that theories about climate change were "unreliable").



As important as polar bears are, it doesn't make Palin ready to handle America's great challenges of the 21st century. McCain's choice shows a failure in judgment; Palin seems like a wonderful mother, a truly dynamic individual, and a person who has shown herself incredibly committed to public service in Alaska (and has a record in those years to show for it). But being a good person doesn't make you ready to be President. McCain's choice is a thinly-veiled attempt to woo still-angry Hillarites and other undecided female voters. Any citizen who takes a step back and considers why McCain made the choice he made will instantly realize that this is pure pandering.

Or maybe McCain is actually signaling a desire to end the "experience" debate (since there's absolutely no historical correlation between experience and the "success" of our presidents), and concentrate instead on the issues and questions of judgment. Yeah right - I can already hear the McCain Campaign's official response to criticism of Palin: "John McCain can pick whoever he deems fit to be his running mate. After all, John McCain spent 5 1/2 years without any mate running beside him. And what's more, it's unfair to force John McCain to debate the issues rationally. He spent 5 1/2 years without anyone to debate political issues with, while Barack Obama played with other children on the playground (probably young members of the Hilton family)."

Palin is a great leader in Alaska, and we should do everything we can to keep her there. She's not ready for the trials of national leadership, and McCain has failed to make even a decent decision in what may be the most important of his potential presidency. No wonder, considering he's only spoken to her about the Vice-Presidency once or twice.


Third and Final Update: Late-breaking, self-glorifying news tonight, as EDC receives word that Jon Stewart agreed with my initial assessment of Sarah Palin in that she really really looks and sounds like Tina Fey. Jon, you and I were meant to be together.

DNC Super-Special Report: Live at the Temple of Obama!

Yes, tonight on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Senator Barack Obama will formally be the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. Senator McCain, graciously, actually took an opportunity tonight to air a TV ad praising Senator Obama for his historic nomination, and to just take today off from the partisan bickering. I must be dreaming.

By the way, people really want to be at this speech.

Obama has absolutely filled 75,000 seats for tonight's speech, with many people desperate to get in. Meanwhile, McCain is having a rally in Ohio to announce his running mate for the first time, but his campaign is having difficulty giving away tickets to fill a 10,000 seat arena. Now that's an enthusiasm gap.


And also by the way, John Kerry's wife thinks that his speech last night was a gracious acceptance of his nomination for reelection for President.

More importantly, John McCain's healthcare advisor believes that no one in this country is uninsured - as long as we close our eyes and don't count them. What ever happened to Phil Gramm?

8:10: Tim Kaine is up at the podium, and this circular, columned set up is quite epic. He's arguing that we need to move mountains by yelling at them. Maybe it's his lack of practicality that kept him off the ticket.


8:14: Evil Spock!! Governor Bill Richardson still has the crazy beard! He's also clearly popular out here in the Midwest. He's hitting McCain on his flip-flopping. Good stuff, Bill (still my favorite Bill, by the way). He is really digging this primetime slot - he's speaking very confidently, and with a great passion about pulling out of Iraq, focusing on green energy, and giving tax breaks to middle class Americans instead of oil companies.

Richardson stumbles over himself a few times, but he gets the crowd roaring at several points, especially when demanding that we have a President who "respects civil liberties," and "pledges to uphold the Constitution of the United States," and (big one) "protects a woman's right to choose."

"Are you ready to take our country back?" - Richardson is a dynamic speaker, but he seems to do much better with these large crowds than in the smaller settings of a primary battle. He still has the potential to run a successful presidential campaign one of these years.


Update: Ben Smith provides some further details:

In a line that's not in his prepared remarks, Richardson suggested that McCain replace his expensive shoes with flip-flops.

Interestingly, most of Richardson's speech -- his sustained attack -- doesn't appear in the prepared remarks distributed by the campaign.

8:42: Stevie Wonder just finished up. It was, well, what I expected. Stevie is soulful, and he clearly enjoyed playing to the huge crowd. I wish he could see Obama tonight.


8:45: Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore takes the stage to a song about "sunshine." Hahaha. Of course the crowd adores him - he's probably more popular among Democrats overall than Bill Clinton himself, which makes him the elder statesman of the party. Let's see how strongly he talks about Obama, or if he's just gonna use a nationally-televised address to promote his global warming agenda (or both).



So elections are "an opportunity to change course." "We must seize this opportunity to elect Barack Obama." Sweet. Now he's giving a slight throw towards "I should have been President because I would have done stuff right." Wait, did I say slight. He's going off on every issue about "what we would have been doing." Jeez, who is this about, Gore? "Tonight, we face the same choice we faced in 2000." Hahaha, he hits McCain for endorsing the use of the same Bush/Cheney policies again. "I believe in recycling, but this is ridiculous."

Now he suddenly stops, looks into the upper deck, and screams, "Man Bear Pig!!!! He's real!!!!"

No, sorry, that was my imagination.



He's praising Joe Biden and Barack Obama, but "why is this election so close?" The status quo is scared, he claims. Take that, you believers in the Corporate Democrat-myth, as the ultimate Corporate Democrat soothes your fears.

Here comes his comfort zone - "planetary emergency." John McCain has abandoned his formerly solid stances on global warming. WTF John, says Al. Says the oil lobby owns the GOP, and they're lying to you on behalf of those special interests.

My sister reports that PBS's coverage of this speech just showed Daniel Dae Kim, proud graduate of Haverford College, enjoying Gore's speech. That makes two of us (except the graduate part).

Now he's back to Obama. Good, Mr. Gore, I'm glad that this speech is such a strong endorsement of your party's candidate. Comparison to Lincoln is fairly obvious, but incredibly positive. Oooh, he's extending the metaphor. "Powerful ability to inspire hope in the future." "Clear thinker, great orator, passion for justice, heal the deep divisions of our land." Nicely done, Al. "Inconvenient Truths must be acknowledged if we are to have wise governance."

He still looks really presidential. I wish he got more involved in this race, but of course he won't because he doesn't want to tie his agenda down to one candidate. Now he's digging for the soaring rhetoric - this may be his one big event for the campaign, but he's making it count. "Move your feet."


9:01: Gore finishes up, and I must say I'm deeply amused by Cnn.com's Live feed of the DNC, because one of the linked headlines below the feed reads, "Obama expected to address change in speech." REALLY???? Obama talk about change? Nah.

"Gosh I'm so tired of divisive exchange, and I've got one or two things to say about change, like the change we must change to the change we hold dear, I really like change have I made myself clear? So he'll talk about change til you're deaf in the ear..."

Update: Damn, Ben Smith beat me to this joke at 8:40. Sorry that I noticed it that late, although I did notice it independently.

CNN is actually going out of its way to praise Richardson's speech - it really was a thumper.


9:06: Michael McDonald is going to perform a short piece called "America the Beautiful." But it's gonna be one of those incredibly melodramatic versions that take 20 seconds to get through each line. Time to count the amount of times CNN camera's point at fluttering flags, as is their prerogative in this situation: 12, although the 9th is the one I was most expecting: the typical close-up huge flag being waved back and forth.


