I didn’t watch the acceptance speech Obama gave in ancient Greece Denver tonight, but not to fear, I had a friend who was watching it with a few of his friends, and they were good enough to record their observations for posterity.  He passed it on to me, so I in turn pass this on to you:¹

[20:59] A.Friend: earlier, they showed the stadium and were talking how many people were there — that he was giving the speech in front of 85000 people and they’d likely have to turn thousands away.  but when they showed wide angle views of stadium, even though there were people everywhere in the place, the were so thin in places that you could see the color of the seating in various sections.  Sure they could still be packing them in, but it was /NOT/ even close to being packed. 

[21:00] Me: somebody mentioned that the crowds looked like the people you’d see at an infomercial audience cheering wildly (and inanely) at any damned thing

[21:00] A.Friend: haha

[21:00] A.Friend: yeah mostly.  you could see them notice the camera and perk up

[21:00] Me: “hi, I’m on TV and cheering FOR NO GOOD REASON!  YAY!!”

[21:16] A.Friend: lol “with great humility” obama says he accepts nomination — great humility, as he felt the need to move /his/ speech to a giant stage in the middle of a football field because the other place wasn’t big enough to contain his ego

[21:30] A.Friend: today is the 45th anniversary of mlk’s “i have a dream” speech.

[21:31] Me: yeah - it’s no accident he’s standing in front of a facsimile of the white house, and speaking on the anniversary of MLK

[21:32] Me: omg, he’s back to the Change thing

[21:33] A.Friend: that’s all he’s got — change.  if he stopped saying that, people would forget what he’s about.

[21:34] A.Friend: nice to know in 10 years we’ll be oil free.  nice.

[21:34] Me: not driving isn’t an answer for me

[21:34] A.Friend: AND at the same time we’ll have cut taxes. 

[21:34] A.Friend: oh, and we’ll have massive social programs to take care of and manage us at the same time. 

[21:35] Me: really?!  Nuclear? about bloody well time!

[21:35] A.Friend: where is he getting 140 billion if he’s cutting taxes?

[21:36] A.Friend: /think of the children!!!/

[21:36] A.Friend: higher salaries, too?  even with massive tax cuts?

[21:37] A.Friend: comparing this joker to mlk is an insult to mlk

[21:37] A.Friend: whoa — nationalized health care, too — all while cutting taxes.

[21:38] A.Friend: (informercial man) “BUT WAIT! there’s more!”

[21:39] Me: line by line?  really?

[21:39] Me: there it is, MLK, meet JFK

[21:42] Me: Obama knows where Osama lives.  Nice.

[21:42] A.Friend: AAHAHAAHAHAH!!!

[21:43] A.Friend: there have been only two other presidents who accepted nomination outdoors in a stadium

[21:44] A.Friend: JFK and FDR

[21:44] A.Friend: and there ya go

[21:44] Me: <rolls eyes>  He just /said/ Roosevelt, Kennedy.  <shiver>

[21:44] Me: well, he’s hitting all the talking points

[21:49] A.Friend: whoa — if he really does what he just said, uphold the second amendment, that is a HUGE change in policy for democrats who seek to ignore it completely.

[21:49] Me: it’s only a model

[21:51] Me: now for the politics of the present!

[21:52] Me: Change again

[21:52] Me: i have a new idea - get a new word.  Any one new word.

[21:57] Me: oh, nice, MLK, JFK, FDR, and now Scripture.  Circle takes the square

[21:57] Me: they removed the podium so everyone can see their savior

[21:58] A.Friend: since when do democrats play country music?

[21:59] Me: this is like the curtain call after a musical

[21:59] Me: and now streamers and confetti.  it’s the superbowl

[21:59] Me: holy photo-opp, Batman

[22:00] Me: “I’m pointing randomly into the crowd!”

[22:00] A.Friend: hahahahah

[22:01] Me: wait!  I was right - here’s the rest of the cast!  lol

[22:01] A.Friend: HAHAHA

[22:01] Me: cue the presidential movie theme music for the closing credits

[22:02] A.Friend: you sure you didn’t help organize this thing?  you been pretty dead on

[22:02] Me: I can’t wait to see Obama the Savior 2, coming Summer 2012

[22:02] Me: music by Hans Zimmer and Randy Newman

[22:03] Me: I am unbelievably cynical about all this

[22:03] A.Friend: NO!?  really?

[22:03] Me: and I’ll be just as cynical when the republicans do their elephant and pony show

[22:03] Me: he /is/ a rock star - they’re doing an encore!

[22:04] A.Friend: yeah i was right — the commentators on CNN are glowing

[22:05] Me: CSPAN is blissfully silent

Well, that about covers it for me.  If I missed something, let me know.

Meanwhile, here are some additional links to some other unimpressed people:

http://theamericanscene.com/2008/08/29/post-speech

http://dirtyharrysplace.com/?p=401

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/jpodhoretz/24061

And some impressed ones, just for balance.

http://rossdouthat.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/08/obamas_night.php

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/francis/archive/2008/08/29/obama-s-chances.aspx

I think it is safe to admit that Obama gives a good speech. That is the Hallmark trait of a politician, the ability to tell you what you want to hear. I don’t, however think it is necessarily a good trait of a statesman or leader, and that may be my disconnect with Obama.

Obama has played this as a consummate politician, using artful mastery of rhetoric and charisma. he looks good, sounds good, and gives people what they want to hear, and they cheer in droves.

The problem is that none of that will matter if he cannot propose actual ideas and implement them, and that remains to be seen as so much of his policy and strategy remains shrouded in hints and winks, and no substance.

Obama started this campaign as a stuffed shirt, and tonight, he accepted with that stuffing firmly intact.

Trackposted to Democrat=Socialiston 29 Aug 2008 at 7:28 am

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