Campaign Audio from PRX

In yet another show of respect/unity the Obama-run DNC carefully orchestrated some “spontaneous” drama on the floor tonight with both New Mexico and Illinois yielding their delegate presentations to New York allowing Clinton to “cast” the deciding vote for Obama’s nomination.

But calm those rolling eyes you cynic!

One the one hand, yes, the Clintons did hijack Obama’s coronation. But listening to the audio, there is so much of our democracy tucked into what happened. So much of our American character in the pompous declarations from these great states and these aggrandizing leaders. We are indeed an arrogant and truculant bunch.

But also in this moment is a generosity that is impossible to ignore. That even in our most bitter political feuds there is a reconciliation for the common good. Take a listen and try to remain cynical.

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Clinton gave a sailing speech to close out Tuesday’s DNC. No doubt she did all she could to bring her most stubborn supporters to the polls for Obama. That was her mission and I doubt she could have more aptly accomplished it.

Sewn into her speech is the acknowledgment that her candidacy had been a long haul for her gender–to not only gain the right to vote, but to gain the right to vote for a woman president. And she almost made it. But, evoking Harriet Tubman, she urged her supporters to push past this momentary set back. “Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

In a sense, she’s saying this is a journey. Swallow this pill and next time we’ll get it. Godspeed.

It’s easy to cast Clinton’s long campaign as desperate megalomania, and perhaps there is some of that too. But listening to the last few minutes of her speech you can hear the altruism in wanting women to have greater political might.

Take a listen to the flash below. You can hear the whole speech here.

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Minnesota Public Radio just uploaded a nice interview with former vice president Walter Mondale who takes a long view of the conventions, how what was once a “stag party” for white men has become much more diverse. This plays into tonight’s “One Nation” narrative that the Obama crew laid out.

Even so, it does give a warm fuzzy feeling…

So, Biden.

Barack Obama introduced his new VP pick today, Joe Biden. They spoke for about an hour in Springfield, IL, here’s the audio. Obama praised Biden as a “scrapper” with a heart for the middle class and foreign policy experience. He played up Biden’s Pennsylvanian working class roots then misspoke and introduced him as the “next president.” Biden, like the aged pit dog he will undoubtedly become, did a mini hobble/run on the stage where he attack McCain, ridiculing his seven houses and close associations with George Bush.

Here’s some flash that will probably the nicest things Biden will say for the next few months, the old good cop/bad cop routine I suppose.

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The candidates are in a pitched battle over the Latino vote. Both McCain and Obama have spent a lot of time courting them and morphing their policies to appeal to first generation immigrants, Cuban exiles, and Mexican-American soldiers in Iraq. But so far neither party has had any real success. Diego Graglia, a reporter from Mexico is documenting the lives and political issues of Latinos during this presidential election year. In this report, he talked to Teresita Jacinto, a spokeswoman for Mexicanos Sin Fronteras-Mexicans Without Borders. They discuss the Prince William County, Virginia crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

You can listen to the flash above. You can license here.

The frequently repeated characterization for the 2008 election is “historic.” Historic candidates, historic turn out, and historic voter participation. Anecdotally, much of the historic excitement of this campaign is in the youth vote. But you wouldn’t know it by listening to the candidates who have spent relatively little time on “youth issues.” The conventional wisdom is that McCain has already conceded the youth vote to Obama and actually McCain has an incentive to keep young ones from showing up at the polls because they are not very likely to vote for him. Blunt Youth Radio a production group out of Portland Maine, knows a thing or two about youth voting habits. Here’s Spencer Scott with a brief interstitial and then William Nelligan explaining why he is politically involved.

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God save the candidate who uses a three syllable word. Reporters will careen satellite trucks through crowded schoolyards to get the scoop on a politician “out of touch” with the voters. Instead office-seekers use a folksier, kitchen table, I’m-one-of-you-vote-for-me kind of speech that appeals to everyone. But as boring as politician speeches can get, they are an incredibly rich source of imagery: cut-n-run, glass pockets, big stick diplomacy, lock boxes, welfare queens, spin-rooms…

As new political terms constantly rain down we turn to linguists to examine them. A Way with Words does just that. In this excerpt, the hosts, author Martha Barnette and dictionary editor Grant Barrett discuss some of these new additions to our political vocabulary.

You can listen to the flash above or license the whole thing here.

As conditions grow worrisome in Georgia, McCain is planning to bring it into his news cycle. Last Friday he made comments that PRX is working to get up now. Likewise for his comments today. Obama’s previous remarks on Russia allude to his desire to negotiate with Moscow. Find them here and here.