[Hoje Macau, Macau]
Nachrichten,
Switzerland
The Day the Democrats Finally Grew Teeth
"It looks as though the Democrats have finally grown
some teeth. It remains to be seen if they can be relied upon to take a good
bite out of their opponents."
By Patrik Etschmayer
Translated By Patrik Etschmayer
August 28, 2008
Switzerland
- Nachrichten - Original Article (German)
Wednesday evening, the night that Democrats were most
afraid of, was when Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden delivered his acceptance
speech. Biden is feared for giving long, drawn out and uninspiring speeches. Or
even for copying other politicians.
Twenty years ago when Biden embarked on his first presidential
bid, he rather shamelessly lifted part of a speech by British Labour politician
Neill Kinnock. Biden was subsequently the target of much mockery and malice. And
curiously, he ended up a good friendship with the Welsh former-party leader.
But on Wednesday Biden was cutting, aggressive and assertive.
Of course he wasn't as spell-binding as the previous speaker, Bill Clinton. Clinton
was greeted like a pop-star and could hardly begin his address (which as he
admitted himself, was to warm-up the crowd for Biden), and once again proving that
he is probably one of the most gifted political orators of our time.
JOE BIDEN ACCEPTS NOMINATION AS VICE PRESIDENT, AUG. 26, 2008
Biden has a reputation as a specialist in foreign policy
and he used this authority to mount a frontal attack on McCain and the value of
his oft-quoted experience on the issue. Up to that moment, the Democrats had appeared
to be suffering from their classic disease of election-campaign uncertainty and
reluctance to meet Republican attacks head-on.
The question now is whether Obama will be able to draw
on the momentum and use his speech to put John McCain on the defensive. But Obama
must overcome his own Democratic ghosts and attack not only McCain's weaknesses,
but his supposed strengths. One of the slogans of Republicans, which genuinely
smarts Democrats, is "Not Ready In '08," which in exact words means …
Obama is not ready, is too young and too inexperienced for the presidency.
Since Ronald Reagan managed to cover up his impeded
mental health after the attempt on his life - and successfully use the comparative
youth of his Democratic competitor Walter Mondale's against him by making it seem
like a lack of experience - citing age as a negative attribute of your opponent
seems to have become taboo. But where did the first age-related attack come
from this time? It came from the McCain camp.
BILL CLINTON
ENDORSES OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT, AUGUST 27, 2008
If you listen to McCain's Cold War rhetoric and hear how
he insists that he wants to continue the policies of the man who knocked him
out of the race eight years ago with a despicable smear campaign, Obama's
slogan toward McCain should be, "No Longer Ready in '08."
It looks as though the Democrats have finally grown
some teeth. It remains to be seen if they can be relied upon to take a good
bite out of their opponents.
Update: If Bill Clinton has a successor as captivating
a speaker as he is, it's Obama. And yes, he did show his teeth and he bit ...
but only in such a way that it would still be possible for McCain to lead a respectful
campaign. Because above all, Obama merely defined what kind of change he wants
and said that McCain was a symbol stagnation that the nation could no longer
afford. Obama spoke about the big issues - and it'll be interesting to see whether
McCain will do that as well or continue with the personal attacks.
Also of interest was the advertising campaign McCain's
launched the same evening as Obama's nomination which congratulated him with,
"But tomorrow we're gonna be at it again." Looks like the biting will
continue.
CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN
VERSION