9:12: Susan Eisenhower, daughter of the former President, comes to the podium accompanied by the Rocky theme song, just further expanding my desire to make fun (respectfully) of Joe Biden. She promises to be an effective speaker, as she attacks the current positioning of the Republican Party as their heir to the best Republican President since Teddy Roosevelt. "Advance to the distant hills of hope, or retreat to the garrisons of fear." Wow, how more obviously could you work homages to your dad's military record into your speech? Still a cool line.


9:16: Here comes General... Admiral... General (Wesley Clark)... General... Admiral... Admiral... Admiral... General... Admiral... General... General... General... General (Lloyd Fig Newton???)... General... Admiral (Joe Sestak!!!! - Rep of Haverford!)... General... General... General - get the point?? By the way, it might be a problem with our military command structure that there's so many people called "General." I do wish Colin Powell was up there. Sadly, he hasn't decided yet (publicly).

That's quite a way to make the "I'm ready to be Commander-in-Chief" point. "Leadership does matter." - He cites the story of Obama connecting with the troops he visited in Iraq, and argues for Obama's 21st Century leadership.


9:23: They have an unseen band (i.e. recording) playing a military march. I think it would be cooler if they just had 10,000 people in the audience pull out instruments on cue and start blasting. Then again, they wouldn't be able to fade out that music, as they just did.


9:24: Joe Biden? Cool beans. The crowd is very happy with him, and once again he's absolutely loving it. He seems like a politician that looks like he's having a good time, and kicks it off with a reference to being a football fan. Then an "open convention" remark. "Millions of Americans that have been knocked down, and we're gonna get back up as a nation." - He's using that line as much as John McCain mentions his POW experience. All right, maybe not quite that much.



9:29: Now we move to average Americans telling their stories of economic hardship, and their personal reasons for supporting Barack Obama. These people have all been carefully vetted, and probably had a lot of help with their speeches from the campaign. For all these speakers, this is most definitely their five minutes (literally) of fame. 75,000 are hanging on their every word.


9:47: The crowd is starting to buzz as we know that the hour is fast approaching - 10:15 is the time. State Director takes the stage, and applauds the crowd for 30,000 text message signups for the campaign in the last hour from inside that arena. Impressive. The Obama Campaign has revolutionized the way that politicians will connect with their supporters.


9:51: CNN is loving their skycam use for the crowd shots. I'm pretty sure it's the same camera they use to get aerial shots of football plays to use for instant replay.


9:57: Senator Dick Durbin (the other D-IL) talks about how he introduced Barack Obama four years ago, and how his speech changed our hearts and minds (agreed). "A message of unity and change." "I want to believe," says Dick Durbin, clearly looking forward to the second X-Files movie. Durbin is emphasizing the hope and promise of an Obama presidency, fighting against cynicism and doubt that we can't overcome the challenges that lie ahead of us. "Yes we can." Durbin does pretty well.


10:02: Obama intro video begins. They run a short clip from the 2004 speech, then feature some images of his childhood. A "search for self." Referring to his search for identity as a multiracial person, and discovering his American roots. Grandfather in Patton's army, grandmother was Rosie the Riveter. His mom pushed him really hard, and clearly shaped his value system. And oops, they skip the college years. Can't imagine why, Columbia. They move right along to his courtship of Michelle. Terrific mustache, and I really miss the fro. Bring back the fro, Barack! Oh, there's Harvard Law, once again snubbing his undergraduate "experiences."

Now we move into his legislative work in Illinois. He cared about his work there, helping Americans without voices - those without healthcare, those on welfare, etc. And his move to the Senate, with his big achievements in ethics, renewable energy, nuclear proliferation (daddy!), etc. Now we move into the personal, family side of Barack, the side that (unfortunately) dictates a lot of people's votes. Finally, his announcement for President and his entry into the national consciousness with his 2004 speech, which continues to amaze me. And he rules at shaking tons of hands. So that's why candidates do that so much - to get stock footage for biographical videos. "That's what's worth fighting for..."


10:12: Here he is!!! The next President of the United States. Michelle looks too overcome with pride to even clap, her hands are just clasped together. The crowd is going absolutely nuts, flashbulbs aplenty. He also looks ready to lead. These people are waiting for him to give them an order and point, and they will march.


10:13: "Thank you, thank you so much, thank you, thank you so much, thank you, thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, thank you, thank you so much."


10:15: We finally get under way. Oops, no wait. He smiled, and the crowd lost it again. He would really like to speak.


10:16: Here we go. "with great humility, I accept..." Barack has spoken, and history has been made before our eyes. "Thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me." Hillary gets a very nice roar from the crowd, as does President Bill Clinton, "who made last night the case for change as only he can make it." Ted Kennedy gets a noticeably louder roar than Bill (suck it, Prezbill). And Joe Biden gets the loudest of all. Awww, "the love of my life." And the daughters love it too, as Sasha waves and grins shyly while people applaud for them (then she points back at her Daddy, givin him props).


The American Dream. A nice way to start out. Weave yourself into the backbone of the United States. "Students and soldiers"? Not always side by side...

Now he goes into the challenges that Americans are facing. "Failed policies of George W. Bush." First mention of the President, let's see how many times he mentions Bush and/or McCain by name.

"We are better than this. We are a better country than the last 8 years." He throws in one of his trademarked touching, personal stories of people he's met. "A government that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes." - That's quite a condemnation, in no uncertain terms. "Enough!"


"We love this country too much to let the next 4 years look like the last 8." - Excellent, it's about love of country, not a desire to be President. The crowd chants "Yes We Can," albeit in a round.

Obama now previews the RNC, in an effort to head off any bounce. They're gonna say X, Y, and Z.

"A 10% chance on change" - that's what McCain is, as he only disagrees with Bush that often.

Yes! Brings in Phil Gramm - "we are a nation of whiners." I've been waiting for them to hit McCain hard on that sort of perspective during these final few months. "I don't think that John McCain doesn't care what's happening to Americans, I just think he doesn't know." - Now he goes after the $5 million line, bad healthcare plans, no education plan, privatizing social security

"It's not because he doesn't care, it's because he doesn't get it." Yes! Go after McCain. This speech isn't about you at all, and I like it. "You're on your own - pull yourself up by your own bootstraps even if you don't have any boots." - He attacks the basics of the Republican philosophy. Hardcore stuff, you usually don't see presidential candidates wade into a battle over the fundamental ideology of their parties. Finally, it looks like the Democrats have a candidate who will fight that battle, and intends to win it.

The ways we measure progress. Sweet - it's not an intangible change (which he's been attacked for), it's measured in economic gains, both for your family and for this nation. A nod to Bill's accomplishments. He thinks of his own family history and the things he saw from his parents and grandparents as a way of understanding the problems that struggling Americans face today.

