Josh Marshall: John Kerry's speech is the BEST SPEECH of the convention that he's heard

[beachmom]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/210892.php

John Kerry -- Wow!
08.27.08 -- 9:40PM
By Josh Marshall

Most of the nets aren't showing it. But John Kerry's giving a really good speech on the foreign policy front. Knocking McCain for standing on an aircraft three months after 9/11 and calling out 'next stop Baghdad.' He's going through the list of McCain's foreign policy goofs, how even Bush's Iraq policy is now embracing Obama's policy prescription. He's really got fire in him on this. If you get a chance, watch this.

I thought Hillary's speech was great; Bill's too. But in its own way I think the speech I just saw John Kerry give is the best one I've heard at this convention. And I do not have any doubt that it's the best I've ever heard from him.

Everyone should contact the "nets" and ask them why they did not cover the best speech of the convention.

UPDATE: I believe MSNBC has realized they screwed up. Keith Olbermann just said he is going to show "one of the toughest speeches of the night" after commercial. He just said it got "lost in the shuffle". They are showing it now.

[eshfemme]

1. I kinda agree. It was a speech that needed to be held on a night about national security.

[kansasblue]

2. PBS had it.

and I thought it was great. Very relaxed, great lines.

[beachmom]

3. You're right that PBS did. I guess CNN caught some of it. I watched it on c-span.

It's the only safe place to watch.

And really they screwed up yesterday not showing Schweitzer.

[valerief]

4. We know why. Too much truth and power for Big Brother. C-Span had it. nt

[zulchzulu]

5. It wasn't covered on MSNBC, Fox News or CNN

Just like they never fully let Kerry respond to the Swifty Fucks in 2004 and shut his message out, they continued the "tradition".

This should give people who don't like Kerry something to think about. Tonight was a classic example.

[CATagious]

6. It was great! But now I have one question:

can Obama's speech possibly reach or exceed the high standards set by the Clintons, Biden, and Kerry?
My heart feels like it's going to burst with the pride that I feel for my party tonight. I can't wait for tomorrow night!

[DeepBlueC]

22. I have no doubt

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

7. Great speech

heard it on CSPAN while on DU. Kerry went after Grampy with a chain saw in one hand and a ball peen hammer in the other, That was some seriously pipe-hittin' rhetoric and he stripped a lot of bark off ole McShits.

[JaneQPublic]

8. Totally agree. It was captivating -- full of zingers.

It's a shame at his own convention in 2004 he didn't want any negative attacks against the opposition, because he is SO good at it.

But it's mystifying how the cable news channels could think pundit chatter made for better TV than Kerry's speech.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. MSNBC is covering it now

[karynnj]

33. That's how they covered his 2004 campaign too

Kerry had incredible speeches at rallies - and he attack Bush, but what you got anywhere except CSPAN was someone like Candy Crowley speaking of Kerry's speech or just inanities with the venue in the background and random people walking to and fro. Then there would be a short clip, a tight shot, showing Kerry speaking for less than 2 minutes. There were no shots that showed the gigantic enthusiastic crowds. This is why a good friend of mine, formerly from MA, was mystified as to why the Kerry he had seen for years was not getting a message out.

Then consider the media opted not to carry Kerry's succinct direct response to the SBVT charges. It was short - I think about 2 or 3 minutes. Before and after that decision they gave hundreds of hours to people even after they were caught in lies. That was what he was up against - and via the convention speech and the debates - the ONLY unfiltered access he got, he still would have won a fairly administered election against a president at around 50% with less than half the people saying the country was going in the wrong direction.

[beachmom]

10. Kicking since MSNBC is showing it now.

[lonestarnot]

11. Only one I didn't see.

I had to leave for a short time. Am going to catch it in the a.m. Oh it's up now or part of it on MSNBC.

[Jay Landsman]

12. Wow

Awesome speech. More importantly, great arguments for the upcoming campaign.

I like this line (paraphrased): "John McCain used outdated thinking of the Cold War while Obama acting like a stateman of the 21st century. So who can we trust to keep America safe."

The scariest thing about McCain is his craziness in foreign policy. I don't think Obama's campaign has been going after McCain nearly hard enough on that issue. It's good to see Kerry do it. Keep it coming!

[ray of light]

15. No scare tactics--pure fact! McCain is out of touch. Obama will keep America safe."

[John Q. Citizen]

13. We have a deep bench. Kucinich, Schwietser, a couple of Kennedy's, Kerry, both Clintons and

a lot of Obamas, and that's just a few.

We have had a lot of great speeches. Really great speeches.

It's as if the art of oratory has made a come back!

[jillan]

14. KO is playing it right now.

Saying this was the speech that was lost.


Keith noticed!

[beachmom]

18. Maybe because a lot of us called and complained?

I believe what I said on the message to MSNBC was "you blew it".

[jillan]

And that's why I watch C-Span!

Good for you for texting them.

