Liveblogging History

I’ll be updating this post throughout the night, reacting to the candidates’ speeches…

John McCain’s speech tonight is painful to watch. It has nothing to do with what he’s saying, but rather his delivery and the crowd’s reaction. Have you ever noticed how he smiles awkwardly after taking a jab at an opponent or says something clever?

He’s a competent public speaker–though not as good as Obama–but sometimes it’s just painful sometimes. What’s more weird is his supporters at the speech. At various times, they’ve chanted “Go John McCain” and “John McCain”. I don’t know–it’s just kind of funny to me.

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As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, 2008, a black man is a major nominee for president. I’ve been watching the cable news responses to the historic moment. I’ve heard comparisons to the moon landing, mentions of RFK and Dr. King.

Though I won’t commit to a candidate until another time, I can say that I’m proud to be an American who appreciates the historical significance of this night. As a 20-year-old, I don’t see race the same way as my parents or grandparents, so I’ve been frustrated when race becomes an issue in the campaign. It doesn’t make a lick of difference whether the President of the United States is a black man or a white woman or a white man. The person who wins the presidency will win it for a reason. That’s just true.

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This is even more interesting: Clinton supporters started chanting “Yes, she will!” Contrast that with the Obama refrain “Yes, we can!”

Fascinating. It’s not about the people with Hillary. It’s about her actions, her politicking. Plus, it implies the classic politician’s false promises, that things will get done. History shows that campaign promises are bullshit. Obama’s chant doesn’t focus on him and it doesn’t make any promises. Given his past as a community organizer in Chicago, this makes sense. It’s about trying and working.

—Great Scott. Clinton supporters are chanting “Denver! Denver!” Yeah, that’s a good idea. Might as well shout “President McCain!”

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Obama, the presumptive nominee, walks out to his speech to U2’s “Beautiful Day”. The lyrics, fittingly, go, “It’s a beautiful day. Don’t let it slip away.”

Wow. Compared to Clinton and McCain, Obama is so composed and even. He barely even smiles. You would think that would be a negative, but McCain and Clinton visibly react to their own lines, which weakens their performance.

It’s so funny to watch and listen to the supporters at each of the speeches. Whenever the candidate mentions the other, the crowd boos and hisses. But then they qualify their jab with a noble statement about their opponent, and the boos turn to polite applause. I don’t know…I just think it’s funny.

Obama’s speech was pretty different from the others, mostly in terms of presentation and rhetoric. But that’s nothing new. I just keep thinking about how much Obama’s slogans and platitudes are larger not about him at all: “Change We Can Believe In”, “We, Yes Can”. He’s more focused on a larger movement.