Bill Clinton was very comfortable up on stage again. He gave as full throated an endorsement of Barack Obama as anyone could have hoped for. This should finally put all the questions of unity and the pathetic PUMA people to bed. My favorite moment was definitely the “power of our example instead of the example of our power” line. It summed up a pretty stark difference between our foreign policy under Bush and what we hope it will be once again under Barack Obama.
A lot of people seemed to feel Biden’s speech was something of a stumble. I thought there were a couple of verbal mistakes, but beyond that, I though it was actually a pretty strong speech. He didn’t take it to McCain quite the way people wanted to, but I think he made a very good argument for why he is on the ticket. If there are people out there who view Obama as being strange and scary, who can’t quite wrap their heads around him, I can see Joe Biden being a reassuring presence, and I think this speech laid out why. Biden has a very compelling back story. Visually and emotionally, I hope he’ll be able to pull in any wavering Reagan Democrats.
Kerry’s speech was absolutely a barn burner. It was short and it was very much on target. For all the nervous Democrats watching the convention and asking, “When are they going to go after McCain?” here you go. I especially enjoyed the contrast between Senator McCain and Candidate McCain. The difference is stark, and it’s one the Democrats need to keep laying out. McCain really has completely handed his reputation over to the hardcore of the Republican Party. How much longer can McCain’s reputation survive the realty of McCain’s actions? Speeches like Kerry’s last night will hopefully help the media to make the connection.
Tonight and all through the convention so far speakers have gone out of their way to mention their admiration for John McCain. While they’re noting the changes his public persona has undergone in his pursuit of the Republican nomination, both John Kerry and Joe Biden made specific mention of their longstanding friendship with John McCain. I think this is exactly the note they need to hit. The public perception of McCain as Maverick is too strong to simply dismiss. The Obama campaign needs to deal with it straight on: Sure, John McCain used to stand for change in the face of Republican orthodoxy (this isn’t strictly true, but leave that aside). But to get the nomination, he has gone against all the things he used to stand for. Kerry laid this out really well last night.
This line of attack accomplishes a couple of things. First off, the public needs to have the contrast between the two McCains made abundantly clear. You can’t ask for a better image than McCain voting against his own immigration bill. Secondly, because of the media’s deference to McCain, it’s going to be tough to go after him straight out. McCain almost always gets the benefit of the doubt. When he misspeaks on something as fundamental as the difference between Sunni and Shi’a, it’s not because he simply doesn’t know the difference, but a temporary stumble.
Finally, and I think this could be important, or it could rebound on the Democrats. I’m honestly not sure which it will be. But one thing that I like a lot about how Obama has run his campaign is the contrast. While constantly emphasizing and acknowledging McCain’s service to the country, Obama has kept up his critique. McCain has done great service, but that was a different McCain. All the while, of course, McCain has stooped to some pretty ugly campaign tactics. It isn’t enough for him to say he thinks Obama is wrong – Obama has to be almost treasonous in his wrongness. I have no doubt that the Republican Nation Convention is going to be a pretty shocking display of ugliness and jingoism. It’s pretty much the only thing they’ve got left. But, and this is the gamble the Obama team is taking, eventually the media is going to have to notice the difference in tone. And once that becomes the narrative, ugly, angry McCain biting at the heels of the straightforward, hopeful and optimistic Obama, it’s going to be very hard for McCain to keep those independent voters.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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3 comments:
Wider comments with an evening's reflection:
Nancy Pelosi discovered the wardrobe department! She looked elegant, which we will leave at a significant improvement over businesslike from earlier in the week. On the other hand, she needs some work with her acclamation voting- you really have to give people a chance to vote no, as I understand the process.
The speeches were much stronger tonight, although as intimated in an earlier post, I thought Bill was the highlight. Most everyone on the stage spoke well, but Bill hit every major point, covered up the omissions Hillary left hanging in the air, and in a strange sort of way cleared the Clintons off the mental stage for the first time since, like, April.
In any event, the program is now Obama's, and tonight proves to be filled with the sort of high-stakes gambling that probably sounded better in a pitch meeting than on the ground in Denver. Obama's speech, outdoors, in front of what most of the media are describing as a "Parthenon," seems fraught with unnecessary risk. Everything from the weather to the possibility that the thing comes off looking like Nuremburg, with what I suspect are a painful number of potential technical difficulties waiting in the wings.
May I also say, Stephen Colbert outdid himself last night. Seriously, a hearing aid???
The media will never notice a difference in tone, because to point it out, no matter how unavoidable true it might be would be to take sides. The one way this election has been a truly eye opening experience for me is watching the extent to which the MSM is unhelpful in the distribution of information in a very fundamental way.
I might add, that this is the entire crux of the argument. Everything Aaron wrote about tone rests on a dissimilar media treatment, and I very much hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see it coming.
I think you're right that a change in tone from the media is problematic. I do think, though, that Obama is caught in a difficult position: attack the war hero, be called strident, risk raising fears of the "angry black man," or try and take the high road and hope the voters notice. This is why we need John Kerry and Joe Biden and Bill Clinton out there marking the contrast between how McCain is now, and how people's perceptions of him conflict with it.
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