Notable quotes:
Al Gore:
"Lets make sure the supreme court does not pick our next president, and that this president is not the one to pick our next supreme court."

Jimmy Carter:
"Truth is the foundation of our global leadership, but our credibility has been shattered and we are left increasingly isolated and vulnerable in a hostile world."

Bill Clinton
"I never thought I'd be so well cared for by the president and the Republicans in Congress. I almost sent them a thank you note for my tax cuts until I realized that the rest of you were paying the bill for it. And then I thought better of it."

**************************************************************8

In a night full of democratic superstars, the one who shone the brightest was one who did not speak: John Edwards. Whether or not it was deliberate, it was clear that Edwards positive campaigning during the primary elections provided the Democratic Party with their formula for success. By bashing the methods rather than the people, and focusing on the fact that the country has become more polarized than ever under Bush, they took a cue from Edwards' campaign methods early on. He declared that he would not campaign on "their terms," but rather would focus on those concerns that all americans can relate to. This was a HUGE theme in the convention tonight, and I really think it was effective.

Gore blasted the 2000 elections, but mainly focused on how important it was to vote and move forward.

Carter was one of the angrier speakers of the night, blasting the Bush admin. for ruining our name and our human rights record which he worked so hard to improve.

Clinton delivered the best and longest speech of the evening, presenting the key argument for Kerry/ Edwards. And again, Edwards approach was evident. He emphasized that the republicans were patriotic people who stuck to their beliefs. He urged voters to get out there and vote for them if they believed those policies should continue. But of course, he offered a devastating argument on why those policies are bad for everyone.

All in all, the first night of the campaign offered up a view of an incredibly united and positive democratic party, one that will be hard to beat if they stick with it. (in my humble, clinton worshipping opinion.)

-Tina

Decius wrote:
] ] It's the economy, John Kerry.
] ]
] ] That's what delegates to the Democratic National
] ] Convention say their presumed presidential nominee or --
] ] they shudder to think -- President Bush should
] ] concentrate on first in 2005, an Associated Press survey
] ] of Democratic delegates found.
] ]
] ] Health care was the No. 2 issue, followed by the war in
] ] Iraq, according to the survey of some three-quarters of
] ] the 4,300-plus delegates.
]
] I think this is a very serious mistake. This election is a
] referendum on Bush, and how his administration has handled
] security and foreign policy in the wake of 9/11. As long as
] Kerry can maintain the perception that Bush has loused things
] up and that he can fix it he can will the election. This is
] not very difficult to do in the wake of the failure to
] discover WMD and the difficult security situation in Iraq.
]
] Putting out a numbered list of priorities, and putting
] national security in the middle of list, communicates only one
] thing, and that is that national security is not our top
] priority. This creates a fundamental weakness that will be
] easy for the Republicans to exploit. They can send the message
] that they care more about national security then the Democrats
] do, and if people believe that message the Republicans will
] win the election. A terrorist attack in this season would play
] right into that fissure.
]
] Healthcare is a very serious problem in this country, but no
] one understands it better then the people who operate
] businesses. In other words, as most voters don't operate
] businesses they are unlikely to understand how serious the
] problem is. They understand 9/11. And frankly, they understand
] that healthcare won't help much if they are victim of an
] attack no matter how affordable it is.

I disagree. The idea that this election is just about 9/11 and Iraq is one that has been propagated by the Bush admin and his supporters. As much as republicans want to distract from REAL issues by constantly bringing up the threat of an imminent attack, the people on the street have other things on their mind. Sure, when the news incessantly blares new vague bullshit threats, everyone gets worked up for a moment. But in between the morning and evening news, there's the fact that you can't feed your family or pay for your son's asthma meds. The fact that Democrats want to focus on making the country BETTER, rather than more barricaded against terror, is going to help them. Healthcare and the economy may seem boring in comparison to other so-called turning points in this election, but it has traditionally been democratic strongsuits, and I don't think it is a naieve move to focus on these issues and let the truth of Bush's actions take care of the reinvigorated 9/11 hype.
The truth is, this country is divided into those who think security is the main issue and those who want their civil liberties and economic security back. Who wins depends on who gets out there and votes.
(sorry this is all jumbled, I'm at work.)

RE: AP Survey: Top priority of Democratic delegates? It's the economy

] Shockingly, the results of its poll among 200 students at
] the Training Camp's UK residential courses reveal that
] developers are malodorous headbangers playing air guitar
] to Megadeth, Microsoft Certified professionals get their
] rocks off to Britney while IT directors can be found
] sipping the finest wines while Mozart tinkles away in the
] background. No stereotype-fulfilling findings there,
] then.