Praise of his mom. "This is her night as well." OOOOH, a blast against the "celebrity" hit. "These are the experiences that shaped my life." Obama will not take this "elitist" garbage lying down.

America's promise. "Let me spell out exactly what that change would be." Here's the specifics of his policies, spelled out for the world to see. End tax breaks for lobbyists, cut taxes for 95% of all working families. Clear goal - in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on Middle Eastern foreign oil. Tap natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal (bleh), safely use nuclear power. New cars built here. $150 billion in 10 years invested in renewable sources of energy. Jonathan Smith is sitting somewhere, smiling right now. A world-class education to compete in the global economy. Michelle is hanging on his every word, as is I think anyone else watching. Early childhood education, an army of new teachers who are more highly paid and better supported, higher standards and more accountability, a guarantee of affordable college education. Affordable, accessible healthcare for every America - lower premiums for those already covered; those uncovered get the coverage that Congressmen get. Equal pay for women.

But how does he pay for them? Closing corporate loopholes. Go through the federal budget line-by-line, eliminating programs that don't work anymore.

"Renewed sense of responsibility from each of us." Both moral and economic - a shoutout to family values and individual responsibility (and mutual responsibility).

..."And keeping America's promise abroad." A debate about judgment. Take out Osama bin Laden. "John McCain likes to say that he'll follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell (as I mentioned), but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives." - John McCain, "your face is on the phone; soccer practice is over, and it wants you to pick it up." Totally facecrushed!

YeS!!! "Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe! The Party of Kennedy, the Party of FDR!" Only send troops with a clear mission and with adequate equipment and with proper care/benefits when they return. - Sounds reasonable, right? Then why don't McCain/Bush agree?

"I will not suggest that McCain takes his positions for political purposes." We don't have to challenge each other's patriotism, "the times are too serious." "Patriotism has no party." "[Soldiers] have not served a Red America or a Blue America..." - very great line, and the crowd flipped out over it.

Speaks to John McCain directly. "I've got news for you..." - He looks so tough - no more wimpy-liberal label for this guy.

YES! "Surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country." - changing the debate of pro-choice vs. pro-life, because both sides are anti-killing things. Differences on same-sex marriage and on gun ownership. "Surely we can agree on..."

"When you don't have a record to run on, you make your candidate a person to run from. You make a big election about small things." - way to marginalize exactly what McCain and the GOP are gonna do next week.

"All across America, something is stirring." - including a mouse. And now a nod to the movement. Just as his movement candidacy was larger than him when it carried him to this spot, it still is larger than him. He is the focal point of a larger cry for something new in our government. "Change we need doesn't come from Washington, it comes to Washington." - sweet line. Make it about the we the voters, not you the candidate.

Good people who need a good leader. Our military isn't what makes us strong. "The American Spirit/Promise"; it fixes our eyes on the future, on the promise of tomorrow. Finally, here comes the reference to that Mall in Washington before Lincoln's Memorial, where a "young preacher from Georgia spoke about his dream." Could have been "anger and dischord." "Together, our dreams can be won." "We cannot turn back." - that's his new campaign slogan. Past vs. Future. "We can't turn back," not with so many challenges facing us. "We cannot walk alone."

And he concludes to an unbelievable ovation. "Only in America" blares as fireworks shoot out of the tops of the backdrop, as a future Presidential family, a family that could go on to live in the White House "only in America" waves to the crowd. They're now joined by Biden (and Mrs. Biden) as confetti explodes out of the backdrop and the new leadership of America waves to the audience. What a great, successful speech, what a great, successful convention, and what a great campaign he has run thus far.



Fireworks explode out of the top of INVESCO Field, lighting up the sky in an affirmation that the promise of the next eight years may well be limitless. And they ruin that moment with some incredibly bizarre music that sounds like the Orcs are about to invade. Oh wait, it's ok now, because Gandalf has come to rescue us. Seriously, what is with these intense drums in this music. It makes all these images look haunting and almost evil. That's a great image, though. Obama surrounded by pieces of red, white, and blue confetti.


Now we get back to the sort of music that should be accompanied by incredibly slow-motion images of Barack embracing his wife, holding his hands in the air as the crowd roars.

The punditry will, no doubt, begin immediately, and McCain will act to overwhelm this moment with his VP-announcement tomorrow. But don't forget this night, this speech, and try to imagine McCain leading us towards any sort of bright future. Pictures will come tomorrow.

However, if you want to see some amazing pictures from someone who was actually there, check out the link in Harrison's comment. Beautiful stuff.

DNC Special Report: The Democrats Let Super Joe and Slick Willie Out of Their Cages!

Tonight EDC will continue its historic, exclusive (beyond the 2,000 other bloggers doing the exact same thing) live-blogging of the Democratic National Convention. Tonight: Night Three - Securing America's Future. The big names tonight will include Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Evan Bayh, Senator Jack Reed, Senator John Kerry, Governor Bill Richardson, and, of course, the next Vice-President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton.



7:15: Chuck Schumer just finished highlighting the Senate battles that he and the Democratic Party are waging this year. In particular, he brought out Jeff Merkley - Oregon State Speaker of the House who is opposing Republican Senator Gordon Smith, Tom Allen - Maine Congressman who is facing Republican Senator Susan Collins, and Tom Udall - New Mexico Congressman facing Steve Pearce for an open Senate seat. Noticably absent: Al Franken, who has a penchant for spouting off inappropriately.



7:30: The Democrats bring all Democratic, female House members on-stage. A few of them speak. A nice way to highlight the 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.



7:40: Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) is now at the podium. He's now speaking out about the horrible Republican attacks against veterans like John Kerry, and before him Max Cleland, where they shamelessly questioned their patriotism.

Transitions into redefining what "national security" is. It's not about fear, "it begins by tearing down the barriers of human intolerance and suspicion that have been erected by this administration."


7:50: Still no particularly strong attacks against McCain. All attacks so far have gone against the Bush record, and while they did a good job yesterday, Democrats do have to keep tying McCain to that record.


7:52: Here comes Senator Rockefeller. How a member of that family ended up in West Virginia is still a mystery to me, but he's done a great job as Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Two Patriots with the wisdom and the courage to face down the threats of the 21st Century." - nice. Now he's transitioning into scaring the crap out of everyone listening (which, as per the audience noise, isn't many people). Unstable regimes, loose nukes, terror cells. Not sure if I like this message - America is more vulnerable thanks to Bush/Cheney. However, the link from there to condemning all Republicans is tough (although the line "obsolete thinking" reflects the vision of this race as the Present versus the Past), and most Americans tend to favor McCain when faced with the things that go boom in the night.


All right, I see where he's going with this. Obama is ready to handle the 21st century, because he is a 21st century thinker. McCain is a 19th, or at best 20th century thinker. "Shouldn't we have captured Osama bin Laden by now?" That would have been a great transition to hitting Bush and McCain for diverting resources away from Afghanistan and towards a quagmire in Iraq. He is being a little too general on "what sort of leader we need," instead of explaining clearly why Barack Obama is that leader.


