Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
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Post by Jack on Aug 29, 2008 8:25:38 GMT -5
Reviews from across the spectrum:
MSNBC Pat Buchanan – “It was a genuinely outstanding speech. It was magnificent. It is the finest – and I saw Cuomo’s speech, I saw Kennedy in ‘80, I even saw Douglas MacArthur, I saw Martin Luther King – this is the greatest convention speech, and probably the most important because unlike Cuomo and the others this is an acceptance speech. This came out of the heart of America and he went right at the heart of America…”
FOX Bill Kristol – “Barack Obama faced very high expectations tonight and honestly I think he met them and I honestly think he exceeded them…He eloquently explained America’s promise. He explained why the Bush Cheney administration had fallen short of that…I thought it was an awfully impressive performance.”
CNN David Gergen – “In many ways it was less a speech than a symphony…It was a masterpiece”
MSNBC Tom Brokaw – “It was a wonderfully crafted political speech and the Republicans I’m sure were looking in and wondering what they’re going to be able to do next week to match it”
CNN Paul Begala – “He went fearlessly at John McCain’s greatest strength, national security. He went proudly into the social issue terrain that Democrats are usually so afraid of. He went boldly attacking the status quo of George Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain, and then he went very comfortably in your living room…This is my ninth convention, it was as very nearly a perfect convention speech as I can imagine…”
MSNBC Chris Matthews – “I thought it was amazing – I’ve written speeches all my life, of course nothing like this…It was a great way of throwing back the other side’s best shot and saying it’s full of crap”
CNN Campbell Brown – “If anybody ever thought that Barack Obama was not tough enough to run against John McCain this speech should really put an end to that…”
FOX Chris Wallace – “I thought it was an exceedingly smart speech in which Barack Obama played offense and defense very effectively.”
CNN – Sen. Clinton delegates on Obama’s speech:
Jessica Yellin: “I have three people who as you say have been following this for a long time. Two of these women are Hillary Clinton supporters and I wanted to ask you first…
Woman: “Were.”
Yellin: “Were Hillary Clinton supporters. What turned you tonight?
Woman: “His speech, and I like her enjoyed it all but the end is what got me. You know, it’s a dream and it’s going to come true we gotta’ work for it. That’s what I got out of it.”
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SirSaxa
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 747
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Post by SirSaxa on Aug 29, 2008 8:38:10 GMT -5
As an American, as a member of my generation, as a person from the West Coast, as a person educated in the Jesuit tradition, as a voter, as someone nearly desperate for a better example than I've been shown for the vast majority of my adult life, Barack Obama's speech tonight went beyond inspiration. It told a story of the past, of the present, of the future. It addressed every conceivable criticism and went further: it laid out a 29-point plan for betterment. For betterment. It honored the other candidate. It honored its own opponents. It was a good beginning to what promises to be a historic campaign. Pat Buchanan: "This wasn't a liberal speech. This was a genuinely centrist speech." For you older folks, maybe there was a presidential campaign in 1980 or 1976 or 1960 or 1992 that made you feel the way I feel at this moment. But for me---and hopefully members of my generation and other generations not yet jaded by the politics-that-be or the degradation of the promise of America or the diambiguation of American wealth---tonight's delivery of words and promises by the first American (indeed, first modern Western) candidate of his kind helped me realize why Americans of all stripes have called our country the greatest. C2C, I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. As for past campaigns, the inspirational part is indeed like the reaction to JFK. Now recently on this board there was a discussion of how effective JFK was as president. Of course, since he was killed less than three years into his term he did not have the opportunity to conclude his initiatives. He did make a bad mistake at the Bay of Pigs, which probably did lead to the Cuban missile crisis -- but he handled that one extraordinarily well (thank goodness!). He did increase the troop levels in VietNam, but still within the 20,000 level or so. And there has been a lot written that -- at the time of his death -- he wanted to get out. He promised we would get to the moon in the 1960s, and we did. Finally, his civil rights efforts were the right thing to do and were accomplished by LBJ (probably JFK's assassination made that possible). In other words, his accomplishments can be debated, but the inspiration cannot. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" was -- and is -- a great statement for all. To me, he was the most inspirational. If you get a chance to see his press conferences -- of which he had an extraordinary amount -- they are a remarkable lesson in communication. He was confident, open, with a light touch and a little humor when appropriate. The other inspirational one was Ronald Reagan. Reagan took over at a tough time in this country, and he too said "we can do it". As an actor, he had a big advantage in speechmaking and coming off really well on TV. What he had trouble with was Q&A. He wasn't that smart. Finally, there was one other inspirational leader who did not have the chance to conclude his candidacy -- Bobby Kennedy. RFK spoke clearly and directly about all the issues facing the country..... amazingly so for a pol. But Obama is a great speaker and I personally believe he will be an excellent president, at a time when we desperately need one. |
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HealyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Victory!!!
