Democratic National Convention: Day Two Recap

After two nights of both conventions being down, the score is:

Democrats: 2
Republicans: 0

And if you broke down the scores it isn't even close. Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton came out and made great cases for why the Democrats should not only retain the White House, but gain back control of Congress. Just watch their speeches for yourself

Here's the future junior senator from Masschusetts:



And here's Bill Clinton's hell of a speech:



Tonight Barack Obama will accept the nomination as Democratic candidate for President of the United States. Obviously his speech will be the most anticipated, but there are several other speakers to look forward to, such as Vice President Joe Biden and the always fun Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.

As always, we'll be keeping up with the convention on twitter.

Democratic National Convention: Day One Recap

The first day of the Democratic National Convention was a good start, as there were many good speeches and a great tone in general. Compared to the RNC, which felt like a halfhearted meeting at a country club, the DNC was much looser, much smoother, and a much better representation of the United States as a whole.

If the day had any sort of theme, it was that the Democratic party is proud of Obamacare. Although two years late, it appears the party has finally gotten around to figuring out how to sell what is a complicated, flawed, but ultimately very beneficial piece of legislation.

Unlike the RNC, the speakers at the DNC actually seemed enthusiastic about supporting their candidate. They spent much more of their time speaking about President Obama and what he can do if re-elected, rather than blathering on about themselves. There were many great speeches from earlier in the night, such as former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and NARAL President Nancy Keenan. Even Harry Reid's speech was effective, if not quite the barnburner as later ones would be.

However, the best speeches by far were the last two. The keynote speaker was San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. His speech reminded us of Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 DNC in Boston. Be watching for his name, as he is clearly going to be a major player in the Democratic party of the future. Unlike

If his speech was the last speech night, it would have been an unqualified success. However, Castro's speech was just a warm up for First Lady Michelle Obama. After such a successful night of speeches, the pressure was on her to deliver.

And deliver she did. It was a speech by a woman that clearly loves her husband, her President, and her country. It rebuked every thing the RNC tried to say about Democrats and President Obama, and did it all without being mean or without directly attacking Mitt Romney. In essence, it made a most compelling case for the President's reelection.

So now the bar is set for former President Bill Clinton and current President Barack Obama. Given their track record, I think they'll both do alright. We'll have to see if that is true.

Happy Labor Day (and a few words about the Conventions)

We here at August Prairie wish all of you a happy Labor Day. Please think about all the labor movement in America has brought us, from the two day weekend to the forty hour work week. And of course, for some, dental plans.

We know we never provided a recap of Day Four of the RNC, but we didn't get to see any of it, and frankly what is there to say about Romney's speech? It was dull, it was bland, and it was unremarkable. It was also overshadowed by an angry old man yelling at an invisible man. All in all, a fitting symbol for today's Republican party. Yep, the GOP is now nothing but Mr. Burns, Rev. Lovejoy, that crazy gun shooting Texan, and Grandpa Simpson. I think even Sideshow Bob would blanch at the current state of the Republican party (not that we want him and his monstrous feet on our side).

Stay tuned tomorrow for our coverage of the Democratic National Convention, where we promise less cries of BULLSHIT will probably be heard. Even if those may be deserved at times.

Until then, enjoy this song from one of the greatest episodes of The Simpsons. Oh, and a bit of "Classical Gas" as well.