Night 1 of the Democratic Convention

[??????????]

could speak the TRUTH of this current Coup' government of ours with the Morale Certitude of a true Man of Peace........

That's the negativity that's going to cost the Democrats this election. "Coup Government"? lol What bs.

[Mort from NewYawk]

President Gore's speech was above-average.

Hmmmmm that's odd. Why isn't he seeking re-election? He came out to support John Kerry. Why? Maybe you can help me with this. Why is "President" Gore seeking re-election in 2004?

The reason Gore didn't run is that since he became VP, he has developed absolutely horrid political judgement.

During the 80's Gore was clear and confident, hawkish but compassionate, with some country populist appeal. Since then his image problems are almost pathological, going from boring policy wonk in 2000 (who wouldn't let Clinton stump for him), to partisan screamer and Dean-bandwagoner in 2004. If (big if) he had retained the early Gore appeal, he could easily be where Kerry is now, with even better chances. Then again, I suppose he would be president.

I wouldn't be surprised if, in exchange for the opening slot, he allowed his speech to be heavily vetted and de-fanged by the Kerry people. It's tone was exactly what they wanted, setting the stage for a positive, if somewhat vacuous, convention.


Did anyone see Jon Stewart on MSNBC?:
"It was a great night - all about John Kerry, John Edwards, and the plan for a new Administration.
Only there was no Kerry, no Edwards, and no plan."

[NHPolitico]

I just wrote a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of Bill's speech and this stupid software deleted it after telling me it was too long.

So, I'll just say that Kerry would be wise to duplicate how Clinton attacked Bush and his record. It was very clever and very effective.

[NHPolitico]

It would have better if they had come right and said that Bush is off his rocker.

Bill's way was better. It was like if he were at a bar and someone said they were undecided about the race and so Bill says, "Vote Bush if you like being robbed to pay for my tax cut and if you like going to war with every Muslim country on earth."

[© tweed]

5.

[© tweed]

I just wrote a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of Bill's speech and this stupid software deleted it after telling me it was too long.

When writing long posts, always copy the post just in case.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I just wrote a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of Bill's speech and this stupid software deleted it after telling me it was too long.

When writing long posts, always copy the post just in case.

Or write them in a word processor first.

[Blue Rectangle]

I watched on PBS, which had minimal commentary.
Gore's speech consisted of jokes about Florida2000 and calls for healing.  Both went fairly flat.  It's a little confusing to take a shot at Bush over Florida in one sentence and call for an end to political division in the next.  I guess that's the Gore version of "coarse political speech is un-American...now shove it!"

Mikulski's speech was, "women are great, especially Democratic women.  Now, John Kerry isn't a woman, but at least he's a Democrat."

Carter focused on foreign policy.  His main criticisms were that Bush has angered France and that Bush hasn't done enough to protect the rights of Palestinians.  Carter said almost nothing about terror.

I think I heard the word "stem cells" more often than the word "terror" over the course of the evening.

Hillary was OK.  I thought before that not having her speak was a mistake.  She delivered her line about Bush not spending enough on anti-terror measures in NYC, which was important for her.  The rest of her speech was forgettable.

Bill was the only above-average speaker of the night (except for the swift boat gunner, who was excellent).  Bill rallied the troops well, but spent a little too much time talking about how great things were when he was President and not enough on why Kerry would be similar.  No surprise there, I suppose.

Overall, average.  No blunders that would give Republicans ammo.  Not enough focus on Kerry and almost no mention of why Kerry would be a strong leader on fighting terror, other than suggesting that fighting in Vietnam is similar to leading a country.

[MODU]

Not enough focus on Kerry and almost no mention of why Kerry would be a strong leader on fighting terror, other than suggesting that fighting in Vietnam is similar to leading a country.

That is all they have drafted so far.  They have yet to release any hard-core details as to "why."  Maybe Kerry plans to "surprise" everyone during the debates, as to not tip his master plan to the GOP, but I honestly think his skunk works have yet to come up with anything which a majority of the populous would go for.  

I guess we'll have to watch the next 3 days to see if anything comes out.  I wouldn't hold your breath though.

[NHPolitico]

Bill was the only above-average speaker of the night (except for the swift boat gunner, who was excellent).  Bill rallied the troops well, but spent a little too much time talking about how great things were when he was President and not enough on why Kerry would be similar.  No surprise there, I suppose.

He talked about himself in the context of Bush priorities vs. Kerry/Dem priorities. He was saying that Bush is trying to scare voters into thinking that Dems can't govern and that he proved they can-- and do so well-- and that Kerry's term will be as prosperous as his.

[Jorge Estrada]

All in all I thought it was very good.

Gore's speech was solid, funny, and a nice warm up.

Carter's speech was great!  I don't think anyone saw him coming on as strong as he did.

The Rev who served on Kerry's swift boat was AWESOME!!  They need to get him out on the stump more often!

Hillary was bland but I didn't expect anything else from her.

Bill was the best of the night and probably the best of either convention.  There's no denying his charisma or his ability to take complex issues and make them simple.  In my life I have only seen 4 truly great speakers.  John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

[MHS2002]

I thought the SC reverend/Kerry's boatmate did the best job. I also thought Clinton did a good job. Can Kerry top those 2 speeches? If he can he's in good shape.

[Citizen James]

Seemed pretty decent to me.  Something for everyone who might give Kerry serious consideration.

Gore did a good job of base maintanence, just enough indignation to get the party faithful fired up a bit without the fire and brimstone that would have come across like Pat Robertson, Ann Coulter, or a handfull of other nutcases.

Carter came through for the policy wonks who were watching.  Probably won't have much effect on people who don't remember the camp David accords though.

The 9/11 tribute was tastefully done, and a subtle way of immunizing themselves against the Republican convention, which appears to be planned as a 'celebration' of 9/11 (the best thing to ever happen to Bush).

And Clinton, still an outstanding speaker.  He made the case for the moderates and the fence sitters.   A nice bit of self depriciating humor and subtle jibes (I don't mind the extra 5K, but would rather have it spent to stop terrorism), reminding us that the national budget is a matter of priorities, not theft.

It'll be interesting to see if they can keep it up.

[CARLHAYDEN]

The bottom line is that very few watched the first day of the convention.

The chief objective of the convention (other than the obvious legal requirement of nominating Kerry and Edwards) is to avoid an incident (i.e. speaker making an outrageous statement and crowd cheering him).

So far they're skated past that danger in the first day.

[NHPolitico]

Yes, few watched it, but many probably saw clips of it via various media outlets.  if they show clips of Bill, that's a positive for Kerry.