Biden Speaks

What did y’all think? I think he did the job.

Update: Here’s the nominee. I thought it was bad luck for the nominee to show up in the convention hall before his nomination speech.

Rah! Rah! Rah!

I missed Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s speech last night, and it’s great. Send this video to anyone you know who’s even thinking of voting for McCain.

Money line: “We simply can’t drill our way to energy independence. If you drilled everywhere, if you drilled in all of John McCain’s backyards, even the ones he doesn’t know he has, that single proposition is a dry well.”

Toothpaste and Tubes

I don’t know how much of this is news media hype, and how much of it is real, but we’re still hearing stories about disguntled Hillary supporters who don’t like Obama. Eli Saslow of the Washington Post interviewed some Clinton delegates after the Senator’s speech last night who said they still would not vote for or support Obama. One said she would vote for McCain in November. Another wore a button that said “Obamination Scares the Hell Out of Me.”

Every now and then a pundit will say that Obama ought to be doing more to win over these voters. He needn’t waste his time; if Senator Clinton’s speech last night didn’t do it, nothing will. These people are, as they say, stuck on stupid.

Saslow writes,

Clinton said Tuesday night that it is Obama’s convention. But many of her supporters came here exclusively to honor her. One group traveled from New York and built an impromptu museum commemorating Clinton’s historic campaign. Another lighted thousands of candles in a park to symbolize her widespread support.

On Tuesday morning, hundreds of loyalists formed a 200-yard parade and marched through downtown. They shouted into loudspeakers and beat drums, creating a cacophony that echoed across the blocks. As they began marching, some of the supporters chanted, “We want a roll call.” Many of them wore their opinions on T-shirts: Country Over Party. Damn, We Wish You Were President. Still Making History. Democrats Left Behind.

At the front of the parade route, one banner summarized their message: Hillary. Who Else?

And they call Obama supporters naive cult followers.

So what’s happening with the Hillary worshipers? I’m not sure if it qualifies as a cult of personality, but it’s obvious that the actual, flesh-and-blood Hillary Clinton is irrelevant to this group. They are infatuated with a projection of Hillary Clinton they’ve created in their own minds, and this projection has little to do with the real woman.

That’s why they’re not listening to the real woman; they’re listening to the play-pretend Hillary who lives in their heads. And since the play-pretend Hillary was created out of their own egos and personal grievances, they aren’t likely to let go of her for a long, long time. If ever. And there’s nothing that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or God Almighty can say to these people that will change their minds.

BTW, for those of you who missed it, here is Senator Clinton’s speech:

See also No More Mr. Nice Blog.