8:00: Melissa Etheridge is now playing - Born in the USA is a nice tune, albeit her version is simply too unhaltingly loud for my tastes. Her outfit is also a little silly. But she does have a really nice electronic constitution-backdrop to make up for it.


8:11: Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) steps to the podium...and takes an incredibly long, awkward silence after the applause stops. I think maybe his teleprompter wasn't up yet, and he had no idea what to say.



Also, PC-culture has gone way overboard, as demonstrated by the obviously mass-produced, homemade signs from the Nevada delegation that say, "Give 'em Heck, Harry!" Give them heck? What the hell is heck? Wikipedia explains:

Heck is a euphemism for Hell. Heck or Hecke may also refer to:

• Parnall Heck was a 1930s British four-seat cabin monoplane
• The Heck reaction, named after Richard F. Heck
• Where the Hell is Heck? was a collection of BC comic strips

Reid is attacking our current President, something that's become his favorite pasttime since he became minority leader, and then majority leader.


Now he turns to building up Obama. Honest, hard-working, smart, etc. Comprehensive "smart" energy policies based on science. Yes! Reid hits on offshore drilling. It won't put a drop of oil in America for 10 years. "John McCain's magic offshore oil elixir." Reid is certainly one for interesting rhetoric. "18th century thinking for a 21st century problem!" That's certainly an age-hit if I've ever heard one. "National security means ending dependence on foreign oil." - that's redefining national security in their favor. Good work.

Reid is not the most engaging speaker (I surfed Wikipedia for definitions of "heck" while he was speaking, after all), but he makes good points all the same.


8:20: Now they have a retired Command Sergeant speaking to how Senator Obama will be a phenomenal Commander-in-Chief. Effective, and she's actually a pretty intense speaker. Good find by the PR crew. "Barack Obama exemplifies what a Commander-in-Chief should be!'


8:26: Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) and "25 American heroes." Murphy was a soldier in Iraq, and is recounting his tale of service. Now he's focusing on the treatment of veterans when they return. "Our politicians rush to stand in front of soldiers at political rallies, then dump them at Walter Reed." That one got a loud cheer, he's making great points. Soldiers aren't just photo-ops. Unfortunately, he's got 25 of them doing just that right now behind him. However, he makes a strong case that Barack Obama will be the Commander-in-Chief that takes care of our fighting men and women - "understands the needs of our nation and our military." Obama does have a pretty strong Senate record of helping veterans once they return home, and that is a great issue to highlight in a way to focus the military argument in a more positive vein for Barack.

Really solid speech by Murphy, although the "Eye of the Tiger" music is a bit over-the-top for military veterans.


8:32: Secretary Madeline Albright takes the stage to the tune of "And I...Will Always Love You." Priceless. The focus has definitely turned towards national security and foreign policy now, and will probably remain there throughout the evening. Biden may focus on both foreign and domestic issues, but he does have the stones, and the resume, to hit McCain on foreign policy.

Solid speech by Madame Secretary. Yay Albright!


8:38: Senator Evan Bayh comes out and starts thing with a bang. He excitedly yells some good news: we only have 5 months left of Bush's garbage!! "Gone! Finished!" ...Unless we elect McCain, and then we're stuck with 4 more years. Nice start, he's already got the crowd's attention.

Immediately a focus on fiscal responsibility (a normal hallmark of Conservatives, but obviously not of the Bush Administration) indicates why Bayh is considered a moderate whose presence on the ticket would have soothed worriers on Wall Street.

Now back to the foreign policy side, something he knows a lot about. "Remember 'bring it on'?" George Bush & John McCain were wrong about Iraq, and about ignoring the dangers in Afghanistan. Well put. Hitting McCain on the "agrees with Bush on virtually every issue" line - Bayh: "must be the only one in America."

That buzzword of fiscal responsibility is there again. "And he'll end the War in Iraq, and bring our sons and daughters home." There it is.

Then Bayh hits Bush's lie of being a "uniter, not a divider." "Stand united as 50 red, white, and blue states." He's going on the riff of this race being more important than a single candidate or party. "Your cause is our cause." Bayh is a decent speaker, but he's talking a little too quickly to be really impactful. Still, he writes one hell of a speech. Good job.


8:44: Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is now up. He mentions that his experience as a soldier allows him to relate to the troops. OOPS! That sounds like a McCain argument. Damn it, Reed. That must be why he wasn't among the finalists for VP - his service record would be viewed as a reason for picking him, and would highlight McCain's POW story even more than it already is.

But Reed is rebounding nicely, and he's using his military credentials to build up Obama as a great leader who will do a terrific job as a Commander-in-Chief. "Time to responsibly end the War in Iraq."

His focus does seem to be on Obama and Biden at the helm. A lot of speakers today have been doing that, and I'm not sure it's a good thing. Obama is the one at the helm, not Biden. Biden's right behind the helm.


8:52: Former Senator Tom Daschle is now speaking. He got ousted in 2004 as Minority Leader, in a surprise upset in South Dakota. He's now focusing on the fact that 8 years ago, other countries wanted "to be like us." That's no longer true.

And now he's finally making the argument that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield brought decades of experience to Washington, and led us into tons of "foreign policy debacles." Experience isn't what matters, judgment is what matters. We deserve better than that, and we deserve better than McCain. Biden & Obama have sound judgment (again he refers to both of them). "A foreign policy that is as smart as it is strong." Nicely said, Daschle. Republicans can flex their muscles, but Obama will make the right decisions, which is ultimately what's more important.

Good speech. The crowd isn't quite whipped up yet. We'll see if they get there before Bill arrives.


9:00: Here's the runup to Bill. They have a Congressman detailing his many proud accomplishments. And he says that Barack Obama is gonna rebuild that legacy.


9:04: President Bill Clinton takes the stage, and the crowd still loves him. Despite how angry he made people during the primary, everyone still remembers how much they miss having a Democratic President. In fact, the crowd won't shut up. They were about to stop yelling, and now it's started again twice as hard. A nice tribute to the greatest living President. He keeps trying to get them to sit down, he looks serious about it too. Pretty funny.


9:05: Hillary also looks amused as Bill gets under way. "We have important work to do here tonight." He is clearly a fan of Joe Biden. Lets see how he talks about Obama, though, that's what's important. He's getting right into this primary. He's proud of his wife, and what she accomplished and what she ran for. "I am not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of Hillary's magnificent speech last night, but I'll do the best I can." --> he's still a funny guy. "She told us in no uncertain terms that she's gonna do everything she can to help elect Barack Obama. Well that makes two of us!!!" The crowd roars. "Actually, that makes 18,000,000 of us!" --> The best call I've heard so far for her supporters to come into the fold.


He can offer a unique perspective, because he was a President (one of 43, if I'm not mistaken). And "we're in trouble." Let's here why. He's taking our current leadership to task for not engaging with the worsening problems our nation faces. Not using diplomacy, not leading on global warming, the list goes on and on. "Clearly the job of the next President is to rebuild the American Dream and restore American leadership in the world...Everything I learned in my eight years as President, and in the work I have done since, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job." (Not the woman for the job, though?) That is a solid endorsement, though.

