Hilary Clinton was sensational tonight. Amazing. Especially resonant in her speech was her urge for unity: "Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?" Powerful was her citing of Harriet Tubman. The overall message? Get with it Clinton loyalists, we've got bigger fish to fry.
I felt the electricity when she said the following call to arms. Sure, she might be pandering, but got dang if it isn't effective. Embarrassing admission: Yes, in the beginning I was leaning towards her over Obama, especially if Obama were here VP. This speech of hers does not take away from that initial view. I'm so proud that she mentioned Gay Rights along with Women's Rights. I'm glad it's Obama's time, now convinced over the course of his campaign that he is the better candidate, but Clinton did not deserve all the disrespect she got during her run and to this day. All I know now is "No Way. No How. No McCain."
I love the discussion by MSNBC reporters about the speech afterwards. I especially admire political analyst Rachel Maddow and Norah O'Donnell.
Borrowing an idea from another analyst I heard yesterday, the most incendiary thing McCain could do for his campaign now is to nominate a woman for his VP. Should that happen, it would be interesting, if not downright exciting to see play out.
"My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for president. This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up. How do we give this country back to them?
By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad. And on that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice:
'If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.'
And then there's Michelle Obama. Also amazing. She fills me with just as much, if not more hope than Mr. Obama himself. She's right that Obama represents so much a normative view of the world. The clash between normative and positive statements. Her speech was incredibly moving, not only because of her words, but the fact that she was up there at all. I mean, the electricity, the pride that our country, at least half of them, have nominated and support a candidate of colour and a woman. Here we are, in our lifetimes.
You know, Michelle Obama was on the receiving end of a lot of criticism for her statement, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." Why, when so many others, including myself, feel the same way? And I don't think she means that generally. The way we've handled ourselves during tragedy and anguish, while sometimes insensitively, has also been inspirational and brilliant. And anyway, the Olympics just happened! It's just that it's been a while, politically, since we could feel this proud in ourselves and each other. We can't take four more years of the same. I like where this new thread is going.
"...Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about 'The world as it is' and 'The world as it should be.' And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and we settle for the world as it is — even when it doesn’t reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we also know what our world should look like. He said we know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves — to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn’t that the great American story?
...As I tuck [my] little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they’ll have families of their own. And one day, they—and your sons and daughters—will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They’ll tell them how this time we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming.
How this time, in this great country, where a girl from the south side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House. We committed ourselves to building the world as it should be."
In other, though related, news:
I love love love Obama's use of Gotham in his signage. It's so beautiful. You see it in all the signs held by delegates at the DNC with the words "Unity" and "Change," and it's so elegant how the typeface itself announces the same thing.
UW Sophomore, design-oriented, & proud member of Old Boy. Looking for outlet and ways to fill my spare time. Otherwise, I'm an unhappy barista, without any ability to make a good cup of coffee. Doesn't stop people from showing up, though. Desperate to create .com, since that would be nice.
I really hope these stupid ads put forth by McCain about women voters voting for McCain over bitterness about Hillary die a fast death. I can't stop thinking about the article Mariela posted, "Your whiteness is showing." I'd like to think it's all just media hype. Who would callously throw away the next four years and vote for McCain? In the name of Feminism? Didn't he call his wife the C-word?
