Uncle Joe Running Diary

I just couldn't get enough during Bill's speech, so I rolled the running diary dice with Amtrak Joe (link to speech is here). Enjoy:

Biden’s video: Apparently, he’s a great father and grandfather. Very salt of the earth. It was ok I guess. Came off as more contrived than Michelle, Kennedy, or Hillary’s videos in my opinion.

10:32: Off we go.

10:33: He loves his family.

10:33: A shade more than he loves the Clintons (but just a shade). Is it necessary to pay this much homage to the Clintons?

10:36: He seems nervous, which I find surprising.

10:37: He loves his mom. Apparently, he’s very, very normal. I’m poking a bit of fun, but the bit about his mom’s advice was pretty touching. It helped that she kept smiling and leaning over to the person next to her and mouthing, “that’s true”. He’s definitely settling in a bit.

10:40: Talking about the pain of Americans is solid. He’s tying this “we get it and John McCain doesn’t” bit together nicely as it relates to the economy.

10:44: Pan to Bill Clinton who looked legitimately interested.

10:45: Crowd’s clapping for John McCain’s “heroism”. “He’s my friend.” “Our friendship transcends politics.” Sigh.

10:46: There are a bunch of McCain policy descriptions, followed by “That’s not change, that’s more of the same.” This bit is ok. They’re clearly putting all their eggs in the “3rd Bush term” basket. Hope they realize that meme requires media help that’s not coming.

10:50: “We’ll hold Russia accountable for its actions, and we will help Georgia rebuild!” Don’t know how much more I’ll be able to write. I can’t really hear because of all the blood coming out of my ears.

10:52: In fairness, the rest of this foreign policy section is solid and direct. He’s explicitly questioning John McCain’s judgment, which is a step in the right direction.

10:55: Closing sentence, “God bless America, and may God bless our troops.” Might sound a tiny bit contrived if not for his son being a soldier…but he is, and it didn’t.

Thoughts: A step in the right direction to be sure. I’m tempted to say it could have been even more pointed, but it’s been enough naysaying from me for one evening. It’s tough to comment a lot because I thought it so utterly fit expectations (which were fairly high) without exceeding them. Obama needs to blow me away tomorrow. It feels like a long, long time since Iowa (the most moving 15 minutes of rhetoric I’ve ever heard live – watch it if you’ve never seen it).
Rating: 3.75 LSs of 5

Until tomorrow…