An Evening With Barack Obama… and the DNC

Your humble correspondent had the unexpected chance to attend a DNC/Organizing for America fundraiser at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC, headlined by none other than the President. The ticket was a gift from a new, lavishly generous friend who also happens to be a big donor to the DNC. Don’t worry, no SP or other hard-earned conservative dollars were sacrificed on the Democratic altar in the name of journalism!



What recession? The Democratic Party mavens were out in force buying Juicy Couture, Zac Posen and other designer label clothing and accessories, all emblazoned with Obama’s name, image and slogans.

For those of you who think that the Dems are cranky heathens who hate America, you’ll be pleased to learn that not only did the event open with hymns from Howard University’s gospel choir, but we were also treated to the Star-Spangled Banner—also sung by Howard U.—and John Phillip Sousa marches at the end. Alas, there is where the similarities end between a similar conservative event.

First up was Deputy National Director of Organizing for America (OFA), Jeremy Bird. He spoke in pleasantries about how he met Mr. Obama when the erstwhile senator was a no-name candidate with long-shot chances at the nomination. He suggested that if we gave money to OFA, we would once again be the beneficiaries of a “real conversation again,” as in a national debate. As if this has been missing over the past indeterminate period? Your correspondent is mystified, since the Left has been plenty vocal in recent years.

Mr. Bird yielded to the legendary Tony Bennett, who performed a number of his famed swingy tunes. He also engaged in small talk between songs about Mrs. Obama and the time he saw her feeding the homeless. Although Bennett is a superstar, the crowd was clearly becoming restless to get on with the main event… the real superstar, in their eyes, of the evening.

Bennett’s performance finally yielded to a short intermission, where the now-obligatory TelePrompTers were set up. You will see them clearly in the photos. The speech was a scant 18 minutes long, but as we learned last night during the prime time press conference, Mr. Obama likes “to know what [he’s] talking about” before he speaks.

At long last, at 8:58 pm, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine took the podium to introduce the President. Former Gov. Kaine outlined his opinion that President Obama has “done more in 60 days than many presidents do in 60 months,” and proceeded to outline a number of Mr. Obama’s recent policy initiatives that have galled conservatives and some moderates. He spoke of Lily Ledbetter, Guantanamo, SCHIP, and let’s not forget that we “reversed an anti-science position” to boot. Translation: stem cell research will now be funded by taxpayer dollars.



Apologies for the brief video; your correspondent was justifiably unprepared. Trust me when I say that my attendance was truly unexpected.

Mr. Kaine notes that there are three functions of the DNC: 1) to be the political arm of the White House, as the President “needs to be a success” and the DNC will be sure that it happens; 2) to ensure party strength in 50 states, and 3) Organizing for America will be an arm of the DNC. Kaine opines that this is perhaps the most exciting part! Opinions vary, I suppose.

At 9:05 pm, Mr. Obama took the stage. Note that the event was slated to begin at 8:00 pm. Some could view this as the appropriate time in the program for his appearance. Others would view it as symptomatic of his pervasive tardiness. Here at SP, we believe in letting you be the judge on this one.



Mr. Obama’s speech largely consisted of throwing red meat to the base, as is customary in fundraisers for either party. Of course, he started off by commending the efforts of volunteers, without whom he would still be a community organizer in Chicago. It quickly became clear, however, that the evening’s remarks were mostly about shoring up support for his boondoggle budget and massive economic plans. Bright-faced volunteers, clipboards and petitions in hand, were canvassing the lines outside of people waiting to be inspected by the Secret Service. The objective is to show that 100,000 people agree with Mr. Obama on the economic issues. According to the president, people want to know “What will you do to give us a hand up, not a handout?” He joked about the process of finding an answer to this question, saying that in the news, “One day I’m a genius, one day I’m a bum.” Again, we at SP will let you decide!

The president mentioned some indicators that he thinks show “progress.” For example, “we measure recovery by how many Americans can bring home a paycheck to make ends meet.” He again hammered home that 95% of Americans will be receiving a tax cut soon. He also deftly took credit for home prices “stabilizing in some parts of the country,” attributing this to the actions that the administration has so far taken. Although our Constant Readers’ eyebrows might be raised, there was no disagreement in that room. Except, perhaps, for your correspondent.

Mr. Obama also discussed, as a measure of success, whether kids can go to college. According to him, “we’ve generated more lending in the last week than we have over the last four months.” Again, it is attributed to his plans and actions.



The item with which I had the most disagreement was his assertion that we need to build the economy on a strong foundation—and that “the budget I’ve submitted to Congress does that.” Stated another way, his “budget leads to economic prosperity.” He made his case for why we can’t afford “fiscal discipline” right now. Evidently, because the American people can’t choose to prioritize and pay one thing at a time, neither can the U.S. government. This argument is specious, if only because the government can and should scale back grandiose plans until we have the revenue to support them. The average American must certainly meet obligations, but it does not have to be an obligation for the U.S. government to load up its plate with new entitlement spending, social programs, colossal “down payments” and other new spending measures.

