Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

C-SPAN's going a nice job of covering it all.

tt

Now if the crowd would shut up!

Oh, it will be talked about for generations to come alright, just like Hitler's speech at the Reichstag. That one sure was a doozy, too.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080828/NEWS15/80828123

text of the speech

not willing to take a 10% chance on change

that's a memorable line

Yes I know Obama is better than the alternative but damn he just doesn't inspire me. I sincerely wish he did. I do believe he is a good man just not yet presidential.

If any of you are people who believe in prayer, I need some. We have a hurricane heading our way and we still haven't totally healed from Rita that hit us hard three years ago.

Also I have to stay if the hurricane hits here because I work at a prison where we are the first responders. I am in charge of the medical department. They told me I couldn't bring my little dog, my very best friend. I have no one to take care of her. If they don't change that I will be having to quit that job.

Carol

This is a State of the Union speech....Unless it picks up pretty soon, it's going to be a memorable as one...

Craig -- did you need oxygen by the time you got up there to take that picture?

There's sure been a lot of the material Bill Clinton covered in this speech so far...

21st century needs can't be met with a 20th century bureaucracy.
There's your pitch to the independents

Individual responsibility combined with mutual responsibility (different phrasing for It Takes A Village)

Won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.

McCain: More tough talk and bad strategy

It is an excellent power speech. No one can say there isn't any meat on the bones.

"This is a State of the Union speech....Unless it picks up pretty soon, it's going to be a memorable as one... Posted by: spike"

i agree, spike, so far it does have that laundry list state of union feel, but he's picking up the pace a bit now, needs a big finish to make the history books

i know he's concious of the empty suit charge and trying to give specifics, but there is much more prose than poetry than i expected

Dish Network just went down! ARGHHHH
Must be Republican signal pirates!!!!!!!!!!

while surprised, i'm starting to think it makes political sense for him to give a more utilitarian campaign speech. save the history-making, poetic speech for if he gets a the chance for an inaugural address. guess the dramatic setting gave me the impression it would be loftier.

this "promise" passage is achieving altitutde

now he's cookin -- "cannot turn back"

John McCain must be busy right now trying to prevent his entrails from spilling out, he's just been gutted.

well, this was a hard-boiled partisan speech for the moment, very little soaring rhetoric for the ages. but probably makes sense for a tight race

Good speech. Good speaker.

I'll buy what that guy's selling.

tt

I really like how Jill Biden reached over to bring the Obama girls into the family clutch.

Got the TV back in time for the last 5 minutes...No wonder they were down-playing expectations. That was not the way they needed to introduce Obama to the country.

BTW, great cartoon from Brian Duffy in the Des Moines Register today that I think pretty well sums things up.

http://apps.desmoinesregister.com/duffy/details.php?id=2008-08-28

Craig

it was an American sermon not only about the beliefs of the Party but of basic myths that we believe about ourselves. Very Reagan at times imo.

Jack

Quite a spectacle. Good show -- bigger than a Superbowl. This is what happens when DEMs have money.

That may have been the best political speech any of may ever see. Strong, visionary and threw ever criticism of him from McCain back in McCain's face.

AWESOME. Sorry guys, but this is a psychic barrier for African Americans. Too often, the United States is the land of promises. Now, a promise has been fulfilled. I'm very proud today.

The biggest charge against him from the Clinton supporters, independents and blue collars was that there was no definition to "Change". Well we just got the definition of "Change".

There were good lines, but the objective was to take down Bush and with him McCain, and that is what he did with pledges of the changes to be made.

The innauguration can be flowery. This was the call to war, and it was well done.

Does anyone thnk it is overdone?

I mean, it's HUGE, but somehow the production values seem really cool and just right.

How is the GOP going to match this?

Is it just me, or is the music kind of Orwellian?

Boy that ended in a wimper...Had the feel of a President at their last convention before leaving office. Walking away and closing the door behind them as the lights dimmed? Boy that felt weird...

The benediction's even strange...

This was not the led they needed going into the news...

NEW THREAD

84,000 through security lines, per Secret Service. (CSpan just mentioned.)

Spike

As i've said several times it is the venue an open stadium doesn't hold the noise in like an arena does.

If this had been held back in the convention hall the place would still be rocking but the stadium is now almost empty. People came to see the event and went home like a football game.

Jack

Spike -- I agree with your points re the anti-climatic ending, but you only heard the weak-ending stuff if you were not watching the news -- the big MSMs started yakking almost right after BO stopped talking.

How do you beat the fireworks, streamers and funfetti? 84,000 audience?

{{{{{{Carol}}}}}}}

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/08/obamas-mile-high-moment.html#comment-135266

Be safe. Let's hope and pray the hurricane is not a strong one and that it blows away.