The Democrats have announced that Barack Obama will give his nomination acceptance address at Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos. 76000+ capacity. Good heavens. I think the last time someone tried this sort of thing was John Kennedy's 1960 speech at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
It's likely that Obama can fill the place. But, geez, talk about expectations. He's speaking at a venue similar to Kennedy and he's speaking on the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream." Gosh, Senator, why don't you add to the fun and play Rafael Nadal while giving the speech? By the by, does this place have a roof? Rain would make for a great speech.
I've got some doubts about this. At a time when he should be making a powerful case against the status quo and for his brand of change, the venue will force him to give a rally speech--light on substance, heavy on chants. Given that this is one of the rare occasions when everyone will be tuned in, well, this is not a choice I would have made. This is the sort of thing you do on election eve. This is not the sort of thing you do at the convention.
Don't sneer at the power of chanting: http://web.mac.com/davidcheshier/iWeb/Humanities%20Blog/Amateur%20Humanist/9E324A21-D82A-4885-A44B-409928D3DA83.html
Posted by: M | July 07, 2008 at 04:11 PM
Perhaps the speech itself, in a venue such as this, *will* be lighter on substance than it might otherwise be. However, such a venue, I think, offers something that is consistent with the Obama campaign's connection to the people: it offers regular folks (i.e. non-delegates, non-media members and non-protesters) an opportunity to participate in the excitement of the convention. He's taking the convention to the people.
When I watch MLK's speech on video there's an element of the speech that consistently amazes me - an element that is not part of the speech itself. The sight of all those thousands of hushed people. There's *thousands* of them. Senator Obama has an acute sense of history and I don't think the images and sounds of the Washington Mall will be lost on him as he composes his words. In other words, I think you may be underestimating both Obama and the crowd that will flock to see him.
Of course, as you might be able to tell from my website, I'm a bit biased.
Posted by: chris | July 09, 2008 at 09:10 AM