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In Montana, Obama Puts Finishing Touches on his Speech

August 26, 2008 9:24 PM

In 2004, State Sen. Barack Obama would write down ideas on scraps of paper as he prepared for his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Finally, one night at Park Hyatt in Chicago, he wrote it all down in one first draft on his laptop computer. He sent it to his advisers in the middle of the night.

"By the third page, I realized, 'This is going to be a really good speech,'" recalls one of those advisers.

With a little more on the line this year, Obama -- whose superstitious nature leads him to carry a pocketful of good luck charms voters have given him -- returned to the Park Hyatt last week to write down this year's first draft. According to aides, he writes in longhand, pencil on legal paper, then types it out on his laptop.

Because of the protracted primary season, Obama is playing catch-up a bit. He wrote an outline while on vacation in Hawaii, but didn't get any time for serious work while there with his family.

To prepare, he read the convention acceptance speeches of former Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, as well as less successful Democratic presidential nominees Vice President Al Gore and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

In addition to laying out his plans and providing some inspiring oratory -- though not as much as in 2004, aides cautioned -- one of the goals of the speech is to argue that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is no maverick, but rather, someone who represents a doubling-down of the current policies of President George W. Bush.

Tonight, at the Billings, Mont., Crown Plaza Hotel, Obama will put the finishing touches on his speech, in his last real night of speech prep. Tomorrow night, he will be in Denver, seeing his family for the first time since Saturday, watching the speech of his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

In addition to working on his speech tonight, Obama will watch the convention on TV. He will fly to Denver tomorrow afternoon.

- jpt

August 26, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (84)

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Let's see, so you really think we are going to believe Obama is writing Thursday's speech by himself? After Soros, corporate lobbyists, and the DNC have spent big money on him, they are just allowing him to type away in his room without regard for all the focus groups they have been questioning?

You are forgetting some things. Obama's "Audacity of Hope" speech was based on a Reverend Wright sermon, and it has been published that Obama has ex-Kennedy speech writers at his beck and call. He did not write that speech himself, and there is no way he is writing Thursday's speech alone in his room on a laptop since his campaign is all about marketing and selling a candidate. Everything is orchestrated for the biggest bang for the buck.

Posted by: BRinChicago | Aug 28, 2008 12:05:18 AM

You all Obama haters, I pity you. Sure McCain was a great candidate in 2000. He is surrounded by the same fool who gave us this deficit, this economy and this Iraq war. Obama is a fresh face. Sure he does not have a whole lot of experience. But I care less for experience. Bush had a whole lot of experience from a big state when he became the president. So how did Bush do? If Obama surrounds himself with people like Biden, Hillary, Al Gore, etc, he will do just fine. I care less fot those fake Hillary supporter who wants to vote for McCain. There is very little difference between Hillary and Obama in principle.

Posted by: Al | Aug 27, 2008 7:21:38 PM

"Barack Obama is my candidate," she said. "And he must be our president."

"I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their Government for eight long years. Those are the reasons I ran for president and those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too."

"I can't wait to watch Barack Obama sign into law a health plan that covers every single American," she said. "Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home - a first step to repairing our alliances around the world."-Senator Clinton

Posted by: human | Aug 27, 2008 6:31:30 PM

As a die-hard Hillary supporter I am "moving on".

I'm voting for the candidate that I trust, the one best qualified to lead this country---John McCain

Character, integrity, and judgement are more important to me than policies.

If Mark Warner is the future of the DNC Hillary needs to get ready for 2012.

Posted by: riley | Aug 27, 2008 12:09:37 PM

I read Obama spent part of his vacation learning how to speak without a teleprompter.

It's funny because he seems to get off on those lofty prepared speeches-but in reality he can't think on his feet without stuttering and stammering, then saying something stupid.

More proof that Obama just isn't what he pretends to be.
Hillary and Biden can't help him on this one either.

Posted by: cindy in nc | Aug 27, 2008 12:04:13 PM

Sammy: "If you count ALL the people who pushed a lever with her name on it and ALL the people who pushed a lever with his name on it, SHE got the most votes by about 300,000."

That is a clever way of putting it, because that is the ONLY way you could give Clinton any edge.

1. By not counting caucases (no 'levers'), which the Clinton campaign was stupid enough not to contest.

2. By counting all Clinton votes in the state that HER people had voted to unseat, and SHE had promised "everyone knows that contest won't count for anything."

3. By not counting ANY of the votes in Michigan of the people who clearly voted AGAINST her, most of whom would obviously have voted for Obama, if Clinton had not assured him it was safe to take his name off the ballot because "everyone knows that contest won't count for anything."

