Well, Sarah Palin made her national debut last night, with a red meat speech attacking Obama and attempting to reignite the culture war.
For me, it wasn't the most hateful convention speech I've ever seen. Pat Buchanan, 1992. Far, far worse. But then again, Palin is a Buchananite at heart, so maybe that's why I'm reminded of it.
But the fatal, fatal mistake Palin and the McCain camp made was an attempt to cater to the base so much that it alienated great swaths of the country. And may have inadvertently fired up an already uber-motivated Democratic Party base.
Obama fired the first shot last week. ENOUGH!, he said. Enough of the partisan rhetoric. Enough of the fighting and bickering. Enough of the failure of Republican leadership.
Instead of ceding that point to Obama, Palin decided to wade back into the morass, showing the Republicans haven't had enough yet. They want to bicker, fight, and make the race about anything but the concerns of a vast majority of Americans.
Perhaps most telling was both Palin and Rudy Giulani deriding Obama's experience as a "community organizer." Now, I don't know about you, but frankly, that is the most compelling part of Obama's biography. The fact that he turned down big Wall Street offers to serve his community...the very talking point the Republicans have been pimping this week ("service")...strikes at the heart of how empty the Republican message is.
Those of us who care about our communities -- Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Evangelicals, Agnostics, and on, and on -- are community organizers of some sort. Because we actually give a damn about our communities.
Barack gave a damn so much, he made it his chosen career path for awhile.
And community organizing is what this campaign is based on. The Republicans can bloviate and blather all they want this week. But in the neighborhoods of America, people are quietly organizing for their defeat. They are knocking on doors, making phone calls, talking to their neighbors, and raising money.
Because they believe in something larger then themselves. They believe, as Barack said, in the fundamental principle of being our brother's and sister's keeper.
So, my charge to all of us today is to say "Enough." Enough of the cynical politics of the Sarah Palins and the John McCains and the George W. Bushes. Enough of the folks on the other side that want to bait us into a fight. Enough of the failures of the past eight years. Enough already.
Just like I asked many of you weeks ago to take the "no drama" pledge, I'm going to ask you today to take a pledge to work. A pledge to change this country. We've got eight weeks until Election Day, and I propose a "20/20/20 Pledge." It's pretty simple, and it can win this election.
Here goes:
I pledge, for each week until Election Day, to do one of the following:
- Knock on 20 doors to get people to vote for Barack.
- Make 20 phone calls to get people to vote for Barack.
- Give 20 dollars to the Obama/Biden campaign.
See? Simple. And for every person you talk to, who wants to see this country in better shape than it has been the past eight years, ask them to take this pledge as well.
If Barack didn't fire you up last week, Sarah Palin sure fired me up. And we're ready to go.
As Bill Clinton said last week, "Thanks, John and Sarah, but no thanks."
We will be the change we seek. Not you.