Democratic National Convention 29AUG08


What a great Democratic Convention! I thought speeches by Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana were some of the brightest moments. Tears of joy on the faces of some people in the audience was surprising.

I didn't care too much for Hillary's speech. She seemed conflicted and it came off as slightly dishonest. Although she did have a self-deprecating joke about the "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pantsuits" that showed some humility.

Of course Barack's speech at Invescoe Field was spectacular. But what overshadowed the quality and substance of the speech for me was the sheer volume of people attending: over 84,000! That giant stadium was filled to the rafters. I couldn't believe how high up the top balcony was. And Jocey and I couldn't see any empty seats. Just amazing.

These gigantic crowds Barack is drawing shows his wide appeal and massive support from the general public for his policies. I can't help but look for other Democrats in history who have had such popularity. JFK and FDR come to mind. And similarly we are at a once-in-a-lifetime point in history where Democratic principles can be legislated. Our majority in the House and Senate are set to expand and we will also have the White House. They will not be able to stop us from passing legislation that will turn this nation around and actually help the American people.

As a musician I have to comment on the wonderful orchestra that played during the first 3 nights of the convention at The Pepsi Center. They knew how to groove and use the music to make the event fun and meaningful. Excellent selection of Classic Motown and disco hits that lent an atmosphere of celebration to the historic event.
Stevie Wonder on the last night was just excellent. You could tell he was no stranger to arena-rock events as he belted out "Signed, sealed, delivered I'm yours" with a few newly added verses just for this performance. But, it was a wide selection of music genres that gave it all a democratic feel. I heard a bluegrass band opening at the football stadium. Didn't catch their name but I noticed the bass player was using the largest bass amp known to man: an Ampeg SVT. I guess when you're playing bluegrass in a football stadium an SVT comes in handy.

Hillary Clinton at Fresno High 22OCT07

It was a good speech. She doesn't need notes. Very well thought out. Support the troops not the war. After the speech she greeted folks. All the waving hands hoping to get an autograph or a handshake was touching. The most interesting part for me was where I was standing was where the 'protesters' were. There were about 15-20 of them holding various anti-Hillary signs. There was a biker with two big american flags on his Harley. There was a disabled guy in a wheel chair who yelled out, "Yeah, free abortions for all!" The grey-haired Republican women, who had t-shirts on that said they were the life of the party. One of them held a sign up that said: "Hillary lives in upscale Govt housing for free" I didn't understand the point of that one. The Ron Paul supporters and the IWW kids vied to be which one yelled out the loudest, angriest accusations. Seeing these two groups on the same team was funny. The Far Left (IWW) went so far to the left that they met up with the far right (Ron Paul Libertarians) and became allies in their common dislike of Hillary. Politics does make strange bedfellows.

Dem’s CNN/YouTube debate fresh and interesting 24jul07



It was such a smart move for CNN to partner with YouTube to sponsor this debate. It puts the old cable news organization on the high road to being up to date with the now generation. Last night’s debate with the 8 Democratic presidential candidates was unusual to say the least with the questions being submitted to YouTube and then played for the candidates. It was just so refreshing to have questions asked in unusual ways. Some were songs, some were jokes and many were filled with heart-felt honesty. It was the first time I ever saw a common person ask a presidential candidate a question and then the moderator turn right around and ask the guy if his question was answered! And he eventually said, no! This new format encouraged the candidates to be honest.

Anderson Cooper did such a bang up job as moderator. My respect for him just grows with time. Openness and honesty is what we crave in our leaders and this new team hit a home run in that department.

And what’s Fox News doing? I tell you, they’re not partnering with any cutting-edge technology to bring more relevance and clarity to issues. That would go against their prime directive. No, they had political correspondent Carl Cameron telling us all the inside poop about the hate-filled, raging rivalry between Hillary and Obama. And the implication was, as it always is with Fox/Limbaugh that Hillary and Obama are lying, vengeful charlatans and are not to be trusted.

But, they are free to say what they wish. And it’s up to us to ferret out the truth. I’ll bet you the Republican presidential candidates will have a big problem with the YouTube format used last night when CNN does this with them in September. Can you imagine Bush subjecting himself to such a questioning format?

I honestly think any of these candidates would make a better president than the current administration. I like all of them. Hillary has a substance and experience that Obama doesn’t have but, my favorite candidate is Obama. I think he is a born leader and would bring a huge wave of hope and prosperity to our country.

They were genial, articulate and a few times quite funny. I roared with laughter when Anderson said they couldn’t find anyone to the left of Kucinich. I also liked the honest comments by Clinton and Biden about the logistics of getting our troops out of Iraq. They have been saying for many months now that it just can’t be done overnght. It has to be done in an orderly fashion to protect our troops and minimize civilian casualties.