(Funny, I think people will be talking about today’s “Turn the Page” speech for a long time to come. – promoted by blogswarm)
Middle-aged man: “This is like a rock show.”
Young woman: “Oh my God! I shook his hand! I’m never washing this hand again!”
Woman to little girl: “See, you’ll be able to say you saw him before he was President!”
Guy in suit: “Hillary who?”
Woman in suit: “Can we all just promise to vote for whoever wins?!”
Obama enters like a rockstar, with more applause (and better music) than Clinton.
author’s note: I strongly disagree with the “let’s not blame anyone and let’s come together” generalizations. There is fault to be assigned here. This isn’t about the “same old politics.” We can change the way Washington works, but for hell’s sake, this isn’t just about how Washington works. It’s about reversing evil ideologies. Just my opinion. Still–excellent section on Iraq. And overall, he crushed Hillary. Absolutely. My previous opinions are confirmed.
Speech notes below.
Obama’s voice is powerful, charismatic and strong–much better than Hillary’s raspy voice.
Obama begins by saying that he is surrounded by strong women, and talks about his endorsements by female State Senators and assemblymembers. There’s a strong woman that is missing today–I will miss, California will miss, and Washington will miss Juanita Millender-McDonald.
It’s been a little over two months since we began the campaign, and we’ve traveled all across the country. Before every event we do, we have a minute to sit and collect my thoughts. Recently, I was reflecting on what led me to public service in the first place. I live in Chicago now, but I’m not a native. I moved there when I was out of college and a group of churches offered me a job to help organize neighborhoods devastated by the steel mill closures. And in those neighborhoods I learned that ordinary people can come together and achieve extraordinary things.
I went to law school and earned a degree and a lifetime of debt. And I turned down corporate offers so I could organize voter drives. And I began to teach constitutional law. And I was told that I should run for a state senate seat that opened up. I prayed on it, and I asked my wife, and after consulting these two higher powers, I decided to get in the race.
And everywhere, I get the same questions. Where did you get the name Obama? And the second thing is, you seem like a nice young man with a fancy resume. Family man, church-going man. Why politics? And I understood the cynicism of the question. We get a sense that politics is a business and not a mission. In the last several years, we’ve seen Washington be a place where keeping score is more important than working on behalf of the American people. We’ve been told that debts don’t matter, that the economy is doing great, so Americans are on their own. We’ve been told that climate change is a hoax. We’ve seen how foreign policy based on bombast and bluster can lead us into a war that should not have been authorized or waged.
And when we try to debate, the discussion isn’t about common ground, it’s about who to blame. We’re told to blame someone. And that’s why we’re cynical about politics. And with that frustration, lobbysists have filled the void, turning politics into a game that you can’t afford to play. They thing they own this government, but our government is not for sale! And we’re here today to tell them that. Our government is not for sale, we want it back.
People tell me that I don’t know the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change. And I’m running for President because the can’t-do politics won’t do. It’s time to turn the page.
There’s an awakening taking place. We are seeing crowds we’ve never seen before. We’re seeing people showing up for the first time to political events. We’re seeing challenges we haven’t faced in a generation. People are hungry for a different type of politics.
This is not getting a very enthusiastic reception.
It’s time to let drug companies know that they can have a seat at the table, but they can’t own every chair. I want to have a universal healthcare bill signed by the end of my first term. I want to have the American people have access to the same plan members of Congress do. And this plan will save families $1000 on their premiums. We can do this.
It’s also time to turn the page on education. To move back the indifference that says that some schools can’t be fixed. I will launch a campaign to recruit and support hundreds of thousands of new teachers because the most important part of education is the person standing in front of the classroom. It is time to treat the teaching profession the way it deserves to be treated, to pay them what they deserve to be paid.
I will put in place a low-carbon fuel standard like we have in California so we can take the equivalent of 32 million cars’ worth of pollution off the road. We have the technology to do it.