I digress. Mr. Obama also stated that we aren’t “gonna wait until we have $4-a-gallon gas to say that we don’t have an energy policy.” I hope that some SP readers can see the irony in this statement, given what we know of Mr. Obama’s ideas on energy policy. Additionally, critics of his billions in undefined health care expenditures “don’t understand” the human element that needs health insurance. I suppose that, regrettably, I must be counted among those that didn’t get the memo.

The president ended his remarks with the declaration that he won’t kick the problems down the road for another four or eight years—the cheers at the proposition of eight years were deafening—because we can’t wait. Sadly, there are a growing number of people who would indeed like to wait, preferably indefinitely, for Mr. Obama’s ideas to come to fruition.

An aside: the Baltimore Sun reports that although the DNC is the party in power, they report just $8.6 million on hand, with $7 million in debt, for February month-end. They raised a mere $3.2 million in February, with the GOP raising $5.1 million under the new leadership of Michael Steele. The GOP also reported a relatively staggering $24 million in the bank with no debt. Look for the fundraising wars to heat up as candidates declare for the 2010 election cycle.

Ward Churchill, Dinesh D'Souza Debate Western Civilization

And, as usual, Ward Churchill brings a knife to the proverbial intellectual gun battle against Dinesh D'Souza:

Churchill began the debate by calling Western civilization a “synthesis of lies” and a “fraud” because it plagiarized and assimilated ideas from other cultures without giving due credit. He said that he “didn’t quite know what Western civilization is,” but that it was triumphalist and supremacist.

“There is no argument against Western civilization at all from Ward Churchill,” D’Souza responded. “His argument is against the narrative of Western civilization.”

D’Souza discussed how the world has progressed and benefited from the influences of Western civilization. According to D’Souza, Western civilization has humanized the world. He noted that while Western civilization participated in slavery, abolitionism is a uniquely Western concept.

“The Chinese had slaves, the Indians had slaves, even the American Indians had slaves before Columbus ever step foot on this continent. It is not slavery that is Western, it is abolition.”
. . .
“For me Western civilization isn’t just about a theory, it’s about a life lived in America. We’re debating whether the West has made life better, and it certainly has for me,” said D’Souza. “Ward Churchill is taking the tragic facts of history and ideologizing them into white oppression.”

Of course Churchill doesn't know what Western Civilization is--but he knows that he is against it, and uses the same anti-imperialist claptrap that has gained him such a following on the left.

However, it appears it must be time to fill the legal war chest, as it would have baffled even the casual observer of Churchill's typical MO of avoiding real debate while he was still a tenured professor. Either that or the election of Barack Obama has stolen away some of Churchill's coveted left-wing victimization and tinfoil-hat crowd.

In related tinfoil-hattedness news, Drunkablog keeps an eye on the progress of those arrested during the DNC--complete with ACLU-liciousness.

DNC Flashback--Cyanide Saleman Dirie Exclusive Report

At Complete Colorado--the source for breaking news and information from around Colorado.

Complete Colorado has published photos from the Saleman Dirie investigation. He's the Somali-born Canadian who died in the Burnsley with a pound of cyanide in his room, two weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Denver back in August.

DNC Carbon Offset Scheme Raises Tons Of Cash $18.34

Epic. Fail.

Attendees at the "greenest convention ever" obviously couldn't be bothered to raise some real green--money--to offset their carbon footprints:

Results of a program using Aspen’s Canary Initiative to sell carbon offset credits to Democratic National Convention attendees are a little underwhelming.

The program, set up by the DNC Host Committee through the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau and rolled out about a week before the convention started, raised a total of $18.34 worth of Canary Tags, offsetting 0.9 tons of carbon emissions.

The offsets were aimed at DNC-goers other than the official delegates, who had a separate carbon offset program through Vermont-based Native Energy. That program, set up in January through the Democratic National Convention Committee, was utilized by 65 percent of the DNC’s 4,440 delegates.
. . .
Peterson was hoping funds raised through the host committee for the DNC could be used for a signature project. But that will not be possible, as less than $20 was raised.

“Here’s three (compact fluorescent) light bulbs for the office,” Peterson said.

This story, not unsurprisingly, hasn't appeared in the local Denver MSM yet.

Targeted at thousands of DNC-goers other than official delegates, some of whom are presumably at least vaguely sympathetic to the Democrats and their causes (like the media), they still couldn't muster a crisp $20, let alone a few Benjamins? Money that would make evident the imperative to tackle global warming/climate change, and dispel accusations that the "green" effort of the DNC and the policies of the limousine-liberals in the Democrat party are nothing more than lip service to one of their signature issues?

