Was anyone disappointed with Bill Clinton's speech last night?

[NNN0LHI]

I sure wasn't disappointed.

Brought back some really good memories.

My wife and I sat here in awe.

Don

[Auggie]

1. Not me

His speeches have always been to-the-point and refreshingly clear of stale cliches. Last night's was no exception. It was also damned entertaining. Awesome, awesome speech.

[Kolesar]

2. No mention of protecting the atmosphere

I had to go to bed during his speech, but I did search for his speech and found that he obliquely referred to climate protection when mentioning automobile fuel efficiency standards from last week.

[randome]

12. It's not a selling point for a speech.

But it is the most important dilemma we face today.

[Firebrand Gary]

3. Nope, it was superb!

[liberal N proud]

4. Clinton speeches are always amazing

He can talk for hours and do it without notes or tel-prompters. I don't know if he was without teleprompters last night, but I have seen him get up and speak for two hours without a note.

[MH1]

11. On MSNBC this morning they said he had teleprompters, but ad-libbed about half of his talk.

someone commented that it would be hell to be the teleprompter operator for a Clinton speech.

[a la izquierda]

5. I was stoked and I didn't even see it...

because my somewhat moderate husband came in, woke me up, and said "You have GOT to watch President Clinton's speech tomorrow." He recorded it for me.

[Auggie]

6. The other thing that hit me: his generosity

Obama's victory over Hillary Clinton in 2008 was hard-fought -- at times bordering on vicious. I don't know how Bill personally feels/felt about lauding Obama now, but he did a masterful job. For the good of the Democratic Party and the USA. Thank you President Clinton.

[FSogol]

21. That is the type of stuff that really appeals to moderates and real independents.

Great speech.

[Flatpicker]

7. I'm sure Mitt was. n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

27. I don't think Mitt's reaction was disappointment. Fear, maybe, but not disappointment.

[Skeptical George]

8. "Folks, whether the American people believe what I just said or not may be the whole election."

Hmm.....

[LeftofObama]

9. Brought back a lot of memories for me too.

I remember planning my vacation one year so I could listen to his State of the Union address while driving. The man is just brilliant!

[madaboutharry]

10. Nope.

[madokie]

13. The big dog is tops in my book

If he'd have been a little less dog he'd be remembered as the best President we'd had up to this very fine man we have now. When Bill Clinton speaks a lot of people throughout the world listen and when I say a lot I mean a fucking lot.

[Frank Cannon]

14. He's the Michael Jordan of public speaking.

And he brought his "A" game last night.

Just fucking amazing. Thank you for that, President Clinton.

[geckosfeet]

15. The republicans.

[charmay]

16. absolutely!

Joey Scar is looking and acting very disappointed this morning.

[grantcart]

17. I was, I had to work and missed it and that really disappointed me!!

Heard it was great

[Autumn]

18. It was too damn short. There was a hell of a lot more he

could have pointed out. But damn, that man can give a speech.

[Ms. Toad]

19. Actually - I was.

I was completely stunned when the rave reviews started coming in.

It was ok - but it would not have crossed my mind to suggest it was his best speech ever, or even in the top half of speeches I have heard him give.

I guess different strokes for different folks.

[ailsagirl]

26. You were "completely stunned when the rave reviews came in"?? No kidding?

[Ms. Toad]

30. I was.

I listened to most of the speech on the drive home and my reaction was not so much to substance, as it was to style - but it was strong enough reaction that it was interfering with my ability to listen to the substance of the speech. I even turned on the TV when I got home to see if the visual impression matched what I was hearing - that decreased my response a bit, but not enough that I was willing to hang around and listen to the last 10 minutes or so that was left.

Regardless of my reaction - if everyone else is reacting positively to it, it was apparently just what was needed so it doesn't make a bit of difference that I was disappointed.

I actually clicked on this thread with the thought that perhaps I wasn't the only one who was disappointed, only to find it was a teaser from someone with the opposite reaction.

