If You Had Any Doubts Obama Would Be Dominant in this Partnership…

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Check out how effectively Obama’s team has managed the potential blowhard (albeit, smart, lovable blowhard), Joe Biden:

Barack Obama and I took very different journeys to this destination, but we share a common story.

Mine began in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then Wilmington, Delaware, with a dad who fell on hard economic times, but who always told me: "Champ, when you get knocked down, get up… get up."

My mother’s creed is the American creed: no one is better than you. You are everyone’s equal, and everyone is equal to you.

My parents taught us to live our faith and treasure our family. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they try.

That was America’s promise.

For those of us who grew up in middle class neighborhoods like Scranton and Wilmington, that was the American dream – and we knew it.

————————————————————————————-

You can learn an awful lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him, and seeing how he reacts under pressure. You learn about the strength of his mind. But even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart.

I watched how he touched people, how he inspired them, and I realized he has tapped into the oldest American belief of all: we don’t have to accept a situation we cannot bear. We have the power to change it.

—————————————————————————————

The choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good soldier – they require a wise leader. A leader who can deliver change. The change everybody knows we need.

Barack Obama will deliver that change.

——————————————————————————————

As we gather here tonight, our country is less secure and more isolated than at any time in recent history. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out.

Should we trust John McCain’s judgment when he says there can be no timelines to drawdown our troops from Iraq – that we must stay indefinitely?

Or should we listen to Barack Obama, who says shift responsibility to the Iraqis – and set a time to bring our combat troops home?

Now, after six long years, the Bush administration and the Iraqi government are on the verge of setting a date to bring our troops home.

John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.

——————————————————————————————————–

Now, it’s our responsibility to meet that challenge. Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up.

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    • bmaz says:

      You are like the Amazing Kreskin or something. You have taken the lines right out of Biden’s mouth; find some mouthwash!

      Oh, and don’t worry, the networks and clucky clucks at the papers of record will work their darndest to split us all back up again. Seriously though, the solidarity looks to be there coming out of this convention as long as Obama does his part tomorrow; and I have no doubt he will. The mojo is going to be there; just got to roll it on through November.

    • Funnydiva2002 says:

      Heh.
      And at Late and Late Late Night at the Lake, we put the FUN back into dysfunctional!

      FunnyD

    • Muzzy says:

      Gosh, watching this Convention, I’m beginning to believe we Democrats are one, big, dysfunctional family.
      reply

      We Are Family jamming

      emptywheel and her prescience

      • RevDeb says:

        We are Family

        The closing scene in the movie the Bird Cage (US remake of La Cage au Folles). Reich wing dad in drag in order to escape from the press. That’s what comes to my mind.

        • Funnydiva2002 says:

          707, RevDeb, I thought of that scene, too, while they were playin’ that song…

          Well, dayam, I think this was a pretty fine evening of speechy-fying.

          How is everyone? What’s Rachael talking about tonight? (can’t bear to switch over to any pundits at all.)

          How you feeling, Tex Betsy?

          FunnyD

        • TexBetsy says:

          Not bad Funny D. Enjoying the new wheelchair and working a lot.

          I have the final spinal procedure (17 in 14 months) tomorrow morning. Been quite a road.

        • Neil says:

          We are Family

          The closing scene in the movie the Bird Cage (US remake of La Cage au Folles). Reich wing dad in drag in order to escape from the press. That’s what comes to my mind.

          Exactly. I saw the conservative and out of touch Gene Hackman John McCain in drag trying to sneak out of a drag queen club on the arm of butch-looking Robin Williams. Actually, in my mind’s eye, McCain in drag morphed into a noun, a verb and 9/11.

      • bmaz says:

        Still pitiful knock off canned version though. The music has just uniformly sucked; other than that, pretty awesome and really building steam all the way from Monday through last night and Hillary through tonight and Bubba, Kerry and Biden and, briefly, Obama.

    • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

      All the photos at NYT and other media outlets are just beautiful — some really lovely photography on show. But the NYT has a front page slideshow that shows face after face of emotions that seem deeply genuine and it sure looks like the energy is all with the Dems.

      And there’s a lovely little tidbit of news pointing out that Hurricane Gustav is due to hit on Monday, the very day the GOP convention begins. Reality can be so rudely intrusive sometimes…

      Meanwhile, at msnbc.com, Brokaw interviews T Boone PIckens on the top of wind energy and the security risks involved in continuing to import so much foreign oil (referencing a very good NYT front page article today — which reminds me that Gov Schweitzer IS a rock star). It’s nice to see T. Boone jawing with Brokaw, rather than funding Swift Boaters.