Of course not. The delegates themselves managed a measly 65% participation rate. Either even dyed-in-the-wool rank-and-file Dems don't believe the global warming hoax, or it just hasn't been raised to a level of crisis high enough for action.

Or more likely, Democrats believe that any crisis is best solved by throwing more government money at it--but certainly not their own.

Democrats--putting your money where their mouth is for decades.

RNC Dispatch--Day 3 Photos

More pictures from the Republican National Convention, as Sen. John McCain's Vice Presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin gave her acceptance speech and a wonderful succession of GOP speakers--Michael Steele, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Linda Lingle, and finally Rudy Giuliani--helped build the adequate emotional charge with speeches that were quite powerful, and included great rhetorical gems like Steele's "Drill, baby, drill!" that were repeated throughout the night.


Security was tight, but once past the innermost line of defense against the uncredentialed and unhinged protesters, the mood was fairly relaxed.


Feeding frenzy at the RNC shop.


Michigan delegates sport hockey jerseys in support of Sarah Palin's veep speech Wednesday night.


Ushers were very adamant about this rule.


Even before Palin delivered her acceptance speech, "Palin Nuts" were going crazy for John McCain's pick.


Rudy Giuliani fired up the crowd and joined the audience in a bit of laughter at the Democrats' expense.


Colorado delegates wore matching shirts and occupied prime real estate in front of the center teleprompter.


"Hockey Moms for Palin" from Michigan.


The enthusiasm was palpable, even from the nosebleeds.


My (remote) view--Palin supporters nearly blew the roof off the Xcel Center.


The best look at Palin came from the large side screens behind the podium--this was my view of the convention.


As loud as the crowd was Wednesday night, it probably did little good to have the booth enclosed.

RNC Day 4: Reflections On John McCain's Solemn Acceptance

John McCain--genuine humility, a record of service to his country, solemn and understated.

Barack Obama--his ego writes checks his record can't cash.

The stark contrast between the two acceptance speeches by the respective candidates can't be stated in any easier terms or demonstrated in a simpler manner than to compare how McCain reached out to Obama in a gesture of respect, while only a week earlier Obama's hostile criticism appeared to reveal a bitterness that did little to represent "hope and change." Obama's cynicism was exceeded only by the sense of true optimism and real hope and change that a McCain administration would bring.

McCain's message and that of the RNC the entire week--freedom and responsibility, service and sacrifice.

Obama and the DNC? Government, government, government. Not "you're on your own" but "we own you."

The land of opportunity vs. crisis and criticism.

Policy specifics are overrated. It is the comparative vision of each party and each candidate that creates the path that each candidate will follow on the campaign trail and after the election. The destination matters, but so does the route by which the destination is reached.

Liberty and open-mindedness vs. dogged reliance on outdated philosophies that have been recycled again and again by a party that relies on a sense of victimization rather than an admiration for the ability to achieve and to go one's own way.

Washington insiders, government handouts, and pork barrel spending.

Mavericks, tax cuts, fiscal responsibility.

McCain envisions a future for America. Obama chooses to wallow in the past.

Of the two candidates, only one offers real hope and change.

And I just watched his acceptance speech tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota.

RNC Day 3--Protester Updates; Sarah Palinpalooza!

Gateway Pundit has kept a close eye on the plans of leftist/anarchist protesters for the RNC, including kidnapping delegates, and CodePink became so offensive that the mellow Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit came a bit unhinged--but in a good way!

More on the way . . .

Dispatches From The RNC-A Subdued Day One Inside The Xcel Center; Crazed Leftists Attack Delegates

Xcel Energy Center primed for Republican National Convention.


A view from the upper level--a much simpler design.

Gateway Pundit has extensive coverage of the serious and dangerous attacks on delegates and other guests of the RNC, including bags of cement tossed off bridges at passing buses, water/bleach spraying of delegates, tire slashings, etc., not to mention urine bombs, molotov cocktails and other devices seized over the weekend.

Brad Jones of Face the State is also in Minneapolis-St. Paul for the convention and has extensive coverage of the events in and around the Xcel Center, including blogger credentialing (there are 200 credentialed blogs at the RNC), proximity of protesters to the venue, and an important question for both parties--where are the young people at national political events?

On to the photos:


At least 80 feet separated the enclosed protesters from the inner perimeter of the Xcel Center in this area.


Stop the War!


"Brains not Bombs!" "McCain = Bush"


The socialists were out as well.


Closing the gate on protesters.


The security checkpoint was evenly distributed and quite efficient, and the buses just a short distance away.


Protesters had been confined to the narrow passage in the center, and funneled away from the Xcel Center off to the right.

Celebrity sightings:


Actor and on-screen tough guy Robert Davi chatted with guests on the 2nd floor of the Xcel Center.


