6:30 -- will.i.am and john legend singing "Yes We Can." They sound wonderful. Their backing band is tight. They're trying to get the crowd to sing along, but either the TV mikes cannot pick up the singing or no one in Mile-High Stadium ever heard the song before. I think the latter is unlikely.
7:00 -- Sheryl Crow just finished her set. Man, she looks great. She sang some of her old classics, all with a message buried in the song or chorus:
"A change will do you good ... "
She also sang a cool song that had something about "out of your head and into your heart ... " Time for research.
Watching her, I am struck by how much the Tired Old White Guy (TOWG) chorus must hate all this. Buchanan, O'Reilly, Bill Bennett (I thought he was in jail), etc. -- they trash-talk Obama and the Democrats all they can, but underneath it all is a sense of being OUT OF IT.
UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: Stevie Wonder on stage now. He sat there quietly for a minute or so, then said, "I love you," and the place erupted. Both CNN and MSNBC have cut away for him, although Fox is showing the O'Reilly show. O'Reilly is promising a new SERIES on how bad Barack Obama is, to debut on Fox on September 8. Really, O'Reilly?
UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: Stevie Wonder singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." Wolf Blitzer and Donna Brazile dancing on CNN. No such luck with Chris Matthews and Norah O'Donnell, or the new kid on the block, Savannah Guthrie. 
Meanwhile, on Fox, the TOWG chorus drones on -- O'Reilly interviewing Dark Prince Karl Rove. Obama's got problems, they intone, as 85,000 people dance to Stevie Wonder. Yutzes.
UPDATE, 7:45 p.m. -- Al Gore speaking.
"John McCain has promised to use the sam policies Bush did. Hey, I believe in recycling, but this is ridiculous!"
Frequent use of "George Bush and John McCain" as a formulation ... tying them together. Al's pretty feisty, and focused on environmental issues.
Like all the other speakers, Gore cannot resist describing McCain as "a friend" and "a good man." Last night, Pat Buchanan was fulminating about how the GOP will never, ever say a nice thing about Obama, and urging the Dems to get as aggressive. Is Buchanan right? Or is the Obama team reading new tea leaves that say personal sniping and bashing is counter-productive?
Gore sounds like he's rushing his speech ... comparing Obama to Lincoln -- Illinois politician, relatively inexperienced, respected for judgment and willingness to speak against the tide (Lincoln on the Mexican War, Obama on Iraq).
Maybe there's a reason. He ended at exactly 8:00 p.m. CDT.
UPDATE, 8:05 p.m. -- Fox has Hannity & Colmes, and they're paying attention to Denver. Cutaway to Michael McDonald. Wow! I love Michael McDonald, but has he had a hit record in the last 20 years? 25? I loved his work with the Doobie Brothers -- he gave the band a whole new sound and probably the biggest hits of its career, but that was all late 1970s. Had some solo hits, too ... I lost track of him around 1983.
He can sing, though. "America the Beautiful." Sweet.
There's an Eisenhower up there .. speaking for Obama. The late President's grand-daughter. Quoting her grandfather, quoting Lincoln. Lincoln is a big theme tonight.
UPDATE, 8:16 p.m. -- David Gergen, charter member of the TOWG Chorus, yakking on CNN about how "the music's great, but I am glad Al Gore and Susan Eisenhower are adding some substance." Gergen agrees with me, though ... Gore was rushed and everyone's evoking Lincoln. OMG, I'm a Tired Old White Guy!!!!!
Ed Rollins now on CNN ... another TOWG.
Jesse Jackson on MSNBC, sounding like a parody of himself. If Obama is elected, what happens to the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons? We all know racial animosity continues to be a thread in the American tapestry, so what will their role be?
Paul Begala: "Susan Eisenhower does not look like someone out of a will.i.am video." Paul's dodging the TOWG bullet so far.
UPDATE: 8:22 p.m. -- The song I liked by Sheryl Crow was "Out Of Our Heads," and the YouTube video is here.
