A New Day

The moment Barack Obama walked out on stage last night in front of 70,000 people at Grant Park in Chicago, my daughter Tess woke up crying. Amy & I looked at each other with the same dejected look on our faces:

"Which one of us was going to miss the victory speech?!?"

Amy hit the record button on the DVR, and I grabbed my headphones on the way upstairs. As I sat in the dark rocking my nine month-old back to sleep I listened to Obama's speech on the radio. I could not help thinking about my little girl and my boys and the challenges that their generation will face as they grow up. And I was truly grateful that our country had just elected a unifying, inspiring President in Barack Obama to lead us through the challenges ahead.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

Yes We Can

So we are finally here. Election Day 2008. It has been such an incredibly long campaign, stretching nearly two years. The Republicans started out with so many candidates -- Guiliani, Romney, Thompson, Huckabee, Paul, McCain -- before John McCain emerged as the nominee. The Democrats saw a long battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton before Obama finally clinched the nomination in June.

The interest level of the American people this election cycle has just been enormous. Much of the interest has to do with the unpopularity of George W. Bush and the desire among an overwhelming majority of Americans to move in a new direction. And regardless of which candidate the electorate decides is the best agent to bring forth that change, getting the American people engaged, motivated and participating in the process to select its leaders is a huge positive step forward.

Obviously on a personal level I am moved by the potential of a Barack Obama presidency. He appeals to me on an intellectual level as a man who thoughtfully takes in multiple points of view before making a decision. Although he lacks experience on an executive level, I admire the way he has managed a $700M campaign and stuck to a consistent message of how he will lead. On the issues I share his view for helping out the middle class with tax relief, ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and investing in our children's future with infrastructure, renewable energy and education. I do not believe that we can continue to saddle our kids and grandkids with debt and have nothing to show for it besides a corrupt winner-take-all economic system, a tax system skewed to the wealthiest 2% of Americans, and a tattered image across the world.

Barack Obama is not without his flaws, and his task would be enormous. His record is not dotted with examples of reaching across the aisle to form bipartisan legislative solutions. He will not be able to deliver on all the promises he has made in the campaign -- most notably universal health care. As a liberal, Obama cannot succumb to the temptation of the familiar -- to dust off decades old liberal policies in order to dig us out of the ditch we are in. And the path ahead is going to be extraordinarily difficult given that we face a mountain of debt with the $700B bailout plan and rising costs of entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

That said, what will it take to lead us through the tough challenges in the future? The answer is the one thing that we have been so starkly missing the past eight years -- leadership. Leadership is not surrounding yourself with ideologues who share your view of the world, sticking with decisions when they have been proven to be the wrong ones, working to undermine the Constitution so you can get your way, or using fear as a powerful political weapon to secure power.

Leadership is having the temperament, judgment, intellectual curiosity, and skill to carry out difficult decisions that face us. It involves talking with people that do not agree with us, trying to bring people into the fold instead of building walls around us to keep people out. And that is not an easy thing to do. Naturally we are more comfortable with people who think like us, look like us, and share most if not all of our values. But in this flattening world that we live in, opening ourselves up to the diversity of thought and ideas is something to embrace, not reject. Barack Obama has shown throughout the campaign that he possesses these qualities.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Obama's rally in Raleigh where people waited outside in the freezing cold for hours to get a chance to see him. The cross-section of people who have felt inspired by Obama's promise was unbelievable. At least half of the crowd was African-American, and I was blown away at the enthusiasm that the black community feels for Obama.

But beyond race, it was inspiring to see people of all walks of life unite around Obama's message. Young and old, complete strangers were talking, engaging, dancing, laughing -- all of them united not by fear of what they perceive the other side would bring but by the hope that their candidate could bring.

I for one hope that America chooses hope over fear.

Yes We Can.

Obama in Raleigh:

The Speech

I am still absorbing Obama's nomination acceptance speech a day later. Without trying to be melodramatic I believe it was one of the best speeches I have heard in my lifetime. I think it was that historic of a moment.

The punditocracy has not surprisingly moved on to the next story with McCain's surprising VP pick today. Frankly the selection baffles me -- at least from an initial impression standpoint. I really thought McCain would pick the Minnesota governor, Pawlenty, to counter the out-of-touch argument and score points with social conservatives.

