WP political blog, "The Fix," by Chris Cillizza
The Friday Line: The Best Speeches
....Our take on the five best speeches are below. Agree with our rankings? Disagree?...
(NOTE: DMM couldn't possibly disagree more with #1!!!)
5. Brian Schweitzer (DNC): For those of us who have known the Montana governor since he was a just a peppermint farmer back in 2000, his rip-roaring address in Denver was no surprise. But, if this was your first exposure to Schweitzer, then you almost certainly came away both impressed and energized. Schweitzer has a future in national politics -- his second gubernatorial term is up in 2010 -- and his speech is sure to win him a special place in the heart of many Democratic activists. The challenge for Schweitzer between now and then: find ways to modulate his cheerleader image into more of a statesman role. Voters don't elect cheerleaders president.
4. Fred Thompson (RNC): Just when you give up on the big man from Tennessee, he comes along and totally redeems himself....
3. Barack Obama (DNC): Obama approached his acceptance speech last Thursday night with almost impossibly high expectations; he was being touted as the greatest political orator since, well, ever, and the crowd of more than 80,000 at Invesco Field was ready for history. Obama, as he has done again and again in this campaign, managed to deliver, with a speech focused more on policy specifics than soaring rhetoric. Given criticism from McCain's campaign that Obama was a gifted speaker but little else, it's hard not to conclude that the Illinois senator purposely avoided the long passages of eloquence and symbolism that characterized his 2004 keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. This was a more workman-like but no less effective address.
2. Bill Clinton (DNC): The Fix has a soft spot for the rhetorical gifts of the former president of the United States. When Bill Clinton took the stage in Denver last Wednesday, almost no one knew what he would say about Obama or how he would say it. (Clinton, as is typical, didn't release the full speech to reporters until moments before it was delivered.) Clinton has made no secret of his displeasure with both his speaking slot and the subject -- foreign policy -- of his address. But, the former president is a man who has shown his ability to put everything aside when he speaks and he did it again last week. Clinton's unique gift as an orator is the ability to sense -- in real time -- the mood of the audience and adjust his speech accordingly. The crowd listened enraptured as Clinton defended his eight years in the White House, lauded his wife's candidacy and emphatically endorsed Obama as the heir to his political legacy. Stunning.
1. Sarah Palin (RNC): Maybe it was the low expectations that greeted the Alaska governor when she took the stage on Wednesday night. Maybe it was the newness and fresh faced appeal she exhibited in the biggest moment of her short career as McCain's vice presidential pick. Maybe it was her ad lib that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was lipstick. But, whatever it was, Palin's speech managed to do two things that many thought were impossible: energize the conservative base and make believers out of her doubters in the Republican political professional class and the media. It ensured that for the next week -- and likely longer -- she would be THE story in the presidential race, the hottest thing on the campaign circuit since a fast rising Illinois senator named Barack Obama. It also cemented the fact that Palin is no Dan Quayle or Tom Eagleton -- an important milestone given the struggles involved in introducing her to the general public earlier this week. Palin established herself as a serious politician and America's sweetheart all in the space of a 35-minute speech. That's an impressive feat.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/the_friday_line_the_best_speec.html?hpid=topnews 
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