PRESIDENT OBAMA'S
SPEECH LAST NIGHT WAS RECEIVED VERY WELL BY LIBERALS -- BY
DEMOCRATS -- I DON'T THINK YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT
HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING, BUT CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS HAD A
LOT OF GOOD THINGS TO SAY AS WELL.
WE WILL START OFF WITH
RICH LOWRY IN THE NATIONAL REVIEW --
SAYING THERE THAT SOME OF THE CORE COMPONENTS OF HIS SPEECH --
SOME OF THE CORE COMPONENTS OF OBAMA'S SPEECH THEMATICALLY
WHERE THE SORTS OF THINGS YOU WOULD EXPECT TO HEAR FROM A
REPUBLICAN.
AND I SAW A LOT OF ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECH, NOT JUST
OBAMA BUT BIDEN AS WELL, AND WHEN YOU INCLUDE MICHELLE OBAMA
AS WELL, THIS WAS A DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION WERE FAMILY VALUES,
HOW YOU KEEP THE COUNTRY SAFE, WHAT OUR VALUES ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE AS A NATION, HOW WE CONDUCT OURSELVES ABROAD, HOW WE BECOME
THE PERSON -- THE COUNTRY THE REST OF THE WORLD LOOKS TO, YOU
DIDN'T HEAR AS MUCH OF THAT AT THE RNC BUT YOU HEARD A LOT AT
THE DNC THIS TIME AROUND.
YEAH.
SO, I'M NOW A LITTLE WORRIED THAT THE SPEECH WAS NOT
EFFECTIVE ENOUGH.
BECAUSE IF THE CONSERVATIVES LIKED IT, THAT
MEANS IT DIDN'T HIT THEM NEARLY HARD ENOUGH.
AND I HAD THAT
LITTLE BIT OF VIBE LAST NIGHT, I LIKED THE SPEECH OVERALL, IT'S
NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO LIKE A BARACK OBAMA SPEECH, AS IS SHOWN
BY EVEN THE CONSERVATIVES LIKING IT.
HE IS SUCH A GOOD ORATOR,
AND SOME OF THE BEST SPEECHES OF MY LIFETIME HAVE BEEN BY HIM.
THE ORIGINAL AUDACITY OF HOPE SPEECH IN 2004,
HIS FIRST CONVENTION ACCEPTANCE SPEECH --
HIS ELECTION NIGHT SPEECH IN 2008,
WHEN HE TOLD THE STORY OF THE WOMAN, THAT WAS AMAZING.
MAYBE THE BAR IS TOO HIGH BUT I THOUGHT OBAMA'S SPEECH WAS
REALLY GOOD, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT WAS IN IT.
IT HAS
NO LASTING EFFECT ON ME.
THAT IS WHY MAYBE THE CONSERVATIVES ARE
LIKE, I KIND OF LIKED IT, AND IT DIDN'T REALLY HURT US, I'LL TAKE
IT.
MAYBE I'M BEING UNKIND.
I DON'T THINK YOU ARE BEING UNKIND BUT I THINK YOU ARE
MISSING THE POINT OF WHAT THESE THINGS ARE, OR GIVING TOO MUCH
OF A POINT TO WHAT THESE THINGS ARE.
IT IS A GREAT SPEECH, IT
INTRODUCED HILLARY CLINTON, IT SHOWED THEIR WORKING
RELATIONSHIP, IT SHOWED HOW DONALD TRUMP SHOULD NOT BE
ELECTED IN A POINTED, SPECIFIC WAY, THEN IT IS OVER WITH.
IT IS
NOT A POLICY SPEECH, IT WAS SWEEPING ORATORY IN FRONT OF A
CONVENTION WHERE ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE PEOPLE ARE.
SO IT CAN
ONLY WIN WHEN IT'S BARACK OBAMA DOING IT, ANY PRESIDENT GIVING A
SPEECH TO HIS PARTY OR HER PARTY'S CONVENTION.