I suppose choosing Sarah Palin will play well with the social conservative base. But I think choosing a two-year governor of a state with fewer people than metro Raleigh and a former mayor of an Alaskan town of 9,000 people is a knee-jerk reaction at best and a Hail Mary at worst. But I'll stop there -- need to remember to keep an open mind and get more information before passing judgment.

So back to the speech. I'm posting it on the blog really to document this moment. I hope to be able to look back on this years from now and tell my kids about the excitement, patriotism, and feeling of unity that Obama brought to America and the world in 2008.

More to come in the days ahead. Looking forward to a 3-day holiday weekend. For our readers who are sick of my fawning over Barack Obama I'll try to get some pix of the kids out here to break the political cycle! :-)

Cheers!

Denver: Day 4 - The nomination

Tonight is the big night for Obama supporters as Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for President in front of 75,000 people at Mile High Stadium in Denver. There have been some rumblings that moving the acceptance speech from the indoor arena to a massive outdoor stadium further supports the "rock star" claim that McCain and the Republicans have made against him the past few weeks (think Paris Hilton).

Maybe there is some credence to that argument. But I like Obama's take that there have been so many people that have supported the movement behind his candidacy that he wants everyone who wants a chance to see the nomination to get a chance. No word on who the opening band is.

My favorite quote came from Obama's campaign strategist David Axelrod in defending the decision to move the acceptance speech to the cavernous confines of an NFL stadium:

“I know that Senator McCain and his people are shooting barbs on the opulence of our convention from the mountaintop in Sedona from the McCain estate,” said David Axelrod, the campaign’s chief strategist. “I don’t think it warrants a response.”

Touche.

We'll live blog it here tonight.

8:51
Al Gore lighting up Bush/Cheney/McCain on energy, Iraq, torture, special interest ties and the Supreme Court.

"If you like the Bush/Cheney approach then John McCain is your man."

8:58
I doubt John Elway likes it that all these Democrats have invaded his stadium. Elway maxed out $2,300 to McCain.

9:11
The Republicans have Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman. The Democrats bring you Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of the late Republican president.

9:13
Wow, go Susan.

"Too many people in power have failed us. Belligerence has become the substitute for stubbornness. Stubbornness has been a substitute for leadership. And impulsive action has replaced measured, thoughtful response. "

9:35
Half hour away from the speech. Amy says the speech is "make or break" for Obama. There is certainly a lot of pressure on the guy as expectations is in the stratosphere.

Win over moderates, Independents, whites, Clinton supporters, swing voters, fence sitters, evangelicals, motorcycle-driving soccer moms and SUV-driving latte-drinking dads and do so in front of 75,000 people in person and 25 million people on television.

9:43
(CL) Boston infiltrating your family again...

9:44
(DR) Awesome. Welcome, good sir.

Did you hear Maddow's comment that McCain will not be leaking his Veep pick tonight but that he is having trouble filling the 10,000 seat arena in Minneapolis? That's one of the knocks of the coverage that the "enthusiasm gap" has not been properly covered.

9:48
(CL) That's great. I hadn't heard that.

This venue is great. People will take their shots at the "rock star" image but how can a 70,000 seat stadium full of screaming people not be a good thing for Obama. Great move...

9:50
(CL) Unfortunately, I think we can all go to bed because MSNBC has already read the entire speech.

9:53
(DR) You can always switch over to ESPN. State is in a barnburner with South Carolina -- 3-0 in the 3rd.

9:55
(CL) I can't believe Amy hasn't switched to the US Open yet. Roger must not be on tonight.

9:56
(CL) When did they decide that tonight would be in the stadium? Was it always the plan? I wonder if they made it on the fly knowing that it would contrast with McCain's much sparser crowd.

I think the Obama camp has a mole. They have been right on the money with every punch and counter-punch. Perhaps Belichick is secretly running the campaign.

9:58
(DR) Federer is tied up in my basement. Bet on Nadal.

Finally, here's Durbin.

10:01
(DR) Just got a sense of what 75,000 people screaming "Yes we can" sounds like. I predict some major chills coming in the next 30 mins...

10:16
(CL) A shout out to the Hillary team right out of the gate. Good move. She certainly did her part two nights ago.