Kevin Farley and Robert Davi posed for photos while discussing their new comedy, "An American Carol" due out October 3 (trailer), directed by David Zucker of "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" fame.

The effects of Hurricane Gustav:


A steady crowd monitored the reports on Hurricane Gustav.


Red Cross operations set up information tables and called for donations and other relief efforts.


First Lady Laura Bush and Sen. John McCain's wife Cindy McCain urge delegates and RNC guests to join the relief effort in any way they can.

Blogger and press digs:


Two words: Free.  Internet.


Working hard or hardly working?

Dispatches From The RNC-The Drive To Minnesota

I hate the wind.

Ok, not really hate so much as dislike intensely, especially when it forces you to drive 10 miles under the speed limit through a rather boring stretch of South Dakota.

Yes--I drove (won't be a green convention for this blogger!).

However, lest you think I shirked my blogger duties, here is a sample of what I saw along the way, which included a stop in the Black Hills of South Dakota and a visit to the Crazy Horse Monument (which likely won't be finished in our lifetimes, but is entirely financed through--shocker--private enterprise) and, of course, Mount Rushmore:


BFE, Wyoming.


Custer, SD


Crazy Horse Monument


"Authentic," but waaay overpriced.


A preview of how the mountain will eventually look, sometime around 2500. Just kidding (not really).


Made in Denver.


Just in time for the evening lighting ceremony.


Come on, Vogue!


All lit up.


When I was last here in 1994, there was a much smaller, old-school National Monument building and very little improvements (since the 1960s). A larger parking lot and entrance, enhanced museum, new amphitheater, and this flag-lined walkway all augmented the decidedly patriotic experience.

I'll have video from the lighting ceremony tomorrow.

First, we watched a Mount Rushmore "Cliff Notes" video on the four Presidents represented, and then members of the audience who were veterans of our armed forces (or a representative) were invited to the stage for the nightly flag lowering, carried out with much dignity.  Our ranger narrated the Star-Spangled Banner's first 3 verses, and sang the final verse quite beautifully.  It was clear from the tone of her voice that she was truly overcome with emotion, and this feeling permeated the audience.

On a cool night on Labor Day weekend following the week of hell (temperatures and my poor feet) that was the DNC, it was an outstanding opportunity to reflect on the greatness of our country, the eloquence of our Founding Fathers, and the immense gratitude we should have for our rights and for the ability to exercise our freedoms in a manner unmatched almost anywhere else on this rock.  Sandwiched as it was between the DNC and RNC, my visit to Mount Rushmore reinforced the necessity of an educated and engaged citizenry that is politically active and civically oriented.

But that's not why you're here, is it? On to the convention schwag!


RNC schwag bag--"refresh, recycle, re-use."  Surprisingly, there wasn't a Coke product inside.


The logo may be much-maligned, but the message is important--water is essential for convention survival!


Cool! Mac & Cheese  . . . hey--wait a minute! We are Republicans.  Where is my RNC filet mignon?


Can the Republicans weather the storm that is Hurricane Gustav?

Fellow Coloradan Brad Jones from FacetheState.com (bookmark it) arrived a little earlier in the day, and managed to snap a few photos of those protesters arrested Sunday and the arrival of the Colorado delegates. Check back in at FTS for updates throughout the RNC.

Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit details the moonbat protesters of the "RNC Welcoming Committee" raided over the weekend and arrested for possessing devices meant to "disable" delegate buses.

Same crap (literally), different city/convention.

Oh, it's gonna be a fun week. I'll have updates tomorrow, including more details on the reduced and mainly "procedural" first day of the RNC.

Support Your Local Blog: Slapstick Politics Goes To The 2008 Republican National Convention

**Bumped to the top--

Slapstick Politics has been selected as an Official Blogger to the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sept. 1-4. While this is a distinct honor and incredible opportunity to represent the center-right of the Colorado blogosphere on a national level, there is also a substantial cost associated with travel and accommodations.

If you've enjoyed SP's coverage of the DNC (and there will be plenty more in the coming weeks, I can assure you) and you are willing and able to help SP cover the costs of the trip, know that it is greatly appreciated. If you have a business or are a candidate this election and would like to help by sponsoring SP in return for advertising space, then please contact me by email.

SP will feature the usual news roundups, but will also bring you photos and video straight from the RNC--a view from the "other side," with interviews and backstage access.

If you have Colorado-related questions for GOP bigwigs you'd like answered, leave them in the comments or shoot me an email.

First SP just has to make it out of Denver and the DNC alive!

Where Did EP Go? To The Peoples Press Collective!

During the DNC--tune in to the Peoples Press Collective--where some of Colorado's premier center-right bloggers and their closest allies have gathered to provide new media coverage of the DNC, including live video feeds.

More Exclusive Video: Free Speech Messages Washed Away At Pepsi Center

The cleaning crew does a little post-chalking clean up.