BUT TO SAY
THE CONSERVATIVES LIKED IT -- PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THE
SPEECHES SOMEWHAT OBJECTIVELY, TOO.
WHEN PEOPLE GET INTO THEM
AND TALK ABOUT THE POLICY, THEY ARE DOING THIS OR THAT, THEY
DIDN'T DO THIS, THAT IS FINE.
BUT FOR REPUBLICANS TO SAY HE
GAVE A GOOD SPEECH, THAT'S FINE.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT WAS A BAD SPEECH FOR THE CAUSE.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT BY DEFINITION THAT MEANS IT'S BAD,
I THOUGHT MIKE PENCE HAD A PRETTY SOLID SPEECH AT THE RNC
AND I CAN'T STAND THE DUDE.
EXACTLY, BUT CHELSEA CLINTON'S SPEECH SUCKS.
WE ALREADY KNOW THAT.
BUT SOME OF THE ONES WE ARE ABOUT TO GET
TO OUR CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY TRUMP
BACKERS.
WHICH MEANS THEY MIGHT NOT BE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW HARD
TRUMP IS HIT.
ERICK ERICKSON SAID --
AGAIN, A LOT OF HOUSE REPUBLICANS DON'T LIKE TRUMP
EITHER.
ERICKSON ALSO SAID --
THAT MAYBE GOES TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING.
I THINK THE HOPE AND OPTIMISM WAS IMPORTANT, AND A GOOD WAY
FOR SPEAKERS AT THE DNC TO SET THEMSELVES APART FROM THOSE WHO
SPOKE AT THE RNC.
THE RNC WAS ABOUT NOTHING MORE THAN DOOM AND
GLOOM, IT WAS FEAR MONGERING EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, AND DONALD
TRUMP'S SPEECH WAS HORRIBLE.
CENK MENTIONED THAT HE THOUGHT
IT WAS A HORRIBLE SPEECH BECAUSE IT WILL BRING PEOPLE DOWN, AND
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT DID, IT WAS AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES OF
THIS AUTHORITARIAN LANGUAGE ABOUT HOW HE IS THE COP AND WE
ARE ALL DYING AND KILLING EACH OTHER -- YEAH, I'M PRETTY SURE
REPUBLICANS ARE SMART ENOUGH TO REALIZE THAT IS NOT GOING TO GO
OVER WELL WITH THE ELECTORATE, WHICH IS ALREADY FEELING PRETTY
CRAPPY RIGHT NOW AND WANTS A LITTLE HOPE AND OPTIMISM FROM
THE PERSON THEY ARE PLANNING TO VOTE FOR.
I WILL BE IRONIC HERE, PART OF IT IS AS I'M REFLECTING BACK
ON THE SPEECH, AND BY THE WAY I'M NOT FREAKED OUT THAT
CONSERVATIVES LIKED IT, GOD BLESS, AND JOHN MADE THE MOST
IMPORTANT POINT, THESE ARE A LOT OF ANTI-TRUMP CONSERVATIVES WHO
ARE LIKE, WHY DID WE PICK THIS GUY WHO CAN'T GIVE A SPEECH AND
IS JUST HATE AND PESSIMISM WHEN WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A MORE
OPTIMISTIC, REAGAN TYPE SPEAKER?
BUT ON OBAMA'S SPEECH IT WAS A
BIT OF A VICTORY LAP, AND HE IS ALLOWED THAT, BUT THAT IS WHY I
DON'T REMEMBER ANY TAKEAWAYS FROM IT AS TO WHY WE SHOULD VOTE
FOR HILLARY CLINTON AND NOT DONALD TRUMP.
ONE OF THE THINGS
IS, SHE WAS THERE WITH ME AND TOLD ME TO KILL BIN LADEN TOO.
I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE RAISED MY HAND AND BEEN LIKE, GO AHEAD AND
KILL HIM.