10:19
(DR) "America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this."

10:22
(CL) My first cringe of the night. Obama starts a chant modeled on a 70's family TV series. (Eight is Enough). Dick Van Patten is smiling. I'm not...

10:26
(DR) Two thoughts. First, Obama is swinging. Doing exactly what he needs to do to CONTRAST Republican policies and ideas with what he stands for. And second, look at the diversity in all the crowd shots -- white, black, Asian, ethnic, young, old. There is a lot of diversity in this crowd. Symbolizes people from all the different walks of life that he has inspired.

10:31
(CL) "I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks celebrities lead, but this has been mine." Great line. It's on! You're right, he's on the offensive tonight. I love it. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...."

10:36
(DR) Do you think John McCain just leaned over to Cindy and asked her where she stashes her pills? There is no way McCain comes close to this.

10:38
(DR) Amy: You really get the impression that he has seen so much, that he really gets it.

I couldn't agree more. The thing that comes to mind as I listen to him is genuine empathy.

10:41
(CL) You're right, McCain can't match it. I love how they've preempted the experience attack but continually citing all of the failures that have occurred during his tenure. Granted, some of them probably aren't attributable entirely to McCain, but it sure is an effective campaign strategy.

10:46
(DR) My first chill moment.

But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of America.

10:55
(DR) Wraps it up with Martin Luther King. Quite a moment.

10:59
(DR) Here's a parallel for you. Obama is like Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ushering out what had passed for rock n' roll for so many years.

11:03
(CL) Great Nirvana reference.

Wow... what a speech. He nailed it flawlessly.

It's interesting... a few days ago I thought Biden would be the heavy and Obama would be more the good cop. Completely the opposite. He can bring it. Biden's speech makes a lot more sense now.

11:08
(DR) I'm still absorbing it all. The text is here. I'll be reliving this one for a while. Barack Obama is a special leader.

11:14
(CL) So Amy, what is your verdict? Did he make or break it?

11:18
(ABR) I think he did what he needed to do. My beef with Obama has always been that his soaring oratory was great but I wanted substance. He went after McCain and showed the contrast in specific terms on what he stands for and how he differs from McCain. My favorite thing was that he showed the world is not black and white.

Tonight I think he absolutely nailed it.

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!

Denver: Day 2

Democratic Convention, day 2. The Rutledge household is tuned back in. Owen is ticked that he missed Michelle Obama, but that's what the internet is for, son.

9:15
Just got back from walking the dog. Amy has paused a segment on MSNBC where Chris Matthews gets snippy with co-host Keith Olbermann. This is classic. Apparently Olbermann was making fun of a long-winded diatribe by Matthews, and Chris just got testy with him right on the air.

This after Joe Scarborough went nuts on David Shuster on Morning Joe this a.m. What the heck is happening to MSNBC.

Our pal Chris thinks Matthews is keeping Olbermann's seat warm for him as the network's chief political anchor. Russert would have had these guys in his office and whipped them into shape.

9:34
We are now 15-20 mins behind what's actually going on since I've watched the MSNBC anchor soap opera over and over on the DVR. I'll catch up once they go to a network break and show the Matt Damon commercial a dozen times.

Matthews just cut Olbermann off cutting to Andrea Mitchell. This is great. Anything to kill the time until Hillary speaks in an hour.

9:38
Every guest now has to answer the token "What will Hillary say?" question. Personally I think she'll be good soldier Numero Uno and will pledge her support earnestly. Tomorrow night with Mr. Bill is the wildcard.

9:42
Spike Lee looks less than thrilled to be answering the 50th question on race relations in America.

Bob Casey is up. His dad (pro-life Dem) was snubbed in 1992 at Bill Clinton's DNC convention. Now he's trying to pitch the big tent message for the party. Interesting...

9:47
Casey just brings up the abortion issue as a difference between himself and Obama. Calls McCain Bush's "sidekick" rather than a maverick. Leads a "four more months" cheer instead of the traditional "four more years." Funny.

9:53
Testing, testing... CL

9:56
I'm in, DR. First of all, thank you for letting me be part of this historic occasion in the life of your blog...

9:58
Warner clearly watched the "John Adams" mini-series on HBO.

