Gloves Off at Invesco

Barack Obama took audacity to new heights tonight and if the crowd's reaction to his acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium is any indicator--he knocked it out of the park, touchdown, homerun and every other tired sports metaphor this blogger can't think of. What impressed me most is the sheer chutzpah of the moment--the daring of attempting to fill a football stadium (done), the daunting logistical challenge of coordinating the event (ding), the intelligence and grassroots organizing that went into the programming (yeah, they did) and, above all, how much rhetorical work Obama pulled off in a speech that had the highest of expectations.

He hit hard on John McCain, tougher than was expected, inverting the normal convention convention whereby surrogates attack the rival candidate but the nominee is all sweetness-and-light. Pointing out that McCain voted 90 percent of the time with Bush, Obama said, "I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change," to thunderous and sustained applause. From the economy to the war--Obama linked McCain to the Bush administration's record, and he was helped, perhaps crucially, by six citizens who testified to their very ordinary, very moving ordeals--including an autoworker, a teacher, a nurse, a pet store owner and a guy named Barney Smith, who gave the most memorable line of the night when he said, in the most adorable dorky way, "We need a President who fights for Barney Smith, not Smith Barney!"

If, to my mind, there were some political sour notes, especially the suggestion that Iraq was enjoying a surplus while Americans suffered a deficit, the sheer constraints on a Barack Obama candidacy were also revealed--the burden of proving one's patriotism, discrediting ignoble smears against one's faith (not that there's anything wrong with being a Muslim) and countering the McCain talking point that political popularity is the equivalent of cult worship. Perhaps, because of these burdens--many unique to Obama, most unfair--some of the necessary, crucial themes seemed, to this blogger, buried too deep within. The economic crisis that most Americans struggle with was movingly highlighted, but the solutions--or even the chief culprits--remained vague. The foreign policy dilemmas remained too wrapped in the language of American exceptionalism. The culture war was assuaged, but only with significant cheats--the idea, for example, that gun control is about "keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals" or that same-sex marriage was about visiting one's loved one in the hospital.

It's impossible to address--to the satisfaction of the left AND the electorate--all of these issues in one speech, but this one, this great one came close--closer than we Americans have any right to expect, perhaps, more than we deserve.

Comments (23)

1. "It's impossible to address--to the satisfaction of the left AND the electorate..."

   posted by Richard Kim on 08/29/2008 @ 01:24am

   If you stop right there, and put a period, you get a BINGO!

   Posted by Benchrest at 08/29/2008 @ 01:46am

2. Enjoyed the post, Richard.

   A thought that's occurred to me with respect to Obama and his oratorical brilliance is that it's conceivable that a workable progressive agenda can be moved by the pull of his rhetoric as it infuses the populace with enthusiasm and the motivation to get involved.

   This is the source of the Kennedy comparisons of course.

   But the concern is that Obama will modulate what he says too much in deference to his moneyed supporters --primarily Wall Street but not limited to Wall Street.

   For the moment at least, I'm suspending my disbelief if only for a day or two.

   Then it's back to the cold hard reality of a candidate who's calling for an increased American troop presence in Afghanistan for example.

   Good luck with that.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 08/29/2008 @ 01:53am

3. I was surprised with how aggressively he went after Bush and McCain. I guess he is showing that he won't be John Kerry. He won't sit back while they insult him. I guess the gloves have come off.

   I did like his point about small mindedness a lot. Why does being non-Christian matter? Why is popularity a negative thing? Why should a Presidential nominee have to defend their patriotism? Running for the Presidency is too much work to not be a patriot.

   I am listening to my neighbors clap right now at the rerun of his speech. Watching something like 75,000 people cheer for a Presidential nomination speech delivered by the first minority to run for President is inspiring. I hope that the Republicans of this site can at least stop their Obama bashing for the 10 seconds it takes to acknowledge that this is something that most people in this country hoped to see before they died and are at least glad it happened.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/29/2008 @ 01:57am

4. "Crucial themes ...buried too deep within,"solutions [to economic crisis]--or even chief culprits--remained vague," "foreign policy...wrapped in language of American exceptionalism," "culture war...assuaged...only with significant cheats."

   And yet this was the mother of all acceptance speeches? Kim, you don't have the right to shovel it to us and we certainly don't deserve it.

   The speech was pure anticlimax and another demonstration of the flip-flop, flim-flam, and I'm-your-puppet nature of this cyborg à la carte.

   Posted by WWW at 08/29/2008 @ 02:16am

5. WWW - I don't know what planet you live on. LOL!! Sorry to say but I think you may be the anticlimactic one... lol ---- Wanted to share one more thing after hearing the kookballs on FoxNews talk about Obama...

   The thing that cracks me up about so many conservatives is this...so many of them live their lives in their tiny communities, with people who look the same...walk the same...talk the same. And they think that from their limited interaction with life and the people that comprise this world...that they know just how things should be...they make judgments that are unfounded and sometimes scary.

   Finally, I feel that there is a presidential nominee that loves to dive in and understand what makes humanity tick. His speech inspired me and all of those who were listening along with me. I wish him luck!

   And WWW --- I wish you some sort of excitement in life. Maybe watching McCain yip yap next week - flipflop on issues after being intimated by the Roves/Cheney's of the world- and repeat "my friend" until you want to jump out the window will do it for ya! :-P

   Posted by jenjenjen at 08/29/2008 @ 03:06am

6. woops...I meant intimidated not intimated by Rove & Cheney..sorry for the typo

   Posted by jenjenjen at 08/29/2008 @ 03:09am

7. I'm a communist, cakehole. Try some Dulcolax®, maybe your eyes will be blue again.

   Posted by WWW at 08/29/2008 @ 03:36am

8. LOL. You are funny. My eyes are actually already blue. And you need to breathe a little.

   Posted by jenjenjen at 08/29/2008 @ 03:45am

9. Then it's back to the cold hard reality of a candidate who's calling for an increased American troop presence in Afghanistan for example.

