28
2004
I was trapped on an airplane during last night’s speeches and busy catching up on my life back here in San Francisco today but my reactions were pretty much captured by Sullivan’s comments about last night’s speeches. And I agree with David Broder: Ted Kennedy was boring. Internet heart-throb Howard Dean flustered and Teresa Heinz Kerry over-sold.
But Obama delivered. Big time. A candidate for the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama has, indeed, found the right note for the Democrats to hit on the war and his speech about unity was and will remain a fine, long-overdue answer to the Republicans. But it’s not exactly a secret – others in the party share his sentiments about how the war should be fought so I don’t think Sullivan’s got it quite right when he talks about Kerry and company running for the center to win election.
And the comparisons between Obama and former President Bill Clinton are dumb. Obama, with his love of history and the immigrants’ story, is much more in keeping with former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s oratory style. Bill Clinton loves soaring oratory for the sake of hearing those lovely words come out of his mouth. Cuomo and Obama are after something a bit more concrete. Take a look at Cuomo’s convention speech from 1984, given right here in San Francisco.