4. By ignoring the fact that the popular vote was never relevant in the rules that SHE had agreed to. So unimportant that several states that Obama won didn't even bother to REPORT the popular vote. And it was HER campaign that kept insisting early on that the race was "all about the delegates."

Posted by: jock59801 | Aug 27, 2008 11:48:35 AM

Ooops - "hugh" olive branch... should be "huge" olive branch...

PUMA!

Posted by: LeeLee07 | Aug 27, 2008 11:33:19 AM

"LeeLee puma is done. Sure there are still some die hards left but not enough to make any real difference."

I don't think sooooooooo.

PUMA!

Posted by: LeeLee07 | Aug 27, 2008 11:32:06 AM

LeeLee puma is done. Sure there are still some die hards left but not enough to make any real difference.

Posted by: puma what | Aug 27, 2008 11:30:09 AM

I can help sympathising with all these people who have failed to face the facts that everything was played by the rules and a winner came out. Now instead of getting emotional, why can`t we wait to see what happens on 5th of November.
I see some people who have never written speeches also trying to criticize someone who has made over 100 speeches,someone who was once the president of the Law review at Harvard and someone who has inspired so many people worldwide.People just face the fact that there can be people with minority backgrounds who are too good.

Posted by: Otuya Odeke David | Aug 27, 2008 11:24:06 AM

Like I said before, we are "over it."

Don't believe it? Watch what happens on Election Day.

PUMA! Almost 10 million Voters - We will be at the polls with You!

Posted by: LeeLee07 | Aug 27, 2008 11:10:18 AM

Bottom line: If he were not qualified to run for President, HE WOULD NOT BE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. If Hilliary supporters had not cheated in the two states that held early primaries, then quite possibly she would be the Democratic Nominee for President. Que Surra Surra - whatever will be, will be. Like I said, get over it!!

Posted by: mztmac | Aug 27, 2008 11:07:21 AM

We have "moved on."
-----
How ABOUT MoveOn.org using its "members" to try to have reporter Ron Fournier fired??

If BO's taken nothing ELSE from his celebrity left associates -- and it seems he hasn't, to judge from Susan Rice's over-the-top, finger-flailing obeisance to Israel, on teevee this morning -- he's got the Stalinist management down.

If the media had paid as close attention to Obama's actual record as it has to Clinton's supposed shortcomings in selling BO, things might be slightly less hopeless.

The Democratic delegates had better find a way to jettison this prospective nominee.

Posted by: Belle Starr | Aug 27, 2008 11:06:24 AM

We have "moved on." We are voting for John McCain.

Maybe Obama's Supporters should "just get over it" and stop being "bitter" because we won't toe the New Democrat Party Line and vote for BO.

PUMA!

Posted by: LeeLee07 | Aug 27, 2008 10:55:35 AM

"If Senator Obama writes and gives the best ever political speech in history, it will not change the fact that he is the most corrupt, dishonest candidate ever to run for high office in the last 100 years. He can not and will not undo his lies and distortions by making PRETTY speeches. He is a fake and unfit for office."
-----
Hard to argue with ANY of that.
The report on "Morning Joe" is that BO's stage-set for The Assumption features "Roman" columns.

Even if they are actually GREEK columns -- "cradle of Democracy", etc. -- isn't this insulting to, uh, American blacks?

Posted by: Belle Starr | Aug 27, 2008 10:52:38 AM

"The democratic primary was about DELEGATES. Period. Obama got more. Clinton got less. Obama won. Clinton lost"

The 2000 election was about the Electoral College too. Funny how the argument has changed.


Posted by: Sammy | Aug 27, 2008 10:35:37 AM

one=on. oops.

Posted by: ChrisNBama | Aug 27, 2008 10:31:05 AM

"

Hoo-Ahh,

If you count ALL the people who pushed a lever with her name on it and ALL the people who pushed a lever with his name on it, SHE got the most votes by about 300,000.

So much for Democrats wanting ALL the votes counted."
____________________________________

The democratic primary was about DELEGATES. Period. Obama got more. Clinton got less. Obama won. Clinton lost.

Shall we move one?

Posted by: ChrisNBama | Aug 27, 2008 10:30:26 AM

Hoo-Ahh,

If you count ALL the people who pushed a lever with her name on it and ALL the people who pushed a lever with his name on it, SHE got the most votes by about 300,000.

So much for Democrats wanting ALL the votes counted.

Posted by: Sammy | Aug 27, 2008 10:17:33 AM

Here is the bottom line: OBAMA GOT MORE VOTES THAN CLINTON. Period. Every election has a winner and a loser. Get over it already. No creative math discounting caucus states and counting renegade primaries like MI and FL is going to change things. He won. She lost. Clinton "supporters" for McCain: can you say petulant?

Posted by: Hoo-Ahh! | Aug 27, 2008 10:12:53 AM

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