I thought it started a bit slow and picked up steam. The ending where he listed all these foreign policy examples of McCain being wrong and Obama being right was good stuff, IMO.

I suspect there are few average Americans who won't find Biden to be a likable guy. That's worth something.

Also, I'm not sure if you caught it, but I think when Joe met Barack on stage he told him that he didn't think he'd given a very good speech. Obama reassured him that it was a great speech. That was a nice moment between them.

It's amazing how long it often takes Democratic politicians to realize, if they ever are fortunate enough to do, that simply truths spoken simply (or bluntly) may be as powerful as other truths spoken more cleverly.

And I don't think this is about avoiding soaring rhetoric when it's merited, but the fear that the pundit establishment can inculcate among liberal Democrats that somehow inherently simple truths are controversial and frightening for America.

That was not great. I thought the whole reason he picked Biden was because Biden was a fighter, willing to bloody some noses like Mama Biden said.

Still waiting for the Dems to take off the kid gloves.

Waiting for Godot.

Ummm. It brought me to tears. And cheers.

Kerry was magnificent; Biden not so much. But good enough.

Beau brought people to tears. And Joe, I think, did too when talking about his mother and the emotion he showed when talking about "getting back up".

I just say an AP story saying the theme of the Republican convention is

"Putting Country First"

Please, please, please, let this be the case. Democrats need to jump all over this one and run with this refrain:

A man with 10 houses wants to give tax cuts to the richest Americans... that's not putting country first.

Tax cuts for the rich while millions go without health insurance... that's not putting country first.

Tax breaks for companies which ship jobs overseas... that's not putting country first.

I'm sure folks can think of a dozen more on this theme. Democrats need to get lined up on this one and just beat it to death all convention!

10 Billion dollars a month for Iraq and no health care for American workers, ... that's not putting country first.

Keeping our troops and ego stuck in Iraq while the enemy who attacked us flourished in Afghanistan,... that's not putting country first.

I thought it was a bit unpolished and ragged towards the end: Biden's still got the Senate manner of speaking in him, and the lines that were written for the audience to finish got a bit mangled.

But the way he brought the house to pin-drop quiet talking about the kitchen-table questions seemed right on the mark. Because McCain ain't going there. And it's that which will carry strongest into the Veep debate.

I will say that calling him 'John' doesn't work. Basic rhetoric, with a splash of neurolinguistic programming: you have to say 'McCain'. You just do.

Ezra, you're wrong about the tears. There was something about Biden's plain, forceful honesty that hit my home hard. My mom hugged me at the end, and her eyes were glassy. Around this TV, we were truly moved for the first time at this convention.

His series of shout outs to his mom were very touching.

Biden's John is a great friend/man part sort of undercut his later bashing of him.

McCain's response should be the same as Baracks response
on Rev Wright, Ayers,etc.:

That's not the Biden I knew, that's not the guy that wanted to be my running mate.

And Bidens' idea that agreeing to a withdrawal date from Iraq WHILE YOU'RE LOSING is the same as winning the war and then picking a date to leave well, stoopid.

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10 Billion dollars a month for Iraq and no health care for American workers, ... that's not putting country first.

Let's be fair now. They didn't specify which country.

I loved Biden's speech. It sounded to me that he and his son added some "working class" affect. That's what Obama needs from him, if its done subtly enough.

"Putting Country First", eh?

Color me unimpressed. I would have been more impressed had they gone with "Ford: Quality is Job #1" or "The Peanut Butter with the Koo-Koo-Koogly Eyes!"

Or: "McCain: I'm not a Conservative, But I Play One on TV".

Or "Slightly Less Evil Than the Other Guys".

Or, "McCain: Hillary Likes Me!"

I'm not looking for a GOP convention that really puts the Democrats to shame this year. We'll see what they put together, I s'pose, but I am dubious.

Sometimes my job can get really, really boring, but then I think to myself, at least I don't have to watch political conventions. And you guys actually enjoy watching them. What's next on your agenda - watching paint dry?

Clearly you weren't watching last night. There was nothing paint-like about it.

The speech brought Michelle Obama and Biden's mother to tears. Powerful images, Ezra. I thought it was great. It managed to make me forget about Biden's indiscretions for awhile.

On a side issue: you've got Mormons advertsing on your site! WTF. Seems like a big waste of money honestly, but I guess they've got the cash to dump on snarky liberals who pissed all over their favored candidate this year.

I like Biden, I really do. I rarely agree with his politics, but he is genuine.

And that's what gets him in trouble with the PC police. When he said Obama was clean, articulate, good looking, etc., it was a compliment from his heart. Instead of accolades, he was dragged through the brambles by the PC police. He really got a dirty shake on that one. So did Marcotte. As anyone who has read my commments, I am lothe to defend Marcotte, but when she published her book, the uproar over the cover was deafening...so much so that it4 was changed immediately.

So, here's two true believers that took the sword for their deeds....all because of the horrible social control system set up by liberals. A system so evil that even good liberals can't seem to keep from running afoul of its rules.

One of my many reasons why I am self-empolyed and independent. I am subject to very little of the PC rules. Fuck 'em.

"It's that McCain is wrong on most every issue facing the country, and Obama is right"

DO you really believe this comment. I personally have no idea who is right ot wrong on almost every issue.

Fact on hte ground will determine who was right or wrong.

For another view on Biden the man.

Obama's Choice of Biden: ‘The Devil Made Me Do It."

http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=756&Itemid=1

by Glen Ford
If I didn't know that Barack Obama has no African American blood relatives, I'd swear he was related to Flip Wilson. The late, great comedian (1933-1998) from Jersey City, New Jersey, invented the hilarious character "Geraldine," whose signature excuse for wrongdoing was, "The Devil made me do it." Of course, the devil had nothing to do with it; Geraldine just did what came naturally, which was most often something devilish.

