Yes. I think he's not used to delivering speeches in front of crowds. I know he's been campaigning for nearly a year, but I think his history as junior senator from Massachusetts is showing.
They did say that this was the largest crowd he's ever spoken in front of. Suspect he'll get better at timing... The content makes me much more confident that we've got a chance. It was a very good convention.
Yes. I'm really psyched now, and I feel a lot better about Kerry. He showed a lot of passion, which I needed to see to believe that he could be something more than just an alternative, the better of two evils. He's a lot more than that; if he wins, I think he's going to be a damn good president.
I was kind of disppointed, though, in that I think few people who weren't already fervent Democrats and Kerry supporters watched much of the coverage. For example, we were about to have dinner here and C said, "Oh, if you want to watch the convention, can you do it downstairs? I don't care for speechmaking when I'm eating." And later on came down to ask me some questions about household stuff and seemed quite uninterested that Kerry had just finished speaking, in what he might have said or how. She looked at the balloons coming down and said, "Well it looks like quite a party."
This is someone who's fervently antiBush, who's intelligent and educated and liberal. If people like this aren't bothered to listen to any of the speakers, let alone the candidate, and if most people can't even *see* a lot of the coverage because the networks aren't bothering to show it... I just find that very dispiriting. Yes, the convention has a lot of fluff to it, and some of the speakers were just going through the motions. But some of the speakers are very good, have important things to say, and may be very pivotal in a Kerry administration or in the party down the road. And some of the presentations were good reminders of where the party's come from and what its current leadership wants it to stand for.
I'm sure people will watch the debates (if Bush agrees to any) and read the releases the campaigns put out, and catch the soundbites, but this was a chance to listen to the candidates make their case, and most people (if the news report on ATC I heard today is correct) weren't interested in hearing it. *sigh*
I'm sure people will watch the debates (if Bush agrees to any)....
Gaah, after all the hassles and business losses reported in Boston, no cities are going to want to host such debates, which would undoubtedly become more National Special Security Events. :-(
A fair criticism. Doing some self-examination, I think my lack of any real interest in the convention or in Kerry derives from the fact that I *am* fervently antiBush. I'm going to vote for Kerry in November; I see no other credible candidates who will be on that ballot.
For some reason, that certainty makes me less interested in the details of his personality or his policies. I mean, whether he prefers national civil marriage for same-sex couples, national civil unions, or a state-by-state patchwork, I'm still gonna vote for him because the alternative (Bush) would be worse. Ditto whether Kerry favors expanding health care coverage through tax incentives or through a national single-payer system or whatever. Unless he breaks radically with basic Democratic positions (in which case I'm certain to hear about it through the media), he's got my vote. That leaves me not caring too much about the details at this point.
I'll vote for him, and it he gets elected, great. I won't have any say in whom he selects for his Cabinet. Once he makes those selections, I'll make the effort to learn about those folks. And once his Administration is in office, I'll weigh in on any of its policy proposals that I feel strongly about. But until that happens, the details feel to me like so many hypotheticals. It's hard to feel as though, for me personally, they matter.
Now, the folks who might go either way in November, they are the ones we have to hope were watching and taking an interest. Not the folks who are going to support Kerry regardless.
Now, the folks who might go either way in November, they are the ones we have to hope were watching and taking an interest. Not the folks who are going to support Kerry regardless.
Well, exactly, and that was partly my point. If someoen like you who likes to stay informed about national and international news, votes in local elections, works the polls, and reads the flipping bond issue ballot measures :-) isn't interested enough to watch the conventions, I'm afraid that people who take less trouble to stay informed aren't going to bother either.
He's not a Nobel-Prize-winning economist and a magnificent orator, but otherwise this candidate is beginning to remind me an awful lot of a beloved fictional Democratic president...
I can't...stay...awake...a...moment more. This cold has me exhausted, but so far I think it's a good speech. Yes, the timing is off, but if people compare it to Dubya, then there's no comparison whatsoever. I am happy with it generally. I wish I could stay up to see the end, but sadly I can't.
I think it will probably read almost as well as listening to it :-). He got better at anticipating the crowd and finding the punch points in the text toward the end. And he certainly *believes* it and *understands* it. It's so refreshing to hear someone speaking with emotion and intelligence about how the country should be managed.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:35 am (UTC)But, yes, it's a good speech. He delvers it well, but he could learn a little more about timing :-)
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Date: 2004-07-30 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 04:20 am (UTC)I was kind of disppointed, though, in that I think few people who weren't already fervent Democrats and Kerry supporters watched much of the coverage. For example, we were about to have dinner here and C said, "Oh, if you want to watch the convention, can you do it downstairs? I don't care for speechmaking when I'm eating." And later on came down to ask me some questions about household stuff and seemed quite uninterested that Kerry had just finished speaking, in what he might have said or how. She looked at the balloons coming down and said, "Well it looks like quite a party."
This is someone who's fervently antiBush, who's intelligent and educated and liberal. If people like this aren't bothered to listen to any of the speakers, let alone the candidate, and if most people can't even *see* a lot of the coverage because the networks aren't bothering to show it... I just find that very dispiriting. Yes, the convention has a lot of fluff to it, and some of the speakers were just going through the motions. But some of the speakers are very good, have important things to say, and may be very pivotal in a Kerry administration or in the party down the road. And some of the presentations were good reminders of where the party's come from and what its current leadership wants it to stand for.
I'm sure people will watch the debates (if Bush agrees to any) and read the releases the campaigns put out, and catch the soundbites, but this was a chance to listen to the candidates make their case, and most people (if the news report on ATC I heard today is correct) weren't interested in hearing it. *sigh*
no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 04:32 am (UTC)Gaah, after all the hassles and business losses reported in Boston, no cities are going to want to host such debates, which would undoubtedly become more National Special Security Events. :-(
no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 05:09 pm (UTC)For some reason, that certainty makes me less interested in the details of his personality or his policies. I mean, whether he prefers national civil marriage for same-sex couples, national civil unions, or a state-by-state patchwork, I'm still gonna vote for him because the alternative (Bush) would be worse. Ditto whether Kerry favors expanding health care coverage through tax incentives or through a national single-payer system or whatever. Unless he breaks radically with basic Democratic positions (in which case I'm certain to hear about it through the media), he's got my vote. That leaves me not caring too much about the details at this point.
I'll vote for him, and it he gets elected, great. I won't have any say in whom he selects for his Cabinet. Once he makes those selections, I'll make the effort to learn about those folks. And once his Administration is in office, I'll weigh in on any of its policy proposals that I feel strongly about. But until that happens, the details feel to me like so many hypotheticals. It's hard to feel as though, for me personally, they matter.
Now, the folks who might go either way in November, they are the ones we have to hope were watching and taking an interest. Not the folks who are going to support Kerry regardless.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 06:44 pm (UTC)Well, exactly, and that was partly my point. If someoen like you who likes to stay informed about national and international news, votes in local elections, works the polls, and reads the flipping bond issue ballot measures :-) isn't interested enough to watch the conventions, I'm afraid that people who take less trouble to stay informed aren't going to bother either.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-30 04:05 am (UTC)