The unkindest review of Obama's speech

The speech was bland, but the historic moment itself carried it. That line in the speech about abortion was really 'bold' - I almost got whiplash watching it whizz by.

Regardless, I could take genuine pleasure as an American watching a black man stand up and deliver an acceptance speech as presidential nominee. That was grand.

On the other hand, the "analysts" were hilarious after the speech. I've rarely seen such pitch-perfect unintentional comedy. David Gergen said on CNN the speech was "a symphony, sometimes times the pace was quick, at other times it was slow and intimate."

Uhh, ewww. David, please, keep it to yourself.

Between observations about eroticized symphonies and Keith Olbermann doing his audition for press secretary in the Obama White House, I had a good time and many belly laughs. Thanks, mainstream media!

I wonder if there's any chance that I'm acquainted with your priest friend--sounds like something I could imagine someone I know saying.

Alas, I missed the speech, as I was out for the evening. But it doesn't sound like it's worth the immediate viewing of the recording we made of it to watch later.

Erin, you should send the recording to someone who will cherish it. From what I heard from the "analysts" tonight it sounds like some inside-the-Beltway types will be watching it over and over ... and over. Ahem.

The Obama speech was tedious, verbose, unoriginal. I thought I was at Confirmation listening to the bishop's sermon: destitute of any original thought whatsoever.

He wrote that before he saw the speech, didn't he?

max
['How many original political speeches have there been? Two? And a half?']

This speech was strictly Amateur Night at the Bijou. Substance-wise, it made little sense; he advocated several policies that operated at cross-purposes, and at no time did he present a coherent plan for paying for it all. The theatrics must have been what carried it.

(Full disclosure: I read the transcript of Obama's speech at the NYTimes website, several times. I did not watch the televised version.)

In terms of ideas, this man is barely a lightweight. Definitely "not ready for prime time".

Your servant,

Lord Karth

"How many people's belief in America will be renewed by your guy?"

Conservative generally don't NEED to have their belief renewed. They never lost it.

BTW & FTR, the other "max" ain't me.

I watched a bit, then switched off. It was the same old recipe list of promises the out-party offers when they want to get IN. Who cares if they are impossible or impossibly expensive.

Interesting juxtaposition of "Only in America could we have done this" and "America is so broken". Does he not recognize the cognitive dissonance?

Instead I googled "Nuremberg rallies" and reminded myself of events that hardly anyone is left alive to tell us about, and the history professors would rather not mention, of course.

Max Schadenfreude,

So your belief in the US is so solid that it hasn't even been shaken by the perfect storm that has hit the US on any front you could possibly name?

I'm afraid you may be confusing America with GOD. Though I do understand that this is a common error on your side of the fence.

Matt W.,
A certain part of the electorate will always be insufficiently informed and will nevertheless vote for silly reasons. No part of the political spectrum has a monopoly on these people. However, even if it is Obama's currently fashionable status that pulls more people into the political process, you should be happy that at least some percentage of these people will go on to make worthwhile contributions. Who knows what great future leaders have gotten pulled in because of Obama? To think otherwise is remarkably cynical.

Or would you perhaps endorse some sort of intelligence test for voting?

Mike,

No, I don't confuse love of country with God. "Believe in" can have a number of meanings.

I believe in Amercia because it's the best shot anyone anywhere has at try liberty. Note I didn't say security/safety net.

My point is that liberals scream about leaving the country if the guy they hate gets elected. Or if they hate the prez (you know, Bush Derangement Syndrome) they thing the whole country is crap.

Libs confuse the government for the country, but then that's expected, they are libs after all.

If the prez is somone conservatives hate, let's say Clinton, they don't go around saying things like, "Oh I don't believe in my country anymore! I need my belief renewed!"

Bow i know after reading these comments that McCain supports are not only blind, they are deaf and Dumb.

How do you pay for all these programs? By taxing the 5% with 95% of the money, that's how. Bush, McCain and the rest of those fatten calves should be offered up as sacrifice for all the sins against humanity and the people of America. Sell McCain's extra houses and pay off the debt of the war he so loves.

Obama speaks of Hope and McCain speaks of despair and helping the middle class by giving their tax money to the top 5%. Now how is that going to help me pay my bills?

