Barack Obama’s speech reminded me more than anything else of some of Bill Clinton’s State of the Union addresses. It was a little longer than I would have liked. It was more itemized than I would have preferred. I thought it was very effective even though it didn’t really speak to me. It wasn’t really aimed at winning the love of progressives and there was a bit of triangulating that I found grating. I can’t blame him for speaking to the middle, but it came at the cost of denying me the ability to dream big.
The part I really liked is when he gave his supporters credit for creating the progressive change he was able to deliver. I just wish he had done more to empower his supporters to help him. If you have been reading this site over the last four years, you know that I understand the constraints he’s been dealing with. My biggest regret is that he squandered much of the power of the grassroots movement he built.
That’s what makes me cynical.
Good, I’m glad it wasn’t me. I agree with you 100%. I’m not sure more needs to be said. Time for bed; I’ve got work in 5 hours.
The reaction from my social networks have been extremely positive from both my politically active friends and not really political friends.
Which is a different beast than a first nomination speech. Actually I thought it was similar thematically to Clinton’s 1996 speech.
I also think the renomination speech is probably one of the hardest to do – it is part list of accomplishments, part big themes, part wonky policy. Threading that needle is dang near impossible but I think he did it very very well. Not as well as FDR in 1936 but still very very well.
My question would then be what exactly is your dream?
I think you might just be bumping up against the relatively unambitious nature of Democratic education and economic policy in a post-crisis world. There’s a sort of subtle fatalism there that Americans will have to work really, REALLY hard and make great sacrifice to “stay competitive” in a globalized world. We won’t really shoot for the moon so much as keep hoping for basic livability and common decency.
It didn’t speak me to either. It felt all over the map at the beginning but came together. I may need to read it. I know MSNBC is biased, but everyone seems genuinely overwhelmed by it.
Still a great convention. Looking forward to the debates.
“he squandered much of the power of the grassroots movement he built,” might more properly read, “we squandered much of the power of the grassroots movement they built and we inhabited for a while.”
Romney gave us his background, some yay America stuff and no policy. Obama gave us his achievements, some yay America stuff and no policy. Goals, yes. Policy, no. I guess the calculation is that given that they both offer no target to aim at, Obama will look better because he has the best experience for being President: being President. Not gonna fire up the base with that. Previous speakers’ words, maybe, but not so much his.
Obama is getting too used to his surrogates doing the heavy lifting?
I missed the speech (events I had to be at). But when I got home, my partner – who volunteered for Obama in 2008, has been disillusioned since, and is much less politically engaged than I am – gushed about it. In particular she appreciated the credit to supporters and the explicit calling out of climate change as being real and something we need to deal with. She didn’t think it was as powerful as Bill Clinton’s speech, but close.
People wanting an inspirational, kick-ass 2008 speech were going to be disappointed; that not only isn’t his role now, but entreaties to think big beg comparisons with what didn’t happen after his hope/change rhetoric in 2008. So it sounds to me from the other reactions out there like he did a solid job, just not one likely to appeal strongly to political junkies.
I think this comment is right on. I would add that perhaps the somewhat “down” nature of the speech reflected Obama’s recognition that even if he’s re-elected, the next 4 years are pretty much guaranteed to be more discord and gridlock. It’s going to the same tough, ugly, unceasing trench warfare we’ve been enduring. And even if it’s a successful second term, in the end the Obama administration is not going to accomplish quite as much as we/he hoped for it in 2008. There will be no Second New Deal. It just ain’t happening. Maybe that’s been obvious for a long time, but I feel like Democrats really feel the emotional weight of that in this moment.
Obama’s first campaign was tons of fun. His presidency hasn’t been, with the exception of some of the BFD moments. His second campaign is, and his second term probably will be, a continuation on that latter theme.
Not only will there be no second New Deal, Obama will have to fight to save the first New Deal.
He can’t conduct that fight alone. The Democrats in Congress are the weakest part of the bulwark against the reversal of the New Deal. And citizen apathy after the election.
I was about to write “Democrats will have to fight to save the first New Deal,” but then it occurred to me that Obama might have to fight Democrats as well as Republicans. I swear, institutional Democrats are Obama’s allies kinda like Pakistan is the US’s ally in the war against the Taliban.
I thought it was actually a great speech, and much better than either Clinton or Michelle Obama (who both were good but not great).
The one sour note for me was on energy in the middle (more oil and natural gas and “clean coal”) but the end really framed the election perfectly.
The only way not to be cynical is to watch him and see if he changes his approach to his grassroots supporters after he wins. He no longer has to make sure he has the big bucks for another campaign.
