Politics Plus

Last night, as the Democratic National Convention wrapped up, I felt more than satisfied.  From beginning to end, the weather was the only disappointment.  Joe Biden’s performance was head and shoulders above Willard Romney’s.  The latter is not even worthy of mention in comparison to Barack Obama’s performance.  Here is coverage of both Biden and Obama.

Joe Biden stepped forward Thursday as Barack Obama’s chief character witness, link to middle class voters and potentially the most biting critic of Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Speaking candidly about his front-row seat to Obama’s presidency, Biden used his speech to Democrats’ convention to paint his friend as a gutsy leader who helped the nation turn the corner on its dour economy. He pointed to the decisions to bail out Detroit’s auto industry and to dispatch Navy SEALs into Pakistan for a fatal raid on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s compound.

"This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart and steel in his spine," Biden said, drawing the crowd to its feet. "And because of all the actions he took, because of the calls he made, because of the grit and determination of American workers, and the unparalleled bravery of our special forces we can now proudly say what you’ve heard me say the last six months: Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive."… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <WLS-TV>

Photo credit: IB Times

Here’s the complete video.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you prefer, here is the full text of Joe Biden’s DNC speech.

It was wonderful!  Joe’s foot didn’t wander near his mouth even once!

The presentation by Barack Obama was awesome!

President Obama’s dilemma has always been that he has been far more successful a president than his opponents claim, but far less successful than he needs to be at making voters see that. Powerful speeches by former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and others did a lot to fix that impression during the convention. But it was up to Mr. Obama to make the case for another term, with a speech that was every bit as fraught with uncertainty and risk as his 2008 convention address.

Just as he did then, Mr. Obama rose to the occasion.

He could have sold some of his best lines with more passion, but gone was the maddening coyness of recent years in which he has avoided candidly talking about the mess that President George W. Bush dumped into his lap and shied away from the rumble of politics. He didn’t hesitate to go after Mitt Romney. “You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally,” he said.

And he clearly laid out a vision for governing squarely at odds with the one that Mr. Romney has, but was hidden from view at last week’s Republican convention in Tampa, Fla. He promised deficit reduction “without sticking it to the middle class”; to enact a reformed tax code that raises rates on income above $250,000 to where it was under Mr. Clinton; to preserve middle-class deductions; to “never turn Medicare into a voucher.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Photo credit: Politico

Here’s the complete video.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you prefer, here is the full text from Obama’s DNC speech.

He was did not soar, as much as he so often does, but I found his more workmanlike approach to the remnants of the Republican recession America’s other needs more appropriate to this occasion.

Q.E.D. is an abbreviation for “Quod Erat Demonstrandum” and means which was to be demonstrated.  It is a formal way to end a mathematical or logical proof, stating that the hypothesis has been proven.  At the Democratic National Convention, I hoped Democrats would demonstrate how they are more fit to govern than the Republicans.  I must admit, I had reservations because of Murphy’s Law, and because Democrats have a history shooting themselves ion the foot.  Looking back, I must say that they exceeded my expectations, even leaving my wildest hopes in the dust.  To demonstrate the superiority of Obama and the Democrats, all one need do is compare the two conventions.  That proves it.  Q.E.D!!!

Something went wrong at the Democratic National Convention yesterday.  Due to a change in the weather forecast, they will have to move the final day inside, and thousands of people will be unable to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden speak.  I understand their desire to win North Carolina, but I have to say that the Democrats really blew it, when they scheduled the convention in a right-to-work, aka right-to-screw-workers, state in an open air stadium, in the middle of thunderstorm season.  Isn’t there a swing state with unions and a dome?  That said, that’s the only bad thing I have to say about the convention.  On day two, the speakers performed infinitely better than their Republican counterparts.  Sandra Fluke, Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton combined for a triple play.  Here’s complete coverage.

Attorney and women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke is sounding dire warnings at the Democratic National Convention on a range of health issues if the GOP wins the White House.

Fluke inadvertently gained notoriety when talk show host Rush Limbaugh spoke disparagingly of her testimony to congressional Democrats. He subsequently apologized. She had called for requiring her college health plan to cover her birth control.

Fluke referred to Limbaugh’s comments about her during her Wednesday night address.

She said the future could bring a president who won’t stand up to extreme voices in his own party, or it could bring one where women can’t be charged more than men for the same health coverage… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <WLSTV>

Photo credit: IB Times

Actually she went much further documenting the Republican war on woman and Democratic support for women’s rights.  Here’s the complete video.

If you prefer, here is the complete text of Sandra Fluke’s DNC speech.

As hard as it was to top that performance, Elizabeth Warren did.

Elizabeth Warren, the White House consumer-protection adviser now running for a U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts, ripped into the tax plan put out by Mitt Romney, the state’s former governor, at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

"He wants to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires," said Warren, a former Harvard law professor who served as the Senate watchdog over the 2008 bank bailout. "But for middle-class families who are hanging on by their fingernails? His plans will hammer them with a new tax hike of up to $2,000."

That’s a lot of money to average folks, so let’s take a closer look….

…The $2000 "tax hike" figure that Warren cites is grounded in a third-party analysis that Romney has criticized, but one the authors stand by. The authors also note that their calculations are not precise because they lack some specifics of Romney’s plan.

Inserted from <CNN>

Photo credit: IB Times

Actually she went a lot further in documenting the differences between Republican failed top-down economic policy and Democratic middle-out economic policy.  Here’s the complete video.

If you prefer, here is the complete text of Elizabeth Warren’s DNC speech.

Next up was former President Bill Clinton.

Former President Bill Clinton and President Obama hugged onstage Wednesday night after Mr. Clinton delivered an impassioned plea on behalf of Mr. Obama’s re-election, the 42nd president nominating the 44th to a second term with a forceful and spirited argument that Democratic values would restore the promise of the middle class.

The former president delivered a point-by-point rebuttal of the arguments made during the Republican National Convention last week, warning against Republicans taking back the White House and declaring, “We can’t let it happen.”

He offered an equally detailed affirmative case for the re-election of Mr. Obama, saying there was no question the country was in a better position than it was four years ago.

“We simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle down,” Mr. Clinton said, repeatedly bringing the crowd at the Democratic convention to its feet… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Photo credit: The Guardian

I understand he had the teleprompter operator’s panties bunched tighter than John “Agent Orange” Boehner is during happy hour, because he spent more time off script than on, but the effect was magnificent.  Here’s the complete video.

If you prefer, here is the complete text to Bill Clinton’s DNC speech.

All things considered, the Democratic National Convention to date is as complete a success as the Republican was a failure.  Tonight it will be a tall order for Joe Biden and Barack Obama to measure up the what has gone before.  Nevertheless, I’m confident that that they will.  The big difference between the two conventions is that enthusiasm is far more natural and far more contagious when the speakers really believe what they are saying.