Day 4 - Change and Hope LIVE from The Barackopolis

Four years after his first appearance as the keynote speaker at the 2004 convention, and after three days of the usual politics of shaping opinion and feeding the loyal red meat, the presidential nominee of the Democrat party, Senator Barack Hussein Obama, took to the stage at Invesco Field at Mile High to the cheers of approximately 85,000 fans and supporters. Naturally, as grand speeches are his element, anticipation for the contents of this speech, the beginning of the final march to election day, were understandably high.

In a speech lasting about forty minutes, Obama delivered what was a combination of meat and potatoes liberalism and the soaring rhetoric that he's been know for since that keynote address four years earlier. From stunning visuals (the Barackopolis stage, convetti cannons, fireworks) that just raised the bar above any other acceptance speech (a bar McCain can't and shouldn't reach for) to the powerful delivery he is known for, the speech worked on liberal and moderate alike. From a distance (where most people viewed it), the speech was damned good.

However, there's good style, and there's good substance. And while there were things we could all find agreement in that were included in the speech, and a few good lines, there are things that I heard that cannot let stand. I have a whole page of notes, and I'm going to try to condense that down a little bit more so I can finish this post in a timely manner. For those of you who wondered why it will be a cold day on the asstit of Hell before I vote for Obama, here's why:

These challenges [job loss, housing prices, bills] are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

Most of the challenges he listed are very much the government's making. The liberal and big government policies of both parties generally exacerbate the problems, not solve them. And when Washington responds, people suffer.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets …

Uh, senator, John Edwards was peddling that line. Didn't work for him, because it's not a direct result of our government not "caring" and the solutions are sure as shit not to be found in Washington.

On November 4th, we must stand up and say: Eight is enough.

Good laugh line. I laughed. Including it just for that.

...that old, discredited Republican philosophy: Give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else.

Actually, that's a conservative philosophy that realizes that jobs and growth and incomes come from private businesses that earn it, not receive government "gifts"; government doesn't give anything without taking it from someone else. That's the same old Washington.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves....

Except that half your list is things we should do ourselves and should never have started doing from Washington: provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools, and new roads, and science, and technology.

It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work.

It does provide that opportunity. You're the fucking proof of that. I don't need to quote you on that, do I?

So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am president.

I'm not going to quote you after that, but it sounds like things Bill Clinton was promising back in 1992 (including that middle class tax cut that disappeared long before 1994). Where's the change? I will give credit to you for including clean coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear development in your energy proposals, assuming you tap them if you are elected.

I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new [fuel-efficient] cars.

And you're going to do this while you lower taxes on the poor, middle class, and small business, but not on the Big Automakers that will make these cars (remember the trickle down thing?).

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime:

I can't wait to see this balance sheet. Especially since I've heard that line before.

And today, as my call for a timeframe to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush administration,

When you say we should pull out in 16 months year after year, and the day we're going to pull out gets down to 16 months, you'll eventually be right. That reminds me of a broken clock. It's right twice a day.

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

Sure you do. As much as I dislike McCain, I can't wait until he chews your ass in the teleprompter-free debates.

The men and women who serve in our battlefields ... have not served a red America or a blue America; they have served the United States of America.

Callback from the keynote. Nice touch.

...but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.

Strangely, I've heard that exact idiotic line of argument for gun bans from liberal bloogers that comment here. Criminals use the same handguns used for self-defense.

...if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.

When I start to hear the threats of Republicans trying to take away Social Security.... "or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?" Like you said: Stale scare tactics.

At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise, that American promise, and in the words of scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

And with that, came the fireworks and all the things that define you. It's a good line, but it doesn't match a return to the Clinton years, or more likely the Carter years. But after we've heard the less-eloquent blather of John McCain, then it will be a race to November. It will be entertaining, to say the least.

(all quotes are from the raw data post of the speech. Any factual errors will be corrected as I become aware)

Okay, for those of you who watched it, were you wowed, nauseated or both? If you didn't watch it out of disgust, shame on you for missing the fireworks.