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Comments from an AP history
and government teacher in Raleigh, NC.
e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com
Commissions earned from selling items through Amazon will go towards buying materials for my classes. Thank you.
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Reactions to last night at the Convention
I think the Democrats had a very good night last night. Bill Clinton did his thing and gave a full endorsement to Barack Obama. Whether people believe it or not is another matter, but he at least said the words. I thought that Beau Biden's introduction of his father was fantastic. Every parent wishes to one day hear such love and respect from his or her child. And you had to be a stone not to be moved by the tragic story of the accident that took the lives of Joe Biden's first wife and baby daughter and the image of the Senator riding home every night to be with his children. Biden's tribute to his mother and the shots of her proud face was equally moving. For people who didn't know anything about him, which is most people, this was an impressive introduction to the man. Biden did a very good job laying out his case for electing Barack Obama bringing in their vision of a country suffering in economic bad times that are troubling people throughout the country and creating a better foreign policy. I happen to disagree with their diagnosis of the problems we face and their solutions, but I can still see that it was a compelling argument for someone on the fence.
One thing that struck me from Bill Clinton's speech is something that I endeavor to teach my students. I try to drum into their heads that, in their writing, they shouldn't make assertions without supporting their points with evidence and proof. So Bill Clinton asserted that Barack Obama is ready to be president. But the proof was scanty. Clinton talked about Obama's ability to inspire, his intelligence, his good policy choices, his family background, and his strengthening by running a tough race against...Hillary Clinton. Then Clinton asserted that he knows that Barack Obama is ready to be president. But none of that is proof or a refutation of everything that Hillary said throughout the campaign that Barack Obama is not ready to be commander in chief. There was nothing that Clinton could point to that Barack Obama has actually done to demonstrate his readiness to be commander in chief. Clinton could talk about qualities that Obama has such as the ability to inspire, but when it came to talking about what Obama has actually done all he could offer up as evidence of his readiness to be president was having survived a tough primary fight and having chosen Joe Biden as his running mate. So half of Clinton's evidence about Obama's actions demonstrating his ability to be president was that he picked someone experienced to balance his inexperience. Bill Clinton's Barack Obama is a man who is and who will be, but not a man who has done. None of Clinton's strong assertions could disguise the fact that Barack Obama has the most meager biography (despite his two autobiographies) of any candidate for the presidency in modern times. Just because the speakers at the podium all say it's so, doesn't make it so. I don't accept unsupported assertions in my students' writing and I want more from my nation's leaders.Labels: Bill Clinton
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I think the Democrats had a very good night last night. Bill Clinton did his thing and gave a full endorsement to Barack Obama. Whether people believe it or not is another matter, but he at least said the words. I thought that Beau Biden's introduction of his father was fantastic. Every parent wishes to one day hear such love and respect from his or her child. And you had to be a stone not to be moved by the tragic story of the accident that took the lives of Joe Biden's first wife and baby daughter and the image of the Senator riding home every night to be with his children. Biden's tribute to his mother and the shots of her proud face was equally moving. For people who didn't know anything about him, which is most people, this was an impressive introduction to the man. Biden did a very good job laying out his case for electing Barack Obama bringing in their vision of a country suffering in economic bad times that are troubling people throughout the country and creating a better foreign policy. I happen to disagree with their diagnosis of the problems we face and their solutions, but I can still see that it was a compelling argument for someone on the fence.
One thing that struck me from Bill Clinton's speech is something that I endeavor to teach my students. I try to drum into their heads that, in their writing, they shouldn't make assertions without supporting their points with evidence and proof. So Bill Clinton asserted that Barack Obama is ready to be president. But the proof was scanty. Clinton talked about Obama's ability to inspire, his intelligence, his good policy choices, his family background, and his strengthening by running a tough race against...Hillary Clinton. Then Clinton asserted that he knows that Barack Obama is ready to be president. But none of that is proof or a refutation of everything that Hillary said throughout the campaign that Barack Obama is not ready to be commander in chief. There was nothing that Clinton could point to that Barack Obama has actually done to demonstrate his readiness to be commander in chief. Clinton could talk about qualities that Obama has such as the ability to inspire, but when it came to talking about what Obama has actually done all he could offer up as evidence of his readiness to be president was having survived a tough primary fight and having chosen Joe Biden as his running mate. So half of Clinton's evidence about Obama's actions demonstrating his ability to be president was that he picked someone experienced to balance his inexperience. Bill Clinton's Barack Obama is a man who is and who will be, but not a man who has done. None of Clinton's strong assertions could disguise the fact that Barack Obama has the most meager biography (despite his two autobiographies) of any candidate for the presidency in modern times. Just because the speakers at the podium all say it's so, doesn't make it so. I don't accept unsupported assertions in my students' writing and I want more from my nation's leaders.
0 comments
I think the Democrats had a very good night last night. Bill Clinton did his thing and gave a full endorsement to Barack Obama. Whether people believe it or not is another matter, but he at least said the words. I thought that Beau Biden's introduction of his father was fantastic. Every parent wishes to one day hear such love and respect from his or her child. And you had to be a stone not to be moved by the tragic story of the accident that took the lives of Joe Biden's first wife and baby daughter and the image of the Senator riding home every night to be with his children. Biden's tribute to his mother and the shots of her proud face was equally moving. For people who didn't know anything about him, which is most people, this was an impressive introduction to the man. Biden did a very good job laying out his case for electing Barack Obama bringing in their vision of a country suffering in economic bad times that are troubling people throughout the country and creating a better foreign policy. I happen to disagree with their diagnosis of the problems we face and their solutions, but I can still see that it was a compelling argument for someone on the fence.
One thing that struck me from Bill Clinton's speech is something that I endeavor to teach my students. I try to drum into their heads that, in their writing, they shouldn't make assertions without supporting their points with evidence and proof. So Bill Clinton asserted that Barack Obama is ready to be president. But the proof was scanty. Clinton talked about Obama's ability to inspire, his intelligence, his good policy choices, his family background, and his strengthening by running a tough race against...Hillary Clinton. Then Clinton asserted that he knows that Barack Obama is ready to be president. But none of that is proof or a refutation of everything that Hillary said throughout the campaign that Barack Obama is not ready to be commander in chief. There was nothing that Clinton could point to that Barack Obama has actually done to demonstrate his readiness to be commander in chief. Clinton could talk about qualities that Obama has such as the ability to inspire, but when it came to talking about what Obama has actually done all he could offer up as evidence of his readiness to be president was having survived a tough primary fight and having chosen Joe Biden as his running mate. So half of Clinton's evidence about Obama's actions demonstrating his ability to be president was that he picked someone experienced to balance his inexperience. Bill Clinton's Barack Obama is a man who is and who will be, but not a man who has done. None of Clinton's strong assertions could disguise the fact that Barack Obama has the most meager biography (despite his two autobiographies) of any candidate for the presidency in modern times. Just because the speakers at the podium all say it's so, doesn't make it so. I don't accept unsupported assertions in my students' writing and I want more from my nation's leaders.
Labels: Bill Clinton
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