The Obama Speech
August 29th, 2008 at 3:55 pm by David FarrarA very nice event at the Embassy, watching the speech on the big screen. Obama does look almost flawless when he speaks and has a style which is graceful, if that is the word.
It was interesting he hit McCain quite hard and it was more substance than the rhetoric of previous speeches. He pledged to end oil imports within 10 years, which personally I think is impossible.
Jon Johansson spoke after the speech and gave what I thought was a good critique of it – he had been critical of some of the earlier speeches but said this was Obama’s best compared to the primary speeches. Johansson also said Bill Clinton’s speech last night was very powerful – again I agree.
The video they showed before hand on Obama’s life was pretty powerful also – told a carefully scripted and appealing story (and Margaret Clark I think pointed out very focused on appealing to working class Americans).
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- The Barack Obama Speech
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- Daily Show parody of Barack Obama video
August 29th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
He pledged to end oil imports within 10 years, which personally I think is impossible.
Well, it’s certainly impossible if you rule out offshore drilling. Oh, hang on, is that one of the things Obama has flip-flopped on?
Despite my disdain for most of his policies, I look forward to watching the speech tonight.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I was moved by the way both Hillary and Bill Clinton obviously had lumps in their throats during their “get together” speeches,
Vote:Then I realised they were dead rats.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Great speech , but who cares, better than any thing or hopes clark could produce,in her case only a empire of dirt ,and lost dreams.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
For some of us, a clever orator who is all wrong on substance, policy, and background, but who gets the masses eating out of his hand, doesn’t move us to a shred of admiration, it sends shivers down our spines.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Despite how good he looks now, I just can’t bring myself to believe that all those *traditional* ‘Muricans and the redneck mid-west majority giving Obama their votes, especially against a *war hero* – and all this despite the age difference.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
An Obama speech is more fun than a U2 concert, as the saying goes – sure looked like it!
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
ending “dependency” (what he said) on Middle East oil isn’t quite the same as ending imports of it. still pretty much impossible, though.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Yup.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
During the Primaries, Obama had you use to use his Yin against Hillary’s Yang. For the acceptance speech, for the first time, he could truly use the whole Democratic Tao. And he did. Bloody impressive.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
But can he land a fighter jet on a moving aircraft carrier?
I think not.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
The oil thing was channelling JFK’s “We’ll go to the moon” goal. Whatever happens, Obama will not be president in ten years. But he can set the right initial conditions.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
POSITIVE THOUGHTS ????? right ,
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
kimble was obama a useless shit to be caught like mccain,an OLD MAN, 70+ in NAM who dosnt know how many houses or pairs of underpants he owns, hes a OLD fart who will nuke NZ as we dont let death ships into NZ ports .hes old and OBAMAS fresh and YOUNG
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
JSF2008.
Man oh man: your logic and convincing argument is more amazing than Obama’s —-NOT.
Grow Up.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I thought the speech was exactly what it needed to be. Policy based, uplifting, and tough on McCain. McCain will have a tough time going second after it.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I enjoyed the speech, atleast he has a vision for his country, what do we get, blended familys, emission taxation schemes and a bigger heavy duty gravy sucking government, fuck !!!!!, I need another class of wine.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
There was huge anger and resentment after the second Bush win in 2004. This anger manifested into public protest, especially with the highly suspicious results of the ballot and Jeb Bush’s clandestine handling of the Florida ballot who wiped off many legal voters from the elctoral rolls. It is yet to be known if those falsely black listed have been re instated.
But I do not find an anger issue resonating from the US domestic voting public. Agreeance with change, yes. Relief the time is short for the Bush administration, certainly. Carville says Barack Obama’s campaign ”must bring a narrative to his position as a change agent. ” And in an angry way.
Hillary was portrayed as an angry person in a very biased way by a biased media. Towards the end of her campaign vying against Obama, the images of her features were shown in very angry and glaring postures. It was obvious the media either supported or saw the writing on the wall going Obama’s way. Not really fair when Hillary had taken the major states she had planned for. Her campaign had climaxed to a very convincing case for her.
My lay person’s take for Obama’s campaign is the perspective of his own wife. Michelle’s pronouncement that she was proud of America for it’s strong support of her black husband, meaning that America had finally grown up to open its mind to alternative leadership, is really the card Obama should play on.
