Aldon, I have met Obama and attended campaign events. He is my future senator, and an extraordinary one he will be. In person, he's self-deprecating and warm, but o boy when he speaks he sets people on fire the way Dean does. In fact, their messages are very similar and I was surprised when he didn't endorse Dean during the presidential primaries.

Obama talks about America being one country, and about the way we're all connected. He says if one child can't read, it effects him, etc. I hope a transcript of his speech shows up on the official DNC convention site tomorrow. It's not there now.

I had a peak at the transcript lying around the blogger area, and got as far as the line about his father being a goat-herder. I actually listened in the car on the way home from my focus group this evening, and stayed in the car in the driveway to hear him wind up. He had a cute conclusion about the crossover of the red- and blue- states, which would have been fitting if he were in a dialogue with David Brooks.

Yes, the speeches blend together, which is why the seasoned pundits tend to pooh-pooh many of them.

Jon

I actually had a copy of the speech in front of me when I wrote my comment. I've sent a copy to ElissaEveryone I spoke with said it was a great speech, but no one seemed to be able say what it was about.

The theme of 'one America' did come through.

I raise this because I felt it was a great speech and I had a very positive reaction, but I couldn't say why.

I was interested, because I am spending time helping write my wife's speeches and I want to better understand what makes a great speech and a great speaker, and how they are related or not.

Some of my thought watching him was, here is this kid, a state senator, who has decided to run for U.S. Senate. All kinds of events happen and all of a sudden he appears to be a shoo-in for the position and a keynote speaker.

Another blogger was going to Obama's party this evening. He was wondering what to ask Obama if he got a chance. I suggested asking what it is like to all of a sudden be in a position like Obama's; to go to archetypal stories, a sort of cinderella story. I think of it in terms of my wife's race, or Ginny Schrader's race.

It will be excite to watch and learn from Obama's campaign.

Thanks for the transcript, Aldon.

I think one of the reasons the speeches all blend together is that all the speakers have been given the same direction by the Kerry campaign. Certainly Dean, and Obama as well, toned down their own messages to fit the convention's agenda. There are moments when passion and conviction shine through, but if you've heard the speaker before you can viscerally feel them holding back, being a bit less than who they are and a bit more who the Kerry people want them to be.

But I guess that's what politics does to almost everyone.

I remember one particular line in Obama's speech that seemed to stand out for me but I'll quote it from the transcript for accuracy. ". . . the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too."

With respect to great speeches and great speakers; I tell my students that they need to focus on the relationship they want to create with their audience and then they have to allow their personality to shine through. If you look back over the best speeches of the convention so far you'll notice that those speakers accomplished this. Basically it's about the "passion and conviction" that Elissa mentioned above. When I read the transcript of Teddy Kennedy's speech I though that it was a good speech, maybe even great, but the delivery didn't do justice to the text. Kennedy missed an opportunity to really touch the audience.