The “you are the change” and “you are the ones who gave me hope” stuff is a pivot IMO. Maybe a recognition that he lost momentum in 2009 by playing the DC game a little too much. The transition to this around the discussion of citizenship was a key point of contrast in his speech.
The foreign policy vision is a little scary, but not like Mitt’s team’s nonsense.
He buttered up Netanyahu and Cardinal Dolan tonight.
The little too self-conscious delivery bugged me and makes me cynical about his determination not to sacrifice too much in a grand bargain for deficit reduction that will have to be timed to be counter-cyclical as the boom phase of recovery starts up.
One thing that really left me flat in the “dreaming big” category was the discussion of energy goals.
First of all, “clean coal” is a myth that we need to drop yesterday.
Second, even with the reduced CO2 emissions, I’m not at all sure the strategic advantages of buying less foreign oil outweighs the damage done to our dwindling fresh water sources by expanded hydrofracking. For one thing, a lot of that natural gas is going to Canada to do the inefficient work of extracting oil from tar sands, which will then in all likelihood come back down through the US to poison our water sources even more.
Yeah, I know, bridge energy source and all, but a greater push for solar, wind, geothermal, and whatever other environmentally friendly sources are out there would have been a hell of a lot more inspiring. I guess the political atmosphere won’t permit a big rhetorical push there just yet, but it’s disappointing all the same.
Mind, it was still a great speech, and a tremendous convention. My little objections don’t amount to much, just throwing them out there.
Completely agreed both about the speech begin great and about the energy downer.
It’s only on energy and climate change that neither the Dem or GOP solutions add up (obvious the GOP “solutions” are even worse, but it’s just a matter of degrees). It’s too bad that Bill Clinton didn’t apply his arithmetic line of thinking to that as well.
I think that’s because energy and climate change are genuinely tough problems, and the politics makes them even tougher.
The President has an “all of the above” energy strategy, which is politically smart if environmentally and scientifically not quite as smart.
What I noticed is that emphasis in the convention was on all of the new oil leases, the glorious future supplies of natural (fracked) gas, and clean coal.
Here is my reading of this: jobs in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alaska. Jobs for primarily white working class men. Jobs now rather than later.
Like I said, politically smart. And it puts the oil billionaires on the defensive. They’ve gotten leases. Now why do they need subsidies when the price of oil is going to go ever upward along with their profits?
You reduce oil, natural gas, and coal production through different buildings, automobiles, and industrial processes — as more wind and solar come online. (6% of electricity generated now comes from wind).
I agree with you, especially about the fracking subtezt to natural gas, but he also said: “unlike my opponent, will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan or endanger our coastlines or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers. (Cheers, applause.) We’re offering a better path.”
As for the rest, I think he was citing the options. I found it interesting that he did not mention nuclear energy, though I’m not sure why not. Maybe just because it’s not very popular and provides few jobs. Obviously the greener the mix, the better. He made it clear that climate change is not a joke.
Energy efficiency is a key element in the mix.
He needs the oilfield workers but he doesn’t need the oil company executives; assurance of jobs but laying down the marker to make the shift to renewables.
I loved the speech. Especially, I like the focus on citizenship and what that means. It was a speech not aimed at his highest, most informed supporters. Clinton made the case for his accomplishments and the contrast with Republicans. Obama took the long view forward and took on hope and change renewed as citizenship–both its power and its responsibilities. I also liked the “You did that!” refrain, part of the same section of his speech.
My biggest regret is that he squandered much of the power of the grassroots movement he built.
Need I remind you that someone wrote about this about a year into Obama’s term? Yeah, Tim Dickinson.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/no-we-cant-20100202
I’m really grateful for Joe Biden tonight. Without him, would the economic plight of average Americans been half as important to their messaging as it was? I don’t think so.
I got the impression that something else is going on right now. Something we don’t know about yet that he is preoccupied with. He seemed flustered or glum – especially at the beginning. He pulled it together at the end though.
I should probably read the text of the speech because it was probably a better written speech than what was delivered tonight. People at the convention are now spinning about how great it was but I could swear I saw alot of long faces in the crowd during the first half of the speech.
The convention, overall, was amazing and should deliver a nice bounce. Good thing it wasn’t all riding on this one speech. Perhaps my expectations were too high?
Preoccupied. Iran-Israel. There are a couple of victories that might be pulled out of that–maybe before the election. And the bigger possibility of conflict. It and Syria are the two dicey situations right now.