His policies are "far superior to the Republican alternatives." He's praising his judgment, his background and his experiences, but most importantly his capacity to lead. Now he's lavishing praise on his running-mate choice, in an effort to dispel anger that it wasn't Hillary. This has officially become a Democratic lovefest - every Democrat is feeling exactly what I am right now: why we liked the Clintons and the rest of the Democratic Party in the first place.

He's repeating it over and over: ready to lead. Yay!

"Choosing diplomacy first." "People have always been more impressed by the power of our example rather than the example of our power." - Amazing line, he is truly a great President. Thank you Bill for showing us the way. "yes we can, but first we have to elect him." Hooray.


McCain is a "good man." But on the major questions of this election, he still "embraces the orthodoxy of his party." Now he's building back his accomplishments and tearing down the Republicans along the way. "In 2001, we saw what would happen when the GOP controlled both the White House and Congress."

"Thanks but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm." Well put, Bill. And now he pulls those all-important parallels with Barack! "In 1992 the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief." Oh man, Bill, lay it on me. "It didn’t work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won’t work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history." "Show the world our humanity and our strength."


Finally, a homage to his background that brought him to the White House (the last Democrat to do so), and he leaves the stage to thunderous applause. Let's see if Bush gets this kind of treatment next week. They're not gonna sit down until he leaves the stage. And jeez, there's a lot of American flags out there. I just realized what all that waving was (even Hillary has one). That crowd is so frickin coordinated with their flag/banner/poster waving. Well played, all.

Bill Clinton just rebuilt his reputation in the Democratic Party that was so damaged by this primary, and just reminded everyone that the first page of his biography will not be Lewinsky and it won't be his "racism," it will be his status as one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century.


9:29: And now, here's "Beth Robinson from Virginia." God, do I feel sorry for this woman. You can't follow a triumphant former President, and not even have a title to be introduced as. I hope this crowd treats her well.


9:33: The wait is over. Here's Senator John Kerry. He's gonna thank them for making him their nominee four years ago. Gore gave an incredible speech in 2004 in this position, the only one of the convention that bordered Obama's. Let's see if Kerry can pull it off too.

Oh man, what an amazing mistake! "And we all know what a Bush Administration - I mean, a McCain Administration would look like. You see, there's the slip." Michelle thinks it's hilarious. Well done by mistake, Kerry. Then Kerry attacks Bush/Cheney/McCain for the war by saying it was "Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time." That trio of attacks on being "wrong" must be his payback for Zell Miller four years ago.

The crowd isn't really digging it so far, though. They didn't even respond to his line that "we must respond with the greatest weapons in our arsenal - our values." But they like closing Gitmo (since Harold and Kumar already got to make their movie, there's really no reason to leave it open).

"An energy revolution." - Kerry sounds really passionate, more emotion than he ever showed in 2004. Unfortunately, it seems like the crowd just isn't filled with Kerry fans. They all blame him for allowing four more years of Bush four more years ago.

Now he's drawing comparisons between "Candidate McCain" and "Senator McCain." "Talk about being for it before he was against it." Yes!!! 2004 Greatest Hits used against his old best friend! "Before he debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself." - Kerry is now digging deep into his own hurt pride and taking it out on John McCain as the frontman for the GOP. "McCain once railed against the Rove tactics, when he was the target." Kerry is tougher than ever now, since he knows he'll never be President he can tell the truth.

I was not expecting Kerry to be this aggressive against someone who he counts as a friend. "Today, Bush's diplomats are doing exactly what Obama said. "So who can we trust to keep America safe?" Repeated over and over.



Even President Bush has seen the light on timetables. Thank you so much, John Kerry, you are making the debate that this country needs a reality.

"Barack Obama's Uncle is here!???" I've never seen this guy before, but terrific - great story.

John Kerry is defining Patriotism?? Why didn't he do this 4 years ago?


9:53: That was a terrific speech, the kind of thing we wanted to hear from Kerry during the 2004 campaign when he sat back and took punch after punch from the GOP attack machine. Not gonna happen this time. Now an admiral, and life-long Republican, is talking about why this country needs Barack Obama right now. It's a cool speech, but no one is really listening - we're all waiting for Biden.


9:57: Nevermind, here comes Congressman Chet Edwards (D-TX), the surprise finalist for Obama's running mate. He's an interesting character, and I'm hoping this speech demonstrates why Edwards was so closely vetted.

He's a very methodical speaker, and he smiles after every good line - doesn't come off as incredibly sincere. He is introducing a Speilberg film, which should be interesting.


10:03: Speilberg is taking a look at the personal experiences of troops in Iraq. Much of the emphasis sits on the need to take care of these men and women when they come home, which is an issue Obama can own McCain on. McCain may be able to better relate to our armed forces, but Obama clearly is more focused on taking care of their needs. It's a powerful film, and clearly non-partisan, which makes it all the more touching. Tom Hanks is also most excellent at narrating things about America.


10:12: It's clear that the message of the last 40 minutes or so is honoring our troops' sacrifice. It fits perfectly with honoring McCain's before attacking his legislative record. Also, it's an issue where being a compassionate liberal actually makes you a better commander.


10:17: Here it comes. Here's Quincy Lewis from, you guessed it, Delaware. The Vice-Presidential nomination is about to happen. Starting with a story about her sister being murdered - not the most optimistic message to introduce Joe Biden with. Uggh, those "yeah!!!"s that she followed her official nomination with were pretty uncalled for and out of character.


10:19: Joe Biden becomes the official nominee for Vice-President of the Democratic Party by acclamation!

He's got red signs. Very nice touch to differentiate it from Hillary and Kennedy and Obama.

Video intro to Biden. According to polls, about half of all voters don't have an opinion on him - they sure will after tonight, and it'll certainly be positive. First explain who he is as a father and as a man. Now we hit his resume. Bringing down violent crime is a nice non-traditional Democratic plank.


10:24: Out comes Biden...oh wait, it's his son, Beau, the state's Attorney General. He's quite possibly the heir to Biden's Senate seat should Biden win. He's now telling the story of his mother's death. This is so tragic, there isn't a dry eye in the convention hall, or in my dorm room. "Delaware can get another Senator, but my boys can't get another father." The more I hear about Joe Biden, I realize that he is truly a sincere individual. "We" remarried Jill. That's sweet, but comes out a tiny bit creepy.

Now a rundown of his accomplishments - "speaks truth to power."

Younger Biden has a request, because he won't be available - "Be there for my dad. Be there for Barack Obama, because they will deliver the change we need." Great intro, and here...he...comes:


10:30: A loving embrace with his son, Biden looks like he's emotionally steeling himself for the grenades he's about to lob at John McCain. Here we go...

The crowd, of course, showers him with love. He eats it up - he's a politician, he can't help it.


