Obama gives an electrifying speech in Denver
What a finale! A few days ago after Hillary Clinton gave her magnificent speech, I worried that Obama speech would appear anticlimatic. But he outperformed everyone else at the Cconvention and reminded us why he is the person to lead America forward. Even readers of the Wall Street Journal agreed that he gave a fantastic speech. Click on “More” to see details of the reader poll.
You read watch or read the most highly watched convention speech on NYtimes.com.
You can see the introductory film preceding the speech on Youtube.com
and read Andrew Sullivan’s reaction.
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Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and a Surprise Visitor on Stage of the DNC
This is the first time that I have watched more than a few minutes of the Democratic Convention. I am driven by the curiosity of a theatre critic: How is the event staged? What is the party doing to avoid disaster in November? Will Hillary or Bill be the spoilers there are rumored to be? If this is not the year to beat Republicans, when will there ever be a a chance again? I just watched Bill Clinton’s speech. It was good but Hillary’s speech yesterday was even stronger. Joe Biden’s speech was very different. He took on John McCain the most and his style was very different. It was powerful stuff. Then came the surprise visitor: Barak Obama. Effortlessly he got he took control of the crowd after two masterful orators. Unlike the Republican commentator Peggy Noonan (click on more), I think the event tomorrow night in the stadium will be a big success. Obama has the magic touch.
Hillary Clinton Delivers Great Performance at the Democratic Convention
I just watched Hillary Clinton’s speech. For me it was the best performance to date at the convention. The will be a tough act for Barak Obama to follow in two days.
Full text of her speech: I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama. My friends, it is time to take back the country we love. Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.
This is a fight for the future. And it
High noon in duel for White House
Andrew Sullivan sums up what we can expect of the next weeks until the November election.
The phoney war is over as the US presidential candidates square up for the most compelling contest in a generation. The eagerly anticipated text message arrived on millions of mobile phones yesterday at 3am. With it, many Americans who had registered to be updated with details of Barack Obama
Continue ReadingThe Dark Knight
When Heath Ledger died early this year, I was deeply disturbed by his death. I surprised myself by the strength of my sadness. What made it so difficult to accept his untimely death was my sense that this extraordinary talent could have mesmerized us for decades to come with his acting skills. The best thing about The Dark Knight is Ledger’s performance. How can a twenty-eight-year-old play the Joker, who has a much older persona? Having seen all few the recent spider man movies, I felt the Dark Knight breaks little new ground except for being much darker than any of the other films in this genre. Running 152 minutes, I left the theatre feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly never-ending battle scenes between good and evil. The plot could have been streamlined by an hour without losing anything.
Sex and the City
The four ladies of HBO’s “Sex and the City” comedy series continue their adventure in New York. The writers infused the film with a good sense of fun. At times it is also a bit sexually daring, but for the most part it falls into the genre of a tame romantic comedy. This is not a movie that will make it into the top 250 hundred films of all time but it offers light entertainment if that is what you are seeking.
Briefly Noted Airline Movies: Married Life et al.
Flawless was better than my neighbor on a previous flight made it sound. It has an interesting psychological twist at the end. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is more fun to watch than the first Harry Potter, a flick that bored me out of my mind. Leatherheads, directed and strarring George Clooney is mediocre screwball comedy. Married Life is the best argument for staying single yet the best of the four films.
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Is John McCain fit to be President?
While everyone was focusing on Obama’s world tour last week, Frank Rich puts the spotlight on McCain and raises serious questions whether McCain is ability the see what the priorities of the day are.
How Obama Became Acting President
By FRANK RICH (NYT)
IT almost seems like a gag worthy of
Microphone Picks Up Private Conversation Between Obama and British Leader
If this is all I would ever say when I don’t know that a microphone is recording me, I would be very happy. The relatively tame headline on ABC News “Microphone Picks Up Private Conversation Between Obama and British Leader on Need for Vacations and ‘Thinking’ Time” was dramatized by the Drudgereport to “BAM AND CAM: Private Obama Chat with Tory Leader Caught on Mic…‘You should be on the beach… You need a break” and then picked up by newspapers around the world as if Obama had a Ronald Reagan moment (Reagan joked he had already given a command to send nuclear bombs to the Soviet Union]. Reading the Drudgereport headline I am thinking, “Oh, my God, Obama must be totally worn out.”
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