What do you think has been the greatest Convention speech (Democrat or Republican) in modern US politics?
I would have to agree with those who say Obama’s in 2004 simply because it probably more than anything else lifted him from an obscure state senator to US President in only 4 years. I wonder if Barbara Jordan’s keynote address in 1976 could have done the same for her, but she didn’t make the effort to capitalize on the response to her speech like Obama did. Like Jordan, Cuomo decided not to use his speech to launch a Presidential campaign. We shall soon see if Sarah Palin’s speech last year has the same effect as Obama’s in 2004. I doubt it will, but I’m sure a lot of Republicans are hoping it will. I guess I am basing my determination of “greatest” upon how the speech affects the speaker’s career; whereas you may be basing your determination on the eloquence of the speech.
