Michelle's Momentous Moment
Michelle Obama's speech, the address given by Jesse Jackson, Jr., two electrifying oratories, Ted Kennedy's appearance, one electrifying moment. Each, for different reasons, affected everyone in the room where I was watching. But Michelle's was of greatest moment because she was there to put the lie to so many charges, misquotes, hatchet jobs, and cancerous spins on honest words. No wonder there were gasps as she inveighed against the calumnies leveled against she and Barack. It did appear that she could be president and it must have given Senator Clinton pause..."If only I could have done that! If only..."
The emotional moments that spread through the room where we were watching the speeches and the pomp unfolding were reminders of what TV can do best when it wants to, when it is not simply self-promoting. But too often networks would cut away from speeches, especially the ones of friends, mentors, ordinary citizens who earned the right to address the convention. Just as often I found myself switching from CNN or MSNBC or FOX to C-SPAN just to hear and see what networks were afraid would scare away the viewers and, in doing so, produced one self-fulfilling prophecy after another. It's the ordinary citizens who end up electing the politicians, not the anchorpersons and pundits; so why not listen to them, if only during convention times, when they're listening to their own hearts and minds - speech for self-- being turned into words and speech for others, and not being directed by reporters' questions and agendas?
As for Michelle Obama, after she spoke, I hurriedly left C-SPAN and went to hear the takes on CNN, FOX, and MSNBC. Suzanne Malveaux, on CNN, is and has been, along with Campbell Brown, Republican partisans masquerading as objective reporters. Malveaux's questions regarding the speech fulfilled that expectation. She interviewed me a few times back in L.A., when she worked for the local O&A CBS station and she seemed competent and, importantly, objective in her journalism. As they say, either she was lying then or she's lying now.
Oddly enough, FOX had a very decent mix of people who felt confident enough in their Republican bona fides that they could acknowledge the marvel that was Michelle, understanding what she was there to do and how well she did it. Or, as some of the pundits said, she was there to "de-exoticize" herself and Barack. And she did it most excellently, the absurdity of Republican branding of the Obamas as exotic (read African American) notwithstanding. Juan Williams and Brit Hume were both impressed with Michelle and unimpressed with most of their FOX co-pundits. Even Charles Krauthammer gave the devil her due. But the ideological hacks like Chris Wallace and Bill Kristol did not fail in their genetic incapacity to do other than find carping points where they didn't exist, e.g., in paraphrase, "where was the meat and potatoes in her speech?... Cute, but nothing exceptional... The Democrats wasted the evening by not focusing on McCain." The carps went on and Brit Hume was dumfounded (Did Hume have a small stroke recently? He looked sickly and the left side of his mouth on his gaunt face looked slightly paralyzed).
Oh, yes, I forgot about Bill O'Reilly... Well, truth is, I simply can't stand watching him, so I will not comment and give my prejudice a rest.
CNN's David Gergen went from critical of convention up to that point (where's the beef?) to rhapsodic (as much as he is capable of that) about Michelle. David G. is, by the way, the brother of psychology luminary and theorist, Kenneth Gergen, who has taught at Swarthmore for over 30 years.
As for Wolf Blitzer, what can one really say...
MSNBC Matthews and Olbermann were properly enthusiastic about Michelle and about the Obama children. It was expected and it was right.
Personally, though, I regretted the addendum to Michelle's speech when Barack appeared on some screen near the lectern, below the huge monitors, draping a kind of doorway, or so it seemed. This smaller screen below the monitors was obviously ripped right out of the grand room castle scene in the original Wizard of Oz. I almost expected the Wizard, Frank Morgan, to sidle in and push Barack almost off camera while stammering out "Pay no attention to the man beside me..." Barack looked like he was the victim of 1930s film special effect, an image floating in some multi-colored smoke screen --weird, annoying and most distracting. But the Obama kids are ready for prime time.
So, I will continue to watch and compare and blog as the spirit of Oz moves me.
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Michelle Obama's speech, the address given by Jesse Jackson, Jr., two electrifying oratories, Ted Kennedy's appearance, one electrifying moment. Each, for different reasons, affected everyone in the room where I was watching. But Michelle's was of greatest moment because she was there to put the lie to so many charges, misquotes, hatchet jobs, and cancerous spins on honest words. No wonder there were gasps as she inveighed against the calumnies leveled against she and Barack. It did appear that she could be president and it must have given Senator Clinton pause..."If only I could have done that! If only..."