Every working American, every Veteran with a disability, every retired person on a fixed income and every man and woman who has lost their job over the eight years can thank Bush and McCain and those who think the rich will help them for the mess they are in. Only fools and crooks can think the Republican candidate is good for America.

Rod,

Did you notice that throughout the whole speech, the window panes of the set conveniently formed a cross over Obama's soldier.

If you think that's coincidental, then I've got some timeshares to sell you.

We are going to wipe the floor with the GOP.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Ask not what you can do for your country -- not that you would -- ask what your country can do for you.

If thats the unkindest criticism then I think Obama did great. Even Pat Buchanan was moved.

When you were talking about the new democrats the other day you hit the nail on the head. Last night was the beginning of the new era. The Democratic Party is now the party of the middle class, small business, liberty and personal responsiblity.

28 years ago it was Reagan. Now its Obama. Did anyone notice how much Obama sounded like Reagan and JFK???

priceofliberty,

Obama plans to bring back the inheritance tax and to double the capital gains tax.

He is as far from being a friend of small business as one could be.

priceofliberty,

And as for personal responsibility, when has Obama ever shown some himself?

Rather than admit that he had been mistaken in mixing with Jeremiah Wright for more than twenty years, he bludgeoned his critics with his "great" (for about six weeks) Philadelphia speech on race -- that before stabbing Wright in the back once that was expedient to do ... and all the while still not owning up to the fact that he himself had made a mistake in choosing to associate with Wright for all those years.

The same thing is happening now with regard to his choice to associate himself with William Ayers.

Obama is trying to silence anyone who raises questions about how this friendship reflects upon his character and judgement, rather than just admitting that he made a mistake from which he has learned.

Obama has a clear and long-standing pattern of using and then discarding his friends when they become inconvenient. He reserves the right to benefit from certain friendships, but he never takes responsibility for the choices he has made by standing by his friends.

You'll note that rarely in this campaign has anyone come forward as "a longtime friend" of Barack Obama. That's because there don't seem to be all that many around.

Even among the press, most of whom support Obama to an unprofessional and embarrassing degree, there is a phenomenon that several have noted whereby reporters like Obama less and less as a person the close to him that they come in covering his campaign.

Whatever else the man may be, a mensch he is not.

I think I barged in on the B-Team Cheerleaders offering their honest opinions about the head cheerleader. She doesn't belong there, and here acting like a cheerleader just proves it.

Sure, why not:

Regardless of your political beliefs, tell me please: How many newly politically aware and idealistic young people will John McCain bring out? How many long-striving people will McCain bring to tears? How many people's belief in America will be renewed by your guy?

1. McCain will bring out less people than George W. Bush. If it's one thing Bush's stumbles and blunders have done, it's gotten folks more involved in their government.

2. The measure of a great candidate is not by the emotion he or she whips up, but by the virtue and intelligence they display. Speaking only for myself, when all is said and done, I'd be proud to have either man as my President.

3. I can't answer this question because I don't have a guy. Yet.

I haven't seen Obama's speech and will likely wait to see it after McCain has given his. Might even make an evening of it, with popcorn and what not.

What would YOU say if you were to make the acceptance speech?

Lots of people want to rip the ones doing it, but I'm willing to hang it out there for you to critique mine...

It would go something like this:

(post pleasentries and acknowledgements)

There is a word, a fine and wonderful word which has retained through the ages its meaning and impact. For in its simplicity, lies a concept everyone can and does understand, hence the retention of it's meaning. That word is what I wish to use to describe how I relate to to what you all have done here. That word is awe. I am in awe of your work, dedication, devotion to country, to self government, to rule of law, and peaceful transition of power. I am in awe of the burden of responsibility that has been placed on my shoulders. And mostly, I am in awe of my country.

I have been to all corners of the country, myriad stops and visits and get aquainted sessions, and from the first to the last, I was and am still in awe of the people who make up this nation.

We arrive at our predestined crossroads every two and four years, and our nation chooses its leadership. At times that leadership has been brilliant, at times it has been scandalous, and at times it has been incompetent and weak. But no matter the state of the leadership, the people continue on.

Many lament the loss of faith in America that seems to crop up and be on display all over. But I tell you, that the answer is not to restore faith in Washington DC, but to restore Washington DC's faith in the people. For most of a century now, the operative concept has been that the people are in need of their government to do for them that which they are incapable of doing for themselves.

