WE Blog

Even Jon Stewart hit her last night too. After that, I had to say, Sigh, it must have been true.

I do agree that a nice approach is not going to work with the neocons. I am done with nice.

Jon Stewart (once again) said it best: “Flat and boring? What state does she represent again?”

As a former sometime media consultant, I wish I could have coached the Governor before her speech. Television is an intimate medium when it’s one-on-one, and she seemed to modulate her style without realizing that she wasn’t “speaking to the nation,” she was *sitting in people’s living rooms.*

Sebelius is an effective public speaker. She feeds off the crowd (as was evident at the Obama rally in El Dorado yesterday), but there’s a belief among media types that a woman has to tone down, look “official,” and act like a man on personal television appearances.

Sebelius’ words Monday night were good (not great, but good), but there was a feeling that she was a little girl forced to recite her speech in front of a family reunion. As with so many performances, she came up short because she was more worried about failing than out to succeed.

It was kind of the flip-side of Barrack Obama’s speech in El Dorado yesterday. It quite clearly was *not* his standard stump speech, and he had problems with the teleprompter.

One of those magic moments the media never tells you, and the reason to be there in person when Kathleen shared with the crowd her sons’ support for Obama. The oldest (in law school) joined the Obama campaign due to policy issues. Her younger son (and, no, she didn’t mention his class project prison board game) said, “Anyone who can convince Michelle to marry him gets my vote!”

And here’s that live and in-person moment no one in the media reports: When Sebelius mentioned Michelle Obama, Barrack did a tiny little fist pump that made you believe that, yes! *THAT* was the best thing he’s ever gonna do in his life: win Michelle.

Politics ain’t beanbag, and there are all sorts of controversies and piddly “issues” and big ideas and dirty tricks and spins we put our presidential candidates into. So far, Barrack seems up to all the challenges we put our candidates up to. But with that little fist pump, revealed he’s confortable in his own skin. And when he muffed up an introduction and confused a second-cousin (a 70-ish white woman) with his Mother’s aunt… and she corrected him… there was a true feeling that the color of Obama’s skin absolutely meant nothing.

More than 3,000 people stood outside the Butler College gym for as long as 3 hours in the middle of a bitter-cold, biting wind-driven blizzard, to discover that the crowd was black and white and brown and young and old and Republican and Democratic and (I assume) gay and straight and liberal and moderate and (I knew some of the people personally who are) conservative.

It felt like America in that building in El Dorado yesterday. And it felt pretty good.

Jon Stewart said it best: “Flat and boring? What state does she represent again?”

As a former sometime media consultant, I wish I could have coached the Governor before her speech. Television is an intimate medium when it’s one-on-one, and she seemed to modulate her style without realizing that she wasn’t “speaking to the nation,” she was *sitting in people’s living rooms.*

Sebelius is an effective public speaker. She feeds off the crowd (as was evident at the Obama rally in El Dorado yesterday), but there’s a belief among media types that a woman has to tone down, look “official,” and act like a man on personal television appearances.

Sebelius’ words Monday night were good (not great, but good), but there was a feeling that she was a little girl forced to recite her speech in front of a family reunion. As with so many performances, she came up short because she was more worried about failing than out to succeed.

It was kind of the flip-side of Barrack Obama’s speech in El Dorado yesterday. It quite clearly was *not* his standard stump speech, and he had problems with the teleprompter.

One of those magic moments the media never tells you, and the reason to be there in person when Kathleen shared with the crowd her sons’ support for Obama. The oldest (in law school) joined the Obama campaign due to policy issues. Her younger son (and, no, she didn’t mention his class project prison board game) said, “Anyone who can convince Michelle to marry him gets my vote!”

And here’s that live and in-person moment no one in the media reports: When Sebelius mentioned Michelle Obama, Barrack did a tiny little fist pump that made you believe that, yes! *THAT* was the best thing he’s ever gonna do in his life: win Michelle.

Politics ain’t beanbag, and there are all sorts of controversies and piddly “issues” and big ideas and dirty tricks and spins we put our presidential candidates into. So far, Barrack seems up to all the challenges we put our candidates up to. But with that little fist pump, revealed he’s confortable in his own skin. And when he muffed up an introduction and confused a second-cousin (a 70-ish white woman) with his Mother’s aunt… and she corrected him… there was a true feeling that the color of Obama’s skin absolutely meant nothing.

