The Daily Background
| Despite pundits’ frets, a new standard was set tonight
by Arlen Parsa
A new standard in political stagecraft and speechifying was set tonight.
As anybody watching cable news in the last week knows, there was a lot of doubt (at least on the part of the types of people who can be seen on cable news) that Barack Obama’s stadium speech at Invesco Stadium in Denver would be a net plus.
Some fretted that Obama might not be able to fill the massive venue to capacity. But instead, he filled it with 84,000 according to the AP.
Others fretted that a speech in a giant stadium would reinforce the meme that the McCain campaign is pushing, that he is a celebrity. But instead, Obama handily dismissed such criticism in his speech, outlining his humble beginnings in no uncertain terms and then capping it off by saying “I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine.”
Still others fretted that in such a giant arena, Obama would have trouble communicating with voters on a one-on-one level. But if you watched his speech from beginning to end with an open mind, you couldn’t help but be touched. It was just that powerful. Tears streamed down the faces of not only thousands assembled in Denver tonight, but also millions gathered across the country, watching one of the most historic moments of their lifetimes unfold before them.
