Or do you Beg to Differ? No how. Actor-turned-corporate-spokesman Ronald Reagan gave a televised speech (A Time for Choosing) in support of Goldwater just a few days before the 1964 election. He was also unwilling to exchange his principles for votes. Here's what we'll be missing when the DNC and RNC go virtual. And the surest way to invoke feelings is to tell a story. There is despair, Mr. President, in the faces that you don't see, in the places that you don't visit in your shining city. Reagan had an eye on a higher prize, and after his second term as governor ended, he began laying the groundwork for a presidential run. They will know whether we met our challenge. Will there be a single tear shed for the staged balloon drops, the roll calls with all the suspense of a Soviet Politburo vote, the voice-vote endorsement of a platform that the nominee will feel free to ignore? Kay Sage found love in Europe. Take Reagan's '76 concession speech, which paved the way for his 1980 victory when he called on Republicans to commit themselves to a platform "that is a banner of bold, unmistakable colors, with no pastel shades.". Who said what during the Jan. 6 hearings? He frames his opponent as an embodimenta puppetof this rigged system. Hillary Clinton is the ultimate insider; Donald Trump is the ultimate outsider. The November election is the party's "chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive," said Obama. Michelle Obama (who delivered one of the many speeches we didnt write) provided a master class in the genre Monday night. Sarah? (Room Rater would agree.
The agenda that Clinton & Clinton would impose on Americaabortion on demand, a litmus test for the Supreme Court, homosexual rights, discrimination against religious schools, women in combat unitsthats change, all right.. "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns," Bryan bellowed at the end of his speech. There is a religious war going on in this country. ", August 28, 2008 On the last day of the Democratic convention, Rep. John Lewis introduced a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered his "I Have a Dream speech 45 years ago. Other cuts were a little tougher, given both precedents and personalities. He recalls writing a letter for a time capsule to be opened in California a century later. For months, weve seen this in concerts and sports, and now weve seen it in our convention. These famous lines led to much debate, and made it easier for critics to depict Goldwater as an extremist. Warnings for Today from the French Revolution. Next, a man who attempted to take the Republican party in a radically different direction. But now they wouldnt be competing with the low murmur of conversation in a convention hall; theyd be competing with life: second and third screens, rowdy children, noisy neighbors. 
Today, as then, but more urgently and more broadly than then, the task of preserving and enlarging freedom at home and of safeguarding it from the forces of tyranny abroad is great enough to challenge all our resources and to require all our strength. Reagan spends a couple of minutes reaching out again to Democrats, discussing why he left their partyor rather, how the Democratic leadership took their party further and further away from its first principles. When he says of Democratic voters We welcome them to our side, the crowd goes wild. Only four speakers had more than 10 minutes. Wisconsin GOP: For Governor, Which Delusional Person Do You Prefer? This article was published more than2 years ago. Transcript: Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech, Transcript: John Lewis Introduces Tribute To King, Transcript: Joe Biden's Acceptance Speech, Transcript: Sen. John Kerry On Foreign Policy, Transcript: Bill Clinton's Prime-Time Speech, Transcript: Hillary Clinton's Prime-Time Speech, Transcript: Mark Warner's Convention Speech, Transcript: Michelle Obama's Convention Speech, More from Speeches From The Democratic Convention. 1984 -- "Reagan's City" by Mario Cuomo Four years later, the Democrats were still struggling to find their voice again as Reagan continued to redefine conservatism. Whether they will have the freedom that we have known up until now will depend on what we do here. These moments go way back. He spoke on the first night of the Democratic National Convention. 1980 -- "Dream Shall Never Die" by Ted KennedyThere may never be a greater concession speech than this.
In previous conventions, we estimated that, if we were lucky, speakers could emit about 125 words per minute. It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as was the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America. A more recent example was the 2004 keynote address of a young Black state senator from Illinois, with its assertion that there is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there is the United States of America!which provided the most memorable moment of that unmemorable convention, and a major reason why Barack Obama was accepting the nomination of his party four years later. The parties, and the voters, will be the poorer for it.
