DNC Speeches, Days Three and Four

Bill Clinton

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John Kerry

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Beau Biden (Joe Biden’s Son)

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Joe Biden

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Bill Richardson

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Al Gore

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Barack Obama (The Best Political Speech in a Generation)

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DNC Speeches, Days One and Two

I figured there would be some interest in this. Here are links to all of the most interesting political speeches from the first day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

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Ted Kennedy, Tribute and Speech

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Kathleen Sebelius

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Deval Patrick

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Mark Warner

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Brian Schweitzer

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Hillary Clinton

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Michelle Obama, Part One

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Michelle Obama, Part Two

Song Of The Week – 8/26

I’m going to try out a new feature on this blog called Song Of The Week. It’s kind of self-explainatory. Let me know if you want it to continue!

SONG OF THE WEEK 8/26

Title: Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure

Artist: The Weakerthans

Album: Reunion Tour

Why You Should Care: This song came on the stereo last night as I drove home, and I soaked it in as I cruised through the empty Massachusetts streets. It is one of the few songs that made me tear up the first time I heard it – a true masterpiece. As the title suggests, the song is from the perspective of a cat who has run away from home, trying to explain to her owner why she felt the need to run away. The part that really gets to me are the lines where the cat speaks about “the sound that he found for me” – which, I can only assume, is how a cat would think about her own name.

Listen When: You are feeling pensive or reflective, or in a general need for some amazing lyricism.

Download Link: Here.

The Best News Story Ever.

Out in Colorado there was a modern art contest. The paintings were judged on their beauty, skill, and totally uninhibited expression.

But there was something that the judges didn’t know until after the contest was over.

The work of art that won second place was not created by a human.

It was painted by a bear.

Somewhere up there, Kurt Vonnegut is smiling

Why It’s Biden

So last night, at the always ironic hour of 3 AM, Barrack Obama’s people sent a text message to hundreds of thousands of supporters. It informed them that his vice presidential pick was Joe Biden, the senior senator from the great state of Delaware. This wasn’t very surprising to anyone who’s been paying attention to the rumors swirling for the past few weeks, but it might come as a shock to those who tuned out after Hillary dropped out of the race and are only now paying attention again. Back then, it seemed a near certainty that Obama was going to choose a Washington outsider as his running mate – Sebelius, perhaps, or Tim Kaine. But Biden? a 30-year senator who criticized Obama’s lack of experience in the primary? Really?

Really. And it’s actually quite a smart move.

Remember: In the democratic primary, Hillary Clinton underestimated the people’s desire for change. This was one of her fatal flaws – her image was so far out of sync with the politics of 2008 that she came across as antiquated – a 90’s candidate in a post-Bush world. Obama succeeded here because he was a relative unknown with a compelling message. Millions of people projected their dreams and desires onto him, and due to his powerful rhetoric and brilliant campagining, he pulled off an upset of epic proportions. It only made sense, then, that he would continue to foster and build this image, embracing his standing as the new FDR, JFK, or Regan – a political golden boy with the ability to waltz into the White House.

But the general election is a far different beast. Not only does Obama have to draw in Hillary’s democratic supporters, but he has to succeed with independents, undecideds, and all the other bizarre sects of the constituency who don’t have their minds made up long before the convention or debate. So team Obama spent the entire summer playing every note just right: There was the massive trip to Europe, complete with hundreds of thousands of foreigners cheering on the possibility of the man who could reshape America’s global image. The was the brilliant strategy of staying above the attack-ad fray on the national level, (all of the hopeful missives that clogged the airwaves during the olympics, specifically) while attacking McCain bitterly on the local level, especially on smaller channels in swing states. Positive media coverage, voter registration drives, big speeches…all those things coupled with McCain gaffe after McCain gaffe…you’d think the election would be over already.

But McCain gained steadily in the polls all summer long.

And that is why it will be Obama and Joe Biden this year, as opposed to Siebelius or Schweitzer or Kaine or any of the other mavericks. While Hillary realized too late that 2008 was going to be a change election, Obama realized just in time that people can’t handle too much change.

Oh, they like the idea of change, certainly, but humans (especially that particular breed of undecided voter) often will end up deciding to go with perceived safety over perceived risk. Right now, McCain has established himself as the default candidate – you can vote for him and know exactly what you’re getting, or you can vote for Obama and cross your fingers that the change he’s promising will be good for you. This is patently false, of course, but it’s become the meme and it has to end.

Obama has to brand McCain as the risky choice, the loose cannon who we can’t afford to have occupying the highest office in the land during his declining years. Having an elder statesman on his team, someone who’s been there and proven that he’s effective at getting things done for years will go a long way toward achieving this goal.

Here’s what Biden brings to the table:

1) He’s charismatic, especially in the age of the soundbite.

If you haven’t heard Biden speak or debate, go to your nearest YouTube and plug in his name. He has anger and candor, but always with poise and sanity – not like the sort of rants that McCain is prone to. For a great example of this, watch the following clip in its entirety. This is the video that got me pumped for the Obama/Biden ticket:

Plus, I’m sure most of you heard about his famous burn on Guilani (“Every sentence he speaks only has three words: a noun, a verb, and 9/11″). He’s also charismatic in a very different way than Obama – while he comes across as a JFK-style idealist, Biden is like an aging Springsteen – his voice oozes with a down-to-earth populist credibility that is impossible to fake.