Joe Biden takes the stage at 8:23 CDT. "This is an open convention." (pointing at the sky.)
Fox airs a commercial from John McCain, congratulating Obama on a historic night. Check it out on McCain's website or right here:
Keith Olbermann has Obama's speech, and is praising its directness, its willingness to contrast himself with the GOP, Bush and McCain, and its specificity. 20 minutes to go ...
UPDATE, 8:45 p.m. -- Flipped over to CNN Headline News and Glenn Beck. Who the f**k is Glenn Beck and why does anyone care? He has former Republican hitman, now Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr on. Bob is angry tonight; the Ds and Rs are keeping him out of the debates. Bob wants to talk about HIS issues and wants a "reasonable criteria" for getting into them.
The whole feel of the conversation, when the other cable news networks are focused on Denver, is that Barr (and Beck) are OUT OF IT.
UPDATE, 8:56 p.m. --Dick Durbin introducing Barack Obama. "Four years ago, we couldn't pronounce his name." More comparisons to Lincoln. "Americans hungry for change, wanting a fighting chance." "Life has tested and prepared him to lead this nation."
Video .. David Straithairn narrating? It sounds like his voice .. rich and steady.
Nice piece about his grandparents ... his mom ... meeting Michelle ... his legislative accomplishments ... the girls ... his mom's passing ... tracing deep grooves in the American experience ... Message: he is ONE OF US.
UPDATE, 9:12 p.m. -- Obama strides on stage. Flashbulbs like crazy! Three minutes before he can start speaking. "With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States."
Thanks to Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden. Shout out to Michelle and his daughters.
UPDATE, 9:19 p.m. -- Going after Bush and the "failed politics of Washington."
(Speech text here ... ) "We love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say, 'eight is enough'." 75,000 people chant "eight is enough."
Nice to McCain, but he's voted with GWB 90% of the time. What kind of judgment is that? "I'm not ready to take a 10% chance on change." Drags Phil Gramm's carcass out and waves it for all .. the "nation of whiners" line. Tell that to the auto workers. Tell that to the military families. They're not whiners. They're the Americans I know.
"It's not that John McCain doesn't care; it's that he doesn't get it." "In Washington, they call this 'the ownership society.' What they mean is, 'you're on your own.' It's time for them to own their failure. That's why I'm running for President of the United States."
Evoking the stories of his family and the themes of the American Dream. Shot at McCain and "celebrity."
UPDATE, 9:30 p.m. -- Articulating a vision of government and America. "We are responsible for ourselves, but we rise and fall as one nation. I am my brother's keeper. I am my sister's keeper. "
SPECIFICS:
Tax code changes to deter shipping jobs overseas, incentivize small businesses, cut taxes for 95% of all working families;
energy independence and alternative fuels ("drilling is a stopgap measure, not a longtime solution -- not even close"); re-tool auto industry to build more fuel-efficient cars, renewable energy;
education -- "I will not settle for an America where some kids do not have that chance;" college education for community service;
health care -- stop insurer discrimination against those who need health care the most; paid sick days/family leave;
families -- bankruptcy laws, equal pay for equal work, protect Social Security
budget -- close corpoate loopholes; fine-tooth comb on federal government; no 20th century bureaucracy
national security -- "John McCain likes to say that he'll follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave he lives in." ROAR.
"We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past."
"I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future. "
New Politics --
Looking into the camera, gesturing for emphasis: "So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first."
"We've lost our sense of common purpose, and that's what we have to restore." Hits the hot buttons ... abortion ... guns ... gays and lesbians ... immigration ...
"Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things. And you know what - it's worked before."
"This election has never been about me. It's about you!"
Finale .. reference to MLK and the March on Washington.
OUTRO MUSIC: Country music! Sharp!
UPDATE, 9:58 p.m. -- The outro song is "Only In America" by Brooks and Dunn.
Obama's, Biden's families on stage. How do you confetti and drop balloons in a 75,000-seat stadium?
Think about it: an African American is the nominee of a major political party to be the President of the United States. Wow.
No comments:
Post a Comment