Smiling, Frowning and Cringing

While I may be one of the lonely oddballs over in the corner who is leaning toward supporting Bob Barr, I could not help but find myself experiencing a bit of a roller coaster of reactions watching last night’s speeches. (Hence the title of this column.) In reverse order, the last event of the evening was perhaps the most impressive. Senator Obama’s speech - effectively accepting the Democratic nomination – was masterful and moving. But I think I found myself smiling more from the experience of the moment than the substance of his oration. I don’t profess to know what the future holds for Barack Obama, but I do know that we, as a nation, made history at 9 PM eastern on June 3, 2008. To have come so far even in just the span of my own life is remarkable, and I really did feel as if I were watching history in the making, such as we have not seen since man first set foot on the moon.

The smile was a welcome relief from the frowns I experienced by the end of Hillary Clinton’s speech. She started off great, thanking all of the people she needed to and highlighting the aspects of her platform which she felt were important and needed to be reflected by the party in the fall. However, when it came time for the climax, she failed to deliver. Rather than recognizing the historic nature of the moment and beginning the hard work of uniting her supporters with the rest of the party, she selfishly chose to state that she “wasn’t making any decision” at this point. What she apparently failed to realize is that the decision was never hers to make – it was up to the American people and they had already decided a half hour earlier. It had previously been a case of Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way, and “Lead” was taken off the table 30 minutes before her speech. Her pronouncement, of course, sent shivers of onanistic delight through her audience – already chanting “Denver” and “McCain” over her remarks – and spurred her usual acolytes on the web to swoon, gushing, “Oh My God! She didn’t concede!” It’s difficult to imagine anything less appropriate at such a pivotal moment.

Neither of these events, though, were in the same league as the disquieting appearance of John McCain, who took to the stage before either Democrat got to speak. In terms of substance, I thought McCain hit all the correct points and did so forcefully. He moved to preemptively crack the Democrats’ main talking point, suggesting that he is simply more of the same as George W. Bush. He highlighted his plans for the future of the country and drew contrasts between himself and both Obama and the current president. The problem, however, was not with the substance but the delivery. I’m not sure who is advising McCain, but they need to rethink their approach.

McCain, when in a good mood, has a very engaging, almost infectious grin. It really works for him. But last night somebody apparently told him it would be far better to go with a full blown, maximum tooth exposure smile. McCain clearly didn’t look comfortable with it, though he held that uncomfortable rictus through the entire event. His handlers also had him parroting one of Obama’s central themes repeatedly. “That’s not change we can believe in.” You might have gotten away with that line once at the end of the speech, but the endless repititions quickly took on a creepy note. Also, he tried to paint Obama as “the politics of the past” while declaring himself to actually be “the candidate of change” and it had me wondering if two of the candidates’ speeches had gotten mixed up in delivery. I think he’ll need to do better.

In any event, we now begin the long slog to November. Or at least we will as soon as the Democrats can figure out what to do with Hillary.