      Wonders never cease.
      What a great time for Howard Dean, Biden, and Al Gore to come out swinging with some great one-liners. I may be missing something, but I can’t think of anyone in the GOP since Reagan who could hold their own if Biden moves into OneLinerMode.

    • wigwam says:

      Gosh, watching this Convention, I’m beginning to believe we Democrats are one, big, dysfunctional family.

      Lacking in D I S C I P L I N E !

    • Leen says:

      I have been saying for years that our nation needs to be forced by the International community into a 12 step program. We are going to be trying to clean up after a dry drunk and company for a long long time.

      The Obama campaign is going to have a difficult time convincing older white (salt of the earth type women) to get on his bus. Many of them that I have talked with (focusing on women over 65) feel that he “cut up to the front of the line” and went to the front without paying his dues (the way they have and the way they feel Hillary has).

      Talking to many women who had to work in the 50’s and 60’s (factories in Ohio, Michigan). They were unable to stay home with their children (the way Michelle’s mom was with her two children). These womens children were unable to access Harvard and Princeton (even if they cut the grades). MSNBC’s Mike Barnacle hit the nail on the head when he said “there is resentment out there” amongst blue collar white people especially in regard to “affirmative action”.

  1. jo6pac says:

    Yes Yes everything is wonderful but until we get are rights back and we aren’t at war Talks Cheap. Yes I will vote for O but!
    jo6pac

    • Hugh says:

      Yes Yes everything is wonderful but until we get are rights back and we aren’t at war Talks Cheap. Yes I will vote for O but!

      But you have to admit except for the lack of substance it has been wonderful. And on that score Obama still needs to give me a substantial reason to vote for him.

      • DWBartoo says:

        Yes, it has been great theater, with soaring rhetoric, and lofty imagery …

        But words are not substance, and hope, however audacious, rings rather hollow without some actual evidence of true character, as opposed to characters.

        But many are impressed, so savouring the moment, both hopeful and pregnant with possibility … we may at least enjoy the great pleasure of others, tonight, for tomorrow and tomorrow will tell the tale.

    • klynn says:

      WO,

      You will have to watch Pres. Clinton’s speech. Of all people, you will appreciate it completely. He left the talking heads literally speechless because it was so eloquent.

      bmaz @ 39 caught a great example of it.

      I think the Democrats hooked on to something in this convention. The themes: (1)It is not about the party, or candidate but about helping one another and our nation through change, (2) Equality, equality, equality – all people are created equal and deserve equal, and (3) Believe it or not, family values…

      Mama Biden is going to be the next Miss Lillian…

      • Leen says:

        I think you are right they are focused on the idea of levelling the playing field. But how can you really go out on the playing field without recognizing the blood we (as a nation) are wading through.

        We have been witness to the destruction of another country (Iraq) who did not do anything to us. We have witnessed (well the MSM has not shown many images of dead or injured Iraqi people) the deaths of according to the Lancet report over a million people in Iraq as a direct consequence of the invasion.

        While we are looking (hopefully) at a new chapter in our nation how in the hell can we truly move forward without acknowledging this disaster and crimes that have been committed and holding those responsible accountable?

        I know denial is a strong state of mind, but this is insane.

        • klynn says:

          Leen,

          I think the party had to get through the “building unity” at the convention. I think and hope the illegal actions of Bush-Cheney and their party will be issues “a-plenty” to address for the upcoming months.(Not to mention to start addressing during the Republican Convention week.)

          Additionally, I think Congress needs to make some more moves for the Bush-Cheney-McCain Republican Iraq crimes to arrive at the effective moment of acountability; otherwise, our accountability will backlash.

    • yellowdog jim says:

      i’m too ashamed about Habeas Corpus, Iraq, crimes of against and by the DOJ, SCOTUS, FISA , Torture and Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo to feel it for our Freedom Cage so much.

      has anyone been locked up there yet?

      let’s see what happens to those in the Rethuglicans’ detention compound.

  2. skdadl says:

    I think you’re pretty lucky to have the Bidens, actually, although I’d like a chance to sit Joe down for a little chat about Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    • DWBartoo says:

      You might have to ask him not to rattle his sabers quite so loudly so that he might hear you.

      ;~)

      • skdadl says:

        Well, I wouldn’t be asking, exactly.