But most of all, we have to turn the page on the Iraq disaster. I’m proud that I stood up in 2002 when it wasn’t popular to do so. Many said it was a bad idea when it wasn’t popular to say it was a bad idea. We knew back then we could find ourselves in an occupation of undetermined length, undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.
Now we’ve seen those consequences. I was in New Hampshire, and a woman told me that her nephew was leaving for Iraq. She said how worried she was about him and began to cry. She said, “I can’t breathe and I want to know when I can breathe again. It’s time to let her know she can breathe again. It’s time to put an end to this war. Republicans and Democrats both passed a bill in Congress, House and Senate. It’s time to let the Iraqi government know that we won’t be there forever. It’s time to bring all combat brigades home by March 31, 2008. And we’re one signature away from ending this war. And if the president refuses to sign it, we will find the 16 votes we need to end this war without him!
WE WILL BRING OUR TROOPS HOME. (this was delivered with a firestorm of passion. impressive.)
It’s time to show that America is still the last best hope on Earth. This president may occupy the White House, but the position of Leader of the Free World has remained open.
Whether it’s terrorism, climate change, global AIDS, or WMD’s, American cannot meet these alone, but the world cannot meet them without America. We are not a country that sends people away in the middle of the night to foreign countries to be tortured. We don’t lock away people in a cell and don’t tell them what they’re charged with. We don’t preach compassion while bodies rot on the streets of a major city in America.
We are America. We have always been a beacon of liberty. I was down in Selma, Alabama. We were celebrating the march Every time they were beaten down, they got back up and kept marching. It was called Bloody Sunday. The culmination of the civil rights movement. That wasn’t African-American history we were celebrating; that was American history we were celebrating. That reminds me of the truth you carry by being here. In the face of impossible odds, you can change this country. there will be times where I will get tired and make a mistake. But this campaign is not about me. It’s about your hopes and your dreams, and what you will do. Because there are few obstacles that can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change. And that’s how you and I will change this country.
I have come full circle, I said to the reporter sitting next to me, as we awaited Sen. Clinton’s arrival at a press conference following her convention floor speech. I was once a scrappy reporter who would have killed to have the status and stature to be covering a Presidential campaign. Who would have thought that my entry into that room would be as a blogger and political activist! This is why I love new media. Well, one of the reasons!
I took notes during the press conference, which was amazing — to be sitting 10 feet from Hillary as she fielded questions from reporters and bloggers alike. I’ve got to go back down to the floor to help move people for Pelosi’s speech (her office asked us as good San Franciscans to volunteer), so I don’t have time to write them up, but join me on the flip for my bullet-pointed notes:
– Fabian Nunez introduces Clinton, announces new long list of California Assembly and Senate endorsements (the ones I caught: Sally Lieber, Fiona Ma)
– Says she was “not a ribbon-cutting First Lady.”
– She has been an advocate for the environment and working people. As a Senator, she knows not just to say the right things, but to do the right things necessary to get things done.
– Her experience is second to none, of all the candidates.
– We know shes going to get the country back on track, improving education, expand universal coverage to all Americans, fight to protect the environment, and restore America’s place in the world.
– As a kid who grew up 15 blocks from here, in a poor neighborhood, who would have thought I would be here, introducing the next President of the United States. That is the hope of this country.
Clinton:
– Delighted and honored to have speakers’ endorsement and members of assembly. We’re putting together a very strong group of leaders in California.
– CA offers leadership on energy independence. Reassure people you can do this because CA has done it, to know CA will lay a critical role in nominating the next President of the US.
Question:
For every dollar we pay in California taxes, we get 78 cents back in services.
Clinton:
We have the same problem in New York; The real goal I have is to create opportunity for all Americans, wages go back up. Get a handle on this health care issue. Deal with preschool, No Child Left Behind.
Question:
Can you comment on the money grab? in the race for President?