   Good luck with that.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 08/29/2008 @ 01:53am

   Quite.

   How to run imperial wars while at the same time rebuilding a declining nation.

   Declining because of its imperial projects abroad.

   Obama gave a superb peformance, and set himself an impossible challenge.

   Posted by sloper at 08/29/2008 @ 04:51am

10. I was surprised with how aggressively he went after Bush and McCain. I guess he is showing that he won't be John Kerry. He won't sit back while they insult him. I guess the gloves have come off. Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/29/2008 @ 01:57am

    hmmmm...What happened to the "post-partisan" stances that he touted in the primaries? He becomes the nominee and suddenly discovers the virtues of partisanship? I wonder what else the nominee Obama will discover that the wannabe-nominee didn't see/say!

    I am glad an African-American made it to the presidential nomination of a major party, just as I am glad of Hillary Clinton's "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling." I just wish both of them had more substance to go with the symbolism. After 8 years of Bush II, America - and the world - deserve better than symbolic victories.

    Posted by oneworld at 08/29/2008 @ 07:55am

11. Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/29/2008 @ 08:03am

    I'd ALMOST bet we see FRANKGRITS show up and claim...

    "the Clintons wrote that speech for Obama!"

    LOL

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/29/2008 @ 08:50am

12. Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/29/2008 @ 08:52am

    MAASCH, consider this....it may give you comfort, may even change your vote...

    If Obama wins....the Clintons are through.

    Obama will be incumbent in 2012 and by 2016, she'll be nearly as old as McCain is now and some SIXTEEN YEARS will have passed since anybody remembers a Clinton in the White House.

    The political landscape will have changed, new blood following behind Obama, and she'll be passe', even to female voters.

    Obama wins...the Clintons are done. And since THEY are the prime focus of your life (almost as much as FRANK), maybe you'd like to see that????

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/29/2008 @ 09:54am

13. Obama gave a great speech and should pay thr person who wrote it a bomus...

    Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/29/2008 @ 08:03am

    I wonder if he actually wrote it. They said that he wrote most of it the night before. I mean they have no reason to lie about it but I wonder.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/29/2008 @ 09:55am

14. I mean he is an eloquent speaker and a very intelligent person so I think he COULD easily write it.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/29/2008 @ 09:55am

15. 'Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story -- of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas ... I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman ... you paint your opponent as someone people should run from ... I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree...' -- Barack Obama -- 28 August, 2008 -- acceptance speech

    'The consequence, which you can already feel, is an inchoate resentment among many white voters who are damned if they will be called bigots by a man who associates with Jeremiah Wright. So here we go with all that again. And this is the fresh, clean, new post-racial politics?' -- Christopher Hitchens -- Slate.com 24 March, 2008

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 08/29/2008 @ 09:58am

16. Obama gave a great speech and should pay thr person who wrote it a bomus...- JOMMAMA

    Uhhh, he wrote it. Maybe you should hire your own editor.

    He went after Chimpy McFlightsuit but good!

    McCain has a hard act to follow, it ought to be a hoot watching him try. Does anybody think Grnadpa Flip Flop can fill up 84,000 seats and inspire them?

    8 is truly enough!

    Posted by crabwalk at 08/29/2008 @ 10:30am

17. Posted by HonestLiberal at 08/29/2008 @ 09:58am |

    ignore this person

    Click.

    Posted by crabwalk at 08/29/2008 @ 10:35am

18. I don't trust McCain in the least bit. Coming from a family of Republicans who grew up with election events at my own childhood home...I can say that McCain and co. mainly care about these things - money, status, more money, more status, clinging to outdated & irrational ideas.

    So I hear he's chosen Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. Interesting stuff...she's anti abortion, anti-same sex benefits - - and I'm gonna guess -- pro-drill the heck out of Alaska? :-P

    Posted by jenjenjen at 08/29/2008 @ 11:06am

19. And now it's on to the ground game, which (along with attempting to ensure that all the votes get counted, correctly) will decide who wins the election.

    From the number of people in that stadium last night, and their determination, I wouldn't bet against President Obama.

    Posted by notbuyingit at 08/29/2008 @ 11:17am

20. The fireworks weren't as good as the Beijing Olympics at closing ceremony. I was disappointed by that.

    Posted by jsens at 08/29/2008 @ 1:21pm

21. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.' -- Barack Obama -- 28 August, 2008

    ‘He hit hard on John McCain, tougher than was expected, inverting the normal convention convention whereby surrogates attack the rival candidate but the nominee is all sweetness-and-light.' -- Richard Kim

    '...Simes suggests that Obama is a kind of blank slate with little or no track record...' -- Robert Dreyfuss -- The Nation 2 July, 2008

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 08/29/2008 @ 2:43pm

22. ----------------------- The fireworks weren't as good as the Beijing Olympics at closing ceremony. I was disappointed by that.

    Posted by jsens at 08/29/2008 @ 1:21pm | warn this person ----------------------

    HAHAHAHA! Best comment of the month!

    Posted by chinpoko at 08/29/2008 @ 5:50pm

23. The Chinese have all the money. Fireworks were invented by them anyway. I await the Beehive at the RNC.

    Posted by datadave at 09/01/2008 @ 04:53am