NIGHT 1:
First thought – there’s a reason these folks aren’t speaking in prime time. Boy, there’s some really terrible public speakers in the group, and it makes me wonder how some of these folks got elected to public office.
Next thought – Alexi Giannoulias (Illinois State Treasurer) might be the exception. He gave a nice speech. Short, but well executed. State treasurer probably isn’t his last stop in public office.
Final though – Michele Obama gave a good speech. It was pitch-perfect and sent the right message. It really went a long way towards softening her image.
NIGHT 2:
First thought – Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s speech was passable. His speech wasn’t anything special, but he certainly wasn’t as bad as some of the folks I’ve watched. Rep. Tammy Baldwin wasn’t bad either, but again, nothing special.
Next thought – Sen. Hillary Clinton’s speech was absolutely perfect, and it was in my opinion the best speech I’ve seen her give. She cemented her status within the Democratic Party with this speech.
NIGHT 3:
First thought – Brian Schweitzer’s speech was good, but I was really bothered by his body language. He reminded me too much of a bobblehead, and if he’s going to “take it to the next level,” someone needs to tell him to tone down his body language.
Next thought – John Kerry’s speech was a great indictment of Sen. John McCain. I didn’t think Sen. Kerry had that much fight in him, given how he rolled over and allowed himself to be swiftboated in the last election, but he really surprised me.
Another thought – Now I have to preface this by disclosing that I’ve always been a fan of Former President Bill Clinton, but I thought his speech was spot-on. He was unequivocal in voicing his opinion that Sen. Obama is ready to lead, and hopefully this speech will help put to rest the grumblings about party disunity.
Here’s a clip of President Clinton in action:
Last thought – Joe Biden’s speech was a great example of why he was picked to be VP. Sure, his speech wasn’t as rhetorically powerful as Hillary Clinton’s on night 2, but Biden showed the humility, sense of humor, and wit that this campaign really needs.
NIGHT 4:
First thought – I thought Al Gore’s speech was good but not great. Perhaps if the Al Gore of 2008 had been around in 2000, we would not have had to endure 8 years of President Bush.
Next thought – I liked the video montage of Obama that was shown right before his speech. In my opinion it did a lot to show Obama as more of an “average guy” as opposed to the elitist candidate that Republicans are furiously trying to paint him as.
Final thought – Obviously I think Senator Barack Obama gave the speech of his life. I thought his 2004 convention speech was tremendous, but this speech far surpassed that. I was glad to see Obama lay out some specific policy plans while not shying away from hitting John McCain, especially for McCain being out of touch with average Americans.
Here’s one of my favorite segments of Obama’s speech tonight:
