The national political conventions are the World Series of politics, the crowning event of the political season, the showcase for the nation's most successful politicians. You'd think, then, that the speeches at such an epochal political event would all sound like something spoken by Demosthenes. Alas, as we all know, it isn't usually so.
It seemed a pleasant surprise, then, when the Democrats' opening day featured several outstanding speeches. The First Lady's speech was excellent, as was San Antonio Mayor, Julian Castro's. Earlier in the day, Gov. Duval Patrick of Massachusetts likewise gave a stirring speech, as did Gov. Ted Strickland. It was a good day for the spoken word.
Tomorrow night features Bill Clinton. He will place Obama's name in nomination--a former president nominating a candidate; this is a first--and make the case for his candidacy. The internets have been abuzz lately with stories of the Clinton/Obama relationship, and how the Big Dog is fully on board for the fall campaign.
Clinton is writing his speech himself. He apparently tried parts of it out on the Arkansas delegation at the DNC, noting, in particular, the "debt clock" at the recent GOP convention. Someone from the crowd shouted, "They built that," to which Clinton added, "Yeah, they built that, they built that," to great cheers from the crowd.
Expect something along those lines.
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