The two victories, possible but difficult, are first, resolution of the Iranian nuclear program issue in a way that shuts Netanyahu up and puts the US and Iran on a path to normalized relations. Second, concessions from Netanyahu relative to Palestine–I’m not sure what all the commitment about Jerusalem was about but it could be more than just AIPAC pressure. I hadn’t thought of that until you mentioned the word “preoccupied”.
Yes, I also think it’s about Israel/Iran. Netanyahu has been telling Obama they’re about to hit Iran. Obama,the US military, most of the Israeli military and senior security tell Netanyahu: you’re out of your f–ing mind. Netanyahu: I don’t care what you think, I’ll attack and you’ll have to back me. Obama and the US military: You attack Iran, you’re ON YOUR OWN. But if you don’t, just for being such a nice guy I’ll kiss your butt a little at my convention. And BTW, Shelly Adelson — oh, sorry, I mean Mitt Romney — is not winning this election. So think about it.
Narrowly averting WW3 would preoccupy anybody,wouldn’t it.
http://consortiumnews.com/2012/09/05/obama-impedes-israels-iran-attack/
“I got the impression that something else is going on right now. Something we don’t know about yet that he is preoccupied with.”
Yes, so did I.
subdued nor did I think his delivery was off. I just think this was never going to be the soaring rhetoric of the 2008 acceptance speech. He has a record he has to run on so that needs to woven in as does some broad goals for the future as well as the standard contrast with the opposition.
Funny that I read all the way to the end of the comments and then find one that says pretty much what I was going to say. Think about how out of place a “fired up and ready to go” kind of speech would be. He can’t run as an outsider again. Hope and change was great but now the focus is on the hard work of governing. I thought he did a nice job. In part, we’re spoiled because Obama’s one of the great orators of our time. What would be grand slam for someone else is par for the course for him.
Yep, I also agree. Let’s hope he gets the chance to give the speech for someone else that Bill Clinton gave for him.
To go from talking about Abe Lincoln to quoting scripture in a few minutes was my main takeaway. yeah, he really was not speaking to his supporters in the direct way that I would have liked. However, he made sure to remind millions of americans that he is the president and he kiled our number one boogey man. That means alot to people. I found it striking that Democrats are finally the party of America and freedom for real reasons.
How long has it been since Franklin Roosevelt was mentioned positively in an acceptance speech at a Democratic convention? For decades, Ronald Reagan’s name has usually been invoked at conventions. I see this as real progress, considering the last 30 years. FDR was almost a saint in my parents’ and grandparents’ homes, when I was growing up. This was true in my friends’ homes, as well. I’m just happy FDR was mentioned.
It was Reagan that was responsible for that, with his “Reagan Democrats”. It’s past time for the Reagan Democrats to come home.
Did you and commenters on here listen to the same speech that I did? What exactly would have impressed you? This is exactly what Dems do to shoot themselves in the foot. Things are NOT okay with many folks in this country, so any rah rah speech would have been tone deaf. This was a speech to convince waverers to see beyond the current tough horizons. It was respectful of skeptics’ doubts
You do realize that Progressives are a very small constituency of voters. That is a fact that cannot be disputed. This was a speech aimed at the Mid-west and other swing states. The whole night was targeted to the manufacturing belt, particularly white male voters. So the speech “levels” with them, not try to hoodwink them’
Get out of your bubble Booman!
This was a speech aimed at the Mid-west and other swing states.
Isn’t that what BooMan said?
I thought it was very effective even though it didn’t really speak to me.
I kind of felt the same way. It was the type of speech that was necessary and effective toward the audience he was trying to reach. My wife, who is not quite as liberal as I am, thought it was great. I have no illusions about where Obama lies in the political spectrum. He did what he needed to do. I understand that. I think most progressives do, too.
I actually liked it overall. The first part built a little too slow maybe but the last quarter or so kicked some ass. Maybe I’m in the minority but I really didn’t like the ’04 and ’08 stuff too much. It was a different world back then. Reality hit hard a few months before he was elected and I think it changed a lot. Giving a speech like the old days would be like celebrating a sack of the quarterback when you’re down by ten points. Not really the right time…yet.
I thought it was one of his best. Totally loved it. From the “take two tax cuts and call me in the morning line”, to his proclaiming “I am the President”, just fantastic all the way around. And I thought the big finsih was one his most kick ass conclusions to any of his speeches. I’d give it a 9.5 out of 10.
I would agree that the speech was “just” okay, and by the time he delivered it I admit I expected it to be slow to build. And I would agree with some of the comments that point out to whom the speech was aimed.