More than 3,000 people stood outside the Butler College gym for as long as 3 hours in the middle of a bitter-cold, biting wind-driven blizzard, to discover that the crowd was black and white and brown and young and old and Republican and Democratic and (I assume) gay and straight and liberal and moderate and (I knew some of the people personally who are) conservative.

It felt like America in that building in El Dorado yesterday. And it felt pretty good.

Good god monkeyhawk, now that Edwards is leaving the race, are you jumping on the Obama bandwagon?

Say it isnt so…

Kansans. So desperate for attention that if a candidate just pays a visit and spouts a little rah rah rhetoric, we fall all over ourselves?

From the comments of those who attended yesterday, that’s what it sounded like to me. Sounded like Kansans were practicing their Sally Fields moment. To paraphrase, “he likes us. He really likes us!”

With all due respect MonkeyHawk, I hope you reconsider your support of Obama, if that is how you are leaning.

Steven–

Obama was shaking hands with people for a half hour after the event.

You should have stuck around . . .

Good post, MonkeyHawk.

I was in the crowd Tuesday, and that’s the feeling I got too.

It was a box of crayolas in that crowd, but we were all on the same side, we were all Americans and part of the same family.

It was a great feeling.

ML King had a dream. Barack Obama is the fulfillment of that dream.

Ya know what Kathy’s little stepford moment reminded me of?

Someone on a telethon.

Not that there is anything wrong with that in its place. But she was SUPPOSED to be responding to bush’s crap. Instead she just helped him shovel it.

As I pointed out, “ksfarmgrrl,” –

Maybe ya had to be there.

But the power of the room in El Dorado came from the audience even more than from the podium.

There may be a bit of feeling that, instead of a leader, Barrack Obama is that kind of politician savvy enough to sense where the crowd is going and speedy enough to get up front. I dunno.

It seemed like something more powerful that “J R’s” contention that Obama is a sell-out. More that the people in the room feel that we don’t have to fight as dirty as the Republic Party, we simply and obviously outnumber them.

And I realize — ’cause I’m not usually this way — how potentially naively idealistic this might sound to those of you on the Cynic Route, but today, on the cusp of January/February 2008, there really seems like a lot of people who’ve become encouraged in the prospect we can become America again.

George WMD Bush’s world is not what America’s about. And John McCain’s world might be what America could have been back before Reagan screwed up the 1980s. Mittens Romney is whatever the polls tell him he should be (not unlike Bill Clinton), and Hillary is fighting past wars (sort of a political Maginot Line).

I still admire and respect John Edwards. And I believe in any other year, either against the first vialble female candidate or against the first vialble African-American candidate, Edwards would have enjoyed more success at the polls. But the glitz got in the way. We know a white male will be the Republic Party’s nominee and look where voting for white males has gotten us. As Dr. Phil says, “How’s that workin’ out?”

As I’ve said many times in this forum, I like and respect Senator Clinton, but I think her skill-set best serves America as a strong United States Senator. I think (as with Mondale and Dukakis and Gore and Kerry) she would be far superior to any Republic Party candidate once in office; but I doubt that she’s the best candidate during the election process.

There’s never been a real grassroots-to-the-top presidential candidacy in my lifetime; but that’s what most people I know always seem to crave. I think we may have that this year in Barrack Obama’s run for the presidency.

This isn’t a lesser of two evils thing with me. It’s accepting the best three very-goods. If it’s not John Edwards’ year, fine. I’ve accepted defeat before. If it means a unifiend Republic Party against Senator Clinton, simply because of the name “Clinton,” okay. I’m sick and tired of the way politics has operated for the past two presidencies.

And the people in the room — including Barrack Obama — in El Dorado yesterday made it feel like America again. Like we’re all in this together again. And that we can be what it is America is supposed to be again.

It was pretty heady stuff.

And it felt pretty good.

Monkey Hawk, I called it early on that Sebelius would NOT cross Hays and Sunflower Electric. I said that she would try to have it both ways. How?

She got Bremby to deny the permit, and she will be behind the compromise that gets the plant built. See the front page of this website if you dont believe me.

