The Place For Politics: DNC Thoughts and Impressions

What a couple of days it's been for politics. First, there was the weekend announcement of Joe Biden as Obama's running mate. And then, there's been the amazing series of speeches which have served to kick off the Democratic National Convention. Suffice it to say, I haven't felt this pumped up about politics in a while. Change is in the air, and I feel like we may be on our way to truly turning a corner.

To start with, I'll talk for a second about the selection of Joe Biden as Obama's vice-presidential pick. I couldn't be happier with the decision to go with Biden, who I think will make a great complement to Obama. Whereas Obama tends to talk in grand, lofty terms, and sometimes shies away from the hard-hitting attacks, Biden is a tough, non-nonsense guy who has the ability to quickly cut to the core of an issue with no minced words. He's one of those guys who is likable despite his toughness, because there's a real spirit about him. Biden wears his blue collar roots on his sleeve, and yet he has the Washington experience to make him a valuable insider of sorts. Throughout the campaign season, I've been impressed whenever Biden has made an appearance. He often stole the show in the Democratic Primary debates, with choice moments of Bush-bashing that really got right to the heart of how the Bush administration has botched things up over the last eight years. On his many TV appearances following his failed presidential bid, Biden always comes off as a well-spoken advocate for his party who tells it like it is. The bottom line is that Biden is someone who has the chops to be President himself, who can act as an attack dog without ever losing credibility, and who gives a real a legitimacy to the Obama campaign, on issues ranging from foreign policy to the economy. With Biden on the team, this is certainly the best Democratic ticket, by far, since Clinton-Gore.

With Biden's VP selection, I was beginning to feel more and more positive about Obama's momentum going into the DNC. But I really didn't have any particular expectation for Monday night's kickoff. So I was somewhat shocked and certainly very pleasantly surprised at just how much energy the convention had right out of the gate. First, Ted Kennedy's speech was both powerful and inspiring. What better way to start the festivities than with a surprise, melodramatic speech from the old lion of the Democratic party. Given the context of Kennedy's recent severe health issues and battle with cancer, it was pretty amazing to see him standing on stage, putting his all into a rousing Obama endorsement. This was a true historic moment, and certainly a symbolic passing of the torch. It was a moment that erased the idea of some kind of animosity between the old and new guards of the Democratic party, and painted Obama as the spiritual successor to the legacy of the Kennedys and the celebrated, idealistic core values of the party. All in all, not only was Kennedy's speech great TV, it was a real feel-good, go-get-'em moment.

And yet, Kennedy's speech proved to only be the opening act. Because it was followed by a second great performance, this time from Michelle Obama. Again, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came away somewhat stunned, because, wow, Michelle delivered one hell of a speech. It was emotional but not self-indulgent, forceful yet personable, heartfelt yet carefully-crafted to tell Michelle's story and to paint a portrait of the Obama family. When Michelle's two kids came onstage following their mother's speech, and went off-cue to respond to the video feed of their dad, it was a genuine, funny moment that couldn't have come off better if written by a Hollywood screenwriter. In one fell swoop, I think the Obama family succeeded in winning over many Americans. And that may sound trivial, but it was important that they do that, that they erase the idea of Obama as some kind of "other." With a great speech by Michelle and then the following moments of wholesome family goodness that seemed to come right out of a long-lost episode of Full House, an important connection was established between the Obamas and the American people that may not have been there prior.

So I went to sleep on Monday feeling upbeat and positive about the way the convention was going. Monday was one of those "how can McCain possibly compete with THIS?" kind of nights. But one thing still nagged at me, and that was the Hillary factor. Over the last several weeks, I've been disturbed by the fact that there seemed to be this faction of hardcore Hillary supporters, mostly middle-aged women, who were so frustrated by Hillary's narrow primary loss that they refused to support Obama, and in some cases were even going so far as to throw their support to McCain. I believe the term coined on MSNBC the other night for this behavior was "post-rational," and I couldn't agree more. Anyone who seriously supported Hillary who could then go and support McCain is not thinking about any issues of substance. Too many of McCain's views are just totally antithetical to Clinton's - there's NO way that someone who subscribes to the Democratic ideology could consider a candidate who promises four more years of George Bush's broken policies. Again, post-rational is the term that seems to fit. But of course, McCain's campaign has pounced on this perceived base of disenfranchised Hillary supporters, with those ridiculous ads that look to further sour them on Obama, by questioning why Obama chose Biden and not Hillary as his running mate. Are you kidding me? As if McCain's interest is in seeing Obama pick the best possible running mate for the Democratic ticket ... yeah, right. With those ads, the McCain campaign, as has been their habit, is selling a load of bull.

So it stood to reason that, with her speech tonight, Hillary had to lay the gauntlet down. She had to put an end to the perception of Democratic infighting, show a united front, and lay out for her supporters, in no uncertain terms, that if they stood with her then that would by extension mean standing for Obama. All the speculation was on whether Clinton would put aside her own pride and be a team player with her speech. And you know what - I give her tons of credit - her speech tonight was a real barn-burner that did everything it needed to and more. It quite skillfully took all the themes of her campaign and attached them to Obama, reassuring the Hillary holdouts that Obama was the guy who would carry forth the kinds of agenda items that Clinton had always emphasized. And as for Hillary's position on McCain? I think she summed it up when she said "No way, no how, no McCain!." Hillary not only declared herself a proud Obama supporter, but reminded the crowd just how dangerous it would be to sit on the sidelines, or worse, to vote for McCain. In no uncertain terms, she equated McCain to four more years of George Bush. And she spoke with an excess of positive energy, emotion, hopefulness, and passion. As Chris Matthews said, she in effect passed the baton on to Obama, and the speech seemed to have an amazingly palpable effect. The same crowd that had seemed a bit divided pre-speech seemed to have tangibly shifted in its aftermath. I might even call it a game-changer, because after that speech, it's going to be hard for all but the most stubborn Hillary supporters not to align themselves with Obama, to realize that the issues are too important and the stakes too high in this election to elect another Republican into the White House.

Now, I'm really curious to see what tomorrow's speeches will be like. Joe Biden and Bill Clinton are on deck, and I feel like tomorrow may be the day when the proverbial hounds are released. Between the two of them, I expect Biden and Clinton to systematically rip into the Bush administration's record and into McCain's voting record and policy. Biden will be big-picture guy, where Clinton, who has always been a master of spinning numbers and factoids into a compelling argument, will take the Republicans to task on their stances on the ecomomy, healthcare, the environment, and education. I wouldn't be at all surprised if more than a few references were dropped to a certain past president's record on the economy either ... It will certainly be interesting, though, to see just how enthusiastic Bill is in terms of his endorsement of Obama. I think that the 2008 Bill Clinton is someone who isn't always taken as seriously as he once was, and I think Clinton knows that this is a moment to further his legacy as a political giant. If the Clinton who takes the stage tomorrow night can evoke the Bill Clinton of the 1990's, and if that guy can emphatically give his support to Obama ... well, if that happens then Obama will be riding an almost unstoppable wave of momentum by the time he accepts the nomination on Thursday.

Personally, I'm excited. Business has picked up.