Looking Sharpton

The Rude Pundit got to this before me, and he's dead on as to the Reverend's oratory last night. I listened to John Edwards' speech as well, and, you know, it wasn't bad. But Al brought the house down.

Good oratory is a matter of both substance and style, and Rev. Sharpton, whatever you think of his politics, is more than capable of delivering on both. His rhetorical answer to pResident Bush set the table for a litany of points that were well made and well presented.

Initially, I found myself contrasting Sharpton's speaking style with Barack Obama--and, I'll admit, I laughed a bit when the Reverend was just a little off on his name (IIRC, he referred to the candidate as Obama Baraka--which itself is a compliment, as Amiri Baraka is no slouch). My own take was that Sharpton was at first playing more of a 4/4 rock or blues rythmn to Obama's virtuoso performance. However, at just the right times, he broke into a crescendo that should should serve as a stylistic lesson to any would be public speaker

There were at least a half dozen things Sharpton said that had me thinking I should've been taking notes, but the magic of the internet allows for easier recall.

On opportunity: "I suggest to you tonight that if George Bush had selected the court in '54, Clarence Thomas would have never got to law school."

On lies: If I told you tonight, Let's leave the Fleet Center, we're in danger, and when you get outside, you ask me, Reverend Al, What is the danger? and I say, It don't matter. We just needed some fresh air, I have misled you and we were misled.

On gay and lesbian issues: "The promise of America is that government does not seek to regulate your behavior in the bedroom, but to guarantee your right to provide food in the kitchen."

"The issue of government is not to determine who may sleep together in the bedroom, it's to help those that might not be eating in the kitchen."

(note: I'll admit to laughing just a bit on the second reference to the kitchen. Al and I apparently share a love of good food).

On multiculturalism: "We cannot welcome those to come and then try and act as though any culture will not be respected or treated inferior. We cannot look at the Latino community and preach one language. No one gave them an English test before they sent them to Iraq to fight for America."

On the Democratic Party: "You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.

That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres.

We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us."

On voting rights: "Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of good men (inaudible) soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us.

This vote can't be bargained away.

This vote can't be given away.

Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale."

On running for President: "As I ran for president, I hoped that one child would come out of the ghetto like I did, could look at me walk across the stage with governors and senators and know they didn't have to be a drug dealer, they didn't have to be a hoodlum, they didn't have to be a gangster, they could stand up from a broken home, on welfare, and they could run for president of the United States."

Wow. There are times when all you can do is listen, and this was one of those times. Reverend Sharpton articulated a message that should resonate with anyone who has even a shred of hope left after three years of cynical politics by a narrow-minded cabal of warmongers, thieves, and liars.

You know, even John Edwards' speech didn't quite match the rhetorical skills of the Reverend. Sure, it was good, inspiring even. But Al has the gift of the word.

It'll be interesting to see how the media reacts to next month's GOP gathering--Jimmy Huck has some good points to make regarding the conservative bastions not quite knowing how to react to the Democrats show. For that matter, the media is doing its own level best to downplay the gathering, which is a goddamned shame. I mean, for chrissakes, once every four years there's a gathering of people for purposes slightly more important than voting for a favorite "Survivor," and the Fourth Estate can't be bothered to actually cover it. Yes, it's a scripted event--so are Bush's press conferences. Yes, it's a four day infomercial--but perhaps the country could use a couple of days of actual focus on public issues. The fact is that the gathering of delegates, alternates, interested outsiders, and the media is an excellent example of why representative democracy works. And you get the added benefit, at least at the Democratic convention, of seeing some stand-up speechmaking as well. Remember this when the media, either in Boston or even in New York, denigrates this as so much fluff, and recall that THEY'RE the ones who've adopted bullshit phrases like "he sounded presidential" in the first place.

Note: again, more server problems at work. Sorry for the delay in posting. Ack.