the Walnut Diary

CBC ran Joe Biden’s 25 minute Democratic National Convention address in its entirety.

After all of the propaganda, what I didn’t expect from Joe Biden was a blizzard of ideas crammed into what should have been a one-hour speech.  I had to work very hard to keep up with this series of complex thoughts.  It has been a long time since a political leader has shown intelligence, common sense, and compassion on this level.  Yes, he ad-libbed a bit, primarily when he rethought a complex bit of grammar in a previous sentence, but he made an excellent case for himself as President.  

From time to time in the speech I thought of how Obama would have said this same thing. I realized that he would have gone through the material much more slowly, with plenty of time for applause lines and play to the audience. Joe took the ego out of the performance, but left the pride in his country, ambition, and compassion.

While I loved the sound of Obama’s oratory and appreciated his stagecraft, the simplicity of Joe Biden’s diction belied his speech’s depth and intelligence.