As Obama said, this is the greatest moment in history, and that history should be completed with the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. And when November 5, 2008, arrives and the results of the election would have been counted, Barack Obama would have won in a landslide. He has prepared for this a long time, and has earned the right to be POTUS.
The announcement was made in the face of an political dynasty that had more or less already being crowned as the Democratic ticket - the Clinton juggernaut and dynasty, representing the former President Bill Clinton, and his wife Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the most formidable first family in American political life, with Mrs. Clinton expected to easily sail through the primaries process and be crowned the nominee of the Democratic Party. No need to rehash the tales of the primaries here, I have already written many articles about the primaries. But suffice it to say that unlike the other black politicians, Obama did not founder because he went on to out-campaign, out-organize, in short, out-maneuver one of the best political dynasties in history - the Clintons.
Which brings us to the momentous and an historic occasion of what happened in Denver, Colorado, on the 28th of August, 2008. When the Obama campaign announced several weeks ago that he would be accepting the nomination in a football stadium, the idea was poohpoohed as impractical. The Republicans mocked the idea, and insinuated it was in keeping with Obama’s celebrity status. The logistics of such a political event had been attempted by Camelot himself, the President John F. Kennedy candidacy, but in a huge stadium as Obama had selected. The spectacular event went on despite Republican evangelicals who had prayed to God for a massive rain pour to destroy Obama’s event. You always wonder what kind of God would listen to satanic bloviators, masquerading as religious Christians for acts of destruction to fall on their fellow human being. Well, God didn’t listen to them, in fact, God may even be angry with them for the Republican convention is bound to occur during what is forecast as a Katrina-like hurricane. As Michael Moore said, “it seems there’s a God.”
As we have come to know now, thousands of people, 84,400 to exact, and thousands outside due to stadium over-capacity, waited for upwards of three hours in blazing sun shine and patiently to get into the stadium. The television audience, similarly was huge. This is what the New York Times had to say, “Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Mr. Obama’s speech — a historic one given his status as the first African American nominee of a major political party — reached significantly more viewers than the comparable addresses in 2004. Coverage of John Kerry’s acceptance speech in 2004 had 24.4 million viewers; coverage of George W. Bush’s convention speech that same year drew 27.5 million.
The audience estimate of 38.3 million means that Mr. Obama’s speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final “American Idol” or the Academy Awards this year, the Associated Press notes.’ When you look at the figures, you see what an incredible success Obama achieved, despite those who tried to minimize the audacity of the event.
Senator Clinton’s former communications director, Howard Wolfson, who was one of those who had been the Clinton supporters against Obama, wrote in his blog,
“ ….Then came Thursday night at Invesco Field. During the campaign, we scoffed at events like this, mostly because we were not capable of producing them. A cross-section of voters waited for hours to enter the stadium and take their seats. As one friend put it, it looked more like an American convention than the convention of any particular political party. Clinton delegates greeted one another with tears and hugs and were greeted in turn by Obama delegates. Several Obama supporters took my hand to thank me for what the Clintons had said that week, urging that they stay involved in the campaign. Every so often, I would simply look around me, amazed at the significance not just of the day but of the entire campaign.”
Continued Wolfson,
“ No one in recent history had attempted this kind of a political conversation with 75,000 people. Barack Obama pulled it off. For 18 months, I listened to Obama on television, sometimes intently, often just barely — background noise to a running series of conference calls and meetings and emails. In person, my attention undivided, I saw something of what so many others had seen for so long. Progress in America is never cheap, and even today history exacts a price for Obama’s victory — the dreams of electing the first female president, the dreams of so many who rushed toward Hillary Clinton on rope lines across America and refused to give up her hand and their hopes. Today these dreams are giving way to another kind of progress….”
In a nutshell, the convention was a huge success. From the first day, Monday August 25, to the end with Obama’s acceptance speech, it was spectacular. On Monday, Michelle Obama dazzled the crowd with a speech I considered more than great. I continued to ask the others with me, who’s this lady, that’s so poised, so confident, so articulate, so brilliant, that I was beginning to think that she must have been the one to have coached Obama to become the orator she is today. It felt so sad to see a dazzling, professional, brilliant woman tarnished by the racism of the Republican right. But on this day, she wasn’t taking any of that, she was going to tell us what she is made of, who she is and the husband she married.
As Wolfson already observed, the Democrats came out of Denver, more united than ever. Five prominent Democrats had set the stage for this unity, including Senator Ted Kennedy, representing the Kennedy dynasty of Camelot, Senator John F. Kerry (I believe if he had used the abbreviations of his name, he would have won in 2004), former Vice President Al Gore who clearly won the 2000 election, the Clintons, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who energized the crowd on Tuesday when she proposed canceling the roll-call and proclaiming Barack Obama the nominee of the Democratic Party for President in 2008’ even more kudos have to go to former President Bill Clinton, who tore into the Republican party, and found them an abysmal failure for squarndering the 22 million jobs he created during his presidency, the $trillion surplus he left which has now become $475 billion deficit, plus more.
Before we get into some aspects of the Obama’s spectacular speech, here’s what Gallup Poll found on Friday, a day after the speech, clearly that
“Obama Acceptance Speech Gets High Marks from Public.” Gallup found “Fifty-eight percent of Americans give Barack Obama’s speech a positive review, including 35% who describe it as “excellent.” Both marks surpass those given to the 2000 and 2004 presidential candidates, with the excellent ratings for Obama’s speech 10 percentage points higher than any other recent candidate has received.”
“Obama is widely praised for his rhetorical skills, so perhaps his positive reviews are not surprising. His speech was rated more positively by Americans than Hillary Clinton’s Tuesday night convention speech, which also was highly regarded by the public.
Democrats give Obama’s speech rave reviews, with 62% saying it was an excellent speech and another 21% describing it as good. A majority of independents rate Obama’s speech as either excellent (27%) or good (25%), but Republicans were less impressed (12% excellent and 25% good).
In addition to measuring reaction to Obama’s speech, the poll attempted to assess the impact of the convention more broadly on the public. Forty-three percent of Americans say they are more likely to vote for Obama as a result of what they saw or read about the convention; 29% say they are less likely.
Those ratings are typical of what Gallup has measured for most conventions since 1984. The 1992 Democratic convention stands out above all others with 60% saying that convention made them more likely to vote for Bill Clinton. The 1988 Democratic convention that nominated Michael Dukakis also got above-average ratings.”
The AmericanElection2008 has encapsulated some of the highlights of the Obama speech, including:
On the economy:
Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay, and tuition that’s beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W Bush.
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.On John McCain:
Let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 per cent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 per cent of the time?
I don’t believe that Senator McCain doesn’t care what’s going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn’t know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year?”On taxes:
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95 per cent of all working families.
Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.On oil dependency:
For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years, and John McCain has been there for 26 of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars.
And I’ll invest $150bn over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.
On Iraq:
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans - Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al- Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts.And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
On Martin Luther King:
“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend.
America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future.”
As Obama said, this is the greatest moment in history, and that history should be completed with the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. And when November 5, 2008, arrives and the results of the election would have been counted, Barack Obama would have won in a landslide. He has prepared for this a long time, and has earned the right to be POTUS.
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