2) He and Obama can play good cop/bad cop and maintain their consistency of message.

One of the things that Obama was getting slammed for this summer was for the increasing sharpness of his attacks on McCain. While I’m glad that he’s been doing this (being on the attack is certainly better than getting swiftboated out of the election), it’s made it harder for his message of hope to seem as poignant. With Biden, one of Washington’s most eager attack dogs for the left, Obama can simply delegate the dirty work. He can stick to hope and change, and Biden can slam McCain for misstep after misstep.

3) His past is a compelling, personal tale of the American Dream come true.

Joe Biden was the first of his family to go to college, and he comes from rural, working class Pennsylvanian roots. He nearly died from a brain aneurysm a few years ago, but fought hard and managed to fully regain his health. His wife is a schoolteacher. His son serves in the military, and is about to get shipped off to Iraq. His net worth is negligible, and he only owns one house.

In short, he is everything that John Edwards wanted to be.

In an election climate where John McCain forgets how many houses he owns and has a net worth of over 37 million, coming off an era of Clinton/Bush “royalty”, Obama and Biden represent a slice of America that must come out and support them if they are to win.

This should effectively end the lion’s share of Obama’s working class and Appalachian “problem”. Biden won’t put him over the edge in West Virginia or anything, but it should guarantee him Pennsylvania – a state that has been trending blue for years, but should now be all but certainly in the Obama column this season.

4) He helps Obama ameliorate his problems with experience, especially in the foreign policy arena.

You have to figure Obama is sick of hearing about how his lack of experience will cost him the race. And, indeed, it still might – but picking the most experienced possible running mate shores up one of his biggest weakness. A lot of people, especially elderly democrats and moderates, will feel safer about this ticket because they’ve known Biden for years.

Plus, since McCain seems hell bent on making this election about foreign policy experience (especially in light of the recent Russo-Georgian conflict), what better person to bring in than the head of the senate foreign relations committee?

Now, this isn’t to say that Biden isn’t without his problems. He’s a bit of a verbal loose cannon, and he’ll occasionally say something dumb because he’s constantly talking to the media. He voted for the Iraq war, though unlike Hillary he has since apologized for that vote and has been very vocal about getting out of the middle east. He undermined Obama a bit during the early days of the primary, though they seemed to get along better toward the end. He used to be very good friends with John McCain. He has too many lobbyist ties for comfort. He’s a bit too hawkish. His gun control stance is probably going to make the mountain west a bit of a harder reach for the dems this year.

In the end, though, I think the things I talked about above make a good enough case for Biden over anyone else. Plus, check out this chart of favorability ratings among the top VP candidates:

Candidate   Dem   Rep   Ind   Net Favorability

Clinton     +55   -54   -18   -17

Biden       +48   -39   +13   +22

Bayh        +20   -20   +10   +10

Sebelius    +16   -31   -3    -18

Kaine        +6    -1   +1     +6

Picking Clinton would have pissed off every possible republican crossover voter and a ton of independents as well. Picking Bayh would have angered too many democrats. Sebelius and Kaine are just too unknown. That leaves Biden, with his especially strong favorability among independents. He was simply the best choice.

I hope.

Musings On The Elderly From A Long Passed Relative

My great grandfather wrote the following letter to himself at the age of 36, in the year 1926. The fact that it reads a bit like many of my entires here amuses me. I guess I really am a chip off the ol’ block.

For my guidance after 50 years. To be opened and read and then followed to the letter on my 50th birthday.

Purpose – Realizing that 99% of people 50 years old and older are on the downward slope, I make these few notations in order that my own life may be guided, and my old age somewhat helped by the vision, the power, the judgment, the courage and the vigor of the world’s greatest asset – youth.

1.    No man over 50 years old has an original idea.
2.    No man’s judgment over 50 is sound.
3.    The large majority of old men are fools, either pompous old men or seedy individuals, or men content to drift along expecting the world to show compassion for them.
4.    We must justify our right to live.
a.    Work is our salvation
b.    Time – the great healer
5.    The greatest factors of life –
a.    Love and loyalty
b.    The teachings of Jesus Christ
6.    Remember always that we should always walk in the path of righteousness and humility.

I do not mean that life after 50 is hopeless, but I do feel that generations change so fast that it is with difficulty that men over fifty can realize the scope of it all.

Life is a beautiful proposition – it should never be viewed any way but from the position of an optimistic viewpoint. If we can take into consideration these facts that we recognize in youth regarding people over 50 and mould our life accordingly, then will we reap the full measure of life.
A.    Service. Toward all a real worthwhile idea lived up to.
B.    If we could combine the wisdom of our experiences with the vigor of youth then this combination should succeed.
C.    Children – I believe that the future of children is well regulated by the Mother. I feel in this fact complete security for the future of our children.
D.    Wealth. The great curse of mankind – the white man’s burden – unless properly controlled. The wealth of this Earth came out of the earth and someday will return. Here is a thought we should not forget or ever overlook. Consequently we should return to the farm, close to nature – get acquainted again with the soil and see the beauty of making things grow. Out in the open guided by the trees, flowers and elements of nature. Surely no one could be lonely or stray far from the paths of real service.
E.    We must not forget youth – their right to live – their right to have ideas, their right to be heard.

