GOOD MORNING POU!
We conclude our look at African American speakers at the Democratic Nation Convention with the speech that started it all…
BARACK H. OBAMA
2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
July 27, 2004 – Boston, MA
From Wikipedia:
The keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) was given by then Illinois State Senator, United States Senate candidate, and future President Barack Obama on the night of Tuesday, July 27, 2004. A relatively unknown politician on the national stage beforehand, the speech instantly helped Obama become one of the most well known politicians in the United States and led to talk about a future run for the presidency, despite the fact that he had not yet been elected to the United States Senate.
Obama first met Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in the spring of 2004, and was just one of several names considered for the role of keynote speaker at the party’s convention that summer. After being alerted in early July that he had been chosen to deliver the address, Obama largely wrote the speech himself, with later edits from the Kerry presidential campaign. Delivered on the second night of the DNC in just under 20 minutes, the address included both a biographical sketch of Obama, his own vision of America, and the reasons for his support of Kerry for the presidency. While it received an immediate positive buy viagra phoenix az reaction from many media commentators and fellow politicians, the speech was not carried by the commercial broadcast networks, and was only seen by a combined PBS, cable news and C-SPAN television audience of about 9 million. Since its delivery, several academics have studied the speech, both for the various narratives it describes as well as its implications for racial reconciliation.
READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE.
And last, but not least…
2008 Democratic Nominee Acceptance Speech
August 28, 2008 – Denver, CO
From Wikipedia:
More than 38 million people across 10 U.S. cable and broadcast TV networks tuned in to watch.[40]
In his speech, Obama said, “Our government should work for us, not against us. It should ensure opportunity, not for just those with the most money and influence, but for every American who is willing to work. That’s the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise and fall as one nation, the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. That’s the promise we need to keep, that’s the change we need right now.”[41] The speech was well received, one news source calling it “The wrap-up to the party convention blended old-fashioned speechmaking, Hollywood-quality stagecraft and innovative, Internet age politics.”[42]
READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE.