Denver: Day 3

These late nights are taking their toll with the lack of sleep. But hey, it's politico season -- when in Rome...

Wednesday night at the Democratic convention will feature President Clinton and Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Today the pundit class is dissecting Hillary's speech from last night -- did she go far enough? Was she convincing enough? Was her heart really into it? Why didn't she reassure voters that Obama was in fact experienced to be President?

Personally I think the talking heads were going to ask these questions regardless of what she said. I thought her speech plain and simple was an attempt to unite her supporters behind Obama -- especially with that "I want you to ask yourselves. Were you in this campaign just for me or were you in it for the [cause]" line.

And in true melodramatic fashion the drama is building for President Clinton's speech tonight. Will he put his ill feelings on the shelf and wholeheartedly endorse Obama? (see "Obama and Bill Clinton: So Similar, So Distant") Again, I think too much is being made of this. I think Bill Clinton has everything to lose -- including the legacy of his accomplishments -- if he sulks and doesn't give a rousing full endorsement. But we'll see -- I could be wrong. Either way it is fun drama.

Hopefully we are treated to Mr. LeDuc's guest blogging again tonight.

9:00
Amy & I are dragging a bit tonight. We are loving all this wall-to-wall coverage of the convention and people talking about important issues of our day. Just need some sleep.

Here comes Bill.

"Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" -- shades of 1992.

9:04
Crowd giving him a HUGE ovation. Still going on 5+ minutes into it.

"You all sit down. We gotta get on with the show here."

"Sit down." (laughing)

So much for the Obama crowd not giving Bill any love.

9:12
Bill likes him some Joe Biden. "With his [Obama's] first presidential decision in selecting a vice president, he hit it out of the park."

9:13

"Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United States."

There it is. That was our biggest question. He wouldn't answer this very question to an ABC reporter a few weeks ago ("You could argue that nobody is ready to be President."). Glad to see Bill has come around.

9:16
Clinton brings the house down:

"People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

Wow, what a line.

9:23
Clinton is crushing balls over the fence like they're slow-pitched softballs. He is drawing the line between McCain's (Bush's) policies and the Democrats like no speaker at the convention yet.

James Carville will sleep well tonight.

9:28
I cannot imagine any pundit saying the Bill Clinton didn't do his part to throw his full support behind Barack Obama. (Of course, I'm not watching Rove over on Faux News.) Seriously though, he showed how powerful of a politician he can still be when he wants to.

"Fantastic," quoteth Amy B.

9:32
Bring us out some Joe Biden. I bet we have to endure an hour of analysis and spin before JoeBi graces the stage.

10:07
Pundits -- you just have to love their sense of reality sometimes. On MSNBC Mike Murphy (former advisor to McCain) just claimed that Bill and Hillary Clinton would now leave Denver and vote for John McCain in the voting booth.

Chris Matthews: "Where would you find an audience in sane America that would believe what you just said?"

Filler, filler, until Biden speaks.

10:12
I really think that MSNBC is trying to carve out a niche as the antithesis to Fox News. Fox -- for all its bogus "Fair & Balanced" claims -- really champions Republican causes and points of view very, very well. My beef with it has always been that Fox claims to be down the middle when it is not. Now MSNBC has begun to lean Democratic. Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews -- these folks are definitely very -- ahem -- supportive of the Dems.

I think that's the trend we are in now that these cable networks are just saying screw it, we're not going to try to be something we're not. We can't please everybody so let's please a group of people really well.

10:17
David Letterman's Top 10 ways to make the Democratic Convention more fun:

10. Offer John McCain $1 million if he correctly guesses how many homes he owns.
9. Every night, one lucky lady gets to go home with John Edwards
8. In honor of party mascot, serve assortment of delicious donkey and mule treats
7. Each delegate gets a kitty, superdelegates get a super kitty!
6. Special appearance by the exhumed remains of Lyndon Johnson
5. Call the Pepsi Center something crazy like the Bird's Nest or the Water Cube
4. Give John Kerry's crazy wife five minutes to say whatever she wants -- remember her?
3. Kick things off with a song from Dennis Kucinich
2. Five words: hot volleyball babes in bikinis
1. Try to squeeze Al Gore into the same suit he wore at the 2000 convention

10:23
It's Biden time.

10:31
Rumor that Obama is about to make a cameo after Biden.....interesting. Most Presidential candidates build up the suspense until they speak on the last night of the convention. Obama has appeared Monday (after Michelle's speech), Tuesday (shown watching Hillary's speech), and now apparently tonight.

10:34
Biden (to his wife): "The only one who leaves me both breathless and speechless at the same time."

10:36
Biden takes a shot at Cheney. No longer will you have to dread the words, "The Vice President's office is on the phone." Funny.

10:38
Over/under on how long Biden will speak - 4 hours, 11 mins. He's been on for 7 minutes and he hasn't even stopped thanking his family.

10:47
I have never been a fan of the call & response in political speeches. Kerry/Edwards had "Help is On the Way" four years ago which I thought was corny. Biden tries to light up John McCain with the "That's not change, that's more of the same" chant in which the audience joins.

Maybe I just need some sleep...

10:52
Amy points out that Biden has the red light. He is just getting fiery in pointing out instances where he thinks Obama has shown better judgment than McCain.

10:55

"I'm ready. Barack Obama is ready. This is his time. This is our time."

I am reminded of Mikey's "It's Our Time" speech from the Goonies. I think the Democrats are like the Goonies -- the lovable, idealistic losers.



11:02
Springsteen sings Day 3 to a close. 70,000+ will be on hand tomorrow night from Mile High.

Cheers!