Apologists for Barack Obama - especially Black apologists - constantly invoke the Geraldine Excuse to justify Obama's many sins against progressive politics. Obama repudiates his longtime friend and pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the liberation theologian. "He had to do it," Obama's boosters declare. "The white folks demanded it!" - which is, in some Black circles, the same as saying, "The Devil made him do it."

...Old Lucifer sets Obama's head to spinning around and spewing out war threats against Iran and Pakistan, and promising a much hotter war in Afghanistan. He vows by everything unholy to deliver billions more dollars and nearly a hundred thousand more bodies to the U.S. military, so as to ensure America's ability to fight several wars, simultaneously. (The Devil loves it when he does that.)

But now the Devil's gone too far - if it really was the Devil at work. Obama has chosen..Joe Biden as his running mate, a politician who..was calling for an invasion of Iraq in 1998, two years before there was a President George W. Bush.

In 2002, when Bush demanded Congress give him powers to wage war against Iraq, Chairman Biden was Bush's biggest Democratic ally. Biden depicted Bush as a man of peace, declaring, "at each pivotal moment, he has chosen a course of moderation and deliberation." That course led to a war that is now deep into its fifth year - but that should not worry Joe Biden, who said, back in 2002, that the U.S. was "committing to Iraq for the long haul; not just the day after, but the decade after...."

...Joe Biden is as much a war monger as George Bush. And the Devil had nothing to do with Obama choosing Biden as his running mate. Obama, like Flip Wilson's Geraldine, is doing what comes naturally. He was never a progressive - he just briefly played one to win points in an Illinois Democratic primary election six years ago. Ever since, Obama has been searching for his comfort zone, and moving steadily to the Right.

God, who new there were so many cry-babies in this country that can be moved to tears so easily :) Pathetic!
Btw, I thought it was a great speech.

horrible social control system

Republican social behavior makes a lot more sense to me now that I realize that this is how they view what is normally called "etiquette" and "acting properly in public."

The punditocracy's party line on Obama is that he's a good speaker, but a little too good. Biden's a good speaker, but nobody would accuse him of being too good. Hence, he makes a nice complement to Obama in his oratorical style.

I thought Biden's speech was great. He defined himself as someone who connected with the concerns of the average American and drew a sharp contrast between John McCain and Barack Obama.

In terms of selling Obama, I think he did a much better job than Bill Clinton did.

"Political correctness" has been fully co-opted by the Right and they are now the primary enforcers of its dictates.

For instance: Michelle Malkin's outrage over Rachey Ray's scarf. Obama's flag pin. John Kerry's "stuck in Iraq" joke. Janet Jackson. Amanda Marcotte. Jeremiah Wright. So on and so forth.

And Bidens' idea that agreeing to a withdrawal date from Iraq WHILE YOU'RE LOSING is the same as winning the war and then picking a date to leave well, stoopid.

Wait a minute. Are we losing the war right now? John McCain keeps telling me that it's been a great success, but that withdrawal would cause the collapse of civilization.

It's really hard to follow Republican logic.

It's a pity that there was absolutely no Biden bounce

Gallup Daily: PRINCETON, NJ -- It's official: Barack Obama has received no bounce in voter support out of his selection of Sen. Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate.
Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 23-25, the first three-day period falling entirely after Obama's Saturday morning vice presidential announcement, shows 46% of national registered voters backing John McCain and 44% supporting Obama, not appreciably different from the previous week's standing for both candidates. This is the first time since Obama clinched the nomination in early June, though, that McCain has held any kind of advantage over Obama in Gallup Poll Daily tracking....

When you pick a VP that doesn't add one iota to the campaign it shows poor judgment and a lack of desire to win.

Well, everyone is going to point to their own favorite explanation but...

http://www.gallup.com/poll/109897/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Moves-Ahead-48-42.aspx

If you don't want to follow the link, here is the snippet:

Democratic candidate Barack Obama has gained ground in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking average from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and now leads Republican John McCain among registered voters by a 48% to 42% margin.

This is post VP, post Hillary, post start of convention, and post housing gaff; this is not post Bill's speech so I am (greedily) hoping for even a bit more!

this is not post Bill's speech so I am (greedily) hoping for even a bit more!

You should see more. Today's Gallup result includes polls taken Monday, before the convention really started.

Nate over at 538, has an interesting post about bounces and notes that they tend to peak on day 6-7 after the start of the convention. Since that overlaps with the Republican convention, it may peak a bit sooner.

http:// www.fivethirtyeight. com/2008/08/what-convention-bounce-looks-like.html

Paul Begala was right last night on CNN. This wasn't a historic speech, or particularly well delivered. But it was just what Obama needed: a workmanlike explanation of why McCain is bad and Obama is good. It was for those people who don't care about rhetoric, and just want to know why they should vote for Obama, and why they shouldn't vote for the other guy.

It laid out specific instances of McCain being wrong and Obama being right on foreign policy while also paying attention to economic problems that the Republicans won't touch with a ten foot pole.

That plus Bill Clinton's and to a lesser extent Kerry's speeches made this the best night of the convention, vote-getting wise.

When Bedin said Obama was clean, articulate, good looking, etc., it was a compliment from his heart. Instead of accolades, he was dragged through the brambles by the PC police. He really got a dirty shake on that one. So did Marcotte. As anyone who has read my commments, I am lothe to defend Marcotte, but when she published her book, the uproar over the cover was deafening...so much so that it4 was changed immediately.

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