Four More Years

I enjoyed what I saw of the Democratic Convention, but, I expected to. I kept checking in to see who was speaking throughout the day, but didn't really tune in until around 6:00p.m each night, with an hour off on Tuesday night to watch NCIS.   I do have my priorities, you know.

It was obvious, even watching it on television, that the atmosphere was totally different from the Republican Convention.  It was light-hearted and everyone was smiling and cheering throughout the evenings, which was quite a change from the dour, angry-looking faces I kept seeing on some of the Republicans' faces.  Of course, one group was listening to the truth and the other one was listening to what they well knew were lies, which wouldn't make for merry expressions.

I did catch a few speeches from the "B List,"  and by that I mean those who didn't speak in Prime Time. And, they managed to come up with some pretty pithy lines: Former Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm got pretty worked up with, "In Romney's world, the cars get the elevator and the people get the shaft." 

John Kerrey, in a surprisingly good speech, I thought, had some good advice for Romney.  He said, " Before you debate Foreign Policy with President Obama, you'd better finish the debate with yourself."

Sandra Fluke's speech seemed well thought-out and reasonable.  I'm so glad she didn't come across as angry or petty, as she had every right to do, considering the disgusting thing the Republicans, led by Rush Limbaugh, said about her. Caroline Kennedy always makes a good impression, and I noticed that Chris Matthews got downright chocked up after she spoke.

And, who doesn't warm up to Joe Biden? He's just such a nice, friendly, sentimental teddy bear of a guy. And, of course, Michelle Obama wowed everybody, describing her very obvious love for her husband.  I liked the line, "Being President doesn't change your character - it reveals it."  Too true.

Finally, I can't ignore Arkansas' own Bill Clinton.  He's still got it.  He couldn't stay on script if his life depended on it, of course. When Hillary was asked about his speech, she said she knew what the written speech said and it would be interesting to see what he actually ended up saying. It takes him 15 minutes just to say "Hello", but nobody explains things better than he does.  And, he's going to do some campaigning, too, which will prove invaluable. 

I freely admit I'm biased, but, watching the convention just made me feel good.  I have been very active in the Democratic Party over the years, starting with John F. Kennedy's campaign back in1960. Participating in Democratic Club meetings on the local and state level has always felt like going home, in a county and state crammed full of Republicans.  Watching the convention this week made me feel the same way.

Stay tuned.