Where It All Began For Obama - Looking Back At 2004 Convention Speech
With next week’s Democratic national convention on the horizon I decided to go back and watch Obama’s 2004 keynote convention speech. I remember thinking at the time that this was a guy that sounded Presidential. It’s hard to put your finger on it but it’s there and you know it when you see it.
But before I post the videos here were a few thoughts from blogger Josh Marshall on the convention floor in the moments leading up to the speech:
I’m sitting here a few minutes after nine, waiting for the big event of the evening, Barack Obama’s keynote address. It’s hard to overestimate how much expectation looms around this guy. The Democratic party yearns for this man’s political future like Dick Cheney lusts after the oil and gas fields of the Caspian Sea.
[...]
In any case, he’ll be the only black man in the Senate; and he’ll have a relatively safe seat, as senate seats go. He’ll be an instant star of his party. And all the folks who have antennae for political magic are all atwitter over him. I’ve been watching him give interviews and work the crowd and the tell-tale grace and poise isn’t hard to see.
With all the expectations and anticipation Barack Obama delivered an amazing speech that helped propell him to become the 2008 nominee for President of the United States. Quite an amazing 4 year journey for the man who was merely a state senator when he gave that speech.
The brilliance of the speech is in the build-up and the way he gradually brings the audience in to his vision of America and hope for the future. Great speeches can be appreciated by those of all political persuasions and I think this one is worth watching if nothing else for the nostalgia and the understanding that this moment is really what lead Obama to the events of next week. And to think the national networks didn’t even cover the event live…
Part1
Part2
Post Speech Analysis
Gary Snyder & Huntington Democrats Calling For Resignation of Three Republican Officials
On Monday the Huntington County Council will hold a 6pm public meeting (and likely vote) regarding the institution of a 1% County Option Income Tax. Huntington County Council candidate Gary Snyder opposes the tax increase and will be holding a press conference at 5:30pm to discuss the topic. Snyder is convinced that the Republican council is going to pass the tax increase and so he wants the public to be informed before the vote goes down.
Meanwhile, things in Huntington have taken another interesting turn as Snyder and Huntington Democrats have issued a press release calling for the resignation of several Republican officials. The first is Jerry Harvey who is a county councilman and also an appointee as Bailiff to the Huntington County Courts. Snyder says this violates two provisions of the state constitution:
- Article 2 Section 9 - Holding Dual Lucrative Positions
- Article 3 Section 1 - Separation of Powers
Snyder is also calling on Kathy Branham, president of the county council, and Pam Updike, county council member, mayor’s wife, executive assistant to the mayor and county chairwoman (does she sell popcorn during meetings as well?), to resign for their “willful blindness exhibited towards Mr. Harvey’s possible violations.”
I’m not sure how this will ultimately play out but I’m certain of one thing - the people of Huntington are going to be irate if the county council increases their taxes in this economic environment. And they are going to be doubly irate once they see the kind of “incestuous relationships” (to quote our own Paul Moss) that are running things down there.
It looks like the days of complete Republican rule in Huntington County may be winding down and they will have nobody to blame but themselves. I’m sure you’ll be able to follow this saga via Gary Snyder’s blog which is also on the FWP blogroll…
Harper Trying To Close Potential Ethical Loophole In IT Contract
In a previous post I put up the video of councilman Mitch Harper’s comments during the IT contract debate. Harper pointed out that the contract requires the city to hire a consultant to monitor the benchmarks throughout the lifetime of the contract.
During the meeting he suggested that the contract be modified to ensure that no former city employee could fill this role without first having been removed from city employment for a period of at least two years.
Given the High Performance Government debacle from earlier this year Harper is right to try and close any potential revolving door between government officials and private consultants. Unfortunately, the administration is resisting these efforts thus far suggesting they be given the “flexibility” to hire whoever they wish to perform those duties.
Is it really too much to ask that the independent auditor reviewing these benchmarks not be a former city employee who has just recently quit? Why does the city continue to push this nonsense? The citizenry has very little tolerance for the hiring of consultants in general and even less for the revolving-door variety.
