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The Democratic National Convention's first night in Denver was capped off by a speech by Michelle Obama, but the emotional highpoint was a speech from Senator Ted Kennedy. The ailing lion of the political dynasty surprised many by speaking, as he has been undergoing treatment for cancer. Introduced by his niece and Obama adviser Caroline Kennedy, Kennedy stirred the crowd:
Nothing, nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight...Here's the full transcript and video is after the jump.I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States...Together we have known success and seen setbacks ... but we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world. I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the Senate...
And this November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. So with Barack Obama and for you, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew, the hope rises again, the dream lives on...
Michelle Obama, whose public image has had a rough going, appealed to America by noting her roots and place as a mother, "I come here as a daughter -- raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters." She also emphasized how she and her husband are regular Americans--she said, "I love this country"--who wanted to give back to their communities. Video of her speech after the jump.
Notably, Michelle Obama mentioned Hillary Clinton, acknowledging the 18 million cracks Clinton made in the glass ceiling which roused the convention hall. At the end of her speech, the presumptive nominee appeared on the screen, from Kansas City, MO, and asked the convention, "How about Michelle Obama? Now you know why I asked her out so many times, even though she said no. You want a persistent president.” Their daughters Malia and Sasha excitedly said, "Daddy!" when they saw him and 7-year-old Sasha asked him, "What city are you in, Daddy?" warming even the most hardened hearts.
Senator Ted Kennedy's speech:
Michelle Obama's speech:
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What is the point in still having this conventions?
Could someone please make it election day?
ZZZZzzzZZZZzzzzzz
Wow there was some stat that said 50% tuned out before her speech...
oh why I love TIVO because of election season and the ability to fast forward those ads :)
Ted Kennedy sucked. Michelle was alright. Man, Obama better bring it cause he's supposed to be the rock star. If the DNC was this boring imagine how bad Methuselah McCain's gonna be.
Why has the country spent all this time in a primary and end up with a bunch of dip shits? Let's get back to reality, three months of primaries and then three months of election. ENOUGH ALL READY! Get on with your lives people.
To drag out an old piece of political junk like Ted Kennedy is stupid. He is there because back fifty years ago his brother and his father weaseled him into that position. His niece Caroline has nothing to do with political ability. She is there because she is a Kennedy, plain and simple.
"His niece Caroline has nothing to do with political ability. She is there because she is a Kennedy, plain and simple."
I agree with you on that point, but to suggest that Ted Kennedy is unimportant or unaccomplished is to ignore the facts. Ted Kennedy has spent decades fighting for liberal principles. He's kinds one of our gods, yo.
I wonder how many people still have no idea that they need to register to vote. They think they'll just be able to show up on a tuesday and pull a lever.
Oh, and why the hell do we vote on a tuesday? How about a saturday when most people can actually get out of work?
That was one of the most rousing conventions ever.
But before Hilary made her cracks in the glass ceiling, Condoleezza made many before her - although being a Republican she will not be mentioned at that convention.
One can not help but wonder if the high profile images of Condoleezza and Colin Powell over the past decade did have a subliminal effect on the American's acceptance of Obama?
Ted Kennedy's Buick still has a higher body count than Dick Cheney's shotgun. At least JFK Jr. had the decency to stay in the water with the two women he killed.
It's no credit to the democrats that they look up to this drunken old gasbag as some sort of idol.
I'm hoping the RNC will be like the "Lawrence Welk Show".
This Kabuki theatre is no longer relevant.
My guess is that Teddy Kennedy's hell will be being trapped in a submerged Oldsmobile for eternity.
Hey, those speeches were better than Hillary's tepid speech, which sounded half-assed and unrehearsed, and was frankly all about her and only her. I thought her support of Obama did not seem whole-hearted at all. She still seems only grudgingly aware that she's supposed to be supporting him. Let's see her cry for Obama like she cried for herself that fine day. Or, rather, let's see her well up for the Democrats instead of one single Democrat (herself).
Do you realize there's still people (so-called feminists, of the baby-boomer generation, mostly) wondering if she would be able to "step in" if "something happened" to force Obama OR Biden out? This is because she won't let go, and her fanatical supporters won't either, as a consequence.
I bet most of you didn't realize that Kennedy really couldn't make it last night. That was just a robotic wax figure you all saw on TV.
Think the Girardeau family will ebay that couch?
There are so many things that had happened over the past eight years the Democrats won't be capable of talking their way out of.
That was a very well orchestrated bit by Michelle O - from the hair and outfit to the narrative. I wonder about the real reason her mom was shown tearing up throughout her speech...
