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Tuesday, July 27, 2004

The D-Party

Bill Richardson may have received a standing ovation, but he's no Bill Clinton. Is anybody? Despite my refined cycnicism perfected over more than a decade of journalistic undertakings, I was moved and even slightly mesmerized listening to Bill Clinton last night. You can Read the full text here Maybe it was just the memory of having a president who spoke English well and had something to say that offered a positive image of our country. But it also reminded me of what it felt like to have Bill Clinton be the first president I ever voted for (because it was the first time I was old enough to vote for president). It wasn't that long ago, and presumably I have many more presidential elections in the offing (assuming Bush doesn't win Nov. 2 and shut down electoral politics once and for all), but there is something unique about that first time feeling as though one's vote is really going to help change the country to something closer to what one wants it to be. I hope people who are voting for the first time, regardless of age, experience that sensation, because it really can be the beginning of engagement.
Or, as I said in my PSA for French and French (now airing on Cable TV), "Voting is the best way to participate in our democracy." Too bad I look like complete and utter shit in that commercial. I can't believe how close up they went on my face. Jesus God, I would have brought a pound of pancake makeup if I'd known.
In other news, SFR has a story in this week's paper from the convention about Clinton's no-show at the Rock the Vote Party and how discouraging that was for young voters expecting him to be there.
If you're in Boston and interested in New Mexico, never fear, New Mexico's Tourism RV is on the scene at the Fleet Center. No, I didn't know we had a state RV either.
As far as Richardson goes, he's apparently using the Convention not just to promote the Party, but to woo Richard Dreyfus to make a movie in New Mexico. I, for one, am not sure how many more TV and film projects around here I will be able to stomach. The entire town seems over-run at the moment by film crews. Still, better than uranium mining, I suppose. Finally, I really do think Richardson needs a better speech writer. He's got charisma, but the words he says just don't have the power and insight that people like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have.