Gosh...looking at Kerry's YouTube DNC speech in 2004...
http://www.youtube.com/...
(Here's the complete transcript: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/...
with Obama's amazing speech in 2008...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
More below the "fold"...
There's no comparison...as well already know...Obama hit it out of the park! In contrast (and I voted for Kerry...and put a sticker on my car and contributed to his campaign), Kerry's DNC speech really just didn't quite have what it took to attract the masses...
Let's see a few quotes...
#1: "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty" (with a salute).
I thought "OH NO...this is so tacky" at this point (not exactly a speech opener). Looking back, it really was (that's not really the time and place to try to make up for the attacks on his Vietnam service that he was getting at the time).
#2: "On one occasion, I rode my bike into Soviet East Berlin. And when I proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me."
Really? I don't know...sounds like my (beloved, I'll admit) 11th grade history teacher...loved telling stories, for the sake of telling stores.
#3: "My mother -- My mother was the rock of our family, as so many mothers are. She stayed up late to help me with my homework."
Another "really?" sentence.
#4: "And standing with us in that fight -- Standing with us in that fight are those who shared with me the long season of the primary campaign: Carol Moseley Braun, General Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, Bob Graham, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman, Al Sharpton. To all of you, I say "thank you" for teaching me and testing me. But mostly, we say "thank you" for standing up for our country and for giving us the unity to move America forward."
I don't know...that just doesn't seem like a "unity" paragraph...
Anyway, John Kerry came close to winning the election (perhaps he might have, given what happened in Ohio)...
Of course, Barack Obama had a plethora of great quotes as well as (of course) great overtones that were missed 4 years ago. I can't really provide the overtones, but some of the quotes I liked include...
#1: "It's not because John McCain doesn't care; it's because John McCain doesn't get it."
I have nothing to add...simply the pure truth! A statement like that helps "make it obvious" to those who might not otherwise notice.
#2: "We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off and look after a sick kid without losing her job, an economy that honors the dignity of work."
I remember a past presidential debate (forgot exactly when--sometime in the '90s, I think) where they talked about pride in the number of millionaires in the US. Finally good to see someone not worshipping the rich (or the raw numerics behind them)...
#3: "And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East."
Great comment...followed by some real substance (not included here, but it's there alright)...
#4: "And in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that Senator McCain took office."
Hmmm...and McCain picked Sarah Palin (OK...only going to bring that name ONCE.)
#5: "We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe.
The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy."
This is important...to tie the Republicans to a failed foreign policy scheme. No...we're not safer (or safe) under a Republican "watchdog"...
and a longer part of the transcript...
#6: "(APPLAUSE) And it is that promise that, 45 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
(APPLAUSE)
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustrations of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead -- people of every creed and color, from every walk of life -- is that, in America, our destiny is inextricably linked, that together our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back..."
A great near-conclusion ("near" referring to the temporal aspect, not the greatness aspect)...bringing one of the best speeches in history into modern times. It's a shame that couldn't have happened in the past when we really needed it...but I feel good this time around. We're gonna win...and we're gonna win big! Thank you, Obama!