Stories that explain the news through charts, maps, photography and videos. Love it, love it, love it. The primaries were a much closer call, however, than Fords campaign had hoped. As writers, we know its painful not to have the time to unspool a story or let an anecdote breathe. This week, Democrats completed, as was said more than once, an unconventional convention. Hopefully, it provided a look at the future president. Heres what we learned. In 1924, FDR painfully made his way to the podium at Madison Square Garden to nominate Al Smith, The happy warrior, for president. We have found over the years that the most powerful convention moments are often the smaller ones: everyday people telling their stories. Or when Kristin Urquiza talked about how her fathers only preexisting condition was trusting Trump (adapted from an essay she wrote in these pages)? 
Remember: All of the people telling you You cant have the country you want are the same people that wouldnt standI mean they said Trump doesnt have a chance of being here tonight, not a chancethe same people. Whichever side you choose, well be back tomorrow, and well do this all over again. . During conventions past, every single speech was delivered behind the same lectern. It marked the return to political life of the partys 1920 vice presidential nominee, whose career had seemed doomed after polio left him without the use of his legs. The whole country did. ", 1976 -- "No Pastel Shades" by Ronald Reagan Though Goldwater's policies were roundly rejected by the electorate, future Republicans would adopt his "stand your ground" mentality when it came to conservative principles to great success. This makes the thrill harder, but it also makes the sell easier. The former president also praised Obama's choice of Joe Biden as a running mate, saying, "He hit it out of the park.". We led a team of talented writers who penned speeches for many of the 49 live and nearly 300 prerecorded speakers to deliver without a stage, an arena or a live audience. ), Obama gives fear itself a name: Donald Trump. Lewis, who was at the March on Washington, said that "this dream was too right, too necessary, too noble to ever die.". He said, "We already have everything we need to use the sun, the wind, geothermal power, conservation and efficiency to solve the climate crisis everything, that is, except a president who inspires us to believe. The peroration and conclusion of Reagans speech is masterly. People loved seeing the states, rather than hearing them described, as they had been at previous conventions. (Photo by CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images), Barry Goldwater 1964 RNC Acceptance Speech, The list of election deniers on the ballot keeps growing, and now includes the GOP, Ronald Reagan's Remarks at the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri 8/19/76, President Reagan's Acceptance Speech at the Republican National Convention, August 23, 1984. It will be interesting to see, when the party nominates him again this week, how he tries to avoid responsibility for massive problemsnot least a terrible pandemicthat have happened on his watch. Ah, we love defeating those people dont we? We normally tell speakers: Figure out the headline you would want to read in the story about this speech, and then write to that. Now, were going to start saying, Figure out the headline youd like to see in the story about this speech, and deliver it., The convention shows Democrats dont care about young voters, Lose the lectern and let the setting speak. 
More often than not, convention-watchers have to endure hours of mangled metaphors and twice-masticated cliches before a moment of eloquence emerges. Take our quiz. At least for now, those arrows have been removed from a speakers quiver. Will they look back with appreciation and say, Thank God for those people in 1976 who headed off that loss of freedom? The alternative is the dream conceived by our Founding Fathers, up to the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with an orderly society. Isnt our choice really not one of left or right, but of up or down: down through the welfare state to statism, to more and more government largesse, accompanied always by more government authority, less individual liberty and ultimately totalitarianism, always advanced as for our own good. August 28, 2008 In these prepared remarks provided by the Obama campaign, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party's nomination as president "with profound gratitude and great humility." Governor Mario Cuomo, who gave a keynote speech that solidified the liberal opposition to Reagan by challenging his vision of America as a city on a hill. But instead of pitting Americans against one another, as Trump does, Reagan pits Americans against tyrannyboth at home and abroad. Thats what conventions, done well, should be: hundreds of individual stories that come together to form a larger story about who we are and where were going. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue! Some cuts were easier this time around. Who Is the Secret Service Really Protecting? (What counts now is not just what we are against, but what we are for. And so, to the Buchanan Brigades out there, we have to come home and stand beside George Bush. Like last weeks Democratic convention, we know that it will be a strange affair, with solo livestreams, press barred from entry, few attendees other than delegates, and the whole production even more made-for-TV than party conventions already were. But theres one convention feature that the parties are very much going to miss: the speech before a packed arena, with thousands shaking the rafters with their cheers. In his acceptance speech at the 2016 RNC in Cleveland, Trump railed against an elite class that, he said, was running and ruining the country. "A shining city is perhaps all the President sees from the portico of the White House," Cuomo said. She didnt speak the words Black Lives Matter, but she very much said them. It also infused the party with a populist message that has remained a significant element ever since. Her speech highlights what she calls Obama's commitment to young people, women and working families. It is not dissimilar to the rhetoric from some Republicans in the 2016 election about the importance of defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016. So when he finally agreed to the urging of President Harry S. Truman and Chicago boss Jake Arvey to permit himself to be drafted, the delegates were in a receptive mood to support the previously obscure governor. He celebrates the beauty of the country and the diversity of its people, weaving together American stories and ideals. August 25, 2008 In her speech, Michelle Obama delves into her autobiography as a child on the South Side of Chicago and as an adult working in the public service sector. But he can no longer lay claim to being an outsider. Speakers have an incredibly limited amount of time to capture an audience. And in that struggle for the soul of America, Clinton & Clinton are on the other side, and George Bush is on our side. How will he fare when reading from a script before a lifeless camera in what is usually the moment for a standout speech? As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America first, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respectthe respect that we deserve. In 1952, Illinois Gov. Former Ohio governor John Kasich, a Republican, memorably spoke at a crossroads, which conveyed its own message. After some warmly greeted remarks of thanks to Ford and the convention, Reagan turns serious. And Im not just talking about the acceptance speech. It marked the end of the solid South that had voted almost unanimously for Democratic candidates from 1868 to 1944; in the decades since, the South would reliably deliver thumping electoral majorities to the GOP.
In 1952, retired General Douglas MacArthur hoped his keynote speech would advance his own presidential prospects. Of course, the unpredictability of live speeches means that even the most carefully scripted moment can take the speaker down a few pegs as well. Adlai Stevenson welcomed the delegates to Chicago as host governor. Thats why the convention featured Republicans discussing how they came to repudiate Trump and embrace Biden. speech by Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey. This seeming detail of monetary policy was really shorthand for a bigger argument between Americas creditors and debtors, between Eastern financial interests and the farmers of the Middle West. JVL? What can we expect from this weeks Republican National Convention? . But the real question is: Was the impact of his speech diminished or deepened by that time limit? Upon failure, Kennedy assured his fellow Dems that "the work goes on, the cause, endure, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." Obama at the Museum of the American Revolution, Jill Biden in the empty classroom in which she once taught, former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg at the place where he married his husband, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) at a kitchen table, symbolizing the place from which many Americans will vote in the fall. "It would be easier to shrink from that new frontier, to look to the safe mediocrity of the past, to be lulled by good intentions and high rhetoric," Kennedy mused during his acceptance speech, "and those who prefer that course should not vote for me or the Democratic Party. And suddenly it dawned on me; those who would read this letter a hundred years from now will know whether those missiles were fired. Podiums and lecterns achieve physically what we hope they will do metaphorically: elevate the speaker and vest him or her with authority. In 1948, when platforms still mattered, Democrats adopted a strong civil rights plank after a speech by Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey, who argued it was time for the party to move out of the shadow of states rights, into the bright sunshine of human rights. Back then, such a stand marked a breaking point: After the plank was passed, with Humphreys speech providing strong momentum, dozens of Southern delegates walked out and formed a States Rights Democratic Partythe Dixiecratsled by South Carolina Governor and future Senator Strom Thurmond. Who leads us is less important than what leads uswhat convictions, what courage, what faithwin or lose.). In 1976, though, he lost the nomination to incumbent President Gerald Ford. Buchanan tries to appeal to people in Americas heartlandpeople who dont read Adam Smith or Edmund Burke, but they come from the same schoolyards and the same playgrounds and towns as we come from. But rather than instilling optimism about the future of these communities, he stokes the flames of war. Let us turn next to the man who was himself catapulted into the national political spotlight during Goldwaters unsuccessful presidential campaign. I obviously picked up on that theme, but nobody wanted to hear it.. 
