A Night to Remember

Wow. What a speech! I've seen some great speeches in my 24 years, but I think that this might just take the cake. Obama was brilliant last night. I think I feel the need to try and match that speech by writing a very insightful commentary post. Why even try. I'll just note a few highlights that really struck me. In my opinion, Obama did a great job of defusing the "celebrity" and "elitist" critique that the McCain campaign has been so desperately trying to link him with. By highlighting his struggles growing up as the child of a single mother on welfare, I think it's pretty much impossible to call Obama an "elitist." I was particularly struck by the line, "I don't know how John McCain thinks a celebrity lives, but that's how I grew up." In the words of John Madden, Boom. However, it's really up to the media whether or not they will keep covering this line of attack. Since they know it's BS, they should leave it alone. Another highlight for me, as I sure it was for everyone watching the speech, was the bit on Osama bin Laden. As I'm sure you're all aware, McCain has said that he will follow Osama Bin Laden to "the gates of hell." Now, that plays really well in a cheesy 80's action flick, but in the real world such macho nonsense should be dismissed as utter inanity. Obama said "John McCain wants to chase Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives!" This, of course, is in reference to McCain's puzzling refusal to go after bin Laden in Pakistan. In fact he's accused Obama of wanting to "invade Pakistan." Of course, Obama has never said anything even close to that. I think that line was a watershed moment in this election; as it cuts to the very core of John McCain's perceived national security bonfides.

Overall, I thought the speech was very inspiring. Those were two little highlights that struck me amongst numerous others. I mentioned those two because they marked Obama's response to McCain's two main lines of attack: 1) Barack Obama is an "elitist celebrity" obessesed with his own image; and 2) Barack Obama does not have the experience and national security bonafides that would enable him to be an effective comander-in-cheif. There were many other tidbits that stuck me. In order to go over those, I will outsource any additional commentary and analysis to Michael Tomasky and Ezra Klein.

McCain's Celebrity

Over at the TIME groupblog Swampland, Ana Marie Cox has a post noting John McCain's 13th appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. That's the same amount of appearances as such celebrity heavy weights as Pamela Anderson and Simon Cowell. Just in case your wondering, Barack Obama that "elitist celebrity" has only appeared on the show once.

Via Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.

Thoughts on Biden

I realize that this is coming 4 days late, but I really think that Joe Biden is a solid pick for Barack Obama's running mate. Biden is a very endearing Senator and I have no doubt that he will convince many voters that were on the fence in regards to Obama to fall fully into his camp. His personal story about commuting home every night to be with his sons after the tragic accident that killed his wife and daughter will resonate with American voters. Joe Biden truly is a blue-collar guy, an Irish Catholic from Scranton (yeah Dunder-Mifflin!!!) that grew up with absolutely nothing. Just like Barack Obama, the son of a single mother on welfare. Hopefully this pick will help combat the "elitist" and "celebrity" narrative. However, I think the Democrats could nominate a homeless 12 year old for President and the GOP would still call them an elitist. Mark Schmitt has a great mini-profile of Joe Biden over at the American Prospect. It's a short read that I highly recommend.

As for the convention last night, I thought the tribute to Teddy Kennedy was very moving. I thought considering the circumstance he looked good. His speech conveyed the fire and passion he still possesses, especially for lifting up ordinary Americans. Also, his vow to be on the Senate floor in January 2009 was very touching, and reassuring for that matter. His voice is a crucial one, and if Obama hopes to enact progressive change through the Senate, Kennedy's skills will be vital. I thought that Michelle Obama was electrifying. I had high expectations for this speech, but she absolutely knocked it out of the park. Her speech exhibited how normal she is. Personally, I find it abhorrent that millions of Americans still need to be convinced of that. It shows just how far our country has to go. However, her presence on that stage also demonstrated how far our country has progressed.

Photo used courtesy of Flickr user IowaPolitics.com July, 17 2007

Kicking it McCain Style

Via my coworker Taylor, via Daily Kos.

Bush Flip-Flops on Timetables

It's official. Condoleezza Rice has negotiated a draft agreement towards a timetable for withdrawl of US forces from Iraq. The draft calls for the removal of combat forces from cities by the end of June 2009, with all combat forces out by December 2011. Unfortunately, this agreement does leave a little room for so-called "residual" forces. Nevertheless, this is very encouraging news, as it will be good to have the majority of our troops home where they belong. This is, of course, a huge flip-flop for Bush. The administration has long made it clear that they view timetables for withdrawl as tantamount to surrender. Considering McCain thinks we need to stay in Iraq anywhere between 100 and 10,000 years I can only guess that he must've spontaneously combusted when he heard of this news.

It should be noted that the Bush administration has made a wise move here, so I will give credit where credit is due. However, it should be clear that this is a draft agreement so nothing is set in stone. In other words, in the unfortunate event of a McCain victory in November, he could throw this agreement out the window. Moreover, the Times article makes clear that the Americans and Iraqis have somewhat different interpretations of this agreement. In the end though, this is good news and it hopefully means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the troops over in Iraq.

This ADORABLE photo was used courtesy of Flickr user soldiersmediacenter April 23, 2007

Game On

Via Ezra Klein.

Why Republican Attacks Work

Michael Tomasky, the editor of Guardian America and former editor of the American Prospect, has a great post up on his new blog that explains why Republican attacks are so much more devastating than Democratic ones. The long and short of it is that Republicans attack character, while Democrats attack policy. The American people, are of course much more in tune with character issues than they are knowledgeable of policy. This is something the Democratic Party really needs to correct, and Tomasky has a few ideas on where to start.