Democratic National Convention: Night 3

Okay, so I joined a bit late (and am actually stuck on PBS rather than CSPAN, so as much as I love Judy Woodruff, I hope that she gives me uninterrupted speeches rather than commentary and advertisements every 20 seconds like CNN).  Here's the highlights of Night Number 3:

Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria, & Scarlett Johansson: While they can't compete with the Michelles and Bills on the stump, all of them gave a moving testimony of what is at stake in this election, particularly for women.  Plus, while I have many adorations and beloved mediums, but I have two loves-movies and politics, and seeing three actresses I adore stumping for two men whom I so thoroughly believe in-it's truly the best of both worlds.

Gabrielle Giffords (Former Congresswoman from Arizona): She didn't give a speech, but in leading the Pledge of Allegiance, we were able to see a leader and a hero who took a bullet for her country in one of the night's most moving moments.

John Kerry (United States Senator-MA and 2004 Democratic Presidential Nominee): It's still a bitter pill for me to swallow to know what a fine president he would have made instead of four more years of Bush-I was in college when Sen. Kerry first ran, and I believed so strongly and devoted many hours to get him elected.  He's not one of the most beloved figures in the party since he lost, but he'll always be the guy who inspired me enough to start knocking on doors and volunteer at phone banks for the first time.  It is comforting to know, then, that he continues to hold those ideals in his heart, and played pitbull against Mitt Romney, "ask Osama bin Laden if he's better off now than he was four years ago."

Joe Biden (Vice President of the United States): He started a little shaky, but he brought it home as he drilled home the message of "Osama bin Laden is dead, General Motors is alive!"  Biden brings an authentic touch that resonates with one of the most vulnerable groups for the Democrats this year-the Baby Boomer Reagan Democrats.  Plus, he brought some of those great Biden touches-mentioning his working class roots and love of his wonderful wife, Dr. Jill Biden.

Barack Obama (President of the United States): If Michelle's speech was the heart and Bill's the soul, than the President's was the mind-brimming with ideas, he pushed home the criticism that Romney offered no specifics in his plans, and then turned around and offered a laundry list of specific issues, name-checking everything from job creation to climate change to education to the military to social issues as the goals for his second term.  It wasn't the fire of hope and change speech he made four years ago, but it was exactly what the doctor ordered-a stark contrast that continued to push the narrative of ideas vs. ideas, not Obama vs. Not Obama.

And that's it.  Though these write-ups have been partisan, it's hard to deny that the Democrats and Obama put on the tighter, better, stronger convention.  I'll be back to the movies as soon as tomorrow (I've got a pile of them on my Netflix and on my TiVo!), but tonight, I just want to say, once again, "yes we can!"