Clinton:
I am in favor of public financing, when I’m President, will try to get around the legal concerns. Might have to look at a Constitutional amendment. Too much emphasis put on the money you have to raise. It is a burden, and it’s a burden for how you spend your time on the campaign trail.
Question:
Can you dissuade us of the notion that you are the candidate of the Dem Party establishment, Obama is the candidate of the insurgent?
Clinton:
We have great candidates running. I am thrilled and honored to be running with this team. Each voter makes his or her own decision. I have a clear-eyed view of what it’s going to take to turn this country around. Begin to persuade the country, to give Dems a chance to go back to the White House.
Question:
What about immigration and trade agreements?
Clinton:
Trade agreements have to have labor and environmental standards.
Question (Carla Marinucci of the Chronicle):
Everyone talks about the Golden Years of the Clinton Presidency. Would the Presidency be a Two for One if you were elected?
This was one of the funniest moments. Nunez said,”Yeah, but with a woman in the driver’s seat.” And Clinton cracked, “and who would ask for directions.”
Clinton:
I know that the buck stops with the President. Ultimately the decision will stop with me. We’ve got to send a message to the rest of the world, that the aberration is over with regard to foreign policy. Bipartisan consensus is back. There isn’t a better messenger than Bill. There is a traditional role he will fill well. There is an advisory role, as with every first family, but there is the additional benefit that he has popularity in the world.
Question:
Would you support a ballot measure being considered in CA to get the U.S. out of Iraq?
Clinton:
We’re trying to get the US out of Iraq. Passed it in the Senate. Also included a provision I authored that said you cannot send anyone unless they are properly equipped.
This legislation is a road map out of Iraq. We hope he will not veto it, if he does, he will have to be held accountable. The people have spoken and he needs to listen.
Question:
What is the effect of the early California primary?
Clinton:
CA has been added to the mix in an extraordinary way. We’ve never had this before, and we’re all trying to figure it out . I’m excited CA is moving up. Way more than half of the population will have voted by Feb. 5. Enormous burden on me and my campaign.
But it will mean we are well-positioned to get into the General, because the Republicans’ time has passed; They have tried to govern on the basis of fear-mongering, and people have learned what the differences are.
Nancy Pelosi just took the stage, to a major ovation–far greater than anything Senator Clinton received. Starts with saying that we’ll send Charlie Brown to Congress next year.
Speech highlights below. Pelosi got a very walm welcome, especially from the Young Democrat contingent. I’m going to enjoy comparing Hillary’s reception to Obama’s later today.
We must also celebrate the lives of two great friends of the Democratic Party: Leo McCarthy and Juanita Millender-McDonald.
Nancy gives Leo credit for turning the State Central Committee into something elected by the people, rather than 90% appointed by elected officials.
Nancy says: We will get energy independence and stop global warming. Not bad.
I’m missing a lot of this because I’m trying to simultaneously upload photos, but I’ll give highlights.
Instead of being honored by the heroes they are when they come home, veterans are being forced to cope with a system that cannot cope with them. As Max Cleland said, Walter Read is the ugly face of the Iraq War. Take care of our heroes, leave no video behind.
Our Iraq bill supports the troops, honors our commitment to our veterans, and holds the Iraqi government accountable. Today’s radio address: no military strategy can be devised for the United States until we begin withdrawal from Iraq. That was General Odom.
I’m pleased to see so many young people: College Democrats, Young Democrats–not so young Democrats.
Young people in the Middle East want war to end. They want to know if their parents can make the difficult decisions necessary to achieve peace. And they want to stop global warming. My friends, we must end the war. We must build a future that is worthy of the vision of our founding fathers. And California will lead the way.
God bless our troops, and God bless America.
(time order – promoted by Brian Leubitz)
Obama’s taking the stage now, and the reception is way different than when Hillary hit the floor this morning. Hillary had her supporters in place for her entrace, but folks are in full sprint to get a picture of Senator Obama. This is what genuine enthusiasm looks and sounds like.