America has latched on to Obama’s passion. Does he really need to add anger to that?
Take for instance the NAACP. An organisation of very politicised anger, yet over this decade its membership has dropped drastically as blacks have become more middle class and have been elevated into higher positions of society. There is no class of society in America that now does not have a black face in it. From high powered business to the justice department to the White House, blacks are included. One of the highest positions in US government, the Secretary of State, is filled by Condeleeza Rice. One of the most powerfullest and wealthiest women in the US is Oprah Winfrey. An utterance from her can affect the stock markets.
The question is, does Obama have a right to sound angry. Hasn’t Dr Martin Luther Kings’ dream been fulfilled now. That his daughters would be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character?
The answer could be that if Obama does sound too angry, his confidence levels could come into question by the time we get to November. Because let’s not be naieve, white and black interpretations are different and a haughty attitude could be seen as ungrateful by the white voters he can never, ever take for granted.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Inexperience has been the main attack on Obama since he won the nomination. Hillaries whole campaign was based on her experience. Surprisingly, her experience didn’t see her first past the post. How can we analyse that. Obama hit the pulse of America with one word; change.
In my last post I described Obama’s strategy as needing to be proud of his countrymen, not angry at the policies of the fundamantalist administration he is opposing. The main reason for this is he simply doesn’t need to be angry. You use anger as a theme to capture imaginations and show empathy for a down trodden electorate.
In reality, America is tired. The nation may still have the image of a very expensive and status symbol car, but all its tyres are running half deflated. It’s not running towards any vision, it’s having trouble staying on track and the driver hasn’t been proven competent. In fact the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, said those very words in stronger terms and although she is a democrat, her prounouncement was still a rare indictment of a sitting president.
But back to Joe. The media was smelling the coffee shortly before Obama’s announcement. he was a very predictable choice. He would have been in my top two had I known of him. He’s a 35 year veteran of the white house but not a media favourite. Those days of course are gone. He has accepted the nomination and this year he will become one of the most quoted men in the world.
The other favourite for the nod was John Edwards whose potential was slashed with the revelation of not only having an affair but while his wife is suffering from cancer. His entire political career is more than likely over.
Personality, public confidence and an iron tight reputation will see Bidens bid for Obama as p.o.t.u.s almost signed and sealed. Its the Republicans who are fighting an uphill battle. Obama clearly holds the high ground advantage. The upcoming McCain/Obama debates will be civil but highly engaging. For someone with so much inexperience, Obama holds himself well against the seasoned veterans of government hill. Unless McCain can come up with something Obama has no clear insight about, the debates are not going to be in favour of the paternal candidate.
In summing up though, it is Obama who has reinvigorated the US electorate, not experienced old men.
It is Obama who has been created by one of the most unpopular administrations in US history, and George Bush is excusing himself with the same rhetoric as Richard ‘tricky dicky’ Nixon who stated “Let history judge me.” History has condemned Nixon and will doubly do so to Bush. He has caused too much international damge and sullied America’s reputation too deeply to be treated simply as an embarrassing joke.
My prediction; Obama 08.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
McCain has a battle on his hands, but he has a reputation as a battler.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
David, Democratic policies wrong ? the Nats are far to the left of the Democrats in this little green land.
Vote:Is Obama wrong about Iraq being a dumb war ? if the US believes only countries it is allied with should have nukes, why no invasion of Russia
or North Korea.
Can Obama land a F18 on a carrier, some how I doubt if McCain could do
it at the age of seventy four.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
No, slightlyrighty. McCain has a reputation as a prisoner.
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I must say that I am struck by the Obamamania evidenced here in New Zealand. Senator Obama makes speeches about getting Europe alongside US policy- perhaps he hasn’t noticed that the conservative French, German and Italian governments now embrace pretty much the same policies as Bush advocates- and maybe he didn’t understand the significance of Poland suddenly signing up for a US military presence.
In February of 2007, Senator Obama called for American troops to be out of Iraq by March 2008. But now violence there is down somewhat as the surge is working. What date now will the pull-out be?
Senator Obama plays the race card well, although to me his twenty year association with the racist reverend Jeremiah Wright says that he is more about the politics of grievance than transcendence.