You can read Harper’s letter to Ron Ehinger (the attorney handling the IT contract for the city) below:
County Commissioners Should Remove Bodenhafer
Charles Bodenhafer is one of the County Commissioners’ appointments to the planning commission. Obviously Bodenhafer should resign now that he and his band of thugs are suing fellow commission members - the fact that he hasn’t resigned is an embarrassment to him and the county.
However, there is an alternative. Under state law Bodenhafer can be removed by the commissioners for cause ( IC 36-7-4-218):
The appointing authority may remove a member from the plan commission for cause. The appointing authority must mail notice of the removal, along with written reasons for the removal, to the member at his residence address. A member who is removed may, within thirty (30) days after receiving notice of the removal, appeal the removal to the circuit or superior court of the county. The court may, pending the outcome of the appeal, order the removal or stay the removal of the member.
Clearly the cause here is that he’s involved in the harassment and intimidation of fellow members. I would encourage everyone to write a quick e-mail to the county commissioners (commissioner@co.allen.in.us) and ask them to use their power to remove him from the plan commission effective immediately…
Do The Commissioners Support Their Appointee Or Not?
The County Commissioners have a meeting at 10am Friday morning. At the end of this meeting there will be time for public comment. The word is John Gastineau, attorney for Yoder Farms, is going to ask the commissioners if they are going to provide legal council for Susan Hoot in her battle with the Bodenhafer/Thomas band of thugs.
That’s a good question. What’s really going to be interesting is to find out if the commissioners condemn this frivolous intimidation tactic or not. FWP will have the video…
A quick note - after the special meeting this morning Bodenhafer joined the rest of the plan commission while they ate lunch in their chambers before the 1:30 meeting. Noticeably absent from the lunch table was Susan Hoot. I don’t blame her one bit - who wants to break bread with a jackass that’s suing you?
Canyon Cliffs Discussion Deferred 90 Days
That was the quickest meeting I’ve ever been to. The County Plan Commission’s only business in this special meeting was to vote on an application from Oakmont Development to defer another vote on the original project for 90 days. Discussion on the lifting the sewer restrictive covenant was deferred for 90 days as well.
I suppose that gives the developers time to let their frivolous lawsuits kick in and potentially scare the three opponents of the project.
National Democrats Still Losing Votes On 2nd Amendment
The Democratic Party’s draft 2008 platform has been released and once again the party is pushing an anti-gun agenda, including a renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban. A diarist at Daily Kos had an excellent post on this topic that’s definitely worth reading but I want to zero in on one specific point:
Gun ownership is election-deciding for pro-gun people and a non-priority for everyone else.
I couldn’t agree more and I think strategically the party has to decide if this is a policy really worth fighting for. It seems to me, even if I put myself into the shoes of an anti-gun person, that the risk-reward ratio is not in the party’s favor.
You Can Now Edit Your Own Comments
I’ve received numerous complaints from people that they’d like a way to edit their own comments after they’ve been submitted. Well now you can!
There has to be some time limit however otherwise people could edit their comments weeks or months down the road. I’ve arbitrarily set the time limit at 2 minutes.
Let me know if you have any complaints or issues with this new feature - thanks…
Software Upgrade
I’m upgrading the software that runs this blog so you might notice some differences and if this happens I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment here letting me know.
I’ll also be adding some new features and I’ll have a post about those when they come out but right now things should be about the same to the end-user…
Liz Brown IT Contract Comments Regarding Bud Light
A few commenters were referencing some of Liz Brown’s remarks during the IT discussion last night:
I think its awful that Ms Brown didn’t get that there is a big difference between local jobs and a beer.
And to Liz Brown - I do care - and if you don’t think we care about our City and where millions of dollars stay, then why are you on council?
I’ve added the video of her comments below so all readers, including those that didn’t get to see last night’s meeting, know what the comments are referring to.
