26 August 2008 ~ 21 Comments

The Cry On The Floor in Denver “Not Another 2004″

While delegates to the Democratic Convention in Denver left the Pepsi Center fired up last night after a tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy and a stellar performance by Michelle Obama, many I talked to voiced only one will concern as one delegate put it to me “I thought the night was amazing, but please tell me that we are not going to make the same mistake we made in 2004.”

Many delegates to this convention attended John Kerry’s Nominating convention, in Boston, in 2004. Many today criticize the outcome of the message of that convention as “too soft”, not tough enough on George Bush and never providing an “on the offensive attack mode” to put Bush and the GOP on the defensive.

Delegates on the floor last night could not have been more positive about what they saw. Kennedy declaring he would stand with President Obama and “fight for the cause of his life, health care for every American”, and Michelle Obama’s love of family, and love of country message to the nation opened the convention on positive high notes.

Now delegates want a big shift tonight and see the focus from here turn to a sharp contrast between Barack Obama and John McCain. It seems to me that many of these delegates here will measure the success of this convention by how effectively events here put John McCain on the defensive.

I am looking for former Governor Mark Warner of Virginia, and Hillary Clinton to both open up on McCain on bread and butter economic issues and to paint a stark contrast between McCain and Obama. Followed by Biden getting that much tougher later in the convention.

Yes, as I said, yesterday there is some angst among some Clinton delegates, but nearly all the delegates want the rest of this convention to be about taking John McCain on. The battle cry on the floor is “not another 2004.”

Note about Ted Kennedy: In 1980 I was on the floor of that convention for Ted Kennedy. A young kid, at the age 24, I was a floor manager for the Texas and Utah delegations as I watched Senator Kennedy bring that convention to its feet with the words “the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”

To see him last night paraphrase those words as he effectively passed the torch to Barack Obama was one thing.
But I have to say that when I saw that sea of Kennedy signs go up in people’s hands – the same Kennedy blue, and the same Kennedy font we had iat the convention in 1980 – thousands of them raised in the air in a hall like this one more time — for me it was magic.

The part that made it even more special was that moments before the Kennedy tribute Rick Kaplan of the CBS Evening News (who knew none of this) told me to move for my next on air standup to be in position in front of the Utah delegation.

There I was 28 years later, standing in front of the same delegation I had stood in front of in 1980 watching the man who had brought me into politics way back then – it meant a lot to me to be there.

21 Responses to “The Cry On The Floor in Denver “Not Another 2004″”

  1. Todd Defren 26 August 2008 at 3:04 pm Permalink

    Joe, I heard Warner is NOT planning to take on McCain. “Not in his constitution” or some such nonsense.

    Have you heard otherwise? Hope so!

  2. Todd Defren 26 August 2008 at 3:43 pm Permalink

    And here’s a link re: Warner not going for the throat. Will anyone?
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/26/warner-parts-of-my-keynot_n_121452.html

  3. jhc 26 August 2008 at 5:43 pm Permalink

    Sure…McCain just pulled ahead of O in the polls. Give me some more ‘04.

  4. lobiondo 26 August 2008 at 6:48 pm Permalink

    jhc loves incompetence….can’t get enough

  5. Joe Trippi 26 August 2008 at 9:15 pm Permalink

    Cross-posted on Kos
    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/26/20509/1609/712/575937

  6. jhc 27 August 2008 at 12:40 pm Permalink

    McCain up by 2 points in the Gallup Daily and 1 point in the Rasmussen. Oh, O, no mo’ mo’.

    PS

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/26/AR2008082603921_pf.html

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