2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address

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Obama giving the address.

The Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention was given by then Illinois State Senator and Senate candidate Barack Obama on the night of Tuesday, July 27, 2004. The speech instantly turned Obama into a political star within the Democratic Party and led to talk about a future run for the presidency.

Background

In 1996 Obama was first elected to the Illinois Senate by that state's 13th District, and he would go on to hold that seat for eight years. While still a sitting state senator he entered the 2004 Illinois Sensate race, which would end on the same day as the 2004 presidential election. The Democratic primary presidential primary in Illinois was held that March 16, and later that spring Obama had his first opportunity to meet the soon to be nominated Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, doing a join Chicago campaign stop that left Kerry impressed.

That April, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill began listing possible candidates to be the DNC's keynote speaker — including Jennifer Granholm, Janet Napolitano, Tom Vilsack, Mark Warner, and Bill Richardson — searching for speakers who would generate a significant buzz in the media. Others involved in the process included Convention manager Jack Corrigan and media advisor Robert Shrum. Cahill had previously seen Obama in a photo in TIME and began asking for opinions from people who knew him. Although there were some internal worries about his style of speaking, lack of experience with a teleprompter, opposition to the Iraq war that Kerry initially supported, and the fact that he was only a state senator, they eventually chose him, in part because polls showed Kerry with less support among African-Americans than Democrats normally enjoyed. During the process, the Obama senate campaign provided the Kerry camp with an eight-minute audition video, and several Obama advisors lobbied on his behalf with members of the Kerry staff.

According to Obama, he was told just several weeks after his campaigning with Kerry that he would be given some kind of speaking role at that summer's convention; he was later called by Cahill, who told him that he was chosen to be the convention's keynote speaker. It was not until June 29 that Kerry first publicly hinted that Obama would deliver the convention's keynote address, and July 14 when the official announcement was made.

Writing

Obama began drafting his speech while staying in a hotel in Springfield, Illinois, several days after learning he would deliver the address. According to his account of that day in The Audacity of Hope, Obama states that he began by considering his own campaign themes and those specific issues he wished to address, and while pondering the various people he had met and stories he had heard during his campaign, was reminded of the phrase "The audacity of hope", which was previously used in a sermon by his pastor Jeremiah Wright. With that theme in mind, he shut off the basketball game he was watching and began work on the address. One media report said that he had written it at his Hyde Park home over a few hours, and another that it took two or three days. In the week or so before delivering the speech it was edited by the Kerry campaign. Of the original draft by Obama, roughly three quarters was reported to have been left intact after the Kerry campaign's edits, though another report indicated that very little had been changed. Obama has also acknowledged that his staff reviewed the speech, noting, however, that he was proud to have written it himself along with most of his other speeches.

Convention

Main article: 2004 Democratic National Convention

The 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC), held at the FleetCenter (now the TD Banknorth Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, began on July 26, with Obama scheduled to address the delegates the following evening. The Obama campaign was unhappy with the time slot and hoped to change it, as that night would not be covered by the major networks.

Obama arrived in Boston very early on Sunday the 25th, flying in on a chartered jet. The aircraft was provided for him because that same morning Obama made his first appearance on Meet the Press, hosted by Tim Russert. During the interview, Obama touched upon what he hoped to achieve in the speech:

What I'd like to do is talk about the vision the Democratic Party has for this country. You know, I think that there's enormous strength in the country, enormous resilience in the country, but people are struggling, and as I've been traveling throughout Illinois over the last 18 months, what I've been seeing are people who are concerned about their economic security, concerned about their ability to pay for their health care, their kids, sending them to college, and if we can project an optimistic vision that says we can be stronger at home, more respected abroad, and that John Kerry has the message and the strength to lead us in that fashion, then I think we'll be successful.

This was followed by appearances on Face the Nation and Late Edition.

Obama appeared on Good Morning America the day of the speech, and was asked how he would deal with the fact that he was against the invasion of Iraq while Kerry and Edwards supported the resolution approving the use of military force. He responded that they were focused on the future instead of looking back at the past, and that now everyone was interested in seeing a successful policy on the war. He also stated that the advice his wife Michelle had given him for the night's address was "Don't screw it up."

He also spoke with NPR that morning, stating that "I'm sure I'm going to be excited, although I was here last night and something that really takes the pressure off, you realize that nobody's listening... So, you know, who knows what lines I could slip in there...No one would notice. So as long as I'm smiling and waving, I think I'll be OK." He also referred to talk about his presidential prospects as silly, and also addressed the risk of being typecast, as another young African-American politician, Harold Ford, had given the keynote address in 2000. That afternoon he was at Boston Harbor where he gave a speech on environmental policy to a small crowd.