"I'm a hell of a success." - would be a sign of his ego, were it not a reference to his being proud of his children. Then says his wife is hot (again). Then he turns to praising Hillary Clinton - "one of our great leaders."

Pledge to America, this should be good: "no longer will you hear the 8 most dreaded words in the English language - the Vice-President's office is on the phone." Nicely done.

Common story with Barack, but different journeys. He uses the Rocky line again, then singles out his very proud-looking mom in the luxury seats. She looks overcome with happiness. And based on these stories, I must say that Joe Biden's mom is amazing. The American creed: "No one is better than you, and everyone is equal to you."

Biden slips up the same way Kerry did. Wow, they do truly believe that Bush and McCain are the same person, and after the last few months of seeing McCain's campaign, I agree.

Now he talks about Obama - now that Biden has built up his own middle-class credentials, he wants to help bring Obama into that fold. "Looking your child in the eye." Now Biden reprises the line from the first speech in Springfield- "you learn a lot about a man..."

Biden praises McCain the man, and gets polite applause from the Convention.
But now it's time to tear into him politically. 95% with Bush, and that's very hard to believe.
NO RELIEF FOR 100 MILLION AMERICAN FAMILIES. "That's not change, that's more of the same." Voted again and again against renewable energy. Supports corporations that ship jobs overseas. Voted 19 times against the minimum wage. $10 billion a month for Iraq.

By the way, the delegates are holding up (astoundingly prepared) signs that say "More of the Same," which I'm not sure is quite what they're supporting right now.

There we go, the big number: 95% of Americans will have their taxes cut by Barack Obama. Alternative energy will be a national priority - 5 million new jobs. Making college more affordable. $2,500 per family decrease in healthcare costs. Healthcare for every American (the Clintons stand for that one). More cops. Social security. Equal pay. Biden is hammering home the entire Democratic platform. Well done, sir. But now it's time for the foreign policy argument.

"Dug us into a very deep hole." Focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Now on to Georgia. Holding Russia accountable, and help Georgia rebuild.
John McCain says, "Barack Obama is not ready to protect our national security." He believes Afghanistan succeeded, but Obama believes more people need to be sent there. Barack's call echoed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. It's all about judgment. We reject McCain's judgment. Right on, Joe.

He's going point by point, making a clear choice between McCain's failures of judgment and Obama's leadership. America needs to "get back up together." Nice way to tie his father's advice into his message to this country. "We're both ready."

The Convention rewards Biden for a job extremely well done. Hillary is whispering something to Bill, I'm hoping it wasn't "I could have done that better." Aww, and here's wifey!

Aaah! Surprise guest. Biden appears to be in the same position as the little Obamas, as the man, the myth, the legend himself arrives on stage. It's interesting that their exchange is kind of miked. What a great team. The Convention loves it, and now Obama has a microphone.

He's proud to have the whole Biden family "on this journey to take America back." Now he's gonna have the crowd gives props to the highlights - yay Michelle! Hillary "rocked the house!" Gracious, sustained applause from both members of the ticket as Hillary is put up on the big screen. President Bill Clinton "reminded us what it's like when you have a President who puts people first." Nice shout out to his long time nemesis. He doesn't look as gracious as Hillary, but who cares, his time in the spotlight is over. Obama shakes some hands, and the woman who ran the roll call looks like she's about to explode in happiness after getting to see Obama face to face.


This is the team. I wish Michelle was down there. Biden has the whole clan, but Obama has no familial support system. Biden carries his grandson around the stage in triumph.
"We Are Family" is a nice song of unity. Awww!! Biden's grandchildren wave, and my heart melts a little bit.

I just noticed that everyone is still cheering pretty wildly. Finally they're quieting down as Biden leads the family off-stage.


I was gonna stop there, but I wanna point out that this nun was about to start her benediction, and then gave a stern look out on the members of the crowd who were still talking amongst themselves. That was fairly priceless.


That's all for tonight; I'll have pictures added into this entry tomorrow, so it's a little more legible/not-blinding. Hopefully you made it this far, and hopefully you've made it through these three days of the convention.

DNC Special Report: Hillary Unleashed!

So if there was any doubt after last night that Hillary Clinton's feet are planted and standing firm, that should be completely gone after 6:50 PM Eastern Time tonight. As the states went down the list alphabetically, and the delgates cast their votes (decisively for Barack Obama), the voting came to the state of New York. The Chair of the state delegation then turned to the woman standing next to him, and asked Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to announce their votes.

"In the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, lets declare with one voice, right here, right now, that barack obama is our candidate and he will be our president. I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules, and suspend the further conduct of the roll call vote. I move that Barack Obama be selected by this convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States."

That was awesome. True political theater.

Anyway, last night's speech was a great success. Any questions (although there wasn't much doubt from this blogger, who knew she had to come through to have any chance in 2012/2016) of how whole-heartedly she would endorse Obama are now in the past:

"And whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines.

This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win together.

I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family and fighting for women's rights here at home and around the world . . . to see another Republican in the White House squander our promise of a country that really fulfills the hopes of our people.

And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.

No way. No how. No McCain.

...
I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that young boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"

Crucial argument that needed to be made, and it needed to be made by her. Overall, it was a passionate speech (although, as her remarks always are, a bit self-centered). Hillary did a phenomenal job last night, and Barack was apparently very happy with her.

Other cool stories from the past couple days:

--> Senator McCain's appearance on the Tonight Show this week marks the thirteenth of his career. The others who've done it that much: Pamela Anderson, Dr. Phil, Larry the Cable Guy, Simon Cowell, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. But of course, Barack Obama, who just paid off his student loans, is the celebrity. Right?


--> Mark Warner's speech didn't go over as well, either at the Convention or with the pundits, as I thought it should have.


--> Democrats plan on blanketing the Twin Cities with these billboards, just in time for the Republican Convention:

I do disagree with the caption on that picture, if only that it does indeed look like change to me. It looks like a shift in GOP policy to favoring gay marriage.


--> Rudolph Giuliani, in an attempt to attack Barack Obama, actually tore into the qualifications of both John McCain and his Democratic opponent. Oops. Better luck next week, Rudy.


--> Friend of EDC (and easily the most liberal person I know) Alex Kane has been in Denver this week blogging the protests and counter-rallies beind held around the DNC. Yesterday, he got an incredible opportunity to sit down with Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, the Green Party nominees for President and Vice-President. I urge you to read his article (and all future posts from this budding star of the political-news universe).

(Unfortunately, this was just about the most, and only, positive picture I could find of McKinney in a quick Google image search. She's an oft-caricatured figure, thanks in part to her platform of hitting police officers.)



That's all for me, for now. That being said, I will immediately turn towards live-blogging Night Three as Democrats attempt to show how they will "Secure America's Future." With Biden set to mercilessly tear McCain apart like a rabid hyena, and Bill Clinton set to...well, do whatever he wants, it should be a fun night.

DNC Special Report: Homeless Democrats and Other Random Thoughts on the First Two Nights of the Convention!