The only way that can be, is if Washington has lost its faith in the people who make up the country. And if Washington has lost its faith in the people, then people are losing faith in each other. This loss of faith leads to balkanizing along lines of race, income, region, wealth, poverty, with each group grasping for the benefits from Washington and wrangling with each other, distrustful and suspicious of each other.

At this crossroads, it is time to undo this trend. It is time to restore the faith of government back in its people.

I believe that Americans as whole, with few exceptions, are capable of making better decisions for themselves than Washington is. I believe that if given back the choices in their lives, they will choose better, live better, and be better. It is time to have WAshington trust the people again.

Parents sometimes fear for their children's future in such a way that they seek to impose their will and prevent mistakes or elimenate all risk to their children, taking away both capability and allowance for decisionmaking. They leave behind children who lack faith in themselves, experience, and judgement.

We as a nation have progressed immensely far down this road. Americans proved themselves capable of individual responsbility for the first half of this nation's life. They can and must be again. The detrimental effects of this transfer of responsibility and power to the government has been almost beyond comprehension.

We have transferred a signifcant portion of our nation's total wealth from one segment of our nation to another, yet it has not had a measurable impact on the condition meant to cure. We have become dependent, as people, as businesses, as schools, as professionals, as local governments, and more, on services of the federal government.

Yet, like the results of the controlling parents, this dependency and control has resulted in a welfare state, nannny-statism, whole segments of the population out of control and unproductive.

Yet, few dare speak out, for fear of being criticized by those who have made a career of frightening those dependents. This appalling situation has led us to this point, and at this point, it is time to undo it.

It is time to restore to the people, their faith, and their responsibilities. This is not an overnight process. There are no miracles that can magically make this happen. But it must happen to ensure we have a future that's strong and made of individually strong, independent, and responsible people.

So, at this moment, I'm suggesting we start this journey with plan... A plan not design to swindle more people out of their tax money, or take over some aspect of our economy that Washington DC is ill suited to manage, but instead, to begin an irreversible process of restoring faith - faith in each other, faith in the people, faith in the strength and wisdom of our nation.

There are two aspects to every part of our life... First, is the power to make choices... and the second is to the power to carry them out. And we must simultaneously restore these back to the individual.

My fellow Americans... it is time to sunset the tax code. It is time to expire the untold millions of words - most of which have been written to further the life of some election theme or badly construced in a rush to achieve a deadline, or perhaps even written without care. Millions of words which create an often conflicting complexity of rules which cost us more in efforts to comply and penalties for failure to comply, and yet, the IRS is unable to untangle and interpret the tax code, so badly that studies have shown considerable incapacity to get a consistent ruling or answer from IRS personell on an array of tax issues.

In keeping with the them of empowerment, it is time to remove the tentacles of the federal government from the employment, income, and business of the average person. We must design a new system to fund our government that does not seek to control and manipulate - often to absurd cross-purposes - the business, people, and institutions that make us thrive.

It is time to empower the individual with his own retirement. Even the least competenent of financial managers can provide for better retirement for himself than Social Security does, often to the tune many times the level of retirement income than Social Security.

This consumes almost a quarter of every dollar that passes through Washington DC, and yet, is backed solely by debt and the will of Congress to fund it. And Congress has continued to fund the future with debt. Obviously, this is a complete failure. Both the program, and it's impact on the individual are the worst of all worlds.

Anyone who had a savings account with a negative return, and was gauranteed to simply revert to the bank should you die, would be a fool to not just stuff your money into your mattress. But from a personal perspective, that's what Social Security does.

It is time to sunset millions of pages of federal regulations about all kinds of aspects of your life that are very poorly suited to being regulated at the federal level. From the size of your toilet tank, to the way public land is used, to regulating school district foods - and ineptly too - there are countless costs imposed by the federal government with no significant benefit.

There is no reason a school district, charged with being the source of knowledge, considered the repository of information, cannot make adequate decisions about what to serve as a school lunch without reams of papers being filed to WAshington DC for nobody to read. And if your child isn't properly fed at school, you have a local district to complain to, or you could even make your kids some lunch.

