Earlier this evening, Bill Clinton and John Kerry gave two outstanding speeches at the Democratic National Convention. The arrogant cable networks carried only Bill Clinton's. Once again, CSPAN came through as the true American herald.
Bill Clinton received minute after minute of thunderous applause when he walked out on stage - he deserved every bit of it. His speech was masterfully on target, explaining what Americans have lost under Bush, and why Obama and Biden are what's needed to get it back and move forward. Clinton's praise of Biden was especially meaningful, given that, on the basis of Bill's irrefutable logic, Hillary might well have been chosen as VP candidate. It was pleasure to see Bill Clinton address a crowd again. As always, his intelligence and commitment shone brightly.
Cut to the talking heads on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox. But on the small inset screen on our TV, who do my wife and I see but John Kerry. He was never a mesmerizing speaker, but, hey, he gave it a close run four years ago, and we wanted to hear what he had to say.
John Kerry probably gave the best speech of his career tonight. I actually liked it even better than Bill's. Kerry took apart the Republicans and John McCain in a way no one at the convention has done so far, in a step-by-step presentation of logic and evidence. I'm looking forward to more of this from Joe Biden.
But kudos to John Kerry for stepping up and delivering a powerhouse punch. And boos to networks for ignoring him. Cable news, here's a clue: a Presidential candidate from just four years ago is always likely to be more of value than your best talking heads.