        I like to think that Biden is deeply dipped enough in the world of diplomacy that he actually knows how to do some, that the sabre-rattling is campaign rhetoric but that that wouldn’t be how he would proceed in practice.

        It would be so good to see serious diplomacy again. So so good.

        • DWBartoo says:

          Yes, genuine diplomacy.

          A rather foreign concept in our history and most recently even more so.

          Perhaps ’tis requisite of politicians to rattle for the fans but, by jingo!
          ‘twould do me heart good to imagine it were only for show and that we are not just to be wooed, more kindly, more gently into embracing the ‘good’ war-making of virtuous souls …

          Let us, rather, wage unending peace with a purpose!

          The only war, should be class war, until there is no ‘need’ even of that.

  3. MadDog says:

    So I guess it isn’t going to be fair to compare these outstanding speechgivers tonight (and tomorrow of course), with those by the prompter-impaired, mumbling and stumbling John McSame and his band of lying Repug lowlifes (including Repug-wannabee Lieberman)?

    Oh wait, I forgot about the MSM toadies who McSame has in his pocket. I can hear their excuses now…“you can’t expect a former POW to…”

  4. Ann in AZ says:

    It seems the consensus is that Biden, etal, needs to make things more specific: we need to hear the words Guantanamo, we need to repeat torture, torture, torture as many times as is needed. Call the scandals by name. BTW, I still haven’t seen them connect the dots that the guy with so many houses he doesn’t remember them all, the guy who rides around in luxury cars that he doesn’t even remember his ride, the guy that walks around in $500 Ferragamo shoes is calling the other guy elitist!

  5. bmaz says:

    The money passage from Bubba. Just as powerful in print as it was delivered live:

    On the two great questions of this election — how to rebuild the American dream and how to restore America’s leadership in the world — [John McCain] still embraces the extreme philosophy that has defined his party for more than 25 years.

    And it is, to be fair to all the Americans who aren’t as hard-core Democrats as we, it’s a philosophy the American people never actually had a chance to see in action fully until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and the Congress.

    Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades actually were implemented. And look what happened.

    They took us from record surpluses to an exploding debt; from over 22 million new jobs to just 5 million; from increasing working families’ incomes to nearly $7,500 a year to a decline of more than $2,000 a year; from almost 8 million Americans lifted out of poverty to more than 5.5 million driven into poverty; and millions more losing their health insurance.

    Now, in spite of all this evidence, their candidate is actually promising more of the same.

    Think about it: more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy; more Band-Aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families, and increase the number of uninsured; more going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence.

    They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more.

    • Peterr says:

      I rather liked this one, too:

      People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

    • GulfCoastPirate says:

      Hi Bmaz,

      I agree. Definitely the money part and hits on the same theme as Naomi Klein in her recent book.

      I have a question from a couple threads back that you may be able to answer (as usual, I’m playing catch-up).

      The judge that ruled against the administration on the privilege claims. How does it work if Congress doesn’t have enough time to pursue this to the end this session? Does a new Congress have to start over from scratch going through the same court procedures or have certain things been established that don’t need to be relitigated? If any of these people are found to have committed crimes are there any statute of limitations problems? What happens if a new president decides he doesn’t want to claim these privileges – does Bush have the right to prevent testimony of his aides in future Congresses or does his ability to control their testimony end in January?

      Sorry if some of this has been discussed before but I missed it and these are questions that I routinely have when I see you folks discussing some of these issues.

      Thanks

  6. masaccio says:

    Howard Dean on Jon Stewart, complaining about the delay in the audio link-up from the press area to Stewart’s show: “Jon, do you use a time delay in this circuit? This is like inside John McCain’s brain.”

  7. ChristineEdmonson says:

    And I can’t help myself — Joe Biden was my Senator in DE until I left in 1991. This tiny state is a very close clan. I have to admit, I was weepy the whole Biden speech.

  8. PJEvans says:

    One of my friends is complaining about the choices of music – ‘didn’t they listen to this stuff first?’
    (Apparently, for her, it’s worse than elevator music, because the songs they’re using aren’t about what the choosers think they’re about.)

  9. yonodeler says:

    The Constitution and the rule of law got some mention tonight. Whether they are honored enough to inspire fully observing them for a change we shall see, if Obama-Biden are elected. We already know the answer as to the McCain-whoever team.

  10. randiego says:

    Sweet. Maddow just brought up that Friday is the Katrina anniversary, in regards to McSame announcing his running mate on Friday morning.