"There are so many things that had happened over the past eight years the Democrats won't be capable of talking their way out of."
Compared to the GOP??
All those insurgents in one place and our armed forces nowhere to be found.
Tingo,
Good points!
Voter Registration:
http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_register.html
It's going to be a 50-50 squeaker, ladies, decided in the end by a stuffed Supreme Court.
Just you wait.
mccain's gonna suck worse.
I thought Michelle Obama did a good job. Ted Kennedy seemed remarkably robust considering how they've made it seem like he's about to die. The nod to HRC by Michelle Obama was obviously a political bone tossed to her supporters.
I just wish they could do this stuff in a day instead of dragging it out for 3.
Cut out all the fluff, and what we are really looking at is maybe 6 speeches.
1. A "here I am" speech by a newly annointed up-and-comer from the party
2. A pass-the-torch speech by a departing lion, Ted Kennedy.
3. An "I love America" speech by Michelle Obama to counteract her earlier statement "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country"
4. A concession speech by Hillary Clinton
5. An acceptance speech by Joseph Biden
6. An acceptance speech by Barack Obama
The whole thing could be done in a 4 hour show, no different than the Oscars. As it is, it's like the Olympics, only they replaced people with good bodies with people who like to hear themselves talk.
ugggh..all of the shots of uncomfortable white people trying to dance or NOT with all of that half-cocked high school prom soul and rock and roll music. They could have really gotten some A list musician to represent a broader spectrum of amer democratic music, instead of trying to be so..."funky".
Why can't these fanatic Hillary people just give it up? I am hearing Hillary fans say they are planning to vote for McCain. Has anyone heard of Nader? Otherwise Al Gore, a Nobel Prize winner, could have been our President instead of Dubya. I wish Democratics would just understand the need to be anti-Republican no matter what. Wake up people --it's our future, not your ego.
It's pretty pathetic that people will use the tragic and premature death of a young woman as a punchline.
Ted seems to be paying a price for karma while also working to help people who have no one to look out for them. It's not possible for any of us to know what type of reception Ted will get when he mets his maker.
Ask yourselves what you've done to help others and see if it compares to Ted's good works.
Ted was good for a guy with a brain tumor. Caroline is an extremely accomplished woman and belongs on the DNC platform. It's ignorance to suggest she's a family hack.
Consider Ted has been in Congress for about 50 years his accomplishments are not all that impressive. And he completely phoned it in for 14 years between losing the Democratic nomination in 1980 and his reelection campaign in 1994 - which he ultimately won by 17 points over Romney but which was much closer in the polls in the weeks before. It scared the pants off him. Prior to that we would be an alcoholic mess for 5 and half years before laying off the booze and slimming down for a reelection campaign against token opposition.
And Mary Jo Kopechne isn't the punchline: Ted going to hell is. Throw in helping to cover up his nephew raping a woman in 1991 - at one of the Kennedy mansions - and I have no doubt where this guy is going. The feminists were pretty quiet on that one.
How many homes does Ted own? Where did HIS money come from?
The Democrats on this board are raging hypocrites. They're as bad as the right wingers attacking Obama. I wish they would all just go away.
Michelle Obama gave an excellent speech-- I cannot imagine any other potential First Lady doing a better job. It was really polished and thoughtful.
I was impressed...
Why is this news?
Ha. Just kidding.
Yeah Michelle Obama was a whole lot better than that ketchup Lady who is married to John Kerry. I remember watching that shit in 04 and saying to myself "This bitch needs to learn english"
A fine speech and a moving moment. MP3 highlights are up here.
BOOOOORING!
EastRiver, from 1980-1994, Kennedy got the following passed:
Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act
(1980)
Job Training Partnership Act (82)
Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act and Handicapped and the Children's Protection Act (86)
National Military Child Care Act (89)
The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Ryan White CARE Act (90)
National and Community Service Trust Act (93)
Family and Medical Leave Act and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (94).
Pretty busy for a guy licking his wounds from a lost election. There's more, too.
Nobody watches these idiotic conventions anymore and who would? They are just pre-packaged infomercials with the usual "testimonials" and TV talk show themes. If you want to see the sausage being made, listen in on a phone conversation between Hillary Clinton and Terry McAuliffe. Or the pillowtalk in the Obama boudoir. Nasty stuff is going on in this party and all you'll see at their overblown circus is the chirpy cheerleading for the '80 Liberal All Stars. Ted Kennedy's glioma is more fascinating than Denver.