# Democratic convention 2008 discussion thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 25, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236 "2008-08-25T20:18:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/161 "2008-08-27T03:15:23Z")
I was wicked impressed by Hillary, thought she did a great job, hard to imagine how much more she could have done given all the intersecting tightropes she was walking. Schweitzer was a hoot, great at firing up the crowd. Deval Patrick was also very very good. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/162 "2008-08-27T03:22:23Z")
I cried through the entire thing, I thought it was very moving. It was a 3-tissue speech. Also, I really wanted her to win (apparently more than I thought!) Bill looked proud enough to burst. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/163 "2008-08-27T03:24:06Z")
[QUOTE=TWDuke] [QUOTE=Hillary Clinton] I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible? [/QUOTE] She’s doing great so far. [/QUOTE] I agree - this was the moment where she really delivered. I thought she was great and think she did about as much as you could ask for Obama. She laid out why her supporters should support Obama perfectly plainly and had a lot of enthusiasm for him. All told, I give her a 9.5. Thanks, Senator Clinton! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/164 "2008-08-27T03:35:01Z")
and here i felt bad for her giving her speech after schweitzer. she was fantastic. no other person who lost a race ever, ever, did what she just did. think of all the others, (kennedy, hart) they never turned over the baton like she did. of course when cnn went to commercial there was a new mccain attack ad using hillary. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/165 "2008-08-27T03:38:33Z")
I loved it too. Wow! I haven’t cheered out loud for a speech in a long time. **rocking chair** , yuck! C-span or PBS is your salvation; I watched the whole thing on the former. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/166 "2008-08-27T03:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] [She’s fine](http://www.rollcall.com/news/27444-1.html) [/QUOTE] Thanks, **dale**! Brian Schweitzer (D governor of Montana) gave the best speech of the evening other than HRC herself - in some ways better. He clearly knows how to work a crowd. He’s only 53; I think he has a political future ahead of him. Hillary’s speech was dead on as far as I’m concerned. And Bill was crying like a baby, he was so proud of her, and mouthing “I love you” to her when he thought she might be looking. Despite his zipper issues, it’s clear he loves his wife very dearly. And didn’t Chelsea grow up to be an attractive young woman! Did she go to law school? Is she planning a career in public service? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/167 "2008-08-27T03:41:50Z")
Brava, Hillary! Great speech – very moving and inspiring. She knows what’s at stake and made that very clear to her supporters. I liked it when she spelled out all the reasons she ran for President, said those were the same reasons she’s now supporting Barack Obama, and the same reasons her supporters should, too, then went on to ask them. . . > [@Hillary Clinton](#): > > I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible? Thank you for putting country before self, Hillary. Tonight, you ROCKED! ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/168 "2008-08-27T03:42:16Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I think she did a good job. About as well as she could have. I don’t know if anything is capable of reaching the PUMA-tards, but I think she might have helped bring some votes back in from the fence sitters. [/QUOTE] I wonder…I think that might be right, as the goal may have been almost exclusively focussed on getting the “fence sitters” to move. But she didn’t say much of anything actually _praising_ Obama; to my ears, it was all “Obama got the nod, so we have to unify behind him” rather than “Obama is the person for the job”. As I grant, perhaps that’s the best that could’ve been done; I still felt it was overly self-centered. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/169 "2008-08-27T03:48:45Z")
[QUOTE=Digital Stimulus] I wonder…I think that might be right, as the goal may have been almost exclusively focussed on getting the “fence sitters” to move. But she didn’t say much of anything actually _praising_ Obama; to my ears, it was all “Obama got the nod, so we have to unify behind him” rather than “Obama is the person for the job”. As I grant, perhaps that’s the best that could’ve been done; I still felt it was overly self-centered. [/QUOTE] Ironically, though, I think it _had_ to be about herself. I think a lot of the people she was trying to reach would have just closed their ears to a homily about Obama. I think she had to remind them why they supported _her_ in the first place and draw their attention back to those core ideals. I think the passage quoted above by **Shayna** gets right to the heart of what she needed to do. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/170 "2008-08-27T03:49:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mehitabel] I loved it too. Wow! I haven’t cheered out loud for a speech in a long time. **rocking chair** , yuck! C-span or PBS is your salvation; I watched the whole thing on the former. [/QUOTE] it was a bit surreal. c-span, pbs, and the other don’t have anderson cooper and jeffery toobin. just a little something to look at during the not-much-happening times. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/171 "2008-08-27T03:50:33Z")
Wow, a lot of Hillary love here. My opinion is she did what she had to do on stage, Bill did what he had to do in the crowd, and that was that. Did she do it well? Not really. She talked quite a bit about herself, her campaign, why she’s so great… and then as a recurring afterthought, “We need to vote Democrat/Obama.” The Clintons are still the dirtbags they were in June, May, April, March… I can’t wait til the Clintons are nothing more than a grease mark seen in the rear view mirror of Democratic politics. And tonight’s speech gets us that much closer to that day. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/172 "2008-08-27T03:54:31Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Lendervedder] Wow, a lot of Hillary love here. My opinion is she did what she had to do on stage, Bill did what he had to do in the crowd, and that was that. Did she do it well? Not really. She talked quite a bit about herself, her campaign, why she’s so great… and then as a recurring afterthought, “We need to vote Democrat/Obama.” The Clintons are still the dirtbags they were in June, May, April, March… [/quote] Like I said, I think she was talking to an audience that wasn’t going to listen to anything else but a speech about Hillary. What she did was essentially try to make a case that voting for Barack WAS voting for her and, in a more subtle way, a case that voting for McCain was a vote _against_ her. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/173 "2008-08-27T04:00:51Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Ironically, though, I think it _had_ to be about herself. I think a lot of the people she was trying to reach would have just closed their ears to a homily about Obama. [/QUOTE] Yeah…that’s exactly what I’m turning over in my head. _If_ the main issue was to get her supporters to back Obama, then I think it was probably the right tactic. But again, to my ears, she didn’t really say anything positive about Obama. Think of it this way: after you heard it, did it seem like she “took back” any of her primary attacks on Obama? On preview: I don’t feel quite as strongly about it as **Happy Lendervedder** does, but that’s about right. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/174 "2008-08-27T04:02:28Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Lendervedder] Wow, a lot of Hillary love here. My opinion is she did what she had to do on stage, Bill did what he had to do in the crowd, and that was that. Did she do it well? Not really. She talked quite a bit about herself, her campaign, why she’s so great… and then as a recurring afterthought, “We need to vote Democrat/Obama.” The Clintons are still the dirtbags they were in June, May, April, March… I can’t wait til the Clintons are nothing more than a grease mark seen in the rear view mirror of Democratic politics. And tonight’s speech gets us that much closer to that day. [/QUOTE] There’s not so much Hillary love here as a recognition that HRC’s policies differ little from Obama’s policies. More people on this particular board seem to have preferred Obama, but the vast majority of us would have voted for HRC if she had won the nomination. Actually, the reverse is true - there are a fair number of people here who hate HRC’s guts, because her campaign style was rather aggressiv. But most of them hate W and McCain even more, and so would have held their noses and voted for him, or left that line blank, or stayed home altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/175 "2008-08-27T04:03:47Z")
[QUOTE=Digital Stimulus] Yeah…that’s exactly what I’m turning over in my head. _If_ the main issue was to get her supporters to back Obama, then I think it was probably the right tactic. But again, to my ears, she didn’t really say anything positive about Obama. Think of it this way: after you heard it, did it seem like she “took back” any of her primary attacks on Obama? [/quote] I don’t think it matters. She was trying to persuade them that they were voting for _her_. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/176 "2008-08-27T04:05:59Z")
finally wolf blitzer brought up what i was thinking tonight. there is another contender in this race named gustav. where, when, and how hard he hits could throw quite a wrench in the works. not only in the republican convention, but in the election itself. it is going to be a very interesting 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/177 "2008-08-27T04:06:08Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I don’t think it matters. She was trying to persuade them that they were voting for _her_. [/QUOTE] Yes, exactly. It was (almost) all about her (and them). ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/178 "2008-08-27T04:06:47Z")
Advance text of Biden speech: “How do I follow that? Hell, let’s just make _her_ VP.”. Thunderous applause. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/179 "2008-08-27T04:11:41Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Like I said, I think she was talking to an audience that wasn’t going to listen to anything else but a speech about Hillary. What she did was essentially try to make a case that voting for Barack WAS voting for her and, in a more subtle way, a case that voting for McCain was a vote _against_ her. [/QUOTE] My thoughts exactly. Her speech was her saying “Don’t be a fucking moron by voting for someone who opposes my policies almost entirely.” Which is exactly what some of those people need to hear from her because God forbid anyone else give them that message. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236/180 "2008-08-27T04:28:21Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] Brian Schweitzer is kicking some ass right now, not that you’d know it from watching MSNBC. They’re too busy talking about how the Dems just aren’t kicking any ass. Schweitzer would have been a great VP nominee. [/QUOTE] Since everything I could have said about Senator Clinton has been said (and better than I could), I’d like to backtrack for a moment. Toward the end of Governor Schweitzer’s speech, did anyone besides me start to expect something like this? > [@](#): > > So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” I want you to get up right now. Get up. Go to your windows, open your windows, and stick your head out, and yell, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” (He would probably have gotten a few. too.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-convention-2008-discussion-thread/461236.md?page=10)