I'll throw in some pictures tomorrow morning - I don't want fake pictures of this event - we'll get the real stuff for you, right here at EDC.

I think the housing crisis in this country must have gotten much, much worse. My evidence: the speakers at the Democratic National Convention during the past two days. From union leaders to union members to Congressmen to Senators to Governors, all of them seem to have lost their homes, their jobs, and all their worldly possessions - clearly a statement on what George W. Bush's economic policies have done to America in the last 8 years. In every speech, Democrats are saying that "Americans need change." This is how Democrats view the United States of America:


So be like Randy Marsh - go vote, and cast your quarters into the cup of democracy by electing Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

Here's some other random thoughts of last night and some live-blogging of tonight's festivities.

Day 1:

So yesterday, in my opinion, began with a bang. The first speech that got my attention was actually Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. He continued the message of Obama's keynote in 2004, and even his incredible More Perfect Union speech, by focusing on issues of racial/societal unity. As CNN notes, this is indeed the passing of the torch. Gone are the days of African-American leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who focused on the grievances of the African-American community. Here are new leaders, Jackson Jr. and Obama, who will try to lift America up, Blacks alongside Whites alongside Hispanics. I can't wait to see Jesse Jackson Jr. take Barack Obama's place as the junior senator from Illinois!


Then the hero appeared. Regardless of whether you're still bitter and in Hillary's camp, or mocking and in Obama's camp, if you are a Democrat, you adore Senator Ted Kennedy. He is the final pillar of the Kennedy legacy, following admirably in the footsteps of his brothers. While all seemed destined to be President, only one would be. So his surprise, miraculous appearance at the DNC on Monday night was just the unifying moment that the Democratic Party needed. He spoke eloquently, passionately, and with the strength of a man who doesn't plan on leaving the Senate until he's finally gotten healthcare to every single American home.

And the crowd loved it. One of the loudest, longest rounds of applause I have ever heard. The man truly is a god. When the day comes for him to be written in the history books, I realized yesterday that he's going to go down right next to the other great members of Congress. History teachers will talk about Clay and his great compromises, Webster and Calhoun and their passionate debates on the future of federalism, and they will speak of Ted Kennedy and his ultimately successful, never-ending fight for universal healthcare.


"We are told that Barack Obama believes too much in an America of high principle and bold endeavor, but when John Kennedy called of going to the moon, he didn't say it's too far to get there. We shouldn't even try.

Our people answered his call and rose to the challenge, and today an American flag still marks the surface of the moon.

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again.

There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our Party, but renewal for our nation.

And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on."

I shiver.

Then Michelle Obama arrived, and flat-out owned. She wanted to seem down-to-earth and truly American, and succeeded easily - her brother recounted how she memorized whole episodes of The Brady Bunch. She wanted to seem likeable - she's downright adorable and will without a doubt be a formidable, tough First Lady as well. Fantastic speech.


Plus the Obama children are flat-out adorable. And from what I've read, and despite what seemed pretty suspicious to me last night, the exchange between Senator Obama and his daughter via video was entirely unscripted. His daughters were only told that there was "a surprise for them" right before they went on-stage with their mom. Malia immediately guessed, "Is it the Jonas Brothers?" Michelle explained, “In the end, she felt that Daddy was a decent second choice."


Good start to the Convention.

Admittedly, this is really scary, though.


Day 2:

Unfortunately, I only came in during the evening, so I missed Kucinich's apparently excellent speech.

8:00: Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is angry. He's angry about the last 8 years, angry that people would consider extending them for another 4, and he's letting the crowd know it. It's about time that a Democrat at this convention soundedly genuinely pissed about what Bush did to this country, and what McCain plans to continue doing. (Hoyer speaks at the 2004 Convention in the picture - the problem with live-blogging is that I can't get pictures of what's happening that quickly.)


8:30: So Governor Janet Napolitano is now speaking - I like her a lot. She's very folksy, but clearly gets the issues really well. Look at for her in 2016 :).

8:40: Some woman from the SEIU just spoke, and really should have been vetted better for a primetime slot at the convention - she spoke haltingly, as if she had never read the speech before, and never once looked up from her podium. Just gives us all more time to think that Hillary is fast approaching. I'm actually excited about the next 5 big speakers - Sebelius, Warner, Patrick, Schweitzer, and Hillary.

By the way, there is stuff happening in the world out there. I'll be adding that in as I go along.

--> In fact, Bill Richardson just predicted the first woman President - it's not Hillary, it's not Sebelius, it's not Napolitano - it's this woman.

--> Oh well. I guess we'll have to hope that the Convention gives Obama a bounce, since Biden clearly didn't.

9:05: Here's Sebelius. And there goes Sebelius. Sorry I missed that one, guys. Oh well, I'll get to her tomorrow.


9:23: Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) takes the stage now to the tune of "It's a Beautiful Day!" He's already starting the "PA's people are tough, hard-working" line, meaning this speech will be a rebuttle to the whole Obama is elitist thing. Obama's going to fight for them, apparently.

A lot of people have been saying that during this convention. Beyond the typical desire to have a president who, you know, "fights," it's definitely a response to some hesitant Clinton loyalists who think Obama has the right idea but doesn't have the guts/political know-how to deliver.

Sorry, back to Casey. "He's one of us." "He's a father, husband, decent man." - Makes Obama more tangible, like a real person. Obama is the sort of politician that is more transcendent, a leader that you don't want to have a beer with, but one that you'd enlist in the army for if he told you to (FDR-like as opposed to Bill Clinton-like). He's got to seem more down-to-earth for a lot of Americans to trust him, since he doesn't have a lengthy record to throw judgment on.

"McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with Bush 95% of the time. That's not a maverick, that's a sidekick." - Nicely done, Senator Casey. You just wrote the most effective Obama attack ad for mid-October.


Hahaha, the crowd begins a chant of "4 more months." Well done, Democrats. You clearly are up to your necks in sarcasm. "Not 4 more years, just 4 more months." Great way to tie McCain to Bush while ushering out the Bush era. Casey concludes, and that was very effective, extremely well played, and a speech sure to be utilized by the Obama campaign in the next two months as a script to attack McCain.

Update at 9:45 - CNN Analyst Bill Schneider just recognized these two lines as being fantastic catch-phrases and ones that will be repeated. Just remember that here and now, EDC scooped CNN.


9:33: All right, while the fight for equal pay for women is really important (and a great issue to use to draw undecided women into our camp), I'm not that interested in this activist speaking now. So I'm gonna look over Sebelius's remarks.



Sebelius: WELL DONE, MA'AM!!! She spent her speech praising Obama's plans while contrasting each one with a passionate, smart attack on John McCain's "vision" for America.

James Carville can suck it! For those who don't know, Carville complained about the opening night festivities by arguing that the Democrats didn't attack McCain hard enough. Thanks to the tough-as-nails female leadership of the Democratic Party - Napolitano, Sebelius, and soon Clinton (I don't include Pelosi because she's more of a teddy bear) - voters will see a clear distinction between Barack Obama and John McCain.