  11. jdmckay says:

    I too thought Biden made a very good speech… not so sure about his Georgia comments however. But then, I’m sure that went over most folks heads anyway, so…

    I thought his son’s intro was even better though… very heartfelt and honest, he came across to me as authentic and sincere. I liked his line about himself, his brother/sister father all “married our (step) mother.”

    I also thought Biden signaled he’s going to be the front man on the attack against McSame… and Lord knows they need someone doing so. Joe is well equipped.

    All in all, I’m heartened by this. Really looking forward to hearing what Gore has to say.

  12. rwcole says:

    Dems did well tonight—Bill was great as usual, and Biden did a good job of selling himself…

    Buchanan ranting and raving cause no one’s ranting and raving—making a general nuisance of himself…thrives on inauthentic behavior….troublemaker.

  13. readerOfTeaLeaves says:

    Biden certainly conveys the sense that he views Barak Obama as an exceptionally talented man. It would be interesting to know whether Biden wove those threads about Obama into the speech on his own; it certainly made things feel cohesive.

    It sure looks as if Howard Dean is one hell of a coach; was it Dean who put together the speaking lineup? Everyone on base; several doubles, a couple triples, and a homer.

    • Leen says:

      I thought Biden’s speech lacked his punch that we are often witness to when Biden is speaking from the Senate floor. I thought it lacked his fire in the belly quality.

  14. anwaya says:

    In my view Clinton and Kerry both out-orated Biden, who couldn’t have read his speech closely enough to pick up the crowd-response lines.

    Reid was an embarrassment. What a cutout. No wonder the floor chatter swelled.

  15. anwaya says:

    Obama’s short, extemporised speech touched on his immediate concerns: Billary and Biden — but he missed Kerry and Pelosi. I guess that he simply didn;’t hear them while he was traveling. I thought Pelosi’s statistic on the composition of the delegates, that the majority are women, was an important one, and one that future nominees will do well to remember.

  16. freepatriot says:

    who you callin dysfunctional ???

    I’m SANE

    don’t pay attention to anything my attorney says …

    except for a little paranoia, I’m functioning at about 83% capacity, thank you very much

    (wink)

    high everybody, greetings from the green state

  17. MarieRoget says:

    It will be a better time (4 me @ least) to cheer, weep, & all the etc. when our Prez ticket & the Senate/House Dems are standing tall the evening of 11/04/08…

    Do not mean @ all to be any kind of damper. Positive thinking is what is so necessary right now, so plz carry on.

  18. wavpeac says:

    I have come to believe that the term “dysfunctional” is just another word for “human”.

    I was proud and felt that the Clintons finally got some of the respect they deserve for the clinton years. No they weren’t perfect but they were the only dems to win two terms in over 60 years in on of the most hostile and corupt environments there has ever been. Still, when I think of whitewater, 6 years, 56 million, Ken Starr and the effect that had on the Clinton image, long before Clinton was caught lying…makes me crazy.

    If felt like instead of shame for being a democrat, we got to have a little pride back!

    I thought Obama’s looked like “the leader” at the end and that was lovely.

    • masaccio says:

      That’s exactly what I was thinking when I read EWs post. No one is perfect, certainly not families, no matter how hard we try. We can’t always submerge our own needs and desires to the needs and desires of others, and finding the right balance is hard. In fact, it’s unlikely we will. We just have to keep plugging away at it, assuming that everyone else is doing the same thing, because that’s the most likely way to get good results.

  19. Leen says:

    Many folks here (there seems to be quite a few folks around this neighborhood who do not like Chris Matthews) are not going to like what I am about to share. At the MSNBV live broadcast near Union Station in Denver Chris Matthews was the only one to hammer away on the Democrats for avoiding the “red meat” issues that some Americans are pissed about. The lies repeated by the Bush administration running up to the invasion of Iraq, the torture, the unnecessary deaths, the illegal wiretapping, the undermining of the Dept of Justice. Sorry to have to say this folks but he was the only one (not even Rachel or Keith) came close to pounding these issues as hard as Matthews did. I am telling you Matthews has been seething underneath his skin about these issues. He hammered hard on the Dems last night for avoiding these issues. Matthews mixed it up with the peasants again yesterday.

    Olberman still did not come down and mix it up with the peons. Although many continued to call out for “keith” This news god sure seems to be completely inaccessible to his base.

    Going to Invesco field today will share later.