A Touch of DNC & A Larger Point

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." That was what one of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention this week said regarding the nomination of Barack Obama and the upcoming presidential election, and it was the one quote from the event that really stuck with me and hit home. "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." America needs to do something that it hasn't done before.

Barack Obama's acceptance speech itself was riveting, and he brought his "A" game last night. Before it began, I was contacting friends telling them that they were going to want to see this: the formal acceptance of a major party's presidential nomination by an African-American. A history-changing event. And the visual was amazing -- 80,000 people crammed into a standium to see the occassion, screaming, cameras flashing. It was like nothing that this country has ever seen.

And I have to take issue with one of the talking points of the Republicans over the past week. One of the major criticisms that they had was the grand spectacle of the final night at Invesco Field (I heard a Fox News reporter today refer to it as a "circus") -- specifically, they were trying to spin 80,000 voters coming out as a bad thing. It's a bad thing? God forbid the American people actually want to get involved with and listen to a politician. What a liability. Let's open up the Metrodome in Minnesota for John McCain's acceptance speech on Thursday and see how many people show up.

And this brings me to a larger point that I seem to me noticing lately about a lot of Republicans: One of the reasons that I like Barack Obama is because he wants everyone to get involved, participate, and do their part, and he inspires me to do so. The Republicans, on the other hand, seem to me to have an attitude of "don't get too excited or involved -- just elect us and let the professionals do their jobs."

"...of the people, by the people, for the people..."
-Abraham Lincoln

My reaction to the awful John McCain choice of Gov. Sarah Palin for Vice-President in the days to come.

"Joebama"

Now, I don't mean to be a downer or anything, but the choice of Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate does not infuse me with enthusiasm. To be honest, I don't know that Obama could have chosen anyone that would have gotten me excited. The majority of mentioned possible candidates are all politicians that I'm not very familiar with, and the choice of Hillary Clinton would have been a reluctant partnership at best. But the choice of Joe Biden almost makes me scratch my head and say, "O....K?"

Is Joe Biden an experienced and remarkable public servant? Yes. Does he add "stability" to the ticket? Yes. Is he a well-known and respected leader in the world community? Yes. Does the have the possibility of helping out in key contested states? Yes. Does he have bad hair? Yes. So far he sounds like the perfect candidate. But unfortunately, there is nothing exciting about Joe Biden.

When I saw the clip of Joe Biden running out after being introduced at the rally in Illinois, I could just imagine him thinking: Haha -- I didn't even make it to the second contest, and here I am the Vice-Presidential nominee. Go me. Now, gotta look young, gotta look energetic -- suck in the gut and don't say anything stupid.

Biden is Obama's LBJ -- the older, more seasoned politician expected to help in specific ways...just not as vindictive. But it doesn't matter anyway, because no one votes for Vice-President.

Sorry, Joe.