Senator Obama’s statements reassuring the US of his support for the Jewish state as a consensus in US policy is good, although he did mess up the delivery- but it highlights the problem that elections are about comparisons, and when it comes to public service and accomplishments Senator McCain is in a whole different league. I agree that Senator Obama has an impressive résumé- a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Law, some service in state politics and then part of a term as a U.S. senator.
Senator McCain has spent 25 years in Congress pushing bipartisan legislation [campaign-finance reform, climate change, criticising terrorist interrogation techniques], if need be crossing against the Republicans. Before this there was his five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. I think that Monica’s ex-boyfriend’s wife was right during her failed campaign when she said: “Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign. Senator Obama will bring a speech that he gave”.
I don’t think that Obama will change as much as some hope, nor that he will be as bad as many fear. In fact, as I’ve said before, an Obama Presidency may well be one of the great events of our time- after all, look what President Carter gave us: eight years of Ronald Reagan
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
can mccain as a old fart keep a battle going with a VERY younger person OBAMA, what ifs mccains zimmer walking frame and oxygen were stolen, the OLD fart will struggle ha ha gasp,OXYGEN .YOURS rack up the nukes im going out with a bang BOOOOOM love the republicans ie sheep shagging mccain , love sheep ,um how many houses dose my wife own , 7 or 8 ,9 ,who cares yanks are cannon fodder
Vote:August 29th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Switched it off. Thought I was watching Sesame st.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Must say I’m surprised at the enthusiasm on this blog for a candidate who is really nothing more than a Marxist. I guess that’s because the NZ media is in the same kind of fawning mode as CNN MSNBC and the New York Times and most of the rest of the US media, and doing the Democrats propaganda for them for free. Blocks of mainstream journalists in the audience were observed cheering loudly and applauding wildly during Obama’s speech.
The media’s partisan mission to elect Barack Obama is the reason they refuse to tell the public about the realities of an Obama presidency. Realities that, in spite of Obama’s rhetoric on change, are nothing more than the same old same old leftist idiocy. Policies that cater to the delusions of the progressives, mindless detached from reality mantras that if allowed to run their course, bring poverty and destruction to the middle class.
Obama is no Kennedy. Kennedy supported the armed forces. Obama wants to surrender in Iraq and to reduce the armed forces. Kennedy was for tax cuts. Obama is intent on huge tax increases. Kennedy came from a traditional American family background that had some degree of respect for concepts like hard work and self reliance. Barack Obama comes from a broken home and spent most of his formative years in the company of seriously committed communists and other extreme leftists and even convicted terrorists.
The truth behind the media promoted facade is this- Obama is just another big government leftist who believes in the same simpleton credo of every leftist that has ever gone before him, ie that every problem can be solved by more legislation, higher taxes and bigger government.
Here’s a list of the idiot ideas this politically narrow Marxist buffoon thinks are representative of “change” (courtesy of Townhall)-
—————————-
John McCain would like to make the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent, and McCain has proposed a few more tax cuts of his own. Obama, by contrast, favors allowing the tax cuts to expire; that expiration will be the largest tax increase in American history.
As though gas prices are not high enough, Obama proposes new oil and gasoline taxes.
However, that is not all in the way of new taxes. Retirement accounts will see new taxes as well as natural resources, including natural gas used to heat homes, water and electricity.
To pay for government-run medicine, new taxes must be initiated to finance this expensive form of medical care. All of these new taxes will hit everyone hard, but they will be especially harmful to the elderly and lower-income folks that Obama says he cares so much about.
Obama would raise taxes on capital gains. He proposes a 28-plus percent tax on all home sale profits. This policy affects all homeowners but will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the sale of their homes to fund their retirement or the move into a senior or assisted living/nursing home.
Maybe you want to downsize to save on all of the utility bills that Obama wants to tax, but he will get your money one way or another with his Catch-22. He wants new government taxes on homes that are more than 2,400 square feet. So you can keep your 2,401 square foot house and be taxed more, or sell it and pay 28% taxes on your profit.
McCain does not want to return the inheritance tax Bush repealed, but Obama wants to. Obama likes to paint inheritance taxes as something that only the “rich” pay. But many families have lost homes, businesses, farms and ranches because their loved ones couldn’t afford the inheritance tax required in order to keep them. Most are not “wealthy” Americans, but people trying to continue their livelihoods (in a business or farming) or pass on a home to family members instead of having it go to the government.