On average, the federal government spends tens of thousands to millions of dollars per job placement, for "job training". Yet, the actual benefit to the country as a whole is too small to measure.

We have strangled our own energy production, by declaring huge areas off-limits to exploration and production. Not because these areas are intrinsically and popularly used for other things, but because they're remote, unseen, unknown, and special interests have campaigned to block them. When new sources of energy are found, the first act anyone must face is the onslaught of lawyers. And the second is unelected beaurocrats from some other part of the country who insist that they, not the people who live in and or around these places have the right and privelidge to control them.

It is time to divest the federal government of the vast wealth it has locked into eternal cold storage and turn it back to the states in which it resides... Many western states are composed of a majority of federally controlled and federally operated land, depriving them of both space and the ability to choose their own destiny.

It is time to beging empowering the states with the land and resources that rightfully belong to them.

However the notion came to be, that the federal government is more wise, prudent, knowledgeable, and responsible than states or local goverments, it doesn't really matter. The fact is, that notion is utterly wrong.

And lastly, I want to adress the reciprocal of this theme. The people do not trust the government, becuase it has proven to be a horrible manager of many things, yet it has become arrogant and insular, proclaiming itself the arbiter of knowledge, often to the detriment of all.

A government that trusts the people with both thier own means and thiir own sense of self government will engender the same trust in reverse. And this government needs that trust for many reasons. Since WAshington has taken on myriad decisions, it has become the obvious magnet for those who wish to influence all those decisions. And a culture of corruptability has become the norm. It seems anyone c an get almost anything - if they have a large lobbying budget. Yet, the federal government will sue and impound a man's tractor, destroying that man's means of earning a living, because some unelected busybody searched and might possibly have found an 'endangered mouse'.

These acts create the aura of arrogance that is rightly recognized. They engendera the attitude of mistrust, which is altogether deserved.

My fellow Americans, the fight of your life has just been declared. This time, it's not to stop some foriegn dictator or runamok group of militants. By comparison, those are easy. No, this is for you, personally, to realize how much of your life you have become powerless about. To recognize that the lack of judgement and irresponsibility you see rampant around you is also a result of that powerlessness.

But there is no reason to fear. I have seen you from every angle, and you are strong, capable, hard working, and resilient. You have every quality needed to manage your own affairs. And it is now time for you to take back both the power and responsibilities of your life.

The power to determine your own future, your own retirement, to manage that which you own. The responsibility to establish stability for future generations, to be responsible with your air, your water, your land, your resources. Those in DC are not wiser than you, though they have long insisted they are so. Their arrogance is immense. That arrogance has resulted in folly, because they bear no consequence for their actions.

Leadership has an old fashioned definition... Getting people to do what they already know they should do. Demand leadership. Demand that Washington not control, but inspire better, more responsible behavior, more wise decisions by the people themselves.

You can. You will. You have that power. You are capable. Don't fall for the lines of those who will say anytyhing to retain their power over you. They are not more wise, more generous, more caring, more responsible than you. Just more arrogant.

Choose your side in this fight. But choose. No longer be passive. You have the power...Just take it back. The time has come. This, my fellow Americans, is what I am here to do. I cannot do this as President alone. But three hundred million of you speaking with one voice will. You cannot be ignored if you stand up and be counted.

This is my pledge. This is my life. This is my purpose, this is my passion, this is my one declared and now witnessed overarching desire... Now come join the fight and WIN.

Well, I really appreciate Mr. President speech he speaks from his heart. The change he wanted is possible with the spirit he has. Also in, President-elect Barack Obama’s speech on the economy is getting negative responses, even from his fellow Democrats. They seem to be on the watch and quick to address even the slightest predicament on Obama’s economic stimulus plan, and he hasn't even begun to talk about a payday loan. Barack Obama, who was officially declared the winner of the November election, has also launched an effort to extend the deadline for analog-to-digital conversions for television signals. Furthermore, on the bright side of things, Obama and Spider-man will be featured on the same comic book!

Sixty-nine percent of voters who have heard or read about Obama’s speech say he did a good job addressing the issue of race relations, and 63 percent of voters following the events say they agree with Obama's views on race relations. Seventy-one per cent say he did a good job explaining his relationship with Wright. http://www.unclepayday.ca - Instant Payday Loans in Vancouver.