Michelle Obama on the "great American story"
By SilentPatriot Monday Aug 25, 2008 7:00am
Monday was Michelle Obama's night in Denver, and she delivered what must have been biggest and best speech of her life. Deeply personal and infinitely inspirational, Michelle explains the values and vision that she and Barack share and the America they want their children to grow up in.
“[Barack and I] were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.”
[...]
All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.
That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.
That is why I love this country.
And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.
Full transcript below the fold:(via NPR)
As you might imagine, for Barack, running for president is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother, Craig.
I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life.
At 6-foot-6, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too … literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me. He was watching over me.
And he's been there for me every step of the way since that clear February day 19 months ago, when — with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change — we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that's brought us to this moment.
But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey.
I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend.
I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.
I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world — they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future — and all our children's future — is my stake in this election.
And I come here as a daughter — raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue-collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters.
My dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early 30s, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing — even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier and worked a little harder.
He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child can receive: never doubting for a single minute that you're loved, and cherished, and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and hard work, we both were able to go on to college. So I know firsthand from their lives — and mine — that the American dream endures.
And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working-class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.
And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.
The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work — they wanted to contribute. They believed — like you and I believe — that America should be a place where you can make it if you try.
Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is — even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves — to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?
It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms — people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had — refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals.
It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.
I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country:
People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.
The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it.
The young people across America serving our communities — teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day.
People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.
People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.
All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.
That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.
That is why I love this country.
And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.
It's a belief Barack shares — a belief at the heart of his life's work.
It's what he did all those years ago, on the streets of Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and after-school programs to keep kids safe — working block by block to help people lift up their families.
It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard-working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.
It's what he's done in the United States Senate, fighting to ensure the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home not just with medals and parades but with good jobs and benefits and health care — including mental health care.
That's why he's running — to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as president of the United States of America.
He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has — by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party — if any — you belong to. That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future — is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.
It was strong enough to bring hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago.
It was strong enough to bring hope to the mother he met worried about her child in Iraq; hope to the man who's unemployed, but can't afford gas to find a job; hope to the student working nights to pay for her sister's health care, sleeping just a few hours a day.
And it was strong enough to bring hope to people who came out on a cold Iowa night and became the first voices in this chorus for change that's been echoed by millions of Americans from every corner of this nation.
Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.
And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.
And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country — where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House – we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.
So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future — out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment — let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama president of the United States of America.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
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She was great last night, but the last exchange with Barack went over like dead weight. It made him look like he had premature senility or doesn't listen to his daughters. I'm sure it was technical difficulties, but anyone watching not already voting for the guy, it wouldn't have gone over well.
Cindy McCain is going to "the little country of Georgia". http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=11143 Boy, I bet the Russians are scared shitless by that!
Do you suppose Cindy's speech will recall the time in the bar when she met this older married man and they started an affair? How her family insisted on a prenuptual agreement? What a contrast between Michelle and Barack's story and John & Cindy's!
A home run and a touch down in one! I really didn't know her that well but now I feel 100% better about her and therefore him. When talks about her new presumptive role as Georgia peach I'll be listening and eager to be inspired.
Last night my friends and I watched and were delighted by the first night of the convention. It was nice to see inspiration and hope after an entire day of media negativity.
All day yesterday the media poured a relentless barrage of everything that was wrong - the Clinton's were mad, the Dems were not unified, Hilary voters were fleeing, McCain is winning. Of course, you had to go to CSPAN to actually see Hilary, the media were far to busy interviewing each other to be bothered with showing the people they were trashing.
Funny, Hilary was pretty clear in her speech early in the day in her support of Obama and the need to elect him, but switch back to CNN, etc., and I found I apparently heard wrong. Hilary didn't say what I saw her saying; she was obliquely unsupportive, whatever the hell that was.
So last night I watched the convention on CSPAN, sans bloviators, and it was great! One great moment after another - and Michelle! Incredible!!
Switched back to MSNBC just in time to hear Tweety explaining that Michelle's speech wouold be received by the other side with cynical laughter.
This morning, more of the same, very begrudging acknowledgement of how beautifully Michelle spoke, all the rest relentless negativity.
James Carvelle apparently got his marching orders from Mary Matalin, he has nothing good to say.
And can someone explain to me why Larry King is giving the Republicans an entire hour of free TV every night this week to spread their lies with absolutely no opportunity of response from the Dems?
Here we go again, the media agenda has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with manipulating the story - and us.
Looks like I'll be watching a lot of CSPAN this week.
Last night was a great positive night to kick-off the convention.
Now Hillary has to attack McCain. Enough about the 18 million votes already. Attack!
Paul in Boca @ 2:
They had to clarify for their bubba voters that she wasn't going to the state of Georgia, and they have to send her to a foreign disaster area to make her look vaquely compassionate.