With inflation rising, more and more Americans are putting their money into investments such as the stock market, mutual funds or an IRA, in preparation for retirement instead of savings accounts at banks. Obama plans to increase the dividend tax to 39.6 percent from the 15 percent which McCain wants to keep. Anything that reinvests or pays dividends, including bank accounts, will be taxed at more than twice the present rate. How’s that an incentive for American’s to save money?
—————————————–
So there’s the reality behind Obama’s bland words and the anti-democratic mainstream media’s partisan sales pitch. Obama describes what he wants to do as vaguely as possible by calling it “change”. Sure its change, away from freedom, personal responsibility, property rights and self reliance, and back to the same old soviet mentality that has killed off prosperity in every country that has ever tried it.
If the majority of mainstream America is really stupid enough to fall for the duplicitous words of this fake and charlatan of shady origins, and is persuaded to vote for him by the empty headed pseudo liberals, those disgraces to the craft of journalism who dominate the mainstream media, then they deserve every damn bit of the social destruction that will no doubt befall them.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 2:47 am
McCain hitting back big time with their VP announcement. CNN has been doing its best to ignore the hype but Fox following closely. Fox has now confirmed (after some fairly impressive investigative journalism tracking down a flight from Anchorage to the midwest that met another flight) that SARAH PALIN, Alaska Governor will be the Vice President candidate. Hello disgruntled Hiliary supporters.
This is a hell of an effort by the McCain team (keeping it secret until just before announcement if nothing else). The donks will accuse her of being an unknown although a counter that she does at least have Executive exeperience. A hunter and fisher so that gets my vote
The Donks had their historic time yesterday but to my knowledge this is the first realistic female VP candidate. The McCain campaign have just got the airwaves back (maybe even CNN Redbaiter?).
This is going to be one hell of a campaign.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 2:54 am
This is straight from Wikipedia (sorry it’s late) but does suggest that Palin is an outstanding choice:
“In July 2007, Palin had an approval rating often in the 90s.[6] A poll published by Hays Research on July 28, 2008 showed Palin’s approval rating at 80%. [54]
Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard praised Palin as a “politician of eye-popping integrity” and referred to her rise as “a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle—especially to transparency and accountability in government—can produce political success.”[6]“
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 3:41 am
Awesome VP choice McCain!
I just saw the news and commented on it: http://www.actoncampus.org.nz/blog/palin_for_vp
Palin was rumoured as a likely VP candidate had Ron Paul decided on a 3rd party run.
Very impressed by the decision by McCain, and where previously i didn’t care between Obama and McCain (republican congress please), McCain has now won me over.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 4:01 am
I was with Obama, all the way against Billary.
Having looked again he looks very confident, and perhaps a bit too smug.
We saw some polices in the speech, and the tax cuts were a bit of a surprise to me.
However every single Country that has deployed Income Tax reductions for personal and corporate,
has seen a good solid Economic Surge. And due to the science and comparitive analysis by Laff.
No longer is this a mystery why. Called human nature.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 7:03 am
Obama gives good speeches and this was another. But here’s the reality. He flubbed the Biden announcement big time and actually lost ground in the polls. Most VP announcements are worth at least 5 points and Biden was about -2. The Clintons dominated the DNC until Day 4 underscoring to the 18m Dems who voted for her why she was a better nominee. McCain took public finance that kicks in after the RNC. Meanwhile his campaign had to spend his $25m cash on hand through August and broke new ground advertising all the way through the DNC. His ads are clever and effective as evidenced by his winning the You Tube hits war with Obama.
Obama’s speech was undermined by his Greek temple set. Having bombed in the polls after his Berlin extravaganza, the McCain campaign have skillfully skewered Obama’s undoubted slick presentation skills into a cult of celebrity that he actually reinforced last night. The faithful loved it, the lunch pail blue collar Democrats in OH and PA (who backed Hillary big time) have had enough of the glitz and glamour.
The GOP were very clever to time their convention right after the DNC. McCain’s pick of Palin (a stunning pick and one as a Romney supporter I had secretly hoped for but figured he would plump for safe Tim Pawlenty) has wiped Obama’s speech off the front pages. McCain and Palin own the next 3 news cycles and all the Sunday shows will be wall to wall Palin. Obama had to turn around the negative bounce from his Biden pick and what bounce he gets from his Invesco Field speech will be more shallow and short lived thanks to McCain’s left field pick.
