# We need a DNC 2012 Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 5, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695 "2012-09-05T00:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/342 "2012-09-07T04:09:51Z")
I’m giddy at the prospect of the next Democratic president having both Clinton and Obama make speeches for them. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/343 "2012-09-07T04:21:31Z")
The highlight for me: “I didn’t save the auto industry (etc.). _You_ did.” When he said, “I’m the president”, did anyone else think of Michael Douglas’s line, “My name is Andrew Shepherd and I _ **am** _ the president”. It made me wonder if that was the intention. > [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > After the last three days of the DNC my conservative friends are sullen and angry. They can sense there’s blood in the water. You can see the same thing happening here. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/344 "2012-09-07T04:24:52Z")
Tangentially, if anyone claims the Daily Show is in bed with the Dems, [this clip](http://www.hulu.com/watch/398517) from their DNC coverage is a pretty fantastic counterpoint. It’s almost painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/345 "2012-09-07T04:26:31Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > He was correcting someone who was being purposefully obstinate and offensive and off-topic. Now do you have anything to fucking say about the DNC, or are you just going to continue to sidetrack the thread with nonsense? Just had to have the last word, didn’t you? Here I was, politely dropping it as you asked, and you just had to come back in and characterize my posts as nonsense. Not very kosher, I must say. Besides, what’s nonsensical about them? You haven’t said so far.. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > To get you back on track, SA: I say Obama knocked Romney’s chances at winning down a good 25 percentage points tonight with this speech. Obama is inspiring and likable. Romney is neither. This speech tonight reinforced that fact like nothing else so far in this campaign. While I dislike Obama less than any Democratic president since John Kennedy, it would be a stretch to say I like him. I’d probably like him if he were a neighbor and I only knew him superficially, but I detect elements of dishonesty and unscrupulousness in his character that keep me from being able to say I actually like him. (Plus I’m diametrically opposed to his politics.) Also I think your assessment of the impact of his speech on the election is merely wishful thinking. I doubt you’ll see anything like a 25% reduction in Romney’s numbers even tomorrow, much less two months from now. He may be inspiring and likeable to passionate Democrats, but to most of the populace I suspect he’s merely a moderately likeable to dislikeable guy who doesn’t really know what he’s doing. But all that aside, when has anybody ever been elected president simply because he gave a great convention speech? Or lost because he gave a dull one? A lot can happen over the next two months, and it’s how people will be feeling then that will decide the election. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/346 "2012-09-07T04:32:31Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > What portion of the speech was great? Here you go: > [@](#): > > We don’t think governments can solve all our problems, but we don’t think that government is the source of all our problems - any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays or any other group we are told to blame for our problems > [@](#): > > We, the people, recognise that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom that asks only what is in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals and those who died in their defence. Mr Obama dismissed the Republican Party’s plan for restoring America’s economic fortune by cutting taxes. > [@](#): > > They want your vote but they don’t want you to know their plans, and that is because all they have to offer is the same prescription they have had for the last 30 years. Mr Obama vowed to continue his fight to > [@](#): > > restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy that the world has ever known … said his mission was to restore > [@](#): > > the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/347 "2012-09-07T04:42:01Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I doubt you’ll see anything like a 25% reduction in Romney’s numbers even tomorrow, much less two months from now. He’s talking about a 25% reduction is his likelihood (odds) to be elected, not that he’ll get 25% fewer votes. It’s possible, but I agree it probably won’t be that much. Romney’s chances are going to sit about just over 20%. But look, the number of people who can be persuaded to change their minds as to whom they will vote for POTUS are vanishingly small. This election will be all about turnout, which is the big reason why the GOP are trying to make it harder to vote. More turnout = Obama crushes. Despressed turnout = Romney has a chance. That’s it. It’s not about changing minds; it’s about inspiring your side and getting people out to vote. On that point, Obama did very well. I am eager to vote for him again, and his speech has something to do with that. Clinton’s too, of course. I think Democrats are going to be a lot more motivated to make sure Obama is re-elected than people have been thinking. [Nate Silver has an insightful blog about this](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/obama-would-be-big-favorite-with-fired-up-base/), pertaining to “registered” vs. “likely” voters. If the number of likely voters is close to registered voters, Obama wins in a landslide. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/348 "2012-09-07T04:51:25Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Reading this board is like living in a bizzarro world. What portion of the speech was great? From my totally non-expert and 100% completely unbiased opinion, it’s almost like he gave up (or is preparing for a gloomy jobs report). Could you give a better speech? I’m told I give great presentations, but I’ll never be in the same league as Obama. And I’m betting you won’t be either, with an attitude like that. “It’s almost like he gave up”? Sure… ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/349 "2012-09-07T05:04:04Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I think Democrats are going to be a lot more motivated to make sure Obama is re-elected than people have been thinking. [Nate Silver has an insightful blog about this](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/obama-would-be-big-favorite-with-fired-up-base/), pertaining to “registered” vs. “likely” voters. If the number of likely voters is close to registered voters, Obama wins in a landslide. I think you could very well be correct. I was reading Silver’s blog you linked earlier tonight and his analysis was very interesting. I’m also very eager to see what the polls tell over the next week. I suspect there will be a significant difference in the post convention “bounce” between the GOP and the Dems. The Democrats did a much better job of orchestrating their show and seemingly have the more charismatic speakers at the moment. The message over the last three days was all designed to build to the Prez’s speech tonight and did it really well. I imagine there were a lot of people energized tonight who had been fairly lukewarm up to now. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/350 "2012-09-07T05:09:50Z")