Posts: 1,059
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Post by HealyHoya on Aug 29, 2008 9:25:38 GMT -5
Reviews from across the spectrum: MSNBC Pat Buchanan – “It was a genuinely outstanding speech. It was magnificent. It is the finest – and I saw Cuomo’s speech, I saw Kennedy in ‘80, I even saw Douglas MacArthur, I saw Martin Luther King – this is the greatest convention speech, and probably the most important because unlike Cuomo and the others this is an acceptance speech. This came out of the heart of America and he went right at the heart of America…” FOX Bill Kristol – “Barack Obama faced very high expectations tonight and honestly I think he met them and I honestly think he exceeded them…He eloquently explained America’s promise. He explained why the Bush Cheney administration had fallen short of that…I thought it was an awfully impressive performance.” CNN David Gergen – “In many ways it was less a speech than a symphony…It was a masterpiece” MSNBC Tom Brokaw – “It was a wonderfully crafted political speech and the Republicans I’m sure were looking in and wondering what they’re going to be able to do next week to match it” CNN Paul Begala – “He went fearlessly at John McCain’s greatest strength, national security. He went proudly into the social issue terrain that Democrats are usually so afraid of. He went boldly attacking the status quo of George Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain, and then he went very comfortably in your living room…This is my ninth convention, it was as very nearly a perfect convention speech as I can imagine…” MSNBC Chris Matthews – “I thought it was amazing – I’ve written speeches all my life, of course nothing like this…It was a great way of throwing back the other side’s best shot and saying it’s full of crap” CNN Campbell Brown – “If anybody ever thought that Barack Obama was not tough enough to run against John McCain this speech should really put an end to that…” FOX Chris Wallace – “I thought it was an exceedingly smart speech in which Barack Obama played offense and defense very effectively.” CNN – Sen. Clinton delegates on Obama’s speech: Jessica Yellin: “I have three people who as you say have been following this for a long time. Two of these women are Hillary Clinton supporters and I wanted to ask you first… Woman: “Were.” Yellin: “Were Hillary Clinton supporters. What turned you tonight? Woman: “His speech, and I like her enjoyed it all but the end is what got me. You know, it’s a dream and it’s going to come true we gotta’ work for it. That’s what I got out of it.” It was a very good speech but, to be fair, your reviews from "across the spectrum" are really only the positive reviews from a select group of commentators from across the spectrum. There are plenty who feel the speech had shortcomings. Also, Palin reportedly landed in OH at 1am last night. With apologies for the bad info on last night's leak of the VP, I'd be surprised if it turns out to be someone other than Gov. Palin. IMO, an average choice. |
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Bando
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
I've got some regrets!
Posts: 2,431
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Post by Bando on Aug 29, 2008 9:51:55 GMT -5
Speech was great. If he can do 1/8 of what he promises I'll work for his reelection. That said, Chris Matthews has to go. His post-speech NA was sickening. I am in full agreement re Matthews. |
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hifigator
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,387
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Post by hifigator on Aug 29, 2008 11:32:35 GMT -5
Obama was his predicatble charismatic self. His strongest tactic in the long run though, is going to be trying to tie McCain to Bush/Cheney. If he can successfully do that, then I think it is the Dems to lose. But if McCain can show himself to be the moderate that he is, then I like the McCain-Palin ticket.