[Update] This crowd is electric and Obama is on fire. I have to wonder…Obama followed Nancy Pelosi, Hillary followed the introduction of state party officers and dead air when the introduction started before she was ready. Has to help, but Obama’s clicking.
Wow, the crowd went wild — simply wild — when Speaker Pelosi took the stage. Blogger row gave her a standing ovation and joined the crowd in cheering and clapping.
This is an open thread for Pelosi discussion. Pic of blog row with our Charlie Brown stickers after the jump.
This is hilarious. Please vote in the poll about who gave the quote. Currently, there is a three way tie for first place between Steve Maviglio, Katie Merrill, and Garry South.
At the press conference I posted about over at ATM Watch, a journalist told Hillary the following regarding the delegates on the floor:
“Obama has their heart, you have their head.”
Now, Obama hasn’t spoken yet (he’s on at 2pm) but his campaign is certainly the most visible here at the convention and you get the sense that his supporters are the most passionate. And while there was some excitement on the floor in anticipation of Hillary’s speech, mostly among young women, there was very little as she was actually speaking. And her speech reflected why. She committed the cardinal Democratic sin: making a laundry list of what she will do as president.
More…
As a wise woman leaned over and whispered to me, “she has no thesis.” This is in stark contrast to Obama whose entire campaign is about the overarching theme of a new kind of politics. What does Hillary offer other than experience and a husband whom we all would on some level love to see back in the White House? Whatever it is, she didn’t make the case on the floor today. You sort of get the sense that she’s written off a certain segment of the Democratic primary electorate and she made no effort to win them over today.
At the press conference I posted about over at ATM Watch, a journalist told Hillary the following regarding the delegates on the floor:
“Obama has their heart, you have their head.”
Now, Obama hasn’t spoken yet (he’s on at 2pm) but his campaign is certainly the most visible here at the convention and you get the sense that his supporters are the most passionate. And while there was some excitement on the floor in anticipation of Hillary’s speech, mostly among young women, there was very little as she was actually speaking. And her speech reflected why. She committed the cardinal Democratic sin: making a laundry list of what she will do as president.
More…
As a wise woman leaned over and whispered to me, “she has no thesis.” This is in stark contrast to Obama whose entire campaign is about the overarching theme of a new kind of politics. What does Hillary offer other than experience and a husband whom we all would on some level love to see back in the White House? Whatever it is, she didn’t make the case on the floor today. You sort of get the sense that she’s written off a certain segment of the Democratic primary electorate and she made no effort to win them over today.
Hi, the morning session was spirited. A few notes:
• Art Torres did an incredibly quick and brief motion to push the agenda of the convention forward, essentially affirming all of the work of the Resolutions Committee. It passed without incident. Now the hard work begind of collecting signatures from the delegates on all the motions that people want to force to the floor. I’m collecting for the Audit Committee, and I think that having the signatures presented is an end in itself. It mandates that the shareholders of this party want some financial accountability and transparency, that they don’t want it shunted off to some task force where they can kick the idea down the road. I think it’s crucial for structural party reform and ensuring that we reach all districts.
• Hillary’s speech was going fine, IMO, until she got to Iraq. Then she lost the crowd (and she had them earlier). It was interesting to see Art Torres and Fabian Nunez shooting daggers with their eyes from the podium at those delegates hissing and shouting about Hillary’s Iraq policy, particularly when Nunez motioned to have people ejected from the hall (nobody was AFAIK). Still, I do believe that Hillary was fairly wide support. I can’t tell you how many delegates I saw yelling “Impeach Bush! Impeach Cheney!” and then holding up their Hillary signs. I don’t think her support is as soft as the netroots think.
over…
• Nonetheless, there were some who affixes “anybody but” stickers to their Hillary signs.
• I didn’t go to the press conference, but you can read about it elsewhere. Apparently she showed some knowledge on particular California issues. I would have asked her about the craven deal made on prison “reform.”
• Barack Obama speaks at 1:45pm PT.