9:38: I've decided that Hillary's speech will deserve its own post, so I won't be live-blogging it here. By the way, CNN.com Live is showing some really weird crowd clips of Democratic delegates dancing along to "I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It." Democrats may be smart politically, but they shouldn't dance. Okay, she can. Maybe him.


9:41: WARNER!!!! This might be the least-anticipated keynote address in any recent convention. Everyone's anxious to hear Hillary, but Warner is a great politician and should give us a great speech. "The race for the future." Nice. Looking forward positively instead of so many speakers looking into the last 8 years negatively.

All right, he's introducing his very down-to-earth background. Just listen to this speech after you read this. He's so normal, telling stories, etc. You can see why he was initially expected to be a front-runner for the nomination this year before he chose not to run.

"An energy policy that says, 'Hey, let's go borrow money from China so we can buy oil from countries that don't like us.'" - I've never heard it put so plainly, but so truly. Then he goes to the power of the presidency that Bush never understood: the ability to inspire. "We need leaders who will appeal to us, not as Democrats or as Republicans, but as Americans." When the President gives the American people a mission, we've always risen up to the challenge. George Bush missed a glorious opportunity to make our country better, stronger, and more unified than ever after 9/11, because he told us to go shopping instead of telling us to stand together - I'm so happy that Warner gets that. I now remember why Mark Warner had my vote this year before he dropped out and Obama came in. And I remember why he'll have my vote for President in 8 years.
Do you see why I like him? Do you?


"If an idea works, it doesn't matter if it has a "D" or an "R" next to it. This election isn't about liberal versus conservative, or right versus left, it's about the Present versus the Past." - This is real post-partisanship. He might be the only guy at this convention who actually talks about working with all Americans, including Republicans, to build a better future; and I don't blame everyone else for focusing on how awesome the Democratic Party is, but I'm still very proud that Warner stepped up here.

Quoting Jefferson. Always a nice touch. "This race is all about the future." Great way to frame this race. Obama is the future - forward thinking, new ideas, post-partisan. McCain is the past - doesn't understand the internet or the economy, and is stuck in the old ways of Washington.

Terrific job, Warner. I'm so proud of you.

10:00: Governor Ted Strickland (D-OH) - haha, they're just rolling out the Greatest Hits of Hillary Supporters - Strickland, Rendell, Paterson... Ah, a nice tribute to Stephanie Tubbs Jones (as Kucinich did earlier). She was truly a lioness of the Democratic cause, and she will clearly be missed.

Strickland is doing a nice job of this, attacking McCain and Bush at the same time.

For some reason, when he yelled "bring our troops home," Strickland's voice shook and warbled like a really old-style political speaker. He finishes on a high note, though.

--> By the way, in Mark Halperin's terrific coverage of the DNC at The Page, he's compiling a list of the best zingers used by Democratic speakers tonight against McCain. Some I missed, but there have been some great ones:

–KANSAS GOV. SEBELIUS: “I’m sure you remember a girl from Kansas who said there’s no place like home. Well, in John McCain’s version, there’s no place like home. Or a home. Or a home. Or a home. Or a home.” Read full remarks.

–SEN. CASEY: “John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush more than 90% of the time. That’s not a maverick, that’s a sidekick.”

–NEW YORK GOV. PATERSON: “If [McCain is] the answer, then the question must be ridiculous.”

–GOV. ED RENDELL: “The only thing green in John McCain’s energy plan is the billions of dollars he’s promising in tax cuts for oil companies.”

10:12: The crowd is really rolling now. And they're continuing to roll out the big guns at the podium. Here's Deval Patrick, who's best buds with Obama. Also a great speaker.

Remember earlier in this long-as-heck when I mentioned the passing of the torch to a new era of African-American politicians? Meet torch bearer #3.

"When I was growing up on the South Side of Chicago..." - I'm sensing a pattern here. Michelle, Deval, and Barack must have been best buds.

Now he's trumpeting the underlying principles of liberalism - caring about your neighbors, not just yourself. Quoting Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), "Government is just the name we give to the things that we choose to do together."

10:20: Here comes another rising star - Brian Schweitzer, governor of Montana. Another guy who's down to earth, wants to be post-partisan, and probably has a Presidential race or two in his future. Populist background, "nothing but the clothes on their backs

," etc. And reminds us that average, blue-collar Americans used to idolize a young, idealist Democratic Senator turned President who broke a barrier (in his case Catholicism) that prevented many Americans from reaching the White House. Like I said earlier, gotta love the Kennedy's.

Hmm, Schweitzer is not very great at leading this crowd in chanting, a little too careful and conductor-like. They missed a cue there - way too eager to say Barack Obama before the Governor was finished. I was half expecting him to yell "LET ME FINISH!" for a second there.

10:26: PrezBill just took his seat. Hillary is almost here. Drum rolls...

Oh wait, this guy is still speaking. Sorry, Brian. His focus is clearly on hitting McCain/praising Obama on renewable energy. Well done, Governor.

"If you drilled in all of John McCain's backyards, even the ones he doesn't know he has..." - add Brian Schweitzer to Mark Halperin's list. Strickland too. I didn't know politicians had such solid senses of humor.

"Stand up!" - Schweitzer yells over and over again. This arena is getting more and more pumped up. I can't wait to see what happens when Hillary and her 80% approval ratings shows up.

10:36: The Hillary tribute video starts. Thanks to the Kinks' for "All Day and All of the Night." Great, subtle joke on Bill, as he appears in the video being interviewed as "Hillary's husband."

And some people thought that Conventions go overboa

rd with hero worship of the candidate? Obviously this is justified considering the circumstances, but Hillary is basically Kennedy, Lincoln, and Jesus all rolled into a dress in this video.

Epic music. She's quite the popular warrior. "Reached for the stars" - as in, she jumped and didn't quite make it. But at least she took the leap.

And here she is. The crowd starts to scream, the crowd rises, the signs appear. And here's Clinton...Chelsea, that is. Everyone wants the other blonde, but then again, this one's hotter. Ooh, short intro. "My hero and my mother."

Now the crowd loses it. Bill really should be down there with her, but he looks quite proud up there in the luxury box.

By the way, I think every delegate was given a collection of 50 signs for this convention - Hillary, Kennedy, Obama, Michelle, Biden will be tomorrow, as will PrezBill. Very well rehearsed, and goes a long way towards (at least visual) unity.

So the big question, as we're about to get under way (assuming the cr

owd stops cheering), is if she's going to focus on unity, or focus on building Barack up while tearing McCain down, and allow unity to simply be implied by her passion? I'm guessing the latter.

10:42: They're still cheering. I'm starting to be sincerely worried about

open revolution.

10:45: She's finally got them under control (sort of). "Proud Democrat" gets a nice roar.

Bigger roar for "proud supporter of Barack Obama." Much bigger. :)

With that being said, I'll leave analysis of her speech until tomorrow. Good night all, and I hope you made it this far.