I must say…so far, this is turning out to be one of the more enjoyable Democratic conventions in recent memory. Bill Clinton turned it on on Monday, reminding everyone in America what a truly committed and competent president looks like. And last night was, in the inimitable phrasing of Mo Rocca, Obamatastic! As for the rest of the speeches, the only one that’s rubbed me the wrong way so far is Gore’s, who was his usual pedantic self. Otherwise, everyone seems fired up and on message…now, if only America was watching. (The cable ratings may be up, but I’m willing to bet most of those viewers already know who they’re voting for.)
At any rate, after Clinton and Obama, John Edwards will have two very hard acts to follow tonight, but I’m willing to bet he’s up to the task.
Kevin, I know you’ll never be a Gore fan, and I sure won’t try to sway you, at least not today. But “pedantic”? Really? “Marked by a narrow, often ostentatious, concern for…formal rules.” That’s from the good folks over at American Heritage who publish the dictionary I rely on.
I don’t know — on the up side, Gore seemed looser and more human than I can remember, second only to his concession speech. This seems to me to be the mark of a man who has finally made peace with his demons. You just have to respect that.
On the cynical side, you can see how he has, finally, morphed into a destiny he only forced on himself: the punchline to a very bad joke.
Ha ha! Count all the votes! Ha ha! Grow up to get the popular vote! Ha ha! I get it! Ha ha! Let’s make sure your vote counts! Ha ha!
It’d all be really hilarious if the (unintended, to be fair) consequences of his lack of fighting for Florida weren’t the dead and wounded in Iraq today.
Yes, that will be his lot in life forever more. He will be the Your-Vote-Counts-I’m-Living-Proof guy at every Democratic Convention for the rest of his life. How woefully predictable.
So, with that in mind, I ask you to take it easy on Gore. But I ask you with as little enthusiasm as you can imagine. I know we’re all supposed to be united and everything is great and isn’t Kerry just spectacular? Blah, blah. Part of being loyal, part of being a Democrat for sure, is being there through the thin part of the proverbial “through thick and thin”. I was there in 2002, trying to fight Katherine Harris’ bid for Congress. Where were the Democrats when we needed help in Florida’s 13th Congressional District? In fact, where were they at all in 2002? I remember 2002. Kerry and Edwards have my vote, my token 25 bucks, and that’s about all I can do for now.
That said, I must confess, I am and will always remain a loyal Clinton foot solider, and I thought he was particularly awesome the other night. The same can be said of Edwards. In fact, hell, it has turned out to be a pretty damn good convention, despite the crusty grudge I carry around. Be curious to hear your take.
So, what did you think of Edwards speech? I mean other than the weird thing he does with his tongue all the time.
The Edwards campaign says its the way he “recharges”. If you look when he does it, it is usually after he delivers a nice punchline. I think it is his internal way of gloating, of exuding confidence. Now I dunno what they mean by recharging (dry mouth?) but I can tell you that I am sure it is his way of showins that he knows he is flashy.
Well, I meant pedantic as in “One who exhibits one’s learning or scholarship ostentatiously,” which is pretty much Gore’s M.O. since time immemorial. In this case, it was all the hypotheticals he posed to the audience, punctuated with that awful Gore head wag. But, what can I say? The guy just sticks in my craw.
As for Edwards and Kerry, I’ll post something in the main blogspace soon, hopefully.