Obama Will Give Convention Speech At Stadium
This rumor popped late last week on some blogs, but now it is official. Barack Obama will be giving his acceptance speak, not at the Pepsi Center, but at Invesco Field at Mile High. Invesco Field can hold over 75,000 people and setting will be open to anyone, not just convention-goers.
From the AP Article:
"The Democratic Party is nominating a true change candidate this August, and it is only fitting that we make some big changes in how we put on the Convention," DNC Chairman Howard Dean says. "By bringing the last night of the Convention out to the people, we will be able to showcase Barack Obama's positive, people-centered vision for our country in a big way."
I thing this is a great move on the Democrats part. Bring is as many people as they can to watch Obama talk good. This will be the first time a lot of people will get a chance to see Obama give a major speech, and it is sure to be a good one. On top of that, it is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
7 comments:
"This will be the first time a lot of people will get a chance to see Obama give a major speech"
People existing within the world in which we live had numerous opportunities to see Obama give a major speech. This is not a "first chance" so much as it is yet another opportunity.
Not only have Obama speeches been covered by the 24 hour news networks but those same networks, as well as many others, have made the video available online. Everyone (except maybe that one inbreeding Ozark family) has access to the internet be it through their local library, school, or recreational room in their particular penitentiary of residence.
So that whole "first opportunity" malarkey is really just a polite way of saying "ignorant dipshits who hate information will finally have it thrust in their face".
I also think it is quite interesting that Obama can fill a stadium, McCain barely fills exhibit halls, and they're only polling within 5 points of one another.
I am not making a value judgment. It is a statement of fact. Only 65 million Americans have cable television. Which is about 20% of the population.
lots of people have seen him on the evening news on television or read about him in the news paper. But none of the broadcast networks have shown complete unedited speeches.
Historically, the nominating conventions are they first time people who are not obsessive wonks really begin to actively pay attention.
"Historically, the nominating conventions are they first time people who are not obsessive wonks really begin to actively pay attention."
Lots of people have said this. Chuck Todd has said this. But I'm wondering how relevant it is now.
2000 Primary Statistics
2008 Primary Statistics
Indiana Primary:
2000: 699,836 voted
2008: 1,690,987 voted
That trend is not unique to Indiana.
So after one compares 2000 to 2008 in terms of primary participation and exclaims "Jesus Jackrabbit Fuck!" I'm very interested in why they would still see the Conventions as meaninful entry points in the process when a fuck-ton of people are already engaged.
exactly,
and a spectral like Obama and Dean are planning, if it works, ought to go a long way to bring people into the fold. also, 1,000,000 people is only like .5% of the total population of the US. and 15% of indiana's population.
The reason so many more showed up to vote in Indiana for the primary is because for the first time in a very long time, our primary votes actually mattered. In 2000, by the time the Indiana primary rolled around Gore was already working on his presidential campaign. This year, however, there was a legitimate contest between the two candidates and Indiana's primary votes actually counted.
"The reason so many more showed up to vote in Indiana for the primary is because for the first time in a very long time, our primary votes actually mattered."
I don't think we can do that...assume a reason onto an action and say that over a million people showed up because X. Certainly at least one showed up because its vote "actually mattered". But that wasn't everyone's reason. I voted because Obama.
I'm somewhat interested in how many people are available for the fold. There are the people aware of the process, the "I'm tired of hussein" ladies, and then...who is left? What brand of ignorant, estranged, uninvolved shithead are we talking about?
And why would they start caring at the convention but not before?
It's all very odd. And I'm not saying that people won't be swayed by the convention speech. But i'm wondering who they are, where they live, and where their off switch is.
I know I would not have voted in the primary were it the case that the nominee had already been decided, as it had on the Republican side.
If you notice, only 400,000 showed up to the Republican primary in a decidedly Republican state. Sure I can't prove it to be the case that more people voted in the Democratic primary because the race was still in contention and their vote mattered, but the trends do support my theory.
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