So far, So good...
I missed the Kennedy celebration (I'm disappointed in that) and a bunch of two-minute speeches (not terribly disappointed in that), caught Jim Leach, Michelle's brother, and Michelle.
Let's talk about Jim first. You can read his speech here. Good speech, miserable delivery. What is it with some speakers? No dramatic pauses, no modulation in voice, no fire, barely any emotion on their faces. There they are, bigger than life, spread across the jumbotron, and they could be selling you a funeral plot on the local Cedar Rapids cable channel. There are a ton of on-the-border Republicans watching the convention. And, you can just bet they were watching One Of Their Own for some reason to nudge them over into the Obama pool. Now, mind you, I'm not asking for a used-car salesman's pitch. I'm just asking for a little life.
Michelle's brother, Craig Robinson, did a credible job. Read it here. Warm speech, better delivery. Here's a guy who's been plunked into an arena different from the one he's usually in (Portland Beavers). He's a coach, and he's a player, and he knows how to buckle down and get the job done. His job was to say "My kid sister is real and Barack is real." Here was a speech that was all about building up, and not about tearing down. It was a speech that talking about the values that make a family unified and outgoing rather than the "family values" that make a family insular and afraid. It was a good lead-in to...
Michelle Obama. Read her speech here. She gets it. She knows that she has a story that resonates with the majority of voters. Her story is the one that Republicans used to live by. Hard-working middle class parents, kids in a solid nuclear family, go to school, make good in the world, raise kids... What I liked was that she confronted head on a number of the pseudo-issues that have been dogging her.
There's the "first time I'm really proud" flap. "I love this country". That's a lot deeper than "proud". That's a feeling that says "I identify with this country". What she talks about next is important... that a love of country leads one to serve the country.
There's the "he's got a funny name" flap. She doesn't hid that... she talks about the "guy with the funny name". She knows its a funny name for a guy in the US and she treats it with the "big deal" it deserves. But what she says next is critical: he loves this country just like me. He IS just like me.
And that's the clincher that's at the core of her whole speech. "He's just like me, I'm just like you, he is just like you." When her younger daughter interrupted her father with "Daddy... what city are you in?" it was the same thing we've all heard from our kids on the phone when we've been traveling. Sure, the Obamas have a bit different lifestyle from you and me, but at the core they are more alike us than different. Can the right-wing nut cases actually point at that family and say he's a crypto-terrorist and Michelle is some wild afro-haired radical from the 70's? I don't think so. Maybe some of those who've been listening to those nutters will take a step back.
Let's talk about Jim first. You can read his speech here. Good speech, miserable delivery. What is it with some speakers? No dramatic pauses, no modulation in voice, no fire, barely any emotion on their faces. There they are, bigger than life, spread across the jumbotron, and they could be selling you a funeral plot on the local Cedar Rapids cable channel. There are a ton of on-the-border Republicans watching the convention. And, you can just bet they were watching One Of Their Own for some reason to nudge them over into the Obama pool. Now, mind you, I'm not asking for a used-car salesman's pitch. I'm just asking for a little life.
Michelle's brother, Craig Robinson, did a credible job. Read it here. Warm speech, better delivery. Here's a guy who's been plunked into an arena different from the one he's usually in (Portland Beavers). He's a coach, and he's a player, and he knows how to buckle down and get the job done. His job was to say "My kid sister is real and Barack is real." Here was a speech that was all about building up, and not about tearing down. It was a speech that talking about the values that make a family unified and outgoing rather than the "family values" that make a family insular and afraid. It was a good lead-in to...
Michelle Obama. Read her speech here. She gets it. She knows that she has a story that resonates with the majority of voters. Her story is the one that Republicans used to live by. Hard-working middle class parents, kids in a solid nuclear family, go to school, make good in the world, raise kids... What I liked was that she confronted head on a number of the pseudo-issues that have been dogging her.
There's the "first time I'm really proud" flap. "I love this country". That's a lot deeper than "proud". That's a feeling that says "I identify with this country". What she talks about next is important... that a love of country leads one to serve the country.
There's the "he's got a funny name" flap. She doesn't hid that... she talks about the "guy with the funny name". She knows its a funny name for a guy in the US and she treats it with the "big deal" it deserves. But what she says next is critical: he loves this country just like me. He IS just like me.
And that's the clincher that's at the core of her whole speech. "He's just like me, I'm just like you, he is just like you." When her younger daughter interrupted her father with "Daddy... what city are you in?" it was the same thing we've all heard from our kids on the phone when we've been traveling. Sure, the Obamas have a bit different lifestyle from you and me, but at the core they are more alike us than different. Can the right-wing nut cases actually point at that family and say he's a crypto-terrorist and Michelle is some wild afro-haired radical from the 70's? I don't think so. Maybe some of those who've been listening to those nutters will take a step back.
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