And since they don't speak English over there, she less likely to get caught lying again.
Nicely done. I'd say this woman deserves to be the First Lady.
The video player doesn't load for me but that's okay because I watched a replay of the speech this morning on C-span.
I thought her speech was wonderful. She seemed truly sincere and real. Her job was to introduce the viewers to the man she married. She told her story and his and let everyone know their family has the same love and devotion that a lot of families have. That little girl blowing kisses to her daddy was something you can't make up. That too was real.
Jusker @ 3:
Cant WAIT for the First Lady Debates !
Michelle will crush Cindy like the bug she looks like (after all that surgery)
Funny but, didn't McSame leave his first wife because she needed too much surgery ?
hypocrite.
roooth @ 5:
Yes, yes, and yes! Well said in every point. I did the same, but I did feel that Mathews and Olbermann were very moved by her speech and Brokaw agreed with both of them. Considering who they are paid by by, they did stick their collective necks out. By the way McCain said last night on Leno that he was a POW without a house!!! (Didn't answer the intended humorous question though---still unprepared for a sneak attack!)
roooth @ 5:
CNN ConcernTrollMan here, at your service.
Larry explained at the halfway point of his show that at the upcoming Republican Convention (lol), he'll be doing the same deal, inviting only Democratic observers on his show for their take on the proceedings.
It sounds both good on paper and deliciously divisive, so of course, I'll be sure to watch that show as well. Stay tuned to CNN, folks!
Over at FOX Bill Kristol didn't think it will resonate, but the best part of his critique is that we can now start calling him "Curmudgeon". That would be a big improvement over "Neo-con Scumbag".
Rove didn't think it hit the mark either - no big surprise there. Surprisingly Krauthammer didn't really have anything bad to say about the speech.
On MSNBC Olberman went orgasmic. He had to turn things over to Matthews so he could cool down. I agree with Keith.
It is a measure of the sad quality of our public discourse - particularly in the MSM - that sincerity becomes cast as cynicism in equal proportions.
I thought the speech was great - it hit me very powerfully and I saw and agreed with its sentiment. Does that make me stupid? Or, like the rest of this country do I hunger for emotional reality and a sense of the nobility that a well-lived life can attain?
Have our souls become so dampened by focus-group manipulation that they are too sodden to catch fire when a spark of real human feeling and passion is struck?
If anyone should be damned for this - to eternal burning hell - it should be Ronald Reagan and the Republicans who addicted a country that produced Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, Truman and Kennedy - all of them and more - addicted this country to shadows, cotton candy and fear.
Yeah, I'm pissed - it's time for us to win. Thank you, Michelle.
Dhalgren @ 6:
Exactly right. That's her duty at this point. She needs to tear McCain a new one. She needs to be passionate and brutal. Anything less gives the enemy ammunition.
Rooth at comment 5
I could not agree with you more. I got so fed up with the negative stuff coming out of every cable news channel yesterday that I just gave up and turned the damned tv off. We watched the speeches on c-span too and occasionally checked in to see what the talking heads were saying. After doing that about three times, we said to hell with them and stuck with C-span the rest of the evening.
This morning I hear that McCain was on Leno last night and when Jay said, for one million dollars Sen. McCain, how many houses do you own, McCain went into his five and a half years without a home, a kitchen table...................
Left the situation very uncomfortable for everyone.
It was a surperb, divinely delivered speech. Mrs. Obama shone brightly, and her brother did a beautiful job with the introduction. It was very moving to watch, and the expression on her mom's face was deeply touching, and genuine to the core.
Did Pickles, after four years as first lady, do much of anything at the last R-con convention???
It was, in a word, dynamic. The final moments, with her husband calling in, and the girls saying hello to their father, was excellent. Just so natural............a paradigm shift from those plastics smiles and pearl-clutching Stepford wives of the R-cons......isn't that so????
Did anyone watch the beginning of that when Michelle sent her "close, personal message" to her family in the audience and not want to gag? I understand why she's doing what she's doing and trying to overcome the "she's never been proud of America", the fist-jab and all the other fabricated bullshit.
But she's trying way to hard and she's gone from being un-American to being insincere which was a bad move on her part. I think she should have just been herself as she always has been. Fox is going to pick her apart anyway but now anyone seeing her for the first time will not have a good impression of her. Nobody actually saw what she did before so all they know is what they were told.
Here she had her own forum and plenty of time to be herself and let a lot more Americans see her for themselves. I REALLY don't like what she thought was best to show them.
That's where I stopped so maybe she got better but my first impression of that video makes me not want to see more. I will though. :)
The Democrats offer messages of hope, inspiration and the future.
The Republicans do nothing but name calling, demagoguery, childish remarks about peoples appearances, and whining about how they are picked on when they're called on it.