But to me the broader point is that this was, by FAR, the best convention I have ever seen (and I’ve watched them since 1968). Top to bottom, it was filled with astonishing speeches, delivered by passionate advocates who were clearly under orders to let her rip. Deval Patrick’s speech on the first night completely blew me away–the best convention speech I’ve ever seen. Lilly Ledbetter killed.Ted Strickland rocked the house. Michelle, of course, was phenomenal. Castro’s speech started slowly, like Obama’s, because he was introducing himself, but it built quite effectively. Night two was also packed. Sandra Fluke was short, to the point, and excellent. The Nun on the bus slammed it. Clinton had a very particular task assigned and he excelled as the executioner.. Night three: if you didn’t see Gennifer Granholm’s speech, you’ve got to YouTube it. Biden filled things out in a very particular and very effective and emotional way. I kept thinking, “Are these the same people who are always so circumscribed and cautious?!” So in a sense, Obama’s speech was, by design, of a piece. He did the finish work, and his job was most certainly not to speak directly to progressives.
The convention was of a piece, and there was genius to it. Oddly, Obama didn’t exactly have the starring role–there were all-stars up and down the roster. The goal, as I’ve said here before, is to crush the Republicans. They are well on their way. If Romney lasts until the first debate, he won’t last much longer after that. Even the mainstream media can’t save him now.
Maybe I’m missing something, but how does a speech to anything with/for/to the power of the grassroots? Grassroots, as opposed to the AstroTurf on the right, are the prime movers, so I don’t get how anything he could say would empower/enable supporters – it’s just a speech.
One thing that I’ve seen of the president is that he is utterly practical, and if he’s going to “use” the grassroots then it’s to the end of getting something done. If one speech in a convention adversely affects the tool that he would use then the tool wasn’t made of anything worthwhile to be so flimsy…
The speech has nothing to do with his grassroots movement. My lament would be true no matter how I felt about his speech. But he didn’t appeal much to his grassroots in his speech. He gave a poll-tested middle of the road speech that resembled Clinton’s SOTU speeches post-Lewinsky. Good for the politics of the middle, not for inspiring the base.
It depends on how you’re figuring his grassroots base. For his black base, simple, powerful rejoinders like “I AM the President” mean the world in the face of hateful opposition and empty chair taunting.
Between that and the attacks on corporate money corrupting politics and degrading citizenship, I thought there were seeds of a very effective political base speech there.
I read the Obama speech this morning and I must say, taking his and Bill Clinton’s together, anybody who compares the outlook and aspirations of the nominees of the two parties and says “Not a dime’s worth of difference” is a nitwit.
And the Democrats still sound like the party of the people, to me.
I registered for this one comment. You talk a good game, …but you’re no coach. You’re far less than 20/20 on the big picture, which I always felt was your undoing as a quotable analyst.
This whole convention felt like a War Room meeting in the White House. Speakers after speakers, from Lily Ledbetter to Michelle Obama, from Duval Patrick to Bill Clinton, and on and on, all had their turn at the mic, …no holds barred, and descended on the socio-economico-politico-geopolitical reality of present-day America. As though its very life was on the line.
And the Commander-in-Chief sat in the high grounds, …and listened in on the conversation. And then, …and thus, he adjourned this meeting of a righteous mindset with the only sequitur, and only memorable quote of this day in History: “I am the President”.
On a par with “We, The People…”. With ‘en filigrane’: that is my, your, our …only viable solution.
That was, in a nutshell…in more ways than one I might say, the most faithful rendition of a crucial, and half-done Presidency. The President ‘Presided’, …suggested he be carrying on in doing so, with no apology for having the last word, as he has been so doing, with subdued vigor, with frenzied enlightenment, in part one of his Presidency. A ‘master class’ in radiant leadership.
And you missed out on it…!
Welcome to the pond, I hope we’ll be hearing more from you.
I don’t think Booman missed it, I just think he was commenting from a narrower perspective, and that narrow perspective appears pretty irrelevant in the wake of thie convention.
It was incomparably the best convention I’ve ever seen. The lack of balloons, although it came about accidentally, is a good symbol for the lack of hot air. As you say, we got a panoramic picture of where this country is right now, what has to be done, and a vastly more representative view of actual and potential Democrats. So while I agree with you, I would cut the Boo some slack, as his perspective is a hell of a lot wider than most of the left blogosphere, and he has created the opportunity for genuine dialogue here.
Obama is the cool head we need to contrast with those who feel they must holler about how much they love America, soldiers, Hispanics, trees and women. He is the “just do it” man who understands that his job is a lot of showbiz.
I love the part about citizenship, a word we’ve avoided for too long. If we could move the national focus from consumerism to participation in a creative and vibrant society, that would be change I can believe in.