DNC speeches

Mark Warner
Warner is a bad speaker. Not a terrible one, but not good. He is just not inspiring. That's unfortunate, because his message was a good one: we can embrace our problems as an opportunity for innovation. Bring outsourced jobs to rural communities. Spur growth in alternative energy industries. Etc. Too bad I think the message got lost in the poor delivery.

Bill Clinton
Bill's speech was good, though not as good as Biden's. It started slow, but got to some satisfying hammers against McCain and Bush by the end. It did feel a little weird though, especially at the beginning, in a reverse psychology kind of way. He kept explicitly mentioning the perceived weaknesses of Obama. I know there's an argument for directly addressing such concerns, but it felt like it kind of reminded people to think about them, which I think is counter-productive. I was really surprised when he talked about how McCain diverged with his party on some important issues. Huh? I mean, nevermind that it's basically false (he's one of the most conservative members of the Senate)...why are you saying that during a DNC speech?? Weird.

Joe Biden
Biden's speech was the best of the lot. He's a really compelling speaker, and he hammered McCain hard. He had passion and energy, and he really still feels like a working-class kinda guy despite his years and years in the Senate. I hope that translates into bringing more blue collar voters into the fold.