Hillary’s speech
We weren’t looking for it, but Mr. Bookworm accidentally stumbled across Hillary’s speech on TV. I listened to a little and then, put off by her frenetic delivery, read the rest. I have just a few of comments, since I don’t think it merits more than a few.
Hillary is not an inspired speaker, although she is a competent one. My sense was that, in lieu of exciting ideas and genuine leadership, she substituted speed and volume. I found it exhausting to listen to that hectoring list of all the miracles that will come unto earth if the Democrats can just retake the White House. There was no passion there, just a laundry-listed frenzy.
On the subject of “inspiration,” this speech was anything but. Instead, it was a generic political speech. The references to Obama seemed to have been slotted in at strategic points, without actual regard for Obama. Hillary could just as easily have said “Candidate X” without changing the content one iota. There was a robotic quality to the fact that, each time Hillary had made a few points on the Democratic want list (universal healthcare, equal rights for everyone, an activist Supreme Court), she’d then throw in “and Obama can do this.”
The problem is that I never got from Hillary a sense of why Obama can do this (whatever “this” happens to be) — and given Obama’s record of failed initiatives, maybe silence was golden. After all, Obama gets a quick start on everything but, once he’s achieved his goal (law review editor, law professor, State senator, United States senator) he does almost nothing or he fails in his initiatives. His whole goal is getting there, not being there. If he followed the first part of that pattern and did nothing in the White House, his tenure might be harmless. On the other hand, if he followed the second part of that pattern and embarked on failed government handouts and boondoggles for his political friends, I can envision a very painful four years and a long national recovery.
Also, as is always the case with Democratic speeches, the maudlin hard luck tales creep me out. I feel as if I’m listening to some presentation from a charity that is demanding my emotions and, most importantly, my money. I don’t view government as a giant charity. I view it as a infrastructure support service that should be minimally intrusive and minimally expensive. I don’t need saccharine human interest stories — most of which I suspect are suspect — to define my government. That’s the liberal fascism Jonah Goldberg wrote about, which envisions a smiley faced government that will take care of all human needs. It’s not comforting, it’s frightening.
And that’s what I thought of Hillary’s speech.