I will post more on Palin when David posts later on your Saturday. Suffice it to say that Geraldine Ferraro’s strongly positive comments send a signal to the disgruntled Hillary supporters that the McCain/Palin ticket is OK.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 7:59 am
The news that Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is to be Senator McCain’s running mate is dramatic. Some of Senator Hillary Clinton’s “sisterhood of the travelling pantsuits” may well fail to follow their leader.
Vote:I first learnt of Sarah Palin back in May, when Nat Hentoff of the Jewish World Review wrote a column about her, saying that she would be the ideal Vice Presidential candidate. She hunts, and owns a float plane. She has a lifetime membership of the National Rifle Association- and her strong faith in God meant that she refused to abort her Down’s syndrome child. She holds McCain’s right flank- his bi-partisan appeal will reach to the centre. Senator Obama has a fight on his hands.
August 30th, 2008 at 8:08 am
She sounds like a Family Party/Kiwi Party type candidate. Seriously, if McCain wanted to pick someone like her he might as well have gone for Huckabee, who has the astuteness and smart thinking expertise to be VP, not some hard-conservative anti-gay bigot who was obviously selected only for her gender. This makes the Republicans look like a joke – Romney was clearly the best choice considering McCain knows fuck all about economics and needed someone who actually knows how to run a country.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 8:18 am
i was wondering which purveyor of unmitigated drivel/misinformation would motivate me enough to key in a new password..
..and kiwi in america was top of my list..
..and yep..!..he/she has come up trumps..
..(remember the emphatic predictions that hillary would mount a coup against barack at the convention..?..
..hilarious..!..eh..?
now he is claiming no biden poll-bounce..
..yet a story i did this morning..on the gallup daily poll..
..records a six-point biden/convention-bounce..(by day three..)
(big lie number one from kiwi in america..eh..?)
..then it launches into a long sneer about obamas’ speech..
..one that patrick buchanan..(a notorious/rabid rightie commentator)..
..is calling the most important convention speech he has seen..
..in 48 years..
http://whoar.co.nz/2008/olbermann-rips-ap-reporters-analysis-of-obama-speech-video/
he/she truly is a dissembling fool..that kiwi in america..
..eh..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Yeah but how will the clear thinking Palin, obviously a committed Conservative, relate to a politically confused compromiser and sellout like McCain?
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I liked Obama’s speech. It was very impressive. But this whole thing with US presidential race is a farce. The true voters are the military industrial complex and the lobbyist. McCain is strong in this department which is why McCain will win. Make lobbying illegal and make defense contractors give up their ownership of the newsmedia then you will have a democracy in the United States. Until then, it is all for show.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 9:24 am
“The true voters are the military industrial complex”
Groan.. Woop Woop..!!! Watermelon alert.
Vote:August 30th, 2008 at 11:58 am
phil
I never said no bounce – if you read the post I say “what bounce he gets from his Invesco Field speech will be more shallow and short lived”. It is a fact that Obama lost 2 points in both Gallup and Rasmussen in the 3 days after Biden’s pick. Once again you selectively quote to claim a non existent lie and miss the whole point I was making. Salivating about the possibility of a Hillary rebellion is not the same as predicting one. I have consistently maintained that Obama would win the nomination and that he is the easier candidate to beat and his conduct over the last few month confirms this. Any head to head poll of Obama v McCain and Clinton v McCain had Clinton ahead. I’m thrilled the Dems have picked the candidate less likely to succeed.
Lets see what the tracking polls do in about a week phil now that McCain’s Palin pick has sucked the oxygen from Obama’s speech and the RNC gets underway. Remember – Dukakis came out of his convention in 88 17% up on Bush 1, Kerry came away about 7 up. Obama will manage 7 maybe higher but he needs at least 12-15. Yesterday was his last big speech day. His clock was cleaned by McCain at the Saddleback Forum and McCain will repeat this at the head to head debates. I wonder if Obama’s challenge to take on McCain in his speech means he will now come to the 10 Town Hall style meetings McCain challenged him to attend with him but Obama instead ran for the hills clutching his teleprompter.
I’m flattered to think that I forced phil from some self enforced kiwiblog down time. And by the way, I’m a he so dispense with he/she/it.
Vote: