Chelsea: America's Next Top Clinton!
Posted:
08/28/08
As we slouch toward Invesco later today (I'm too tired to even "slog"), some quick thoughts:
The McCain Disclaimer
As of Day 3, Democrats are squandering their convention - and it's their own fault. Even though it was clear that they needed to use this week to take apart John McCain's candidacy (and fill in the blanks on Barack Obama), every speaker insists on starting his/her attack on McCain with a tribute, a McCain Disclaimer...
John McCain is a good friend and a great American - perhaps the greatest living American hero - maybe even the greatest living hero dead or alive - and that includes fictional characters - and a man who has shown astonishing courage on the battlefield, in the Senate, underwater and in outer space ... but I really don't like his tax plan.
If I'm watching at home, I'm thinking "Wow, he sounds great. Even Democrats like him! I'm voting for this McCain guy. Okay, what's on CW?"
Even Bill Clinton, in an undeniably rock-star appearance, introduced the topic of McCain this way:
The Republicans in a few days will nominate a good man who has served our country heroically and who suffered terribly in a Vietnamese prison camp. He loves his country every bit as much as we do. As a senator, he has shown his independence of right-wing orthodoxy on some very important issues.
That's quite an encomium - and not one that the Republicans are likely to bestow on Obama at their convention. That's because they know how to campaign: ruthlessly
Where are the Celebrities?!
The McCain ad painting Obama as a celebrity like Paris and Britney has obviously been damaging, maybe devastating. Never has an ad so crappily produced had such impact. (Okay, the "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" ad probably cost $20 to produce and became iconic.)
Anyway, as of last month, everyone expected Denver to become an all-star salute. And yet pre-Invesco, at least, I've seen only a smattering of celebs. (Angela Bassett, Chevy Chase, Anne Hathaway...) The Kerry Convention was packed to the gills with A-listers.
My hunch is that the Obama campaign wants them to stay away - far far away. They simply don't help. So where are they hiding?
The Clintons and Obamas are not the Carringtons and Colbys
Perhaps because we're in Denver, the setting for the '80s nighttime soap Dynasty, the press has pushed the narrative of dueling families hard. Sorry, it's just not working.
I'm not sure which nighttime soap paradigm makes sense with the Obamas and Clintons, but the Carringtons and Colbys are clearly Republican. (I'm assuming that Alexis Colby, Joan Collins' character, was naturalized at one point, if only for tax purposes.)
Help me out here: Is it my imagination or wasn't there an episode of Dynasty where Alexis hosted a party (at La Mirage, I think) and Henry Kissinger and Gerald Ford made real-life cameo appearances? If the RNC had been held in Denver, that's what it would have looked like.
Chelsea's Turn
Speaking of dynasties, Chelsea Clinton made a splash this week with her introduction of her mother. She was poised, attractive and warm. (Many Americans still had never heard her speak. Others who thought they had were hearing Marnie Nixon, who for years dubbed her own voice in for a shy Chelsea.)
Look, Hillary and Bill both delivered great speeches this week, though Hillary's was a tad Mad Lib-ish in its endorsement of Obama. (Come on, you could have plugged Mike Gravel's name in there. It was that unpersonalized.)
But it's time for a new Clinton:
The Temple of Obama
If Obama can make a balloon drop happen in an open-air stadium, then he really is a messiah.
Okay, I'm off to Invesco. That this is happening on the 45th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech is worthy of reflection - and unworthy of snark. I'm very very lucky to be here. Thanks for reading.
Above: At 4:47pm MST Hillary Clinton casts New York's votes for Obama and moves that he be nominated by acclamation. I took this picture from a platform a few feet away. Pretty cool.
The McCain Disclaimer
As of Day 3, Democrats are squandering their convention - and it's their own fault. Even though it was clear that they needed to use this week to take apart John McCain's candidacy (and fill in the blanks on Barack Obama), every speaker insists on starting his/her attack on McCain with a tribute, a McCain Disclaimer...
John McCain is a good friend and a great American - perhaps the greatest living American hero - maybe even the greatest living hero dead or alive - and that includes fictional characters - and a man who has shown astonishing courage on the battlefield, in the Senate, underwater and in outer space ... but I really don't like his tax plan.
If I'm watching at home, I'm thinking "Wow, he sounds great. Even Democrats like him! I'm voting for this McCain guy. Okay, what's on CW?"
Even Bill Clinton, in an undeniably rock-star appearance, introduced the topic of McCain this way:
The Republicans in a few days will nominate a good man who has served our country heroically and who suffered terribly in a Vietnamese prison camp. He loves his country every bit as much as we do. As a senator, he has shown his independence of right-wing orthodoxy on some very important issues.
That's quite an encomium - and not one that the Republicans are likely to bestow on Obama at their convention. That's because they know how to campaign: ruthlessly
Where are the Celebrities?!
The McCain ad painting Obama as a celebrity like Paris and Britney has obviously been damaging, maybe devastating. Never has an ad so crappily produced had such impact. (Okay, the "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" ad probably cost $20 to produce and became iconic.)
Anyway, as of last month, everyone expected Denver to become an all-star salute. And yet pre-Invesco, at least, I've seen only a smattering of celebs. (Angela Bassett, Chevy Chase, Anne Hathaway...) The Kerry Convention was packed to the gills with A-listers.
My hunch is that the Obama campaign wants them to stay away - far far away. They simply don't help. So where are they hiding?
The Clintons and Obamas are not the Carringtons and Colbys
Perhaps because we're in Denver, the setting for the '80s nighttime soap Dynasty, the press has pushed the narrative of dueling families hard. Sorry, it's just not working.
I'm not sure which nighttime soap paradigm makes sense with the Obamas and Clintons, but the Carringtons and Colbys are clearly Republican. (I'm assuming that Alexis Colby, Joan Collins' character, was naturalized at one point, if only for tax purposes.)
Help me out here: Is it my imagination or wasn't there an episode of Dynasty where Alexis hosted a party (at La Mirage, I think) and Henry Kissinger and Gerald Ford made real-life cameo appearances? If the RNC had been held in Denver, that's what it would have looked like.
Chelsea's Turn
Speaking of dynasties, Chelsea Clinton made a splash this week with her introduction of her mother. She was poised, attractive and warm. (Many Americans still had never heard her speak. Others who thought they had were hearing Marnie Nixon, who for years dubbed her own voice in for a shy Chelsea.)
Look, Hillary and Bill both delivered great speeches this week, though Hillary's was a tad Mad Lib-ish in its endorsement of Obama. (Come on, you could have plugged Mike Gravel's name in there. It was that unpersonalized.)
But it's time for a new Clinton:
The Temple of Obama
If Obama can make a balloon drop happen in an open-air stadium, then he really is a messiah.
Okay, I'm off to Invesco. That this is happening on the 45th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech is worthy of reflection - and unworthy of snark. I'm very very lucky to be here. Thanks for reading.
Above: At 4:47pm MST Hillary Clinton casts New York's votes for Obama and moves that he be nominated by acclamation. I took this picture from a platform a few feet away. Pretty cool.