Someday this country is going to stop acting like a spoiled two year old, grow up and start to move forward.
You guys are brainless and obviously oblivious to history and current events.
The Democrats have perpetually sold the American people and the Constitution down the river.
What makes you think it will be different this time?
Change? Nah. More like: More of the same but better. Only with a black guy leading the way and Joe "Corporate Serf" Biden.
Get real.
You heard it here first, folks, Obama/Biden will sell out the American people just like Clinton/Gore did.
VOTE CYNTHIA MCKINNEY!
I am the last person on earth to care about fashion, but I knew the morning shows would be discussing it ad nauseum after Michelle hit a homerun on The View with that off-the-rack little black and white number.
I have no idea "who" she's wearing, but I thought it was perfect. Simple, elegant, and the epitome of a "mom" dress. Very approachable. The sort of dress that she could wear to church (and not on Easter Sunday) or the PTA.
A very smart choice.
lj @ 11:
Agree with the C-Span comment 150%. Checked out PBS, and a few of the others, just to compare and contrast.
C-Span, IMHO, is the only way to go for the entire coverage. Might miss an interesting, inspiring add by Matt Damon, but that's to get the newbies all fired up, and can be seen somewhere on-line.
C-Span delivers the goods in its natural form.
Holy crap. I really am not liking her.
I really wish she'd just gone up there and winged it (with some notes).
American Native @ 20:
you're right, but our choices are either Obama/Biden, or the end of the world and humanity as we know it.
the choice is simple.
Michelle's speech was about working for success and achieving it. It was about a loving family. It was optimistic and hopeful. It was like a balm on an open wound for me. It's been so long since someone showed us the sweet side of life. We needed to hear and see what she was talking about.
I gotta admit that I cried at the end because I envied that close family love that I saw there. Every child should grow up in a family just like that one.
American Native @ 20:
Brought to you by the good folks at Fantasy World, the world where all things are perfect and no compromises are ever made.
roooth @ 7:
My, my. Strong wording for a woman who has more foreign policy and humanitarian experience than Michelle and Barack Obama combined. There's your stark contrast in a nutshell.
Fine speech by Michelle Obama, btw. Very good for her and her family. A nice moment for America.
American Native @ 20:
You work within the system or you lose.
Vote Cynthia McKinney and lose.
many @ 1:
Ah I thought the speech was incredible, and the last part with the kids was just cuter'n hell!
Ok, the part about her dad, being raised and getting to college got a lot better.
dennis @ 27:
"a woman who has more foreign policy and humanitarian experience than Michelle and Barack Obama combined."
Dennis, with all respect, do you actually think about this shit before you speak, or do you make it up as you go along?
I changed my mind. I hate how she started but she got in her groove. Good stuff.
pissed off patricia @ 16:
Well.. looking at the bright side. McCain's "POW" thing is very quickly turning into Giuliani's "9/11" punchline. It's not just Democrats pointing it out.. even the 'neutral' media has begun to take note. And this stuff can get old VERY fast once the ball starts rolling. (Didn't take long to knock out Giuliani)
It's an open question whether McCain can really help himself. After all, this has basically been his "gimmick" through his entire political career, it seems. Obviously it worked.. but he wasn't getting the attention he is now. And besides.. what else does he have? His pre-political military career was pretty unspectacular.
I don't know jack about Cindy McCain but I would put a whole lot of money on people at the top of big business having a lot more foreign policy experience than the typical politician. If I want a blow job I'll go to a politician. If I want to deal with other countries in a way that gets me what I want then I'll talk to someone in a large corporation.
“a woman who has more foreign policy and humanitarian experience than Michelle and Barack Obama combined.”
I didn't know Cindy McCain was a POW too?
Where was she held captive? in Galeries Lafayette?
CafeenMan @ 32:
This comment made me smile. I'm so glad you watched it all and it changed your mind. Good for you. :)
CafeenMan @ 18:
HEY..........compared to Plastic, grunt, grin and wave, Pickles, aka. Laura Bush, this was heaven. We could really use a first lady in the whitehouse who has used her education to the fullest of her abilities.
Her brother is a very good speaker, and the two of them are tighter than two ticks on a dogs back........that much was evident. This was a first on so many levels, and to just be all formal, proper and PLASTIC...........would have diminished it all.
I loved every second of it all...............history in the making.
pissed off patricia @ 36:
Believe it or not I actually try to be fair which is why I get in fights anywhere I go. Sometimes I stand up for liberals and sometimes I don't if I think they're wrong. Not saying that I'm good at being fair. I'm just saying I make an effort.
CafeenMan @ 23:
Really? Compared to what? Cindy McCain? Laura Bush? Hillary Clinton? Barbara Bush? Nancy Reagan?
Okay. Clinton's a valid option. And I wouldn't mind meeting or knowing either Michelle or Hillary.