When Carter failed to move the needle in a similar way, it became a sign that the splintered Democrats were not going to be able to challenge Reagan. He uses this as a prompt to share a Burkean vision: the importance of safeguarding freedom not just for his generation, but for those yet to be born, and for their kids, and their grandkids, and so on. He is the incumbent president. 
To have the courage to stand at a party convention, typically brimming with pomp and catchphrases, and deplore unthinking and stupid labels is no small feat. In one of our rehearsals, when her speech was running a few seconds long, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) observed with a smile, Usually the Speaker gets to speak for as long as she wants. She then cut several phrases and an extraneous sentence and landed her speech at exactly four minutes. August 26, 2008 In an emotionally charged speech at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton put her full support behind Barack Obama. The average speech at the convention was 2 1/2 minutes long. If you watch the mesmerizing recording, the crowd is somber. Here, the virtual outmatched the traditional. Reagans popularity helped cement the split in the party between Northeastern establishment moderates and those in the American South and Southwest who tended to be more ideologically committed to conservativism. The rhetorical technique of call-and-response engages an audience, and forces them to pay attention, because they need to be responding. Thanks to Covid-19, the nations quadrennial moments of political theater are, for the first time, entirely virtual. Trumps 2016 convention speechwhich we will get to laterdoes the opposite. Jimmy Carter. And, he says, it is politicians like Hillary Clinton who have sold out America: The problems we face nowpoverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroadwill last only as long as we continue relying on the same politicians who created themin the first place. Stevenson won the nomination on the third ballot, the last time any presidential contest has gone past a first ballot. The following Monday, the Republican National Convention ends not with a bring-down-the-house floor speech by Donald Trump, but with a quiet click when the president stops talking into a camera and someone presses stop.. . A former congressman from Nebraska, 36-year-old William Jennings Bryan, spoke for the free silver movement of the Westerners with a speech that thundered: You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold! (He recorded the speech for Thomas Edison a dozen years later). Who kept us now a hundred years later free? Someone at the Republican National Convention might have surprised the delegates with an appeal for a kinder, gentler version of Donald Trump before being jeered off the platform. Quoting a Democrat who said that Bill Clinton and Al Gore represent the most pro-lesbian and pro-gay ticket in history, Buchanan agrees: And so they do., After referring to the radical feminism of Hillary Clintonand her husbands line about how, in electing him, voters would be getting her, too: two for the price of oneBuchanan mocks their plans for the country. Despite some technical wizardry in providing reaction shots, teleconferences just cant re-create the electricity of a widely attended event. He won, then won re-election in 1970. Show your support with Bulwark merchandise. We might have had a memorable offering by one of the defeated presidential hopefuls, or an I told you so! from Hillary Clinton. Those, those who do not care for our cause, we dont expect to enter our ranks in any case. Franklin D. Roosevelts acceptance speech is where he pledged a New Deal in 1932; John F. Kennedys in 1960 proclaimed that we stand at the edge of a new frontier. It was his 2016 acceptance speech in which Donald Trump described a broken America and boasted: I alone can fix it., Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images, Sometimes, of course, these speeches are misleading: George H.W. Twitter: Copyright 2022, Bulwark Media. Two years later he ran for governor in California. 1960 -- "The New Frontier" by John F. Kennedy JFK's acceptance speech was based on a simple idea: America's only hope for progress was to put all its focus on the future, even if it had to drag its more nostalgic side along with it. Jeff Greenfield is a five-time Emmy-winning network television analyst and author. The man who penned themthe Straussian political scientist Harry Jaffawas apparently inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Jaffa explained in an interview with journalist Brain Gaffney: The important thing is not whether we should be extremist, but what kind of extremist we should be.