[beachmom]

23. Well, I watched c-span, too. But a lot of people only watch cable,

and if so, they were given a great disservice tonight.

[dwahzon]

16. JK was on fire tonight.

just an amazing speech. I have to agree with Josh.

[dailykoff]

17. It was indeed a wow.

Heard it in my car and am going to try to find it online.

[beachmom]

19. Here you go:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/27/21437/2923/725/576933#c196

In the diary.

[dailykoff]

21. Thanks!!

:thumbsup:

[LeahD]

20. I couldn't believe MSNBC wasn't carrying it,

so I switched to PBS. Passionate speech!

[Awsi Dooger]

24. I can't agree

I'm watching Kerry now on replay. I realize it plays well here because it's purely confrontational and condemning. But it lacks varied tones and themes and doesn't make you think. It's a bitter guy who lost getting a chance to spill some frustration.

[beachmom]

25. Your opinion is only shared by conservatives. Centrists and liberals

as well as Independents (I read a variety of blogs) thought it was fantastic. And read the transcript and you will find it very substantive. He did not sound bitter. He sounded liberated.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/08/27/remarks_of_john_f_kerry_to_the_democratic_national_convention/

[democracy1st]

27. thank you

[politicasista]

29. Thank you here too n/t

[karynnj]

34. Your bias is showing

I didn't see any bitterness, just a love of country and a strong commitment to right a country going in the wrong direction. There were many themes - he reinforced the argument that there is no doubt of Obama's patriotism, he strongly spoke for American values - and that torture was not acceptable.

He made the case for Obama and against McCain on foreign policy -something he was suppose to do on "foreign policy night". He made that case in short pithy comments. This was a 13 minute speech - it was not like the one Obama will give setting out his vision and agenda - Kerry gave one of those in 2004, that was not his task this time.

If you want a vision speech - here's a great one Kerry gave a few weeks ago on foreign policy - http://www.americanprogressaction.org/events/2008/07/senkerry.html (You may notice that Kerry did speak of how Obama will use our values and other tools - in foreign policy.) The fact is that NO ONE beats Kerry on this issue - he was fight in the 1990s when he spoke of the risk, right in the wake of 911 when he got his international money laundering legislation included in a larger bill and passed, right in 2004 when he spoke of international law enforcement, intelligence and only occasionally special forces being the answer to fighting non-state terrorism and right whan he argues it is a fight of values and ideas.

But, this was not a time for a speech of Kerry's vision - it was a time to contrast Obama's foreign policy to McCain's, Obama's judgment to McCain's and to humbly support the Presidential candidate - not himself. Kerry did this.

[EndElectoral]

26. To me. best speech of the night. Went after McCain and really showed Obama's roots

[hibiscus]

28. K & R for my President Kerry!

:patriot:

[Awsi Dooger]

30. Kerry tied things together very well in the final few minutes

My previous post came before I saw that. The last couple of minutes he slowed down and summarized effectively.

Still, it's not remotely comparable to the caliber of Bill Clinton's speech. Angry doesn't equal special. Clinton had some truly memorable big picture themes, segments that John Kerry is not capable of.

[karynnj]

35. Clinton had a far different task

He had to find a way to undo damage that he had done. He did a good job. I seriously don't see any unique big themes. The big ideas were basically that the Democrats will correct the problems caused by the Republicans. It was a very good Clinton speech, but I saw more vision in various Kerry speeches in the past than this. (In fact HRC used near paraphrases of Kerry on alternative energy and Iraq (after she decided that Kerry/Feingold wasn't really the "cut and run" she called it in 2006)

To say Kerry is incapable of big themes is absurd. Kerry is more than capable of big themes -as his Faneuil Hall speeches that he wrote himself show. Not to mention, Kerry, at 27, hit some incredible big themes in his speech, which he wrote, before the Senate. He called for the foreign policy of the country to turn, called for the country to not abandon the vets as they returned. Many lines in that speech are known to everyone and still resonate. (Are there lines of ANY Clinton speech still remembered - Clinton had far more media exposure as a 2 term President -but is there anyone, like Bruce Springsteen, who could or would use a line of his in a song? )

[blm]

36. Kerry's JOB was to go on offensive against McCain and do it FOR Obama. Clinton was there to try and

replace the vision of Kennedy passing the torch to Obama with the idea that HE and Hillary are the the face of the party and Obama isn't legitimate till THEY say so. All for show - typical Clinton dog and pony show that the gullible eat up with a spoon.

[MessiahRp]

31. That was EASILY the best speech of the Convention

And that's not to shortchange the other speeches but Kerry hit every major point that the media keeps pretending Democrats have not hit thusfar.

If they had shut the hell up and listened to his speech they would have heard the speech they seemed to be begging for.

That was MY President speaking!

Rp

[Sensitivity]

32. Well, can we agree to organize a campaign to get the MSM to pay attention to this speach