We had our opportunity and how well we succeeded remains to be seen – surely we do not want to be a ‘cry baby’ and demand another turn. Life is so short; years cannot be wasted without making future generations suffer. Our big opportunity is preparing the way for the youth that follows. Here is the solution for life after 50. If earnestly, seriously, and conscientiously carried out would make one a world figure.
It would make life intensely interesting and develop your soul.

Things to stay away from:
1.    Stories of the good old days
2.    Investments in anything except savings banks and government bonds.
3.    The idea that at 50 you are a world beater. You are only fooling yourself, disgusting your friends and playing on the sympathies of youth.
4.    Visiting around the country – travel if you will, but remember that hotels are useful.
5.    No one is interested in uninteresting conversation.

Remember:
1.    Youth must be served. It has courage, power, and will to do; it can take chances; it will succeed, and rightly so.
2.    People will listen to you out of respect. Be sure not to take advantage of their kindness.
3.    Questionable stories that youth will not tolerate have no place in old age.
4.    Women – The Rock on which many are wrecked – as well as saved. Ever keep the ideals of youth before you. They are the highest known. I hope that everyone present at the reading of this may look back with pride, feeling that they were never obliged to compromise their first ideals, but that they have been able always to follow the trail of their star.
I cannot help feeling how wise and powerful is the directing genius of this world. How simple He has made life, yet because of the simple laws which are so easily broken, cause people to become entangled.
How wonderful the opportunities –
How small the individual –
How blessed that we are allowed to be part of it.
Written this 17th day of March 1926, with ten years thought on this subject and representing my views for the future.
I am blessed with faithful friends and the noblest and finest of all women, Margery.
May I not falter, may I not disappoint but forge along the path which seems to be so clearly marked out for me.

One of the best songs ever written about youth.

Some lyrics for the end of summer, the end of camp, the end of many eras.

We emerged from youth all wide-eyed like the rest. Shedding skin faster than skin can grow, and armed with hammers, feathers, blunt knives: words, to meet and to define and to…

But you must know the same games that we played in dirt in dusty school yards has found a higher pitch and broader scale than we feared possible, and someone must be picked last, and one must bruise and one must fail.

And that still twitching bird was so deceived by a window. So we eulogized fondly, we dug deep and threw its elegant plumage and frantic black eyes in a hole and rushed out to kill something new so we could bury that too.

The first chapters of lives almost made us give up altogether, pushed towards tired forms of self immolation that seemed so original.

We must never stop watching the sky with our hands in our pockets, stop peering in windows when we know doors are shut, stop yelling small stories and bad jokes and sorrows. And my voice will scratch to yell many more, but before I spill the things I mean to hide away, or gouge my eyes with platitudes of sentiment, I’ll drown the urge for permanence and certainty; crouch down and scrawl my name with yours in wet cement.

- The Weakerthans, Sounds Familliar

More Richie Rich

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately. I’ve been busy at camp (making movies with the kids is tiring!) and getting ready for the great big move after hours. Since my brain is fried but I feel the need to put something here, I’ve decided to give everyone at second helping of the poor little rich boy!

Why is Richie blushing so hard on the cover of this issue? Could it have something to do with the fact that he is riding on a sold gold bicycle WHILE flying on his jetpack? I mean, what reason could he have for doing both at the same time other than showing up that kid in the background?

Umm…

So I guess Richie doing something only rich people can do in the foreground (in this case, driving a car with no wheels at age eight) while normal people stare on from the background is a common theme.

Only three issues later, Richie is doing almost the exact same thing, except this time his car has wheels and…well, you know what it looks like.

I think I’m starting to understand what’s going on here. Richie is SO UNBELIEVABLY RICH that he’s gone absolutely insane. Not only is he seeing an alien spaceship just moments after reading about it in the paper, but he is so preoccupied with money that he imagines it to be in the shape of a dollar sign. Maybe he really IS a poor little rich boy…

…And I’m pretty sure that whatever is going on here lends credence to my theory.

Clearly wealth doesn’t buy creativity. You couldn’t do better than “Mousey”, Richie? Really?

Richie Rich discovers why he is unable to get anyone pregnant.

Gloria wants to tell Richie to shove all that treasure up his butt and take her to a decent island with sand and, you know, a place to actually sit down. But I bet she won’t.

I will give a prize to anyone who can explain this pun to me. Honestly – what word is he riffing on? Cashew? Cash out? Cactus?

“Hmm. I’m bored. Maybe I can talk my poor friends into abjectly humiliating themselves by rolling my money around the street by their noses! That would sure be a hoot.”

Enough for tonight. Enjoy your weekend everyone!