But the rest of them? Heck, they barely qualify as real people in my book, much less as interesting ones.
BrokenArrow @ 37.
If somebody is comparing themselves to Laura Bush that's a problem right there. Making a direct comparison to somebody puts you in the same league by default.
I'm thinking Michelle should be comparing herself to a great woman - not a Texan madame.
cynthia Mckinney is a loser.
Her electorate essentially fired her for being a prima donna and a bully.
And the more I see Michelle Obama, the less I like her. That idiotic Laura Petrie hairstyle. She's just a hop-skip-and a spit from putting on a pink outfit with matching round hat, so she can gaze up adoringly at her husband like he's a precocious infant, like the republitard wives.
Her speech seemed courtesy of Toastmasters, removing all spontaneity from speeches for over a hundred years.
Liberal AND Proud @ 35:
LOL
Alexdem @ 39:
I wasn't comparing her to anyone. I was just listening to her.
How wonderful it would be if this society would simply stop, listen, and think about this speech and then choose to embrace the premise of "we" instead of "me." Michelle clearly struck the chords of hope and of human enterprise that can and should be greater than ourselves. It is in the pursuit of such visions that societies have delivered greatness to the world. Now, unfortunately, those controlling the media will seek out and broadcast whatever ugliness they can invent from her speech, her gestures, the crowd and the event in general. "We the People" know we are as noble and as determined as Michelle suggests even if we have been so terrified and beaten down by a power elite seeking only to sustain their own aristocratic positions. She and Barack are correct - we either find a way to come together to rebuild this society in the image of its founders or we continue our current decline into the dust bin of historical "might have beens."
CafeenMan @ 23:
Have you ever delivered a speech in front of a group of people? It's tough, really tough. Then there's speeches of this caliber..........once-in-a-lifetime, worldwide.
Yeah, wing it with a few notes............if you're W, maybe. This is a woman with buckets of courage, and brains to match. I was very proud of our country to have come this far.......almost like a democracy.
ysbaddaden @ 41:
Thanks for the sound assessment of the critical issues surrounding her hair style and the brilliant, detailed analysis of her speech. Helps us all make better decisions regarding the next President of a country in deep need of leadership.
Michelle and Obama's fashion consultants:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geocities.com/roblaura...
CafeenMan @ 40:
You misunderstood.............that was MY observation, and MY comment.
Be well,
b-arrow
46 sgtmajor
Why have a first lady at all? It sounds like a holdover from the period of aristocracy. And as for the Horatio Alger type speech, that's standard political fare, along with the repitition of key points from her husband's stump speeches. I'm ready for something more substantive.
CafeenMan @ 38:
I think you're doing a fine job. Being fair is a virtue.
My wife and I cried. Beautiful speech, Michelle.
Last night watching Michelle Obama give her speech, I turned to my wife and said the conservatives are going crazy right now with the prospect of her being first lady (which I think is an idiotic term).
I didn't say it because she is tall either.
ysbaddaden @ 41:
Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? ;)
Good morning America (from nighttime Thailand).
Didn't see much of the Democratic Convention except for what was on CNNI. I'll get it in drips and drabs on Teh Internets. From what i've seen here, looks like you had a good night.
I wish America was having the same excitement that Thailand is having now.
Dhalgren @ 6:
So true.
If Hillary is sincerely for the party and not herself, we will find out today. All she has to do is tell her people that if they vote for McGeezer it goes against everything she has tried to represent. Also, she needs to tell Grandpa to FUCK OFF and keep her out of his shitty ads.
Left&Left @ 55:
Here here.
☻Bangkok Bob ☻ @ 54:
Good evening, Bob.
Do you mean the same excitement over the convention and elections going on here?
After watching some cablenews this morning I noticed that some of MSM fabricated a way to discredit it:
It was good and but remember it was staged and scripted.
I can't wait for the RNC funeral. They'll have to use speech synthesizers and CGI technology to make those fuckin zombies look and sound good.
All Hillary has to do is go after McCain with both barrels and ask her supporters to help her, Obama and Biden prevent four more years of George bush policies. If they won't do what she asks of them, they are showing they aren't as devoted to her as they say they are. Then hopefully tomorrow night Bill will do the same.
pissed off patricia @ 57:
Hi POP, no, here thousands of people are in the streets demonstrating. They want Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to get out of dodge. He is just an extension of Thaksin Shiniwatra. Kind of like Cheney would be an extension of Bush. They stormed Parliment house in Bangkok. Lots of yelling in the streets here in Chiang Mai also.
barack obama is not some 8-headed monster: barack obama could be your doctor, your children's doctor, your your counselor, your community representative, your minister...now, what could mccain be...? hmmmmm....
Michelle Obama appears to be a nice lady and a very smart woman but in the grand scheme of things this was one of the worst convention nights I have ever seen. It was a totally useless night if you are Dem.
