8 Ways to Sunday

For those who missed some of the speeches and presentations at the Democratic National Convention last night, the official DNC web site has video and transcripts available. Video is only available for the following headliners, with transcripts for everyone else:

• DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe
• President Jimmy Carter
• Vice-President Al Gore
• Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton
• President Bill Clinton

Video is available in both low and high bandwidth flavors, in QuickTime or Windows Media format. There are also audio-only MP3 files, but those links seem to be broken at the moment.

Carter’s speech was quite good. Its strongest moment came when he said that he would, “God willing,” be eighty-one years old in a few months and that the last few months had been some of the most disturbing of his life — presumably due to Bush policies and actions in Iraq, the revelations of torture and abuse at Abu Gharib, etc. But he is not discouraged, he said, believing “that the essential decency, compassion and common sense of the American people will prevail.”

Gore’s speech was merely okay, peppered with several lame old jokes about the 2000 election debacle. He picked up steam toward the end of his remarks, using a series of thought-provoking rhetorical questions to make his points rather than the vehement attacks on President George W. Bush that he has become famous for in recent months. A few of the choice bits from his speech, worth repeating to your undecided or politically neutral friends:

I sincerely ask those watching at home who supported President Bush four years ago: did you really get what you expected from the candidate you voted for? Is our country more united today? Or more divided? Has the promise of compassionate conservatism been fulfilled? Or do those words now ring hollow? For that matter, are the economic policies really conservative at all? Did you expect, for example, the largest deficits in history? One after another? And the loss of more than a million jobs?

Wouldn’t we be better off with a new President who hasn’t burned his bridges to our allies, and who could rebuild respect for America in the world? Isn’t cooperation with other nations crucial to solving our dilemma in Iraq? Isn’t it also critical to defeating the terrorists?

We have to be crystal clear about the threat we face from terrorism. It is deadly. It is real. It is imminent. But in order to protect our people, shouldn’t we focus on the real source of this threat: the group that attacked us and is trying to attack us again-al Qaeda, headed by Osama Bin Laden?

I also ask tonight for the help of those who supported a third party candidate in 2000. I urge you to ask yourselves this question: do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates? Are you troubled by the erosion of some of America’s most basic civil liberties? Are you worried that our environmental laws are being weakened and dismantled to allow vast increases in pollution that are contributing to a global climate crisis? No matter how you voted in the last election, these are profound problems that all voters must take into account this November 2d. [my emphasis, just because it’s so damned relevant with Nader still in the race]

Rodham-Clinton was alarmingly bad. She seems to be falling victim to that ponderous senatorial speaking style that plagued Kerry during the early primaries and still crops up in his speeches from time to time. She needs to take some lessons from her husband on how to keep a crowd’s attention and make her points well.

Which brings us to former president Bill Clinton. Striding onto the stage to the tune of Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop (Thinkin’ About Tomorrow)” — the theme song from his ‘92 presidential campaign — Clinton was greeted like a rock star by the cheering crowd. Clinton showed that he’s come a long way since his long-winded speech at the 1988 convention, which won a standing ovation when he said “In conclusion…”

In a deft 24-minute tour de force, Clinton delivered an engaging yet information-packed speech showcasing his folksy charm, rhetorical acumen, and somewhat self-deprecating wit. He had the crowd eating out of his hand, and received a hero’s send-off when he left the stage. If you want a shrewd and compelling distillation of the Democratic Party’s 2004 platform and the arguments it will use against the Bush campaign in the coming months, this is the speech to watch.

More to come following tonight’s speeches.