Denver, August 27, 2008
Biden's speech tonight was good, but not great. It was clear the speech was not entirely his (welcome to Obama World, Joe!) as the senator did not deliver consistently throughout his monologue, stumbling most when the words were not describing his life or his own world view. Watch the replay, concentrate on the listener's faces immediately after the speech ended and you will see clear evidence of the first let-down of this DNC. Admittedly, Biden's time slot following Bill Clinton was certainly not ideal. No question, this was a challenge for the newly minted VP candidate.
Still, I have to wonder whether Barack Obama's "unscripted and unexpected" appearance on stage after Biden's speech would have happened at all (or at least for as long) had Biden "hit it out of the park" as all of the previous prime-time speakers had done. Did Obama cash in a chip here? I think so. And to cover the marker, watch Biden become party pit bull starting Thursday on the morning gabfests.
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Kat Hudson
CherylAnneNY
Kathy Riordan
Steven Axelrod
Critical Mess
Mary Elizabeth Williams
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Comments
Plus...he could have just said 'gobbledeegobbledeegooobygoobygoo" after his mom was featured. JOE BIDEN'S MOM FOR PRESIDENT!
I completely agree with you. I said to my husband last night, "He's really screwing up a bunch of words."
I'm not a picky person, but I've seen enough of Joe Biden's speeches that he is usually impeccable.
I think the way he is able to speak so forcefully and forthrightly is one of the many reasons he was picked.
Whether or not he was cashing in his chip, I think Obama appearing was a great choice and a great moment.
I agree. He got much better as the speech went on. And the criticism of McCain was powerful.
(2) apparently, the medias had word of Obama's impending appearance about halfway through the speech. With that kind of timing, I'm gonna wager that OBama's appearance was arranged before Biden even began speaking.
I wonder that no one has mentioned Beau. His speech was almost pitch perfect, for the convention, for the viewers, for Middle America, Barack, for his dad, for Jill. How touching and poignant when he said, "my brothers and my dad married Jill." And then, when talked about his father always taking care of him, and, re leaving for a tour in Iraq, said, "I won't be here in the Fall, so please, take care of my father." Whew.
And I have to wonder why, considering the country's anti-war sentiments, Rep Patrick Murphy (D, PA), young Iraq war vet, surrounded by other Iraq war vets wasn't given more air play. The media would rather listen to themselves and each other than cover the real convention.
SSDD
I had a different take... that he was just about to start bloodying John McCain's nose (metaphorically speaking). And then he did.
No one can honestly say that the Democrats have purposefully picked these last electoral fights with the GOP. Nor can we say that the nominee (or any surrogates, for that matter) have fought back. This time, I hope we'll see something different.
It won't be like having a Tom DeLay-style (no-holds-barred) knockdown, drag-out fight, where it's all about the Power. This will be about the issues. Given Biden's long friendship with McCain, he's perfectly positioned to do the job.
The message is a heart-felt concern for the struggle's of the American family, and Joe Biden's speech was perfect in delivering that message.
Biden has never been seen as a "slick" politician. His charm, and his benefit to the ticket, is his ability to connect heart-to-heart with voters. Most of morning-after commentary on Biden's speech gives him high marks for being real, and for sharing his deep love for his family and his country. That was his and Barack's goal, and he accomplished it.