This was even worse than the forgetable 2004 debacle! The next three nights should be about George Bush, Dick Cheney, George Bush, John McSame and- then Obama. If not, get ready for four more years of far-rightwing policies and governance.
And the big story of this convention is what's taking part outside the hall, not the drivel that is being spewed by the Pelosi/Emanuel/AT&T/BlueDogDems insiders, anyway.
Oh come on!
She's simply hitting the meme of loving her country (to counteract the attacks made on her for not being proud of her country until recently) and rehitting the republican friendly memes of "shared values" etc.. while trying to disarm other memes like he has a "funny name"
This was a LONG way from being an inspirational speech. This was professionally crafted word-smithery with one goal in mind... To bypass the reasoning centre of your brain.
Pathetic.
a nouns @ 61:
your great grandfather?
☻Bangkok Bob ☻ @ 60:
sirry, meant McCain would be an extension of bush
Michele is a beautiful lady and she gave a beautiful speech. Let's see if Cindy McCain can top it.
By the way, Larry Johnson over at No Quarter is reporting that someone named Phil Berg has filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia challenging Barack Obama's candidacy and they are hoping that it doesn't get thrown out.
Mind you, it wasn't filed in Montana, LOL. It was filed in Philadelphia which is in the portion of the state of Pennsylvania that considers Wilmington, Delaware (Joe Biden's state) to be a suburb.
Texans should make it a priority to spend some time outside of Texas. They might learn a few things.
I think it's going to be kinda fun to watch the Republican convention. Seeing them get all fired up for McCain and all. I'm guessing there will be big pictures of him on that bed in Vietnam, behind someone when they speak. I'm also betting he will begin his acceptance speech with a reference to his time as a POW.
We can compare and contrast Cindy's speech with the one Michelle gave last night.
Caffeen Man (18)
I doubt it was her choice. Decisions like that are made by the people who craft the campaign strategies.
☻Bangkok Bob ☻ @ 60:
It's great to see democracy in action.
☻Bangkok Bob ☻ @ 65:
Thank you for the information. I was clueless to what is going on over there. If it's on the news here, I have missed it. That wouldn't be anything new for me to miss something on the news since I tend to avoid a lot of it lately.
Michelle gave a great speech
Doesn't make you change your vote?
Chances are You weren't going to vote for him any way.
It's so disappointing to see the MSM use the Right talking points to tear Michelle down for doing so well.
But at least we should all give Michelle some respect, allot of people were inspired and moved. Again your titled to your opinion but no need to insult Mrs. Obama
pissed off patricia @ 67:
I'm sure his speechwriters wont be able to p(ass) up an opportunity to sneak in the 'POW crap.
(in answer to your first question, I think all the talk of the USA trying to get rid of the losers and crooks now in office is exciting the masses all over the world.)
pissed off patricia @ 67:
LOL...McCain speech..."My friends...blah blah...POW...Hanoi...freedom...9/11...liberty...my friends...Giuliani...tax cuts...POW...economy sound....POW...Petraus...my friends...love my country...POW...my friends...9/11...Cindy....my friends....POW...."
a nouns @ 61:
The old guy who walks past my house every morning talking to himself.
BrokenArrow @ 45:
Yeah. I was a brand new mental health tech in the army (25th in Hawaii) with just a year experience when they sent me to give a suicide prevention briefing to every chaplain in the theater during Chaplain's week. I won't say I was scared shitless but I was pretty nervous. I probably came off as a brand new guy trying to brief a bunch of chaplains. But I doubt I came off as insincere.
Would you rather listen to somebody who is nervous or somebody who sounds like they're full of shit? Just asking.
Liberal AND Proud @ 73:
HAHA, thanks ... good chuckle!
That was a great first night.
Pelosi sucked, of course, but Kennedy and Obama were terrific!
Now if we could just get the content of those speeches translated into legislative action....
With AT&T hosting parties to bring together Blue Dogs and the rich and powerful corporate types, the real story of this convention is not on the convention floor, and it's only being told by Jane Hamsher, Glenn Greenwald, and Democracy Now!
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/25/blue_dogs/index.html
Liberal AND Proud @ 73:
They may be profoundly stupid but they aren't stupid. They know what's being said, who they want to talk to and are paying a lot of money to do whatever they think will work. And we played the "POW too much" card maybe too soon because now they know it's a problem BEFORE their convention.
NEVER EVER underestimate you enemy.
If Barack, Joe, Hillary and the rest of the Dems don't come out swinging and attacking starting tonight, it won't make a bit of difference what anyone thought of that speech by Michelle. If Teddy wasn't ailing, I'm sure he would have given a 35 minute speech that just skewered the Republicans over the past 8 years of inept, corrupted policy.
Failing economy, wrong on the immoral invasion of Iraq that was "supported" by lies, mishandled everything after the invasion including the safety of our troops, spying on anyone at anytime for any reason, deceit and more lies in the DOJ, on and on and on and on.
This strikes me as 2000 all over again. Like that election, this should be an absolute blowout, landslide win. Especially this election. Hell, even if YOU or I should be able to smash McSame if we were nominated.
But alas, there's no attack - just smiles and the repetition of how much we "believe and hope change is here." There's a LONG list of things that have been screwed up the past 8 years, and somebody pull their head out and start reiterating the list for the next three nights, pronto !
Liberal AND Proud @ 73:
Add "God Bless America and our troops" at the end and you can send it to his speech writers and save them a whole lot of time.
But, last night, McCain officially promoted his POW card to punchline status by flashing it at Jay Leno--a clear invitation for the entire comedy world to cheapen and mock this specious line of defense:
Michelle's job last night was to introduce herself and her husband. The folks like Hillary, Mark Warner, Bill and Biden are the ones who should be defining McCain and the threat he will be to our country. It's up to them, it wasn't up to Michelle.
cobsjo @ 81:
It's possible we might get away with assuming the GOP is this stupid and not expecting anything better. But if they're not planning on staying this stupid that would be a bad assumption.
I doubt the gop will spend their first night getting all emotional.
American Native @ 20:
Who are you calling brainless?!
Most of the people here and I must have watched different speeches. She didn't hit a home run, she hit a grand slam! That speech couldn't have been better! A for Ms. Obama and her kids!
Okay, his last line there makes no sense. WTF was he talking about?
It sort of sad that during Michelle's speach, MSNBC scroll at the bottom of the screen kept mentioning that Cyndi McSame was on her way to Georgia to assess the civilian casualties. How lame is that? Maybe she'll buy a house on Peachtree Street in Atlanta while in Georgia.
Michelle can hold her own and shines, head to head with a surgically enhanced, short on morality, home wrecker, with a history of drug addiction and theft, who inherited her wealth and plagiarizes cookie recipes........and Cindy....quit lying about Mother Theresa.
pissed off patricia @ 87:
Okay, his last line there makes no sense. WTF was he talking about?
He's using this story so much , the only explanation can be he's baiting the Dems to attack his pow record.
We can use it, but Obama can't.
pissed off patricia @ 87:
Okay, his last line there makes no sense. WTF was he talking about?
link
getalife "whiners" @ 84:
Of course not, they have no emotions. Unless of course they lament the end of bush's reign.
American Native @ 20:
You have a couple of typos there,
Where you said 'Clinton/Gore' you meant to say 'Bush/Cheney'.
I know that most republicans are against education, and don't know their history, but Clinton/Gore wasn't that long ago (Remember that HUGE financial Surplus, and BOOMING financial market?). Well, Bush wasted no time stealing that.
For the past eight years, BushCo has sold this country (if you say China doesn't own a huge part of use due to BushCo, you're an idiot) and wasted more money than any president in American History on fabricated wars, spying on Americans, destroying our constitution and everything our country stands for... and more.
By the way, 'Native'. Unless you're an American Indian, you're an immigrant like most 99% of the people in this country.
Those silly hillbillies. They should be pelted with history and science books.
For all you folks out there with the Great American dream. If you own your own home, you may want to read this.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080826/ap_on_bi_ge/home_prices
Michelle's a self made woman. Cindy's a wealthy heiress who stole for drugs from her own charity.
Which image does America want for the first lady for the next 4-8 years?
☻Bangkok Bob ☻ @ 64:
The creepy old guy down the street snickering to himself, wearing a raincoat and apparently no pants?
pissed off patricia @ 53:
I sleep next to the window.
By the way,
You guys should be focusing on the assassination attempt against Obama by white supremacists.
I'm willing to bet SERIOUS money they are Fox NeoCon watchers.
I've said on previous posts, we are going to see more of these Murderous NeoCon crazies coming out of the woodwork.
First they go shooting up churches, now they are going after presidential candidates.
I suppose they're just going to claim that they're just listening to their GOP masters. After all, we have these Fox pundits telling their viewers to go out and kill people like it's some sort of joke.
Well, it's not a joke. The NeoCon's mean it. They want people to go out and kill anyone who doesn't follow their ideology. After all, if they actually SAY to go out and kill (and they have), then what more proof do we need to arrest them?
These maniacs are committing serious crimes. They should be in JAIL.
When queen nancy was on I was in the bathroom with the splatters.
Was than an appropriate responseto her speechifyin'?
Was than an appropriate response to her speechifyin’?
many @ 1:
It was the delay from the link that caused the conversation to be all disjointed. I thought it should have been left off too, but then I don't have kids or any experience being around them. The talking heads, especially the female ones, loved that moment the best, so I guess it worked great for people with families and children of their own.