Obama, did have me screaming "how, you pos sometimes though." I just hope people don't buy into the pie-in-the-sky rubbish. For all the good points Obama made -- specifically the importance of family -- he did promise an awful lot. That's got to be paid for with someone's money. And modest raises on the "top 5%" won't come remotely close to the gifts he promised last night. It's nice to hear someone tell you that he is for creating new and good-paying jobs, while making sure everyone has first rate health care and weaning ourselves off of oil. But saying it and doing it are two drastically different things.
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Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
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Post by Jack on Aug 29, 2008 14:52:28 GMT -5
More than 38 million people watched Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night, Nielsen Media Research reports -- more than watched the Oscars, the final "American Idol," or the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing.
AP reports that Obama's TV audience nearly doubled the amount of people -- just over 20 million -- who watched Sen. John Kerry deliver his acceptance speech. Nielsen ratings do not include CSPAN or PBS, so perhaps the number is even higher.
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Bando
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
I've got some regrets!
Posts: 2,431
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Post by Bando on Aug 29, 2008 15:00:13 GMT -5
More than 38 million people watched Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night, Nielsen Media Research reports -- more than watched the Oscars, the final "American Idol," or the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. AP reports that Obama's TV audience nearly doubled the amount of people -- just over 20 million -- who watched Sen. John Kerry deliver his acceptance speech. Nielsen ratings do not include CSPAN or PBS, so perhaps the number is even higher. Day-um! |
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EasyEd
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 7,272
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Post by EasyEd on Aug 29, 2008 18:49:25 GMT -5
More than 38 million people watched Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night, Nielsen Media Research reports -- more than watched the Oscars, the final "American Idol," or the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. AP reports that Obama's TV audience nearly doubled the amount of people -- just over 20 million -- who watched Sen. John Kerry deliver his acceptance speech. Nielsen ratings do not include CSPAN or PBS, so perhaps the number is even higher. 97.5 Million watched the last super bowl so I'll vote for Eli Manning for Pres. |
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HealyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Victory!!!
Posts: 1,059
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Post by HealyHoya on Aug 29, 2008 19:35:29 GMT -5
More than 38 million people watched Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night, Nielsen Media Research reports -- more than watched the Oscars, the final "American Idol," or the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. AP reports that Obama's TV audience nearly doubled the amount of people -- just over 20 million -- who watched Sen. John Kerry deliver his acceptance speech. Nielsen ratings do not include CSPAN or PBS, so perhaps the number is even higher. 97.5 Million watched the last super bowl so I'll vote for Eli Manning for Pres. That's an important statistic. Obviously, that bodes well for Democrats turnout, registration numbers, demographic trend and, by extension, current and future fundraising. It has and should continue to concern Republicans across the country and the McCain Campaign. We shall see if this energy can be channeled into voter turnout. From a non-partisan or bipartisan point of view, one hopes that at the very least this may signal the end, or slowing, of the apathy that has come to define a younger generation of eligible voters. I hope young people get involved with the Obama Campaign rather than simply attending a political rock concert. I hope they vote for him in record numbers rather than simply tuning in to a single, though significant, speech. Candidly, I hope John McCain wins -- it would be better for me personally. But I hope the energy, the surge of new participants forces the GOP to ramp up their outreach programs to the young, to Hispanics/Latinos and certain demographics that will increasingly define success in electoral politics. This is the point that I don't think can be debated: Obama has changed the game. Win or lose, you will see the imprint of Obama/Biden '08 for a long time. More people watched the Super Bowl than Obama's speech. That's true. But that's the only television program broadcast in the United States in 2008 that has garnered more viewers. That's astounding. To deny the significance of this fact is really to denigrate the legitimacy of other, valid points that can be made about the specific policy shortcomings in the Obama-Biden platform. Give the man his due. We need to do a better job of finding a balance. A smart man said the following: "You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down: [up] man's old -- old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course." That's Ronald Reagan. |
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