Bringing the House Down

Bill Clinton does love the spotlight. And boy did he deserve it last night. His speech at the convention was old school Clinton, the reason why I was so inspired by him all the way back in the early 90s as a college student. That man could charm the habit off a nun.

One of my favorite lines of his from the night, and there were many, was:

"people have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." 

I also like when he alluded to people saying he was too young and inexperienced when he ran, like they are saying with Obama.

John Kerry's speech was none-too-shabby either. The break down of McCain the Senator and McCain the Candidate was good. I thought this was one of the better lines from his speech: "This election is a chance for America to tell the merchants of fear and division: you don't decide who loves this country; you don't decide who is a patriot; you don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't."

Finally, I thought Biden's speech was good overall, but it didn't seem to have as many lines in it that made me say "right on." That being said, I thought this part of his speech was particularly strong:

Like millions of Americans, they're asking questions as profound as they are ordinary. Questions they never thought they would have to ask:

* Should mom move in with us now that dad is gone?
* Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars to fill up the car?
* Winter's coming. How we gonna pay the heating bills?
* Another year and no raise?
* Did you hear the company may be cutting our health care?
* Now, we owe more on the house than it's worth. How are we going to send the kids to college?
* How are we gonna be able to retire?

That's the America that George Bush has left us, and that's the future John McCain will give us. These are not isolated discussions among families down on their luck. These are common stories among middle-class people who worked hard and played by the rules on the promise that their tomorrows would be better than their yesterdays.

That promise is the bedrock of America. It defines who we are as a people. And now it's in jeopardy. I know it. You know it. But John McCain doesn't get it.

Barack Obama gets it. Like many of us, Barack worked his way up. His is a great American story.

And I did like his Freudian slip saying Bush when he meant McCain. That was classic. 

Now tonight, the main event.