Oh, and Fuck Pat Buchanan.
ysbaddaden @ 97:
Did you roll over and fall out of the window? That could get ones day off to a bad beginning.
Didn't McPOW "dispatch" LIEberman and Graham to Georgia a couple weeks ago? Are they still there?
Ruthless People @ 95:
The choice is obvious. But, as was pointed out.. Ideally nobody would even give a damn about it.
What do you know about the 'first lady' of Germany? (not Merkel.. I mean the president's wife.)
Were you aware Germany even had a president?
Probably not - and you know why? Because it's a purely symbolic job with no power.
pissed off patricia @ 92:
Well, they can't mention Bush...it will only remind viewers of how bad things are for regular people.
So, assume lots of flags and chants of U.S.A! U.S.A! Lots of country music, racing car references and as much piggybacking on the Olympics as possible.
No substance. What are they gonna do? Soften their view on abortion and piss off the evangelicals? Talk about middle class tax cuts and piss off their corporate masters? Talk about healthcare "rebates" and piss off everybody!?
The GOP is bereft of ideas. They know nothing but the tax cut mantra and that simply has proven not to work. They'll try and talk about spending cuts, but that opens up a whole can of worms with regard to their control of the purse strings. They'll play on the war, what else they gonna do...run from it...and play on McCain's "foreign policy" experience and lots of POW video.
It's all they got.
VietVet67 @ 103:
They were securing blood supplies for Cheney. That's why he went over...to pick it up personally.
mudshark @ 90:
Excellent observation, mudshark. He's inviting the criticism at this point. Right now it's largely a netroots and MSNBC topic. And forgive that redundancy, but he'd probably like a prominent Dem to slip up and say it, like someone on the order of a Joe Biden.
Liberal AND Proud @ 31:
My money is on "totally makes shit up"!
CafeenMan @ 38:
which is much more than can be said for many.
ysbaddaden @ 41:
and not one sexual innuendo! how'd you pull that off?
ROTFLMBBAO!!!!!!!!!!
Well, thousands are in the streets here, guess I'll go join them, looks exciting and loud. I'm close to old Taepei Gate and and thats where are large group has been forming.
Voto per Obama/Biden
Buona notte
pissed off patricia @ 102:
Good thing I don't live on the second story
Than maybe I would be pissed-off too.
pissed off patricia @ 87:
Okay, his last line there makes no sense. WTF was he talking about?
Sure it does: Noun - Verb - POW
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 110:
Maybe you can get one from Bangkok Bob.
JUST A WARNING ABOUT WHATS TO COME:
Every media outlet, save C-SPAN and MSNBC.COM were bringing out all the haters, including Carville and the like.
they are working like hell to destroy the democratic party and the nominees!
I know it ain't exactly news, but there are people inside and outside the Democratic Party trying to destroy it.
ysbaddaden @ 114:
thank, but no thanks ;<[)
Great speech by Michelle Obama. To the obvious disappointment of the MSM, Mrs. Obama wasn't "militant" or "angry", just a confident, optimistic, self made woman who, unlike Cindy McFraud, has WORKED for everything she has gotten in her career.
Left&Left @ 117:
you're right. they'd be happier if michelle were an angry black heiress.
All I know is I wouldn't want to give a speech in front of that many people.
If I were a party operative, I'd prefer to be sliding around in the background.
Hey, I know, I got chubby cheeks, a receding hairline and glasses
I could be the Democrats karl rove.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 108:
You're the man with all the info, CoIntelPro. If you want to refute it on an Open Thread, just let me know. Cindy McCain has been to Georgia once already and met with Saakashvili, and is now doing it again. Neither Obama has yet to do so.
Just one example, but I'm having a hard time finding examples of Michelle doing anything like that so far, and not many more of Barack's, aside from his recent World Tour.
dennis @ 120:
*yawn*
ysbaddaden @ 119:
I have to disagree. Rove(R) is a very special kind of ugly. You just can't top him, not even close. Sorry!
dennis @ 120:
Wow, I didn't know Cindy McCain was a Senator or a representative of the US govt. If MO had done that, I can see the talking heads going after her already saying " Who does she think she is?" An elitist?
And wouldn't Cindy McCain going there representing the US govt be breaking the law? Really, dennis, surely you can see the double standard here?
dennis @ 120:
Just WTF is Cindy McBain goin to do over there, go shopping?
What makes her think she will be able to do squat to help the situation?
And big deal that she's been there before...whoopty fuckin DOO! Still doesn't make her an ambassador or a diplomat.
She's a rich, drug addled heiress...not exactly what the world needs goin around tryin to play diplomat, is it?
liberalNmoderation @ 124:
Don't be so harsh.
She's probably just makin' a beer run.