She’s so freakin’ predictable…

And if the plants get built? WTF has she really DONE in this state? Other than lower taxes for businesses, take money away from the counties, rob the highway fund to balance the budget…

Of course she is better than any of the repukes who ran against her. But she’s totally worked a republican agenda. And been very successful at it.

She’s a master at having it both ways and smelling like a rose at the end of it.

Triangulation. It’s not just for breakfast anymore…

…and if the dems nominate obama, that’s what they’ll get too. President compromise. A la pelsosi and reid.

How’s THAT worked out for stopping the wingnuts?

Dammit! You guys sound like a buncha teenagers contemplating sex at an early age.

Yeah, the consequenses will last a lifetime, but it sure feels good in the moment…

Go ahead. Nominate someone who will LOSE in November.

THAT’ll put on back on the road to the real America…

I asked you first.

And who says Clinton did not keep them at bay? He survived impeachment didnt he?

Still waiting for your answer.

“ksfarmgrrl”–

But all of the congressional dymnamics change with a Democrat in the White House.

There’s no veto threat for the Democratic majority’s will in Congress.

There could still be a fillibuster threat in the Senate, but not if the Democratic presidential candidate has unified support sufficient to create coat-tails.

I’m not sure that’s possible, but there are so many Republic Party congresscritters who are getting out (with a tidy sum of campaign contributions) while the getting’s good.

Look back at all the issues the new (barely) Democratic Congresss tried to achieve over the last year… and look at what the threat or reality of Shrub’s veto prevented. A fillibuster-proof Senate may be an election cycyle or two away, but we’re getting there.

Frankly, after seeing the diverse crowd — In *KANSAS!!* f’r cryin’ out loud — at the Obama thing in El Dorado, I’ve got a good feeling that Barrack’s coalition is one of attraction rather than submission.

There was a piece on NPR this morning about Obama talking about his Kansas roots. His grandmother’s cousin was in the crowd (she corrected him when he said he thought she was a great-aunt or something… it was funny and cute and he took it well)… a 70-something white Kansas housewife who, I guarantee you, *NO ONE* would have picked out of the Butler County crowd as a relative of the candidate.

And it didn’t make a whit of difference. We all stood in line in the cold Kansas wind and white-out blizzard conditions… and the young and the old and the black and the brown and the white and the cold… (well, we all were cold)… came together in a special moment.

This isn’t, as “J R” rails about, a matter of conceding to the Republic; it’s a matter of being right and those guys are welcome to join us or be left behind. It was also (’cause I saw some people there whom I know personally as traditional Republic Party advocates, and I saw them come to their feet with applause), an event where people came together as Kansans and Americans and didn’t really notice color or creed or even traditional political party cant.

Chalk it up to campaign manipulation, or the candidate’s charisma, or simply because inside the gym in El Dorado we weren’t as miserable as when we were standing outside in a windswept prairie blizzard… We were all in this together and it was something to behold.

You are both assuming obama can win in November. If he loses, will all that inspiration have been worth it?

And yeah, obama is the favorite son of ElDorado. Did you think there would NOT be a supportive crowd?

I bet he carries all six of kansas EC votes…. IF he puts governor leadership on the ticket.

And I remember another candidate who ran and won on the “hope and inspiration” platform and was touted as the next JFK. Remember him?

And by your own words above… how did THAT work out?

Those weren’t my words. Are you talking about King George, because I saw right through that, and could not believe that there were enough people stupid enough to vote for him so that he won the election, either time. I still don’t quite believe it.

These are not your words?

“He survived impeachment, but it wasted 3 years out of his damn presidency. And as I posted on the Kennedy thread, he supported NAFTA, which was G.H.W. Bush’s baby, and one of his first policies to implement was the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” which is bullshit. I voted for him twice, but the Clinton’s have had their chance and they could not keep the Republicans at bay, so Bill ended up pandering to them with compromise, the same thing that Hillary will do.”

Were you trolled?

The speech was fine for the occassion. Although I am a “political warrior”, the nation is not in the mood right now for her to get up there and dump boiling water on Bush or give a hellfire speech. Save it for the campaign ahead!

throw - wtf man, I need to wake up.