10:01
(DR) Sorry, I just had to do this.

10:03
(DR) Good line about Bush not tapping the resources of the American people to deal w/ our problems. I think that is a fair criticism. I have always thought that if you level with people with the truth then people can deal with these problems we face -- energy, environment, national security, etc. Just shoot straight for crying out loud.

Amy just mentioned that Warner has an estimated net worth of $200M. Wow. He tops Spuds McCain.

10:08
(DR) Line of the night:

"This election is not about liberal vs. conservative. It's not about left vs. right. It's about the future vs. the past."

Hear, hear....

10:18
(DR) Just about showtime. Warner wrapped up. DNC offers this reassurance in its preview of the highlights of Hillary's upcoming speech. I think she'll be a team player. If for nothing else it's in her own self interest. It will be interesting to see if her heart is in it.

*You will see a completely unified Democratic Party tonight as Americans from all walks of life come together to work for change. Senator Clinton has been and continues to be a passionate campaigner for Obama, and will be important force for the Democratic Party throughout this election and beyond.

10:22
(DR) MSNBC pundits -- especially Buchanan -- can't fathom that Warner hasn't tried to "gut" McCain in his speech. "Where is the fire, the scream, the heart?"

Gene Robinson brings up the point that Dems need to bring up torture, Iraq, domestic surveillance. Good point.

I think there is something to be said for taking the high road. But there is also a time to draw that sharp contrast that clearly exists between Obama and McCain this year.

10:25
(CL) Okay, let's try this again...

Hillary coming up any minute. Let me catch up on a few things. Casey's speech was good. I loved how he was beaming when the "Four More Months" chant started. He looked like a guy who successfully started the wave at a ballgame.

To your earlier point about the little tiff between Matthews and Olberman. All kidding aside, I really feel like Matthews is being push out and he knows it. A bit later he went on some semi-coherent rant about how he longed for the old rhetoric where you tear your opponents down. Olberman just sat there smirking, giving Matthews just enough rope to hang himself.

10:29
(CL) I really resent the fact that the networks now get advance copies of the speeches and tell us the gist of what we are going to hear prior to the speech. Totally unnecessary. We can listen for ourselves. They always frame it like it's great reporting on their part. "We learned...". In other words, someone has handed them an exact copy of the text. Nice work... And then the run the sound bytes across the screen seconds after the speaker says them. Apparently we can't retain information either.

10:35
(DR) Showtime.....the hour is here.

10:37
(CL) I wonder if there are signs in the arena that que the delegates to chant, cheer, and quiet down. Seems like these things start and stop a little to abruptly. I'll bet there are...

10:40
(DR) Are you suggesting that there are rehearsed cheers at the DNC like Duke basketball? Or pumped-in crowd noise like the Dean Dome?

10:44
(CL) I am...

10:45
(DR) In the first minute of her speech:

"The time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team. This is a fight for the future and it is a fight that we must win together."

11:02
(DR) "We don't need four more years of the last eight years."

11:03
(DR) Zinger about McCain & Bush being together in the Twin Cities next week as it's hard to tell them apart.

11:07
(DR) What did you think CL? I thought she did what she had to do -- unite her supporters to the cause of electing a Democrat. Simple as that.

Olbermann: "Grand slam, out of the ball park, across the street." Would you expect anything less?

11:09
(CL) She did exactly that. In hindsight, all of the concern about her somehow undermining Obama or not coming over to him in this speech were ridiculous. She wasn't going to abandon the party. It was all media-driven.

11:13
(DR) Yep, the line (paraphrasing here) about "Were you in it for me or were you in it for the cause?" was core.

Now tomorrow night with Bill will be interesting...thanks for joining amigo. See you tomorrow!

Cheers everybody!

Denver: Day 1

At the request of my buddy Chris, the Rutledges are live blogging the Democratic convention from the comfort of our living room. Still waiting on Chris to accept the invite to be a guest blogger.

8:55
Amy & I just wagered a back rub on whether the kids that are pictured with Joe Biden are his kids or his grandkids. I think they are his kids from his second marriage. Amy thinks they are grandkids.

8:59
From the wonderful Wikipedia one of the kids is his daughter from his second wife; the other must be a granddaughter. I have a feeling I will be giving the back rub even though neither one of us was right.

