The Speech

Here are excerpts of the speech, titled “The American Promise,” just released by Obama’s campaign.

Here’s the full text.

“You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq.”

“We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans – have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.”

“America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. 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.’

Update: I was just thinking, no balloons. But they managed a few streamers.

This was a powerful convention.

The visuals are great. Flags and fireworks.

Lordy, Chris Matthews is going on about Henry V at Agincourt.

Update:
Prediction —

Generals and Admirals

Nice — a stage full of retired generals and admirals endorsing Barack Obama. And rightie bloggers and operatives are preparing character assassinations of the retired generals and admirals even as they speak.

Random Thoughts Continued

I have been participating in the National Journal‘s blogger poll. Tonight’s question is “What would you most like to see Obama accomplish in his acceptance speech?” A majority of left-of-center bloggers said “Show he grasps Americans’ economic problems.” Only two said “Establish that he’s ready to be commander in chief.” The results among right-of-center bloggers is opposite. The majority said “Establish that he’s ready to be commander in chief.” Only two said “Show he grasps Americans’ economic problems.”

Tells you something.

I’ve switched to CSPAN so I can listen to Sheryl Crow instead of whoever Tom Brokaw is interviewing.

More Random Thoughts

Tonight’s the big night. Barack Obama, acceptance speech, outdoor stadium. Good idea, or bad? We’ll see. This has got to be the speech of his life. Expectations are high; if the speech doesn’t meet them, the buzz will be that he failed.

Tomorrow John McCain is supposed to announce his running mate. I wouldn’t put Joe Lieberman completely out of the running. It would give McCain a boost among Americans who are utterly clueless, which is a substantial part of the electorate. Mitt Romney, the GOP establishment favorite, would be a big yawn to most of America, I believe. And, of course, the infamous white evangelical Christians don’t like him.

President Bush is supposed to speak on the first night of the GOP convention, but the White House is hinting he might not go because of Tropical Storm Gustav. Not that it would make any difference to anyone on the Gulf Coast where His Worthlessness is. Louisiana Governor Jindal, one of the GOP’s token nonwhite people, might stay home, also, if Gustav turns into a hurricane and hits New Orleans (nearly three years exactly since Katrina).

I would be very sad if Bush doesn’t speak, because I think he would get the GOP convention off to just the right start.

Michelle Malkin and the Hot Air crew have been trying all week to stir up some news about Dem convention protesters. I think somewhere in her vacuous head she thinks people protesting the Dem convention are somehow connected to the Dem convention or belong to the Democratic Party. (From what I can tell, most of the protesters — beside the PUMAs — are the usual vocational demonstration crowd that shows up for everything, bullhorns at the ready.)

First she said there were riots. Then she complained the riots were sparsely attended. I’m looking forward to her coverage of Ron Paul supporters at the RNC convention next week.

Get this: McCain adviser says “there are no uninsured Americans.” His solution to the problem of millions of uninsured Americans is to officially declare there are no uninsured Americans. I’m serious. See also Obsidian Wings.

Also, the GOP platform calls for a complete ban on embryonic stem cell research. This is even more right-wing than the 2004 platform, which simply supported the Bush policy not to fund embryonic stem cell research.

What are the Republicans going to talk about at their convention? They sure as hell don’t want the American people to know what’s in the platform. It’s going to be nothing but smears of Obama; no substance at all.

Finally — see Billmon.