I was rather amused by Teddy Kennedy's speechifyin'
It's more of what I'm used to.
However, he has such a high oratorical style
I could imagine him debating Steven Douglas and William Jennings Bryant.
I noted also how he hoped to see Obama inaugrated in January.
That made me wonder if that was a generic wish for him to win the presidency, or his announcing the possibility he might not be around to see it, adding a certain note of poignancy to his speech.
125 Liberal AND Proud
Don’t be so harsh.
She’s probably just makin’ a beer run.
____________________________________
Booze can give me the runs too.
Didna see my comment on queen nancy's speech?
She was just beautiful. And the dress was like so, you know, perfect for her. The color and everything. She'll be a great looking first lady. And kids! Have you ever seen anything cuter?
124 liberalNmoderation
boosh a rich, drug addled heir…not exactly what the world needs goin around tryin to play president, is it?
(fixed it for ya.)
Right back, off to kitchen for Sugar Donuts.
Even as a kid I hated sugar donuts almost as much as cake donuts, filled donuts, iced donuts, or donuts with sprinkles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiJElPRnz54
Like, anyone know what kind of blackberry Michelle uses? I gotta have whatever brand she uses.
3 Arrested in plot to harm Obama.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26398461
ysbaddaden @ 131:
Sugar, or at east excessive usage was frowned upon when I was a youngster.
(Thank god for that)
liberalNmoderation @ 124:
Look up her biography, libNmod. Find out what her foreign humanitarian and philanthropic work has been. Shouldn't be hard for you to do, because there's a lot out there that's been written about it that you won't see written in the comments sections of your favorite LW blogs. Broaden your horizons.
I'm sure she doesn't have the same public speaking experience but I can't imagine anything near that coming out of Cindy McCain's mouth. She did a fantastic job: heartfelt, warm, emotional, forward-thinking, articulate, passionate. It had it all. I thought the part at the end with the kids was cute too. You got to see them as a real family. Nice political calculus!
mudshark @ 133:
What punishment would be suitable for these rascals?
Drop them from a helicopter from 2000 feet onto the 50 yard line podium in Pepsi Stadium then Obama can make his entrance to a roaring ovation and say. . ."That, is what we do to people who do not like me".
DeLaRocha @ 136:
It made me feel warm and fuzzy and emotional.
L.A. Confidential Non Cynic Version @ 137:
Sorry Investor Stadium. I mean INVESCO DAMN IT!
(Invesco Ltd. is an investment management company incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.)
dennis @ 135:
get your head out from under her skirt! she's 66, for criminy's sake! you perv!
L.A. Confidential Non Cynic Version @ 137:
I think it's safe to say we'll be getting a thread on this soon.
{We have a thread coming on this topic in about an hr. SiteMonitor}
DeLaRocha @ 136:
cindy mcKeatingFive at the repug convention:
John + verb + POW - in every form, including the PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE
dennis @ 135:
You've got some gall Dennis. I know you're not a fool. If you would "Broaden your horizons" you'd never consider supporting Grandpa....There is nothing there.
L.A. Confidential @ 138:
Heavy drinking does that for me.
Cindy McCain would make a great first lady...if it were 1958 instead of 2008. She's the old model in more ways than one, and all the botox in the world will not change that.
I'm looking forward to Cindy McCain's speech about how much she loves America because it's a place whose legal system enables the safe transfer of vast wealth from the dead (who earned it) to the living (who didn't), a place where a rich, attractive woman can legally steal a less wealthy, less attractive woman's husband, and a place where prescription drugs can easily be stolen from charity. Oh, and a place that is non-navigable except by private plane.
Should be a real tear-jerker.
Paul in Boca @ 2:
Don't you know that every republican president that takes office is required to own a war? Russia/Georgia and soon the US war will be the new Iraq. McHeyC*ntImAPOW is getting his ducks in a row by sending his "envoys" and now VicoCindy.
Michelle Obama is on her way to being damn near as good a speaker as her hubby. Cute kids, too.
What a disturbing contrast between the Obamas and the McCains. One family struggled to succeed while the other floated on a magic carpet of Cindy McCain's money. One family dedicates itself to helping others while the other lives in multiple mansions, making back room deals to accumulate even more wealth and power. One family buys tickets on commercial airlines and buses, while the other flies around in their own private jets.
How can John McCain claim to be a self-made man when his whole career is propped up by his wife's gigantic family fortune?
These Obamas are good, smart, healthy people. We'd be lucky to have them running this country.
Michelle on the other hand is like Hillary Clinton 2.0. She's Hillary minus the naked, self-serving ambition, Hillary with a conscience. She had to struggle on three fronts: race, gender and class.
dennis @ 135:
I will dennis.
But try some horizon broadening yourself....of anyone here, you sure need it...maybe LAC could use a little too.
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