9:03
Owen just got up for the second time -- doesn't want to go to bed. He says he wants he can't sleep without his dragon. But I think he's just stalling just to get a glimpse of Michelle Obama.

9:06
Just switched over to Faux News. I don't think I'd buy a car from Terry McAuliffe. Not the most believable or trustworthy individual I've ever come across.

9:10
The media is going nuts over this rift between the Clintons and the Obama campaign. Enough already. I am so ready to move beyond the Clinton grasp on the Democratic party.

9:15
Amy just informed me that the kids are Biden's grandchildren. About.com just trumped Wikipedia.

9:16
Gus is singing "happy Birthday" instead of going to bed. Owen just came out to tell us that his toenails were too long. I'm telling you, he's got a thing for Michelle.

9:17
Caroline Kennedy is reading off cue cards. Emotion, dear, emotion. Nice tribute to Ted Kennedy though. I read today where he was supposed to make an appearance.

9:22
For a party that just nailed McCain on his gaffe for not knowing how many houses he owns, I'm not sure showing Ted Kennedy on a sailboat is quite the consistent message they were aiming for.

9:30
Fiery, emotional speech from TK. He looks great for a guy that just had brain surgery. "I pledge to you I will be on the floor of the Senate in January." That's how to bring a crowd to its feet.

Crowd is eating this up. "Ted-dy, Ted-dy"

9:35
Michelle Obama just emailed supporters. We have to stay up til 10:30 to see her. Owen will be disappointed.

9:40
Just had the third John Kerry sighting of the night over on MSNBC. For those of us that are still bitter about 2004 it's not a pleasant reminder to see Sen. Kerry. Must......resist...urge.....to.....complain....about....Swift Boaters.

Amy just informed me that Joe Biden is married to a teacher. And also that he is 1 of 5 Senators that is not a millionaire. Respectable in this day & age. Gotta love those educators.

9:46
Olbermann is just shameless in his drooling praise on Kennedy's speech. I know he gets grief for being an unabashed liberal. But Fox has an army of hacks -- MSNBC can have its own as well.

9:52
The DNC is about to lose the "Thirty-something parents with young children who delay their bedtime with toenail & dragon stories" audience. A 45-minute wait for Michelle's speech for crying out loud.

9:58
Faux has Karl Rove on spinning. "The Architect......more like "The Train Wrecker" if you ask me. Split screen with Sean Hannity. Spin, spin, spin. Yawn. There may not be two more despicable human spinsters on the planet.

10:03
Preview of Michelle's speech.....great line here. I needed an uplift after slumming over to the Rovian gloom.

"And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

10:14
Rachel Maddow just reiterated a fantastic point that Maureen Dowd made in the NYT yesterday about McCain going to the well over and over again with the P.O.W. defense for any criticism he receives.

Apparently McCain will be on Leno tonight where Jay asks him about knowing how many houses he as. McCain's response? He was a P.O.W. for years so he can relate to average Americans' difficulties.

10:20
While we're waiting for Michelle Obama, here is the snippet from the Dowd column about McCain going to the well too often:

So it’s hard to believe that John McCain is now in danger of exceeding his credit limit on the equivalent of an American Express black card. His campaign is cheapening his greatest strength — and making a mockery of his already dubious claim that he’s reticent to talk about his P.O.W. experience — by flashing the P.O.W. card to rebut any criticism, no matter how unrelated. The captivity is already amply displayed in posters and TV advertisements.

The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, the pastor who married Jenna Bush and who is part of a new Christian-based political action committee supporting Obama, recently criticized the joke McCain made at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally encouraging Cindy to enter the topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest. The McCain spokesman Brian Rogers brought out the bottomless excuse, responding with asperity that McCain’s character had been “tested and forged in ways few can fathom.”

When the Obama crowd was miffed to learn that McCain was in a motorcade rather than in a “cone of silence” while Obama was being questioned by Rick Warren, Nicolle Wallace of the McCain camp retorted, “The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous.”

When Obama chaffed McCain for forgetting how many houses he owns, Rogers huffed, “This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison.”

10:24
It's Michelle time.

10:25
Barack, on meeting Michelle for the first time: "I didn't see a ring on her hand."

