Review of Obama's Denver Speech

Shocker: Obama Not Perfect

Don't get me wrong: I love this guy. He represents America's greatest hope at this critical moment in our history. The historic address moved me to tears of pure joy at 20 points. Before I reveal what I disliked (and I deeply disliked those things) about the speech, let me list a few things that I loved about it:

• Obama disagreed with McCain's positions on the issues while refusing to stoop to the petty politics of personal attack. "John McCain loves this country just as much as you and I, but..." Classy! Nice! We can disagree while still respecting one another. That's what the Rush Limbaughs of the world just don't get, and their uncivil variety of discourse has inflicted major damage over the past 15 years or so. Time to put that to rest.
• Obama put much of the burden on us, the people. He's right. People are going to have to make a lot of sacrifices and take care of our own little corners of the world. Government is not there to coddle you, but it should be there to protect your rights and help you. The thing I like most about Obama is his ability to inspire us and bring out the better angels of our nature. He seems to come by that naturally: He strikes me as a highly honorable and decent person.
• Obama clearly laid out his agenda. He wants to tilt the playing field back in favor of workers and the middle class: education, small business, health care. Education is the key to everything else. Small business is what drives our economy and always has throughout our history (Even in the age of corporate kings, the majority of Americans are employed in small and medium-sized businesses). Our health care system is atrocious and needs deep reform if not a total overhaul.
• More on that agenda: Foreign policy needs to move back in the direction of cooperation and away from swaggering go-it-aloneism. In addition to (and more significantly than) degrading our military power, the Bush administration has severely damaged our persuasive power in the world. When people don't like you, they don't respect you, and they don't want to partner with you. America has always been and always should be a beacon of justice, fairness, and optimism. Bush damaged that brand badly. Obama demonstrated that he can bring us back to a position of global respect and leadership.
• Obama positioned himself perfectly on the confidence-arrogance spectrum. "This election is not about me. It's about you." That is a line for the ages. I could not have written it better myself.
• FUN! Democrats showed that they know how to have a good time. That's not really so much about Obama's speech as about the whole spectacle, but it looked like a hoot. People who were there told me it was a blast. We humans are here to learn hard lessons, but it's the fun times that make life worth living. Fun is also a huge component of the American brand. We're a fun people, and that -- more than anything else -- is why the world loves us.

Even with all that, two things Obama said raised red flags for me, and one thing he didn't say annoyed me a bit, despite the clear political expedience of not saying it. To wit:

• "Clean coal" -- there is no such thing. The technology does not exist. It is an oxymoron. This made me think that the coal industry may have their hooks in our man.
• "Safe nuclear" -- a contradiction in terms. Until we figure out how to safely deal with the 100,000 tons of high-level, million-year, unbelievably toxic nuclear waste we've left for future generations, there should be a moratorium on nuke building and an effort to close the plants that are still running. You want nuclear energy? The most powerful fusion plant that will ever exist in our corner of the universe rises in the east and sets in the west every single day, delivering more energy to the surface of our planet in every 24-hour period than will be burned in the entire history of all fossil fuels combined. Let's harness that. The technology exists to. day.

and what Obama did not say...

• We need to raise taxes on the highest earners. It's ridiculous that a billionaire pays only 15 percent on a $10,000,000 speculative gain while his secretary pays 28 percent of her $80,000 salary. I understand completely why Obama didn't "go there," but I still wish he had addressed the disparity of wealth and income that has become sickening since the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy went into effect.

It was an historic speech that exceeded expectations, and I loved it. But of course it wasn't perfect. We're all human, after all, even Obama. I'd score the speech and Obama 99/100 -- not too shabby!