John Kerry's speech

[Nepa]

any thought's so far?

[eLROY]

Yeah, it sucks. It's like a dull meaningless riddle.

I didn't see Clinton on the first night, but I know he can say the right thing if he wants to. Of the speeches I heard, Dean was the best, followed by Sharpton, followed maybe by Edwards. The convention basically got duller every day, until it died tonight. It got worse than something Chevy Chase would lampoon in a Fletch movie. They even started saying "John Kerry" over and over like Bob Dole. Ordinary people would get the idea John Kerry was trying to say what he thought they wanted to hear, if only they could stay awake and understand what he was getting at. How cheezy was that first line?

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John Kerry, reporting for duty!

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At one point he addressed the convention as "those people" when he should have said "you" (or "us").

[ QUOTE ]
for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return - for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us

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Instead of connecting, he said weird permutations of sentences in sequences, so that you had to use the third sentence to figure out what the first sentence was all about.

[ QUOTE ]
For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity. Our love of country. All that makes America both great and good. That flag doesn't belong to any president. It doesn't belong to any ideology and it doesn't belong to any political party. It belongs to all the American people. My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it's not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle. For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for.

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[Nepa]

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It doesn't belong to any ideology

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Amen!

[Utah]

I cant stand Kerry and I think he is scum. However, I thought his speech was pretty good. Not as stiff as I expected. Maybe a little too much hate though.

[andyfox]

Kerry's speech was quite good, quite smart. He isn't worried about losing any votes to the left; if he does, it'll be to Nader in states he's gonna win anyway. He's got to get those just to his right (and just to the left of Bush) to go for him, so emphasizing traditionally conservative values, like a strong defense, a strong leadership, and patriotism, it's a win-win for him.

He was too sweaty.

The tie he wore was hideous.

Except for possibly talking a bit too fast (which might have been because it was getting late on the east coast) his delivery was great. I think he'll see a pretty good spike in the polls.

Where did you hear hate in the speech? The only hate I heard was on the fair and balanced news channel when Michael Barone said, right after the speech, that the convention had been about hate.

Is it just me or does John Edwards look like Jimmy Swaggert?

[Mano]

I thought Kerry's speech was very good - much better than I expected. As a whole, the convention was much more positive than usual, with out much personal bashing (with the possible exception of Sharpton). The Republican's will have to be carefull during their convention, as it seems the Democrats are trying to paint their party as that of unity and the Republicans that of division.

[Utah]

I thought he went off too much on the Bush bashing and too much anti-war. It doesnt play well to the right but looks good for me putting $100 in my pocket.

What he said is completely unimportant. Some of it was pure gibberish (as it is for all politicians). The big issue was whether he looked human and normal and I think that came across. The sweat might have even helped in making that case.

I believe that the convention was about hate, but it was fairly well masked. I still havent heard a real vision for America from the democrats. I dont think they have one. Everything they say is always referencing Bush. e.g., we would engage our allies and not alienate them. Thats a plan? Seriously, can you tell me how the democrats would fight the "war of terror"?

I cant remember what Jimmy Swaggart looked liked. lol.

[andyfox]

Note that Kerry said he's have Republicans in his administration.

I'm more convinced than ever that, if elected, he'll name John McCain Secretary of Defense.

[andyfox]

Where was the Bush-bashing? [Other than the (rather childish) "reporting for duty" line]. I got the opposite impression from the speech, that he was appealing to those to the right of him, which, of course, he needs to do to win.

Nobody (except you) cares about vision. They care about events and money and the war. I thought when Kerry finished off with his vision thing it was the weakest part of his speech.

Of course they reference Bush. To beat an incumbent you attack the incumbent. And certainly this incumbent has given them plenty of ammunition. Even a relatively weak candidate like Kerry has plenty to choose from.

Kerry mentioned some specifics he would do in fighting terrorism, especially in the "homeland" (man, I hate that word).

In further reference to Dynasty's post about elections being somewhat unpredictable, John Kerry was all but dead just a few weeks before the the Iowaq caucus. He had to fire his campaign manager. And then presto! It's all over and he's on top. So I wouldn't be spending my $100 quite yet. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I'm not sure if Jimmy Swaggert is the right guy. I think it's Jim Baker (?): the guy who was married to the woman who wore all that heavy make-up (Tammy Fay Baker?)

Oerall, I think my odds of having an extra $100 in my pocket went up tonight, by much more than I thought they would have (although, as I said, I haven't quite spent it yet). Maybe I'm wrong, we'll see what the numbers look like in a few days. I don't like the guy much, but I thought the middle part of his speech was electrifying (I thought he was sub-par at the beginning and a bit at the end). (Incidentally, though I like the guy even less, I thought Dubya's first speech post 9/11 was the best I've ever heard from any president in my lifetime.)

[Utah]

"Nobody (except you) cares about vision"

LOL. I liked that line. I have always been a vision guy and I have spent much of my career in that realm (strategic planning). I am not talking about fluffy feel good bullcrap vision stuff (like most companies worthless vision statements). I mean true vision. I believe everything flows from vision and you cant effectively manage anything of a spot basis - whether its a company, country, career or marriage.

Say what you will about the Bush team - they are clearly executing a vision. Maybe that is why I have somewhat of an affinity to their approach.