THE PLANK AUGUST 27, 2008
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David Kusnet was chief speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton from 1992 through 1994. He is the author of Love the Work, Hate the Job: Why America's Best Workers Are Unhappier than Ever.
Before the 2004 Democratic convention, I drafted a speech for a client. Intent on running a "positive" campaign, John Kerry's message-meisters scrubbed the speech of even the mildest and most factual criticisms of the Bush Administration's record. The same process was repeated during the vetting of dozens of speeches, major and minor; Karl Rove couldn't have done a better job zapping any zingers that might have done Dubya harm. The result was a convention that produced no bounce for Kerry--and no bruises for Bush.
After Monday night's session, some observers worried that, for all the eloquence and emotion of Ted Kennedy's valedictory and Michelle Obama's introduction, this year's convention might be repeating 2004's fundamental mistake. After Tuesday night, there's much less cause for concern. Speaker after speaker, culminating in Hillary Clinton's rousing appeal for her supporters to switch to Barack Obama, demonstrated that the Democrats will take the fight to McCain.
Much of Tuesday night was what conventions used to be: major political figures praising their nominees and pillorying their opponents. Yes, the Democrats need to begin by praising John McCain's heroic service, but, ever since Mark Antony acknowledged that Brutus was an honorable man, orators have understood where to take it from there. With McCain, the line of attack almost writes itself: He now enjoys a life of richly deserved privilege so far removed from his fellow citizens that he forgets how many houses he owns, believes most people have benefited from the past seven years, and has advisers who call anxious Americans "whiners." In order to cap his career with the Republican presidential nomination, he faithfully supported President Bush and courted the same special interests that had opposed him years ago.
So, as Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey declared, McCain isn't a maverick--he's Bush's sidekick. And, as Ohio Governor Ted Strickland explained: "You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple. Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base, and then he stole second. And John McCain cheered him every step of the way." Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer--the surprise star of the evening--said that the nation couldn't meet its energy needs just by drilling for oil, even if we drilled in every one of John McCain's back yards.
These lines will be repeated by Democratic speakers in the weeks ahead. So should Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's bit (credited to Barney Frank) that "government is just the name we give the things we do together" ... and the line several speakers used about how we are borrowing money from China to buy oil from Saudi Arabia ... and Schweitzer's phrase "petro-dictators," which includes bad guys from any religion and nationality.
Listening Tuesday night was a reminder that speeches are meant to be spoken, heard, and cheered or chanted at. As Schweitzer showed, energy and expressiveness are a speaker's best friends, and phrasings that get speakers and audiences rocking and rolling are often more important than those that read well on a printed page. So Casey's simple litany--they want four more years, but they only have four more months--is worth repeating for the next few weeks. So is the simple line that McCain means more of the same.
As recently as a year ago, who would have thought that Hillary Clinton would have become a powerful stump speaker--the heir to Ted Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey? On Tuesday night, she gave as effective a campaign speech as a runner-up has ever delivered for a victorious rival. Shrewdly, she began with a wholehearted endorsement of Obama, getting the question of whether she would do that out of the way immediately. Then, she appealed directly to her die-hard supporters to join her in backing Obama "for the same reasons" they had supported her. The feminism that infused her speech, the stories of the human hardship she had heard about on the campaign trail, the reprise of the greatest hits from the primary season--all were addressed to the more than 25 percent of her supporters whom, the pollsters say, have yet to move over to Obama. Some observers are criticizing her for not praising Obama more directly, but such rhetoric would be less effective with the Hillary fans-turned-swing voters than the appeals she made to sisterhood and solidarity in support of a generic Democrat against a generic Republican.
Has Hillary Clinton been disloyal to Barack Obama? No. Has Barack Obama dissed Hillary Clinton? No. Compared to the tortured relationships between Richard Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller in 1960, Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy in 1968, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan in 1976, and Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy in 1980, the Obama-Clinton saga is sweetness and light.
For the Democrats, it's time to turn their rhetorical fire on McCain and Bush, and away from each other. Tuesday night, they started showing that they get it.
20 comments
Brilliant post.
- ralphnelle
August 27, 2008 at 1:55am
Next up, The Big Dog. Here's hoping the PC nutbags who think he "misused" the race issue in South Carolina will put a sock in it--obviously Obamba got 95% of the Black vote because they preferred his healthcare strategy to Hillary's. Right.
- Robert Powell
August 27, 2008 at 3:06am
Bravo!
- JEFF FREY
August 27, 2008 at 3:08am
Nice point in the penultimate graf.
I was really worried that HRC's speech tonight would resemble that first non-concession speech that she gave a while back, but it was nothing like that. I guess she could have said more nice things about Obama personally--the way she did for Biden. But I think that omission was lost in a strong policy speech that equated her drive for public leadership with Obama's. Moreover, the clear and full throated demand that her followers not let their policy preferences and pubic ideals get lost in their personal devotion to her was very impressive and absolutely necessary. This was the best speech I have heard her deliver. None of the bitterness and anger that marked the latter stages of her campaign was there. Her reputation and status are enhanced. She should be very pleased with herself.
- propositionjoe
August 27, 2008 at 4:20am
Great post.
- hemlock41
August 27, 2008 at 4:33am
A very good read.
- Bukharin
August 27, 2008 at 7:09am
Great post. Great speech last night by HRC. I hope this is a turning point, better yet the tipping point for HRC to move closer to Obama, away from her husband. Bill Clinton was a major factor in her defeat in the primaries, and he continues to be a major distraction.
I felt the HRC I heard last night would have been a terrific VP - if not tied to Bill.
Now is the time to divorce him. Move on. Become a great senator and a leader of her Party. How could anyone watch her last night, then watch the camera go to Bill, and not think of John Edwards?
My hope: She hits the campaign trail, he hits the road. She deserves better.
- fougasseu
August 27, 2008 at 8:08am
The unfortunate thing is that most of the speeches you pulled quotes from didn't get any airtime last night -- unless you were watching C-SPAN. I was switching around the cable channels and broadcast networks and didn't see Strickland's, Deval's or Schweitzer's speeches live (or even repeated later as highlights). So unless you're a political junkie (and, therefore, unlikely to be persuaded either way by these zingers), these gems were like the proverbial tree that falls in a forest with no one around to hear it.
- BHLnyc
August 27, 2008 at 8:28am
As a matter of principle I don't give people advice on who they should marry or divorce, unless abuse is involved - none of us know from the outside what sort of mix of affection and compromise make someone else's marriage worthwhile to them. And, there is simply too great of chance that if I were completely frank, I'd end up having to advise my wife to cut me loose.
With all those caveats, Bill Clinton is an albatross around Hillary Clinton's neck. She was a true leader and statesperson last night, and deserves better than she got from the old schill.
- sdemuth
August 27, 2008 at 8:36am
What BHL said. Even on PBS they didn't show the Strickland speech and the major networks were far worse. The coverage is nothing short of infuriating. Even during prime time, the networks treated this as though there were only two speeches last night (Warner's and Clinton's). Yeah, rather than hear what were apparently great speeches, what I really want is to hear is the 783rd question about whether former Clinton supporters are ready to back Obama.
- AlanSP
August 27, 2008 at 8:48am
Schweitzer's speech was covered by CNN... it's a shame the other nets didn't air it; he was awesome. He's my new hero -- a rousing, fairly simple, and almost mocking auto de fe of the Republicans, from a great messenger.
Someone -- be it media matters or the blogs -- needs to track how much time the stations (cable and broadcast) give to D speakers vs. R speakers. I fear that, lacking the "is Hillary disruptive?" narrative to gossip about, the yakking heads will just show the podium in Minneapolis. We need to make sure they don't do that.
- prnoonan
August 27, 2008 at 9:15am
Schweitzer was one of my VP picks during the heyday of water-cooler VP talk. It was great to see his short and to the point digs at McCain as Bush Jr. I was pretty disappointed by Warner's speech. It was dry, technocratic and generic swipes at Bush had no sting and didn't rouse much applause either. HRC really surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect except that I hoped she would speak gracefully and with force. She did both and with unexpected humor. The line about her pant-suit brigade being there all the way and my favorite was about how fitting it is that the GOP convention is in the Twin Cities because these days you can tell McCain and Bush apart.
- singlespeed
August 27, 2008 at 9:37am
At first I was turned off of Schweitzer - what's with the hand in the pocket? - but he grew on me. He's good ar rousing the people and was an excellent warm up for Mrs. Clinton. I thought she did very well and, in a sense, it was good that she did not layer it too thick in favour of Obama - she cannot be accused now of having "given in" to Obama ... this was clearly her work. And, her Harriet Tubman finale was awesome.
As for the talking heads - you know something is wrong when Jim Lehrer - JIM LEHRER - was asking the floor reporter if the sustained applause at the beginning of her speech was going to delay thing, whether there was a concern that they would not let her speak ... wtf? The coverage has been awful.
- icarusr
August 27, 2008 at 9:44am
As an ardent Obama supporter, I thought Sen. Clinton's speech was a grand slam. I loved it and don't think she could have done any better.
And I've also gotten to despise the MSM, which sound like MNN, the McCain News Network. I've given up on them and just watch C-SPAN instead. No filtering, no RNC talking points spewed out as 'analysis'. Problem solved.
- tnmats
August 27, 2008 at 10:08am
And if you want to know who it is who is suffering from a cult personality, here is John Dickerson:
"The reaction I got from the Clinton supporters who don't like Obama is that her speech was the best proof yet that she should be president—or at least be No. 2 on the ticket."
OK people, let it go and move on.
- icarusr
August 27, 2008 at 10:29am
How Stumping For Barack Obama Brought John Kerry Back From The Dead , by Jason Zengerle The TNR Q&A
- Anonymous
August 27, 2008 at 10:34am
R.Powell,
When Bill Clinton was running and got upwards of 90% of the Black vote, I guess it was because they preferred his health plan to Jessie Jackson right???
Was it racism, when AA overwhelmingly voted for the white candidate over the Black candidate in past elections?
I find it interesting, that all the while AA have consistently voted for the Democratic party nominee who has always been white, that no one batted an eye. Say what you will about Hilary and her women supporters, but the AA community have been the most loyal block of voters for the Democratic party nominee, Black or white (all white really), PERIOD.
Whatever happens in the election come November, all that has happened in the process of the campaign season has definitely opened my eyes, and many more eyes in the AA community to the political process.
- lamh31
August 27, 2008 at 10:36am
How Stumping For Barack Obama Brought John Kerry Back From The Dead , by Jason Zengerle The TNR Q&A
- Anonymous
August 27, 2008 at 10:39am
I thought Hilary's speech was great. She did what she had to do.
Now I'm waiting for 2 things.
1. Bill's speech tonight which I hope is as good as hers, but if he puts his all in it, it should be even vetter.
2. Here's hoping that Hilary's 18 million were truly Democrats, or Democratic leaning Rep/Ind who were truly supporting Hilary and the Democratic party, and not just against Barack Obama. I hate to say it, but I would not be suprised if some of her supporters were truly just voting against Obama.
Anyway, Hilary did well. The ball is now in Bill's court today, and Obama's court on Thursday.
- lamh31
August 27, 2008 at 10:50am
I agree wholeheartedly with BHLnyc and AlanSP. That Strickland line was fantastic. I only wish I could have seen it delivered, instead of having my pick of utterly vacuous commentary on five networks.
- fernandd
August 27, 2008 at 5:51pm