Barack Obama’s Family at the Convention
Aug 26th, 2008 by nick
Political conventions have become more of a staged show than anything else. The speakers appear to be almost universally scripted, with practically every line in every speech vetted and approved by the powers that be. But day one of the democratic convention in Denver yesterday did manage to provide a few minutes of “planned improvisation” when Barack and Michelle Obama’s children, Malia and Sasha, came onstage following their mother’s speech to talk to their father over a videocast. Sasha, at age seven, demonstrated that she’s too young to follow a script when she interrupted her father several times. Putting the girls onstage and giving Sasha a microphone must have been a calculated gamble from the convention organizers in an attempt to present Barack’s personal and family side. The goal, of course, was to give the country an opportunity to relate to Obama as a real person rather than an abstract politician. As a father of two young children, I can attest that this strategy worked for me. While watching the Obama family, I definitely found myself relating to the candidate in a more personal way than I had before.
You can watch Michelle’s speech, or jump straight to 17:50 in the video to see the children.
On a more general note, I think this convention is already off to a better start than the one four years ago. In 2004, the convention tried to play up John Kerry’s patriotism and national security credentials by emphasizing his service in Vietnam. Frankly, it felt like they were trying too hard. This time around, the first day seemed designed to gently present Obama’s personal side, which went over much better. Four years ago, I wasn’t too inspired by Kerry, and mostly wanted Bush to lose. This year I am genuinely inspired by Barack Obama, and sincerely want him to become president.