[Bradical79]

28. Keep in mind it's been only a week since Tampa.

The Republicans set a pretty low bar this time. Their highlight speaker was a guy mumbling to an empty chair. I still thought Clinton gave a pretty brilliant speech in that it was a near perfect response to what was said during the Republican convention.

[Ms. Toad]

33. All I can say is that was not my reaction.

On the other hand, I thought both Michelle Obama and Julian Castro were brilliant both as to substance and style - so part of my reaction to Clinton may have been the contrast with those two.

[Gothmog]

20. I loved it

I would normally switch to the Daily Show at ten CDT time but tonight I watched all of the Big Dog's speech. It was great

[C_U_L8R]

22. Not a drop of disappointment

Big Dawg coulda kept on talking hahaha

[ailsagirl]

23. It was solid!!!

Mitt the Nitt to be on 'Face the Nation' Sunday, presumably to criticize Obama's speech and attempt to rebut Clinton's rebuttal. Tall order, attempting to rebut the truth.
What an idiot!

[Remmah2]

24. Bill is probably one of the best public speakers ever.

He delivers a speech like no other.

[KharmaTrain]

25. Rushpublican "Anal-ists"

You could see the pained look on their faces...trying to find some tidbit of "fact" that was misplaced or some was they could use "Monica". They couldn't argue with substance...that's no longer an option when you're a teabagger...so you look for that hair to parse, that awkward moment or snippet that can be distorted.

One more disappointement...the rushpublicans who know they get verbally disected last night and don't have anyone in their inept and corrupt party that can hold a candle to Presidents Clinton and Obama...

Cheers...

[ProSense]

29. Krugman had one issue

Bill Clinton And Structural Unemployment

I’m pretty annoyed with Bill Clinton right now; he’s just spoiled one of my standard joke lines. You see, when giving talks about the economy, I’ve often said that I am have a different take from other pundits, because I know some stuff most political reporters don’t, like … arithmetic. I’ll never be able to use that line again without being accused of stealing it from the Big Dog.

Seriously, that was an awesome speech. Clinton isn’t just an amazing political talent; he has the ability to make wonkery accessible and compelling. Of course, he had one major advantage over the supposed wonks on the other side (still shaking my head over the Ryan implosion), namely, the well-known liberal bias of the facts.

But — you knew there was going to be a but — Clinton did get one thing wrong, which he has persistently gotten wrong for years. He’s stuck on the notion that we have a big structural unemployment problem:

Of course, we need a lot more new jobs. But there are already more than 3 million jobs open and unfilled in America, mostly because the people who apply for them don’t yet have the required skills to do them.

He’s been saying this for years. But it’s not true — even Republican economists agree.

- more -

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/bill-clinton-and-structural-unemployment/

Still, not many people are picking it a part, parsing words and dwelling on semantics.

[Bluenorthwest]

37. The economics part is Krugmans' gig. He called the speech awesome, and said of this issue:

"In the context of the convention, this isn’t important. But I hope that if reelected, Obama won’t fall into the structural trap."
I find your characterization of what he wrote to be way, way off base. 'Awesome' = 'picking apart'? And you know, there is a lesson here. When using superlatives, as Krugman does, noting a bit you do not agree with lets the reader know you are listening and honestly reacting, not simply typing 'Awesome job Bill!' Something to ponder.

[ProSense]

39. Well,

"I find your characterization of what he wrote to be way, way off base."

...I find your faux outrage and intentional distortion of my point to be silly.

Comment title: Krugman had one issue

Generalized observation: Still, not many people are picking it a part, parsing words and dwelling on semantics.

[nolabear]

31. His speech left me speechless. The consummate politician of our time.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

32. I loved it. He knocked it outta the park, as always.

[Brother Buzz]

34. One of the fastest 48 minutes in my memory

I was that engaged.

[HappyMe]

35. No disappointment here.

He always gives great speeches.

[stlsaxman]

38. With one at bat- Clinton hit a single, a double, a triple then cleared the bases...

with a GRAND SLAM HOME RUN!

disappointed? um.... no.