Although I’d like to ding whoever decided to invite Shuffle-a-Pedophile CEO Timothy Cardinal Dolan to give the benediction… ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/351 "2012-09-07T05:12:06Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I imagine there were a lot of people energized tonight who had been fairly lukewarm up to now. Speaking 100% anecdotally, I can say that my leftist friends, who until very recently have been rather lukewarm towards Obama over disappointment that he hasn’t been a more progressive president, are now pretty darn fired up to get out and vote for him. I’m not really seeing that among my rightist friends regarding Romney. Could just be my friends. My conservative friends often speak privately about their dismay at how the GOP has gone off the rails in so many disturbing ways. I’m not sure how representative this is, but it does seem to me that likely GOP voters don’t seem remotely as fired up post-convention as Democratic voters are. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/352 "2012-09-07T05:15:12Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > And for the most shallow, pointless tangent of this thread, I must add that the Biden’s daughter (I assume the gorgeous brunette in the maroon dress standing next to Dr. Jill Biden was their daughter) is a stone cold stunner … I think the people on both sides of the political spectrum can agree on this point: The Democrats really do seem to have the edge in beautiful women. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/353 "2012-09-07T05:18:13Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Reading this board is like living in a bizzarro world. What portion of the speech was great? From my totally non-expert and 100% completely unbiased opinion, it’s almost like he gave up (or is preparing for a gloomy jobs report). By “living in” you apparently mean “posting from.” ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/354 "2012-09-07T06:46:55Z")
Today’s headline in CNN Money: Jobs Report Brightens > **[ADP Private-sector jobs rise, initial claims fall](https://money.cnn.com/2012/09/06/news/economy/adp-jobless-claims/index.html)** > > Payroll processing firm ADP said 201,000 jobs were added in August, up from the previous month and beating estimates. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/355 "2012-09-07T07:06:14Z")
I thought it was a really canny and effective speech. As a piece of oratory it didn’t match some of the earlier speeches and I think that was deliberate. Obama could have delivered a stemwinder but that was not the tone he wanted to strike. That shows an enormous amount of self-discipline ;Obama didn’t feel the need to compete with the speeches delivered by his wife and Clinton. I think the speech was aimed mostly at people who are disillusioned and skeptical about the political process. They are worried about the economy and put off by political rhetoric. He had a nice self-deprecating line early in the speech: “If you’re sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me, so am I.” Obama had to give these people a reason to vote for him and he had a tricky balancing act to perform. He obviously had to tout his achievements which are substantial, without sounding too upbeat, because the overall economy is mediocre and the national mood sour. Again he had a terrific line which threaded that needle: "And while I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.” " There was a fair amount of policy substance, much more than in Romney’s speech. The three policy priorities he discussed: manufacturing, clean energy and college education were nicely chosen. They are small enough to be doable but large enough to matter. In each of the three, Obama has some real achievements which gives him credibility. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/356 "2012-09-07T07:06:55Z")
He didn’t knock it out of the park but it’s irrelevant anyway. Speeches aren’t going to win this election. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/357 "2012-09-07T07:45:04Z")
Quite true. And what did the speech really say? All I heard was platitudes. That works fine when you’re leading in the polls as a challenger. It’s not sufficient when you are an incumbent with an underwater approval rating. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/358 "2012-09-07T08:23:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > All I heard was platitudes That says more about your ears than it does about the speech. ---
**Author:** ![Oliveritaly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oliveritaly/32/15233_2.png) [@Oliveritaly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oliveritaly)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/359 "2012-09-07T09:29:48Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Tangentially, if anyone claims the Daily Show is in bed with the Dems, [this clip](http://www.hulu.com/watch/398517) from their DNC coverage is a pretty fantastic counterpoint. It’s almost painful to watch. Yeah I did catch that (and damn but that looks like Bill Murray at about 1300 minutes in) and it was FUNNY (if not a bit sad) … ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/360 "2012-09-07T09:59:55Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > That says more about your ears than it does about the speech. I’m sorry, I know you have to be filled with the spirit to truly understand like all those people weeping did. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695/361 "2012-09-07T10:07:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I’m sorry, I know you have to be filled with the spirit to truly understand like all those people weeping did. More Messiah rhetoric from the right. Nice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-dnc-2012-thread/633695.md?page=19)