According to Obama friend Marty Nesbitt, the two were walking together later that afternoon before the speech, and when Nesbitt likened him to a rock star because of the crowd growing behind them, Obama replied: "Yeah, if you think it’s bad today, wait until tomorrow...My speech is pretty good."

Speech

Obama was scheduled to give his keynote address on the night of Tuesday, July 27. Some Obama advisors were concerned prior to his delivery, because it amounted to the first time he used a teleprompter. While Obama was backstage rehearsing his speech, he met Kerry staffer and speechwriter Jon Favreau (later to become Obama's speechwriter), instructed him that to avoid overlap with Kerry, a sentence had to be changed. Stepping on stage just after 9:00 pm EDT to the 1964 song Keep on Pushing, Obama would go on to speak for 17 minutes, interrupted 33 times by the audience's applause.

After thanking Illinois Senator Dick Durbin for the introduction and acknowledging the privilege of speaking there, Obama immediately launched into a brief biographical sketch, from his grandfather's work as a domestic servant for the British, to his own father who obtained a scholarship to come to the United States, and then on his mother's side, describing his grandfather who fought in World War II while his grandmother worked and raised his mother. He explained that the name given to him by his parents meant "blessed", concluding that:

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

Obama then alluded to the basic freedom's enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and stated that the 2004 election was a time to reaffirm these values and realize that "We have more work to do." He went on to mention several Americans he had met who were struggling with jobs, healthcare, and education, stating that "they don't expect government to solve all their problems...But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all."

In the next segment of his address, Obama mentioned John Kerry for the first time, enumerating his major values and beliefs on a host of issues, interrupted by a story of a young Marine he had met and the affirmation that when military action is undertaken, the families and soldiers involved must be cared for and that there is an obligation to "never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world." Obama then returned to Kerry and affirmed his commitment to keep America secure.

Obama then addressed the ideas of community and unity in America, that a person struggling somewhere affects us even if we are not directly involved. Referring to the "spin masters" who he claimed were ready to divide the country, he declared:

Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America — there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too: We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.

Asking whether the country wished to engage in a politics of cynicism or hope, he stated that Kerry and Edwards called on the American people to hope, which he assured was not simply "blind optimism".

It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs. The hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores. The hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta. The hope of a mill worker's son who dares to defy the odds. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope! Hope in the face of difficulty! Hope in the face of uncertainty! The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

Stating his own beliefs on what could be done, Obama said that he believed "we have a righteous wind at our backs" and expressed confidence in the country's ability to meet the current challenges. He concluded by expressing his belief that in November Kerry and Edwards would be elected, and with their inauguration, "this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come."

Reception

Obama's speech instantly catapulted him to a national stage, both as a star within the Democratic party and someone that pundits openly predicted might one day become president. Obama's biography, recounted in the speech, was reported by The New York Times to have allowed him to credibly identify with a much wider array of people than other politicians, and he did not place himself in a black tradition. However, it was not clear whether the address would help Kerry, and was noted for taking some of the limelight from another young Democratic, John Edwards.

News media and pundits

Immediately after the speech MSNBC host Chris Matthews admitted, "I have to tell you, a little chill in my legs right now. That is an amazing moment in history right there. It is surely an amazing moment. A keynoter like I have never heard." He added later in the night, "...I have seen the first black president there. And the reason I say that is because I think the immigrant experience combined with the African background, combined with the incredible education, combined with his beautiful speech, not every politician gets help with the speech, but that speech was a piece of work." Pat Buchanan, while complimenting Obama, was more critical of what he called a centrist speech: "He is hiding what he truly believes. What does Obama believe about this war?" On PBS, columnist David Brooks responded positively, "This is why you go to conventions to watch a speech like this," while Mark Shields said, "A star is born."

Former Jimmy Carter speechwriter Hendrick Hertzberg considered it slightly better than Mario Cuomo's 1984 keynote address, stating, "If he wrote that speech, then he should be president, because it's such a great speech. If he didn't, he should be president because he found such a great speechwriter." Martin Medhurst, a professor of rhetoric and communications at Baylor University, disagreed about it being better than Cuomo's, even if it was an exceptional performance. Stressing that it was too early to make any predictions, he noted that new political stars were not normally created because of keynote addresses.

Tom Brokaw asked rhetorically whether Obama or Kerry would be the man more remembered from the convention, while CNN's Jeff Greenfield called it "one of the really great keynote speeches of the last quarter-century." Howard Fineman noted that Obama's emphasis on parents, not government in teaching children was the same kind of language that could have been heard amongst Republicans. Historian Douglas Brinkley stated, "Obama trumped Bill Clinton. Clinton gave a good speech yesterday. Obama was better. That's hard to do in American politics."

