Speaking of Obama Speaking

I'd like to thank WOSU TV 34 (my local PBS station) for airing coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

Although I personally find the punditry and floor coverage by MSNBC's commentators more interesting and entertaining; I incredibly, deeply appreciated the PBS broadcast, as they aired the speeches of all speakers; not just the headliner(s).

PBS coverage allowed me to watch and listen to yesterday's speeches by Bill Richardson, Al Gore and Susan Eisenhower; as well as Barack Obama.

Celebrity sighting; for some reason a camera shot of actor Daniel Dae Kim ("Jin" from the television series "Lost") really captured my attention as a camera fixed momentarily on him in the stands during Al Gore's speech.

Former Vice President Gore's speech was good, but not thrilling or inspiring to me. I realized as I listened to him that where Barack Obama's speeches are lofty, visionary and inspiring, and where Bill Clinton's speeches are friendly and intelligent, Al Gore's style is full of informative points, which means he comes across as a teacher at a lectern.

I'd like to thank Al Gore for pointing out that Abraham Lincoln was an extremely junior senator when he ran for the office of the U.S. Presidency; and we all know what an important historic figure Lincoln turned out to be.

I found the Susan Eisenhower appearance (granddaughter of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower) to be interesting. It was explained by the pundits that she is an American expert on Russian relations and that she recently abandoned the Republican party in order to declare herself an Independent and back Barack Obama.

In her speech, Eisenhower said we need to rebuild our international credibility; and she also made a reference to Lincoln.

When Barack Obama took the stage, I noted his facial and body expressions as he walked out and stood on that raised pedestal amidst the rousing welcome of a major league stadium filled with 85,000 people.

Obama looked around, smiling, waving, taking the whole experience in; and I found myself temporarily transported to his view in the middle of that large bowl. Awe inspiring! I suspect that I would have been rendered speechless via intimidation had I been at the center of all that noise and attention.

To Obama's credit, he seemed neither intimidated nor intoxicated by the venue. His attitude came across as appreciative and work oriented. He seemed to get mildly irritated when the crowd wouldn't settle down and let him get on with his speech.

There was a new tone to this speech. After thanking key Democratic leaders, and his family and friends, his speech made a turn that included lots of attention to John McCain, George W. Bush and the nation's past eight years.

"We meet at one of those defining moments, a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more."

From there, the democratic candidate launched into a listing of McCain campaign and policy gaffs, including a reminder that one of McCain's chief advisors had said the U.S. was becoming a nation of whiners.

"A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know."

Obama talked about the past, touching on the items delivered the night before in the speech given by former President Bill Clinton. Obama reminded us that just ten years ago, tens of millions of new jobs had been created and that the middle class incomes rose by some $7,500 dollars. He talked about people who had been able to work hard, raise their families and send the kids off to college. He talked about how the standard American Dreams have been undercut by that policies and actions of this past Republican administration.

My second strongest impression from this speech came at about his point, where I considered that Obama was really hammering John McCain. I contemplated whether it was perhaps a bit too much. The specter of Mark Penn seemed to float.

I bring this up because one of the most important and appealing aspects of Barack Obama has been his tendency to avoid attacking, for a preference to inspire. Although I understand, accept and fully agree that some attacking is required, I have always admired Obama for his higher minded approach.

I appreciate that Barack talked about our oil dependence and that he plans to flow with Al Gore's notions about advancing Green technologies and creating Green Collar Jobs.

I appreciate that Obama talks about our national need to make sure our children receive world class educations; and that any American who works in public service or joins our military should be able to afford a college education.

Of course he talked about healthcare; and who can't agree that a person battling cancer should not also have to fight with their insurance company in order to get effective and appropriate medical treatments.

Obama talked about the Iraq war and national defense.

"I will end this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. 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. "

I have to say that I really appreciated Obama's comment that John McCain said he would follow Bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but that McCain won't even follow him to the cave where Bin Laden lives.

Obama hammered the point that America is a multi-party country. He pointed out that our military is staffed by Republicans AND Democrats, that our hospitals are staffed by Republicans AND Democrats, that the economic engines of our country are stoked and maintained by Republicans AND Democrats, our factories, stores and warehouses filled by Republicans AND Democrats.

In this way, Barack rightly points out that America is not a Republican ONLY country; nor should it be. One of the hallmarks of our country has been that it is significantly comprised of Democrats, Libertarians and Independent citizens, as well as Republicans; and that our government's goal is to serve ALL the people, not just some.

"For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it, because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time."

Barack Obama represents and champions the idea that America can have a future which shines from realizing humanitarian values, rather than from the glint of our armor, weapons and bombs.

Obama states that together we can put the ills of the past eight years behind us, that we can clean up the messes and move on to establish a better future.

"..it is that American spirit that American promise that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend."

Here's hoping we get there.



-- you can Click Here to find a copy of Senator Barack Obama's 2008 DNC acceptance speech --


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29 August 2008

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Bill's Spirit is an Artist, Writer, Poet, Philosopher currently painting and wordsmithing from a humble studio in small town Ohio.

The works of the man behind Bill's Spirit have been published in small, alternative and amateur presses since 1986. Before that, they just filled notebooks, decorated walls and gathered dust in piles and boxes.

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