Nate Knows Nada

Sorry that what follows is so brief, but it’s all happening pretty fast now.

The sign brigade people are incredible.  The tag line of the
moment is, “America can do better.  And help is on the way.” 
And they have a set of signs out there on the floor already. 10.44 PM

Alan (of command-post) and I note that the applause lines — at least
in the speech as written — are getting walked on in the cheering
that’s happening. 10.48 PM

Hey, the bloggers just got our line!  “So now I’m going to say
something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his
acceptance speech:  go to johnkerry.com.” 10.50 PM

Just because my schtick here is the religion and politics beat: “And
let me say it plainly: in that cause, and in this campaign, we welcome
people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan
said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to
you tonight: I don’t wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has
given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from
Sunday to Sunday. I don’t want to claim that God is on our side. As
Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God’s
side. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The
measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for
others and for our country.”  10.53 PM

Bono!  They’re playing “Beautiful Day.”  God, I love U2!  10.56 PM

And here come the balloons!  11.00 PM

It’s a strange, surreal sea of red, white, and blue balloons and
confetti in here.  It makes the view from up here in the balconies
even more strange, as it obscures out view to the stage with an odd fog
of detritus.  11.09 PM

“Johnny B. Goode” has become the theme song of the convention, and we’re experiencing it once again. 11.10 PM

Front page of newspaper shot: Emma Claire Edwards standing there
holding a big red ballon about the same size as her.  11.12 PM

I’m signing off for the night.  It’s been 25 minutes and the balloons and confetti are still falling….  11.25 PM

The middle section of the speech — about the military, national
security, the 9/11 commission — provides the explicit design for how
the Democrats are and will attempt to neutralize any attacks from the
Republicans that they are against America.

Also, there’s been a lot of Biblical language and evocation of Lincoln and Kennedy in the speech.

More coming….

It’s lines like this that get the crowd going but which also exemplify the tone of the convention:

Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing
complexities – and I do – because some issues just aren’t all that
simple.  Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
doesn’t make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn’t make
it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn’t make it
so.

And as President, I will bring back this nation’s time-honored
tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we
want to, we only go to war because we have to.

The Republicans are never mentioned directly.  The focus is on the
particular policies of the current administration, speaking of the
problems the Democrats see with the Bush presidency only by saying how
Kerry will do things differently.  What I mean is that he lays out
what he will do in terms such that it’s clear what the problems of the
“other side” are, but only by their explicit absence.

Stong lines:

And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists.

To all who serve in our armed forces today, I say, help is on the way.

I think we’ll see much more of “backdoor draft.”

We just got to this line:

I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us
into war.  I will have a Vice President who will not conduct
secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. 
I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice
of our military leaders.  And I will appoint an Attorney General
who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

They love it here.  This is a party who will go out and fight tooth and nail for this man.

I think that much of the build-up to the nominee’s speech comes from
what we see and hear in the convention hall before Kerry (or Bush, at
the RNC) comes on to the platform.  We get riled up (even people
like me who aren’t too prone to getting easily excited over politics)
and in the mood to see what the big speaker has to say.

But those of you out there who are not watching PBS’s or CNN’s or
C-SPAN’s coverage probably are not getting the same feeling that we
here are getting.  I think you can get
I think that much of the build-up to the nominee’s speech comes from
what we see and hear in the convention hall before Kerry (or Bush, at
the RNC) comes on to the platform.  We get riled up (even people
like me who aren’t too prone to getting easily excited over politics)
and in the mood to see what the big speaker has to say.

But those of you out there who are not watching PBS’s or CNN’s or
C-SPAN’s coverage probably are not getting the same feeling that we
here are getting.  I think you can get that feeling over the TV
broadcast, but you need more context.  I certainly remember the
feeling of Mario Cuomo’s speech at the 1984 DNC.

Point is, for those of you watching the major networks, it’s sort of as
if John Kerry dropped unannounced into your living room, without any
particular reason why.

We’ve just finished the campaign film, although it seems like there’s a
second one on.  It seems like we might be a bit ahead of the
schedule for the night, and we have these odd, unscripted moments where
we wait expectantly.  The crowd goes a bit wild, and starts to
chant.

All the bloggers seem to be trying to do continuous coverage right now,
and I imagine that will settle down as the speeches start.  We’ve
got The Speech already, but I haven’t read it yet.  Reading along
with it during the delivery makes it pretty intelligible up here.

Everyone just gave Kerry’s crewmates the standing ovation, and there’s
a palpable feeling of respect in the whole hall for these men.

Alan over at command-post, whom I’ve been standing next to tonight, notes how we’ve gotten really used to the media attention around the bloggers.

Alan’s coverage does yeoman’s work, and I recommend the site to you fully.  I’m hoping to become a contributor soon.

There are a few moments when everyone gets together, and the various
background chatter that’s an everpresent part of the convention settles
down..  Edwards’ line: “Hope is on the way.”  The Sept. 11
silence.  The silence for the soldiers.  And now as Carole
King sings, “You’ve Got a Friend.”

This is the first speech that I have heard that I have wanted to post.

He really got the hall going like it hasn’t so far tonight.

The people up here in Blogger Balcony who are next to me and from out of state (Burnt Orange, Oxblog, Power of Many)
don’t get the New England Dunkin’ Donuts culture.  I’ve told them
that they don’t have to get it, but don’t question it at peril of your
life.

But I have learned that Massachusetts has 10 times more donut shops per capita than anywhere else.