Classic. As someone who met his wife on the job I have a soft spot for this story -- regardless of how sappy & produced it may be.

10:31
Craig Robinson giving the introduction to his sister. Great line on Barack, in the context of playing basketball with him: "He's confident but not cocky. He makes those around him better. He'll take the shot if he's open. And he won't back down from any challenge." I'm a new Oregon State fan. Go Beavers.

10:38
Michelle definitely comes across as a family person. Gives tribute to her mom, dad, brother, husband and daughters. Very genuine.

10:44
Amy: "Can we vote for Michelle?" Hear, hear...

10:52
"This time we listened to our hopes and not our fears...."

10:54
Cindy McCain just popped a couple of pills to cope with the stress of living up to that classy, genuine speech. (Low blow, I know, but I couldn't resist.)

10:56
Barack, via video feed about his wife: "Now, you know why I asked her out so many times....even though she said no. You want a persistent President."

11:02
The wrap-up. It's hard not to miss Tim Russert at a time like this. I'm sure he's smiling down....

In case you missed Michelle's speech, it's worth watching. Amy & I are fans.



Good night everybody....we'll try to blog this Tuesday night if we can stay up. ;-) Hillary's on tomorrow.

Cheers!

Politico Thursday

I have consciously taken a break from politics since June when Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination. The primaries were so long that I had to pace myself to make it to November. Now as we approach the Democratic and Republican conventions in next couple of weeks and Obama and McCain are about to choose their nominations for Vice President, I am gearing back up for the sprint to the end.

Here are a few good political reads I have come across in the past few days....

The first is a light piece from Slate on the parallels between the Obama campaign and Pepsi.

Perhaps more significant, the prevailing theme of Obama's campaign meshes well with Pepsi's corporate messaging. Pepsi's marketing has for decades tried to exude youthful energy, from the early '60s attempts to adopt baby boomers as the "Pepsi generation" to the '90s fantasy commercials depicting Pepsi as a veritable soda fountain of youth, transforming nursing-home residents into skateboarders. Pepsi's advertising slogan not too long ago was "The Choice of a New Generation," which could almost be Obama's. Certainly his strategy in the general election, as it did in the primaries, will rely on youth support that is almost as fanatical and fantastic as the fictional version in Pepsi's ads.

Personally I am a Coke-drinking Obama guy, but I digress....


The second read highlights the trend in the past few days where Obama is starting to go on the attack against the McCain campaign. National polls released this week have shown McCain pulling even with Obama, erasing a strong lead with a steady stream of forceful (I'll use that word instead of "negative") ads -- see Paris Hilton. The Obama campaign is starting to fight back. I wish I had the problem of not knowing how many houses I owned....

"Dems Pounce on McCain Admission He Doesn't Know How Many Houses He Owns"

Sen. John McCain said in an interview that he did not know how many houses he and his wife own, a comment that Democrats immediately seized on as evidence that the Republican nominee is out of touch with the economic plight of most Americans.

"I think -- I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told reporters for the Politico. "It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you."

Finally this blog post from a London Guardian writer hits hard, and personally I think there is a lot of truth to it. Republicans have always attacked much better than Democrats. Look no further than 2004 when John Kerry's perceived strength of serving in the Vietnam War was turned into a liability against a candidate who haphazardly showed up for his Air National Guard duties due to political connections of his family.

"Why GOP attacks are more effective than Democratic ones"

The McCain attacks, by contrast, are almost all aimed at character. Obama's a celebrity, he's like Britney, he's a lightweight, he's a hypocrite and so on. They throw in some policy stuff for good measure – he's gonna raise your taxes, he's to blame for high gas prices. But the gist of the GOP strategy is to turn the other guy into a person that most Americans just wouldn't want to have as president.

..................

For example, we now know that John McCain wears $520 shoes, owns an obscene number of homes (variously placed at seven to 10) and has probably never written a check to a utility company or a home contractor or a dentist in at least 26 years (since he married La Hensley). And Saturday we learned that he thinks someone with a net worth of only $4.9 million is not rich. He can be painted as – and indeed is – out of touch with what regular Americans go through every day.