SO THAT'S WHY I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S -- IN A SENSE,
I WISH HE HAD TAKEN A BIGGER VICTORY LAP.
BECAUSE GIVE ME
SOME REASON WHY I'VE GOT TO GET OUT THERE AND VOTE.
ONE REASON
COULD HAVE BEEN, HEY, LET'S BE FAIR, KIND OF THE TRICK WE DID
AT THE RNC WITH JIMMY DORE WHEN HE INTERVIEWED THE DELEGATES --
IF DONALD TRUMP BRINGS UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN TO 5% AND CUTS
THE DEFICIT BY MORE THAN HALF, WE WILL HAVE TO GIVE HIM CREDIT.
I WISH THERE WAS A PRESIDENT WHO DID THAT.
OH RIGHT, WE DID.
TO
REMIND THE COUNTRY, WE'VE DONE A PRETTY DAMN GOOD JOB.
ALL THESE
GUYS WHO ARE TELLING YOU DOOM AND GLOOM, THEY ARE WRONG.
THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN WRONG.
BUT YOU WILL NEVER MAKE ME HAPPY
ENOUGH BECAUSE I WANT SUPER AGGRESSIVE, HE'S GOT A BULLY
PULPIT AND I WISH HE WOULD MAKE HIS CASE MUCH STRONGER BUT I'VE
BEEN SAYING THAT FOR EIGHT YEARS.
I THINK THE ANTI-TRUMP REPUBLICANS WHO ARE TALKING
ABOUT LAST NIGHT SO FAVORABLY ALSO FEEL, BUT MAYBE CAN'T
ADMIT, THAT THEY WERE REALLY EFFECTIVE IN ATTACKING TRUMP AS
WELL.
I WANTED THEM TO ATTACK TRUMP MORE AGGRESSIVELY, BUT
THINK ABOUT IT, WHEN TRUMP ATTACKS, HE DOES IT BASED ON
CHILDISH, JUVENILE THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER.
EXCEPT WHEN IT
COMES TO MONEY AND POLITICS, WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT THAT I
CRINGE BECAUSE I'M LIKE, THAT IS A JUSTIFIED ATTACK AND I HATE
THAT HE HAS THAT KIND OF AMMO AGAINST HER.
THAT WHEN IT COMES
TO THE DNC AND ALL THE SPEAKERS WHO ATTACKED TRUMP, THEY HAD
GOOD REASONS TO ATTACK HIM.
AND I THINK THAT MAKES REPUBLICANS
SCARED, BECAUSE HE IS A RICH TARGET.
HERE IS JOHN PODHORETZ, FORMER SPEECHWRITER FOR REAGAN,
SAYING --
HE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT POLICY, HE IS TALKING ABOUT
REMINDING US WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ASPIRE TO BE.
BECAUSE AN INSPIRING SPEECH ISN'T JUST SUPPOSED TO GET YOU
TO DO SOMETHING, IT'S SUPPOSED TO GET YOU TO BELIEVE AND WANT
SOMETHING.
AND TRUMP IS TRYING TO GET YOU TO THINK ABOUT
AMERICA IN TERMS OF, WHAT IS MINE AND WHO IS TRYING TO TAKE
IT FROM ME, WHO IS COMING OVER THE BORDER AND FOR MY FAMILY?
BUT OBAMA REMINDS US WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THIS TOGETHER.
BOTH OF THOSE ARE IMAGES THAT COME TO YOUR MIND WHEN YOU THINK
BACK OVER AMERICAN HISTORY, AND SOMETIMES ONE WINS OUT IN THE
POPULAR CONSCIOUSNESS AND SOMETIMES ANOTHER ONE WINS OUT.
BUT IF HE CAN GET US TO THINK ABOUT THIS AS A COUNTRY THAT IS
ON THE PRECIPICE OF SOMETHING GREAT, BUT THAT WE NEED TO WORK
TOGETHER, THEN TRUMP'S MESSAGE WON'T BE AS EFFECTIVE.
