The second day of the DNC has completed and there were a number of different speakers. One of the speakers that is getting a lot of buzz for his forceful defense of president Obama. There is no doubt that Bill Clinton has a high likeability factor and can craft and deliver very convincing speeches. His speech was direct and full of political wonk about policies. Some famous lines: He stated basically that no president could fix the mess in just 4 years. He also said , "If you want a winner-take-all, you're-on-your-own society, you should support the Republican ticket," Clinton said. "If you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities, a 'we're-all-in-it-together' society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden." Another line he said was, "he has laid the foundation for a new modern successful economy, a shared prosperity and if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it."
Clinton is probably one of the best political speakers. The problems I had is that what he was arguing for more of a "collective" type society with larger government to solve solutions but he delicately wrapped it up in more friendly wording and rhetoric. He also tried to draw a contrast with his presidency and the Obama presidency. In my personal view the problem is Obama is not running on the Clinton record. When Clinton won the presidency in 1992 he had democratic controll of congress. Many argue for Clinton's first two years he tried to run the country on a more left agenda. Then in 1994 mid term elections the Democrats lost control in both House and Senate. Many see that Clinton then began to govern more from the center and was able to work with the Republicans in congress on certain reforms and policies. The Republicans held control of congress through the rest of the Clinton presidency. Clinton had to work with the Republican controlled congress in order to make deals. The problem is during the Obama presidency the average American dosn't see any working together between the Republican House, Democrat Senate, and Obama. So its hard to draw a comparison at this point in time between the Clinton presidency and the Obama presidency. It was a good speech by Clinton that likely rallied the base and maybe convinced some leaning Obama Independants, but the speech was very long, and filled with a lot of policy wonk that may fly over the heads of average viewers. Not to mention Clinton's ability to make a bad policy sound good.
Prime Time Speeches:
Costco Founder CEO Jim Senegal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3Q_0k6xUa8
Elizabeth Warren (Running for Massachusetts senate):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzspAfNkGz0
Former President Bill Clinton:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5knEXDsrL4
Other Speeches:
Womens Rights Activist Sandra Fluke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfNimwxSTU4
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx-VLUjyydM
