danajohnhill.org

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – Really, Senator McCain?  A woman who has only held significant office for a little over a year and a half?  And one who has a scandal already?  That’s your pick?  You know she’s going to have to debate Joe Biden, right?  Do you care about winning?

The New York Times has an amazing panorama of the scene last night at Mile High Stadium.

9:41 PM – This parade of regular folks might seem on paper like a good idea, but some of them are embarrassing to watch.  Except this last guy named Barney Smith.  His line about wanting a president that puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney was great, and even better was the 75,000 in the crowd chanting “Barney! Barney!”  Still, while I feel for these people–who have done everything that a person is supposed to do, and still fallen on hard times–I can imagine that there are many people who oppose Obama who will see such speeches as an example of how Democrats are all whiny losers.

9:53 PM – Damn it, PBS, I think I see Michael McDonald singing in the background while Gwen Ifill is interviewing the head of the NAACP.

10:06 PM – The Barack Obama movie!

10:10 PM – That movie was okay, I guess, but not nearly as good as the Ken Burns film for Senator Kennedy.

10:59 PM – Senator Obama’s speech was good.  It wasn’t as riveting to me as John Kerry’s was last night, nor was it as poetic as Obama’s speeches can be, but I am glad that a national audience was able to see it.

So, that’s the convention.  I’ll probably write about the Republican convention next week.

TPM has John Kerry’s speech posted on their YouTube stream, and if you haven’t seen it yet–and you probably didn’t see it last night unless, like me, you were watching PBS or C-Span–you really ought to.  If you were crushed like I was by Kerry’s defeat in 2004, and had wished more than anything that he had just been more forceful in defense of his reputation and ideas, his speech last night will make you wonder why he didn’t.

6:25 PM – This roll call business takes too long.  And I wonder why Illinois passed.

6:45 PM – It’s New York’s turn.  I wonder how they’ll vote.

6:46 PM – It’s Senator Clinton.  Maybe she’ll cast all the votes for herself.  Kidding.

6:47 PM – Whoa!  She calls for acclamation!

6:49 PM – Well, that’s that.  Senator Obama is the nominee.

9:01 PM – Jim Lehrer just pointed out something that I didn’t recall, which is that Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker at the 1988 Democratic convention, then, four years later, the party’s nominee.  Barack Obama has followed the same path.  Also, a few moments ago, Lehrer was talking to Walter Mondale, which was a depressing reminder of how bright and principled this party used to be, when the New Deal was still strong.

9:05 PM – President Clinton wants everyone to sit down.

9:09 PM – The media wants everyone to think that the Clintons hate the Obamas.  When this evening is over, they’ll still be talking about it.  If Obama wins the election in November they’ll still be talking about it.

9:26 PM – That was a fine speech, maybe not up to the very highest Clinton standards, but what always shines through with President Clinton is how brilliant he is – no doubt the best natural politician of his generation, and probably the second half of the 20th Century.  When you compare Bill Clinton’s abilities to those of many of his Democratic colleagues, it really makes everyone else look bad, with the exception of Barack Obama.

9:34 PM – I still like John Kerry.  I regret that he didn’t defend himself against the lies of the Swift Boaters; it cost him the election.  But he’s as smart as anyone in Washington, and he speaks well.  I hope he has a spot in an Obama administration.

9:38 PM – I wish John Kerry had spoken this forcefully four years ago.

9:43 PM – Man, Senator Kerry is kicking ass.

9:47 PM – That’s why I love John Kerry.  I am proud to have voted for him.

9:50 PM – Joshua Marshall agrees: Kerry’s was the best speech of the convention so far.

9:52 PM – Now Jim Lehrer corrects himself and says Bill Clinton’s speech in 1988 was the nominating speech, not the keynote.

10:33 PM – I’m going to watch Senator Biden’s speech here, then go to bed.