Just what I thought. People adjust musical tastes to fit in with their career stereotype. I get along best with d.a.'s.

Developers play air guitar to Megadeth | The Register

Decius wrote:
] ] The law gives Allawi "extraordinary authorities" to
] ] declare curfews, restrict communications, seize assets,
] ] restrict civic associations and assume direct command of
] ] security forces in areas deemed to be emergency zones. In
] ] those places, police and military units would have the
] ] freedom to search and detain people without judicial
] ] orders.
] ]
] ] The country's human rights minister, Baktiar Amin,
] ] compared the new Iraqi law to the U.S.A. Patriot Act, the
] ] U.S. law enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that
] ] gives broader powers to law enforcement authorities in
] ] pursuit of suspected terrorists. "Similar laws have been
] ] enacted in a number of countries," Amin said.
]
] Brilliant. No, the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act had nothing to do with
] these kinds of powers. Nor do I think that martial law is
] entirely out of place in some of these cities. But this
] comment is interesting on many levels. Isn't it the Human
] Rights Minister's job to question laws like this? Is he just a
] rubber stamp? Was our loosening of the rules a carte blache to
] other nations to loosen them even more. What kind of messages
] are we sending?

The answer to problems with democracy is more democracy, not less. Both the US and our red-headed step child over (Iraq) there don't seem to realize that, hence the on-going problems. Samuel Huntington would freaking LOVE this law.

RE: Iraq Approves Security Law Allowing Martial Rule (washingtonpost.com)

] "What we found is not that Fox is a conservative network,
] but that it's a network that follows the party line of
] the Bush administration," said "Outfoxed" filmmaker
] Robert Greenwald.

This is the most mobilized I've seen liberals in my lifetime. I almost feel bad for conservatives lately, they can't seem to get a break.
It's so important to keep the emphasis on debate and not on silencing though. Its great to expose lies, but its equally important to not cause a huge backlash when people think that their views are constantly going to be second-guessed just because they aren't liberal. I'm so sick of the conservatives raving about the liberal war on free speech, lets not prove them right.

Yahoo! News - Documentary Aims to Show Bias on Fox News

I've found this on 3 different news sources. Why ,though, is this not making bigger news?

Did the CIA infiltrate CONGRESS?

] The glitch in a state that President Bush won by a margin
] of just 537 votes could have been significant Hispanics
] in Florida have tended to vote Republican more than
] Hispanics nationally. The list had about 28,000 Democrats
] and around 9,500 Republicans, with most of the rest
] unaffiliated.

Yet another argument against felon disenfranchisement. If this was a "computer glitch" then I'm Catherine Harris.

ABCNEWS.com : Fla. Scraps Flawed Felon Voting List

] "Some of these people who have been reported to be
] arrested never showed up in any of the places of
] detention run by the U.S. where we visit,"

...Because its not like the Geneva convention has ANY importance anymore...

AP- Red Cross Fears U.S. Is Hiding Detainees

] By selecting Edwards, Kerry went with the smooth-talking
] Southern populist over more seasoned politicians in hopes
] of injecting vigor and small-town appeal to the
] Democratic presidential ticket.

Totally works for me. I fall for the hot young populsits every damn time.

Kerry Picks Edwards!

] ] If even one reporter had stood up during a pre-Iraq Bush
] ] press conference last year and shouted, "Bullshit!" it
] ] might have made a difference.

Not exactly true. Anyone ever heard of Helen Thomas?

"MS. THOMAS: Is this revenge, 11 years of revenge?

MR. FLEISCHER: Helen, I think you know very well that the President's position is that he wants to avert war, and that the President has asked the United Nations to go into Iraq to help with the purpose of averting war.

MS. THOMAS: Would the President attack innocent Iraqi lives?

MR. FLEISCHER: The President wants to make certain that he can defend our country, defend our interests, defend the region, and make certain that American lives are not lost.

MS. THOMAS: And he thinks they are a threat to us?

MR. FLEISCHER: There is no question that the President thinks that Iraq is a threat to the United States.

MS. THOMAS: The Iraqi people?"

-Transcript of a white house press conference a few days before this prominent reporter had her front row seat demoted. Not ONE reporter raised their voice in opposition when she was demoted, instead taking it as a warning for people that ask the wrong sort of questions.

That is messed up.

RE: NYPress: SHOVELING COAL FOR SATAN: Christopher Hitchens collects check from Microsoft, calls Moore a coward.