Catching a Breath

Right now we just have to wait while our backup is restored to the newly reconstructed domain controller--which has been reconstructed a LOT better than Iraq, mind you. While we're still not sure what happened here at the office, security was a concern--imagine that.

But onto other things. First, what else can you say about Barack Obama's keynote address last night? Before he managed to open wide and insert foot, David Brooks at least gave kudos to the speech before snidely noting that the networks weren't broadcasting it.

One thing I considered while listening was that, in contrast, Bill Clinton supposedly wrote his political obituary back in 1988 when cast in the role of keynoter. For a few moments I let this roll around in my head, before deciding that, for Clinton, his abysmal performance might have been a blessing in disguise: by shooting himself in the foot, he kept the attack dogs of the right at bay who otherwise would have run him through the ringer prior to 1991.

In that sense, Obama should steel himself. Right now there's no way on earth for the dogs to go after him--but that could change following his election. Now, I can't believe he has any of the sorts of "personal issues" of Clinton's, so instead, watch for the Rethugs to paint him as "too ambitious," which will do double duty--for those who light the racist candle, "ambitious" will substitute nicely for "uppity," while those like Brooks, whom I'm sure doesn't think of himself in "that way," but instead, lets his allusions to the talking, will latch on to the ambitious label to imply that the soon-to-be-Senator-elect doesn't care about his constituents' needs--as if residents of Illinois aren't also residents of the United States.

But that's for speculation beyond November. Right now, I really just want to remember the speech as unbelievable oratory. I mean, damn, in both content and style, Obama delivered a tour de force of the kind that, if he'd been conducting a symphony, would have the audience on their feet and probably still applauding right now.

One note I recall making a note that said something like "a cross between Julian Bond and Jesse Jackson." I suppose that could be interpreted in as critical a way as I do with Brooks' "he's like Tiger Woods" crack, but I'll disagree: unlike someone groping for an "acceptable" sports analogy, my own statement implies simply an acknowledgement that Obama is (half) African-American, he lives in Chicago (where Jesse Jackson is based), and his oratorical style nicely blended a degree of repitition, rythmn, and cadence (also like Jackson) with a secular outlook (more like Bond, or perhaps Andrew Young). Again, without trying to tangent off into an "is it racist or not" no win situation, I'll only add that the man has a certain degree of Elvis in him--or even Bill Clinton. That is, he's a man who can transcend racial stereotypes ("Transcendent" was another term I heard from a pundit last night). One other thing: if you haven't seen or read his speech yet, by all means try to make the time. It's linked to above, and Steve Gilliard devotes a post to it. Damn, even just reading it will give you a chill; watching the guy deliver it almost had me applauding at my television.

So, in that sense, you've got to pity Ron Reagan, Jr. Having to follow Obama was bad enough; having to follow with the kind of topic he chose is sort of like trying to follow a rock star's third encore in a stadium show with an accordian and ventriloquist act. And, while he sounded ok in his radio interview on NPR last week, his delivery last night came across to me as "infomercial lite." A comment at Atrios did me at least one better when he or she (I forget now) noted that he sounded like "he was channeling Mr. Science," and went further to point out that this sort of killed the mood.

Indeed. I realize that Barack Obama as of last night was still an unknown (not anymore), but I think the Party made a mistake in not delaying Reagan Jr's appearance by at least a few more minutes. Now, my own choices for punditry last night were Soviet-Style, that is, my low end cable limited me to a single group, PBS's slate of zeros. But they were still in full gush--and, from a quick check on C-Span, the audience was in full eruption--when the focus changed. Alas.

Other quick notes: I wish I had seen the name of the older but definitely hot-looking woman who previewed Teresa Heinz Kerry's speech. Man, she was certainly dressed like someone who planned for a much later evening than just the Fleet Center. I think even Ray Suarez was giving her the eye. For me, I'll merely say that yes, I like see-through blouses on the right people.

Kennedy and Dean were acceptable--nothing to write home about, but they didn't embarrass themselves. Ms. Heinz Kerry sounded the right tone to close last night's business, and made it clear that she's fully comfortable with telling creeps like the guy hounding her Monday to shove it. Good for her.

Finally, I was as surprised as anyone to see Atrios revealing his secret identity. Yes, at times, I wondered just who he was. Well, he's decided to let us know, and even allowed TalkLeft to post a photo. Good, great. Now I can go back to calling him Atrios and reading his blog for the same reasons I started in the first place--good commentary on the issues, great comments sections, and so on. Mr. Black is no longer anonymous, but that doesn't mean I--or anyone else--needs to hound him. Here's hoping the left gives the man his space, and the right doesn't get all hot and heavy to harass him.

OK--I'd better get back to the domain controller. Hopefully the restore is over or close to it, and that we can fully bring the box back up.