A QUICK QUESTION, THIS IS A GENUINE QUESTION, WE TALK A LOT
ABOUT HOW THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE HAS REALLY MOVED TO THE RIGHT.
YOU THINK THAT THE REPUBLICANS' REACTIONS TO LAST NIGHT IS A
SYMPTOM OF THAT?
THAT THE SPEECHES ACTUALLY APPEAL TO THE
RIGHT A LITTLE BIT?
THEY ARE NOT ON POLICY GROUNDS.
THEY ARE NOT, BUT THERE IS THAT AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM,
THOSE IDEAS THAT REPUBLICANS HISTORICALLY HAVE USED IN ORDER
TO GAIN SOME SUPPORT.
BUT AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM CAN BE BASED ON DIFFERENT
THINGS AS WELL, IT CAN BE BASED ON WE ARE THE STRONGEST OR
BIGGEST, OR THAT WE ARE AN EXAMPLE THAT EVERYONE ELSE
LOOKS TO, AND THAT IS HOW OBAMA REALLY PAINTED IT.
THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
IN THIS CASE I DON'T THINK IT WAS,
BECAUSE IF HE HAD SAID THINGS THAT WERE RIGHT-WING, MY ANTENNA
WOULD HAVE GONE UP AND I'D HAVE BEEN SUPER ANNOYED.
AND HE
DIDN'T, HE JUST COUCHED IT IN TERMS OF OPTIMISM, ETC.
THAT IS
WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT WHEN THEY SAY REAGAN, BECAUSE YOU
COULD DISAGREE WITH REAGAN ON POLICY BUT HE'D GIVE REALLY
OPTIMISTIC, BRIGHT FUTURE KIND OF SPEECHES.
AND IN HISTORY IT IS THE PARTY THAT IS OUT OF POWER GENERALLY
THAT PAINTS THE DARK PICTURE, OR THAT PAINTS THE OPTIMISTIC
PICTURE, OF A DARK REALITY, DARK THING WE HAVE TO CHANGE AND COME
IN AND CHANGE.
IT IS REVERSED THIS TIME, YOU HAVE THE
CHALLENGER SAYING THINGS ARE DARK AND THE INCUMBENT PARTY
SAYING, THINGS ARE GREAT.
AND HERE IS HOPE AND OPTIMISM AND
MORNING IN AMERICA AND YES, YES.
AND THAT'S A POLITICAL
TACTIC THEY'VE CO-OPTED, AND IT HAS WORKED.
WITH THE EXCEPTION
OF JIMMY CARTER WHO WAS IN OFFICE AND WAS SORT OF DOOM AND
GLOOM, AND RONALD REAGAN COMING OUT AND DOING IT, THAT IS NOT
ALWAYS HOW IT HAS WORKED.
THIS TIME THEY ARE TRYING TO DO THAT.
I THINK IT WORKED, AND AGAIN, I'M A BROKEN RECORD ON THIS --
IT DOESN'T MATTER.
THE SPEECHES DON'T MATTER.
HER SPEECH, IT
WILL BE GOOD, SHE HAS A FAVORABLE CROWD, THERE WILL BE
THINGS TO NITPICK, BUT A BIG NIGHT, SHE WILL GIVE A SPEECH,
THE BAR IS LOW IN SOME SENSE BECAUSE SHE IS NOT ONE OF THE
GREAT SPEECHMAKERS IN AMERICA, BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN SHE WILL
GIVE THAT SPEECH, THEN THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS.
THEN YOU WILL
HAVE HER PEOPLE OUT CAMPAIGNING OR NOT DAZZLING, BUT SHE LEAVES
HERE WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THE PRESIDENT
IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE TOP TWO SURROGATES FOR HER, THE
OTHER BEING DONALD TRUMP.
BERNIE AS WELL.
I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER.