Totally Conventional

A Guest Post by JS

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've found the Democratic National Convention to be a complete and utter bore. Ted Kennedy's speech was a highlight for me, not because of anything in particular that he said, but merely the fact that he came out to support his party and his candidate so soon after brain surgery and chemotherapy.

But, I guess what has bothered me the most about the convention to date is that the Democrats just seem to be trying too hard to deal with various perceived negative images.

For example, Michelle Obama has been portrayed as unpatriotic, militant (and inhumane), and an elitist. So what do we get from her speech?

She's human and she loves her family: "I come here tonight as a sister...I come here as a wife...I come here as a mom...I come here as a daughter."

She's patriotic: "So I know firsthand, from their lives and mine, that the American Dream endures...that is why I love this country"

She's an average Joe: "raised on the South Side of Chicago...by a father who was a blue-collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me."

The speech was good and made many good points about who Michelle and Barack Obama are and what their values are and what they hope to do if elected. However, it just seemed desperate to me because of the obvious lines to silent the critics.

Even her outfit seemed a bit desperate. A pale, blue dress. It says fancy but not too fancy, not the pants suit of a working woman, but a dress of a mother.

And Clinton's speech reeked of desperation. The big critique: lack of unity and that she hates Obama and is bitter. So what do we get from her speech?

Unity: "the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team..."

Loves Obama and isn't bitter: "Barack Obama is my candidate...a proud supporter of Barack Obama...I support Barack Obama."

She tried so hard to do her job of uniting the party, but for me it didn't really work. I felt the speech was much more about her than Obama and that making that speech was killing her inside. I didn't feel she did enough (even with the obvious lines mentioned above) and that the sour grapes came across.

As for her outfit? She looked like an orange highlighter. Whoever put her in that thing should be shot.

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Buy DB's book. (pretty please with a cherry on top)