If he were the Democrat, everyone in America would know the above. The Republicans would have run ads featuring those Ferragamo loafers and aerial photographs of the seven, eight, nine or 10 houses. For good measure, the script of these ads would have cleverly made sure that viewers knew that this emasculated sissy-man didn't earn a penny of the fortune that purchased all this. He married it!

..................

In general: Democrats try to turn the Republican into someone you disagree with on the issues. Republicans try to turn the Democrat into someone you wouldn't want to live on your street or let near your children. Is it any wonder the latter is more effective?

Finally the Veep picks are coming in the next week. My prediction is an Obama/Biden ticket on the Democratic side and a McCain/Pawlenty pick for the GOP. Speculation is heavy that McCain will pick Tom Ridge or even Joltin' Joe Lieberman (who is speaking at the Republican convention). But I can't see McCain sticking it to the social conservatives with either of those picks. We'll see.

Veep predictions in the comments?

Cheers!

Yes We Can!

La Casa de Rutl is a happy, happy place tonight. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

[T]his is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past and bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

Yes. We. Can.

Politico Friday

Viewing of the day: Hardball, May 15, 2008
One of the political shows on television I find interesting is Hardball on MSNBC. Chris Matthews is the bulldog host who obnoxiously interrupts his guests with another question as they are still trying to answer his previous question. And while his style can be brash, he has the confidence to call a spade a spade and the intellect to back up his assertions.

Last night on Hardball Matthews invited a talk-show host from the left and from the right to debate the story yesterday where President Bush covertly accused Barack Obama's support of an open dialogue with Iran and Hamas as "appeasement" of the radical Islamic groups just as the Nazis were appeased prior to WWII. When the talk-show host stopped screaming and was pressed to answer Matthews' question of how the Nazis were actually appeased, he couldn't answer the question. Matthews proceeded to unload in a tirade on the guy. It was highly entertaining and in my view, completely justified. This guy might read up on some history before he goes on a talk show the next time to regurgitate right-wing talking points.



Op-ed of the day: "Obama Admires Bush," David Brooks, NYT, May 16, 2008
Obama clarified and articulated his foreign policy position towards Islamic terrorist organizations like Hezbollah in a discussion with David Brooks. At first glance Obama's positions can be dismissed as naive and ideal. He supports discussions with Iran, North Korea, Hamas, and Hezbollah whereas his critics (many conservatives and even Hillary Clinton) do not believe in acknowledging the leaders of these radical regimes. But when you read deeper into his view that engaging enemies in discussions is not a sign of weakness but sound foreign policy, I think this illustrates a needed change in our attitude toward other countries. It represents -- finally! -- a Democrat willing to shine the light on the vast differences that exist between our two parties when it comes to engaging our enemies.

This is the debate the country should be having between now and November rather than goofy ministers and flag pins on the lapel.

“The debate we’re going to be having with John McCain is how do we understand the blend of military action to diplomatic action that we are going to undertake,” he said. “I constantly reject this notion that any hint of strategies involving diplomacy are somehow soft or indicate surrender or means that you are not going to crack down on terrorism. Those are the terms of debate that have led to blunder after blunder.”

Obama said he found that the military brass thinks the way he does: “The generals are light-years ahead of the civilians. They are trying to get the job done rather than look tough.”

Politico Tuesday

Barack Obama delivered a speech this morning in response to comments made by his pastor in Chicago that were offensive and misguided. The speech presented Obama with an opportunity to address the comments and the controversy head on. But it also allowed Obama to present his opinion on race relations in our country and his vision for how the problems with race have to be addressed collectively in order to be resolved.

Pundits started dissecting this speech the minute it was over. Paid political consultants from the left and right tried to put their spin on the speech. I think it is best digested simply by listening to what he had to say.

This video is why I believe in this man.

Text:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBbrc

Video:

For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright’s sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Politico Tuesday

Great piece on the appeal of Barack Obama as a "both-and" candidate in the Washington Post today.

Eugene Robinson: The Moment for this Messenger?

"I think that there's the possibility -- not the certainty, but the possibility -- that I can't just win an election but can also transform the country in the process, that the language and the approach I take to politics is sufficiently different that I could bring diverse parts of this country together in a way that hasn't been done in some time, and that bridging those divisions is a critical element in solving problems like health care or energy or education. . . ."