Well now, wasn't THAT worth staying up for!?
To begin with, I thought the stage and setting were very cool, reminiscent of the Lincoln Memorial with a rock-concert twist. It is certainly a welcome change the obligatory balloon drop replaced by fireworks. But mostly, I thought it was beyond lame that the Republican's rapid response picked on the staging, calling it a Greek temple, or if you can be any "lamer:" Barackopolis. That's just desperate and pathetic, and very laughable. Is that the best they can do?
I totally loved the matching, or contrasting ties of Obama & Biden. Although my fav ties are those special Obama shade of blue, Power Red was fitting for this speech.
OK, ok, so I'm all over the place with my reaction to last night's speech, so bear with me.
Let me start by backing up a bit and start with the pregame. On my way home from work I heard a fabulous story on NPR that got me thinking. It furthers my argument about why national polls are way off in their numbers, and why I predict on Obama electoral map landslide. With very deliberate and carefully organized outreach to (and tracking of) more cell-only voters combined with Team Obama's amazing ability to bring in new voters, typical land-line voter-registration-list phone polling is obsolete and embarrassing. To my statistically minded colleagues & friends: remember how many votes in NH went to Nader in 2000? Around 500 is my memory. If those 500 went to Gore, he would have won not just our two measely little electoral votes, but the general election as well. I bet at UNH alone, Obama will register far more than that many new voters. And that will be multiplied at campuses all over the country, as well as high schools, inner cities, churches, community centers, and other hotbeds of the under 30-crowd, the much-empowered (and much-coddled) Millenials (children of Boomers). Add to that the Team Shaheen ability to squeeze every last Democratic vote out of this state, and McCain is in deep trouble. So, quit reporting that it's neck-and-neck in NH. You ain't seen nothing yet (even with a youthful woman on the ticket).
Back to the speech. We've all read the reviews and heard the pundits by now, so there's not much I can add. Well done, did what was needed to be done, electrifying, etc. I got teary but not because of Obama's words. I got choked up when I saw young black men waving flags and looking so patriotic and engaged. Ya know, during the long primary I often heard white women go on & on about seeing a woman elected in their lifetime. Though I never said this out loud out of respect, I often thought: young white women do NOT need any more role models. I'm sorry, but have you been to any college campuses lately? Remember my impromptu chat with the reporter from The Boston Globe about male vs. female involvement? No, it's young black men that really need to be lifted at this moment. Lifted and included and empowered and challenged. This was their night and I am honored and happy to let them have it.
Last but never least: Sasha's hot pink dress. WHERE can we get one of those, size 6x or 7?