A reporter for Britain's The Independent declared that the mantle of who was most likely to be the first black president had passed from Colin Powell to Obama, who in 2012 would have as much experience in the Senate as John F. Kennedy when he was elected in 1960. Kenya's The Nation also covered the speech, and noted his use of biography, particularly his Kenyan heritage.

A columnist for Christian Science Monitor acknowledged that many aspects of his speech were typical of political speeches, but that Obama had managed to make it appear as though they were something new and exciting. Speaking of the broadcast networks that had not covered the address, the column said, "They missed the national debut of what could be one of the most exciting and important voices in American politics in the next half century."

Politicians

Obama's fellow Illinois Democrats praised him after the speech. Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan reacted by saying, "He is a star...For Barack, the sky's the limit," while Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said "He hit a grand slam home run." Senate President Emil Jones responded "It was such a moving speech that I had tears in my eyes...It was electrifying. When I looked around the room, all across the people were so emotional, tears in their eyes. They're crying. A great individual, a great Illinoisan." Governor Rod Blagojevich stated, "After the speech last night, I would think that even if he had an opponent, he might get 100 percent of the vote."

Alabama Representative Artur Davis pushed the idea of Obama running for president, stating, "If anyone can do it, Obama can...Obama may help break down the stereotypes that an African-American politician is someone only for other blacks...When Obama runs for the White House, he will run not as a candidate for blacks. He has the capacity to run as a candidate for everyone."

Academics

In an article entitled "An Immigrant's Dream and the Audacity of Hope" in the American Behavioral Scientist, Babak Elahi and Grant Cos compare Obama's speech to the one given by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 2004 Republican National Convention, both utilizing an "immigrant dream narrative". They add that in Obama's shift from his own biography to that of John Kerry, he was able to make it as if Kerry, through his service to the country, was an "honorary immigrant", as if he had too had chosen to be an American citizen.

In "Recasting the American Dream and American Politics", Robert C. Rowland and John M. Jones, two professors of communications, argue that the disconnect between what policies the majority of the American public reported supporting (more liberal) and the political label the plurality used to describe themselves as (conservative) had to do with the fact that America's romantic narrative, the search for the American Dream, had become closely associated with Ronald Reagan and conservatives, and that in a keynote address unremarkable in its basic themes, Obama sought to recast the narrative as one associated with liberals. Whereas Reagan's narrative focused heavily on individualism, Obama used the metaphor of hope to call for a balance between those individual values and community values, the latter also being necessary for the achievement of the American Dream.

David A. Frank at the University of Oregon compares Obama's speech with the one given by Al Sharpton at the same convention, stating that while Sharpton did not stray beyond familiar themes of African American trauma, Obama broadened his scope to include all races and classes in a narrative that "harkened back to the Roosevelt-Johnson legacy of shared purpose and coalition..." In an alternative reading, Mark Lawrence McPhail criticizes Obama, stating that his "reduction of black trauma to "slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs" romanticises the historical realities of black suffering and borders on the stereotypical image of the "happy darkie" of traditional racisim", and that his speech did not contribute to an open conversation about racism that is ultimately necessary for racial reconciliation.

Audience

Roughly 9.1 million people were reported to have watched the Democratic convention on the night of the speech, ratings which were described as "tepid" by Variety, as it only amounted to "about half the audience tuning in to regularly scheduled summer programming the week before", and was less than the 10.3 million people who tuned in to the second night of the 2000 DNC. However, neither ABC, CBS, nor NBC provided any coverage of the convention that night (some Chicago affiliates did broadcast Obama's speech), leading to criticism from some columnists. But with major networks not covering the evening's events, other stations received greater viewership, including 3 million viewers for PBS, followed by CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Aftermath

That night Fox News reported that people had been taking the Obama signs from the convention floor as keepsakes, whereas many signs for Teresa Heinz-Kerry were still on the floor. After the speech Obama and his wife were interviewed by Brian Williams, and when asked about what she thought, Michelle replied, "And all I have to say is, honey, you didn't screw it up, so good job." Obama said that he hoped his two daughters had watched the whole event, as their baby-sitter was permitted to let them stay up only if they watched the convention. In an interview with JET, Obama acknowledged that the speech had exceeded peoples' expectations and that he felt encouraged by the fact that many people appeared to respond to the themes of common values and working together. When asked about all the presidential speculation, Obama responded, "I just need to win the Senate right now."

References

• Obama, Barack (2006). The Audacity of Hope. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-307-23770-5.

Note: All transcripts listed below were accessed by LexisNexis Academic.

External links

• Video of entire speech from C-SPAN