Most of the major networks opted instead to do a buildup to Sen. Hillary Clinton's talk, and they missed most of what up to then had been the only speech at this convention that had gotten the delegates giddily out of their seats, and fired up to fight for their candidate.
Schweitzer was Elmer Gantry, Anne Richards and William Jennings Bryan all rolled into one.
I ran into Chicago Tribune syndicated columnist and political analyst Clarence Page and asked what he thought of our governor. He told me it was the kind of speech that creates a lot of buzz, much like Obama's speech at the 2004 convention did. Page said he's not predicting Schweitzer will be a presidential nominee in four years, but “it was an important national stage and he used it well.”
Schweitzer knows how to work a crowd, and even more importantly, he understands this convention is less about policy wonking and more about rallying the troops. Droning on about the need for accessible, affordable health care or preserving Social Security, as many speakers have done, is laudable but not nearly as effective as shouting at a roomful of thousands of people: “DO YOU WANT CHANGE?! THEN GET OFF YOUR HIND ENDS!!”
Schweitzer also got in his usual licks about “petro-dictators,” and some one-liners like, “If you drilled (for oil) in all of John McCain's backyards, even the ones he doesn't know about, that Š is a dry well.”
I caught up with the governor after his speech at the “Big Sky Night” party for Montanans (and their hundreds of new friends) held near Coors Field. He entered the crowded sports bar with a big grin, to a steady stream of handshakes and pats on the back - like he'd just pitched the Rockies baseball team into the World Series.
“Some of these other folks are used to speechifyin' in front of the bigshots, and everybody sits on their hind end. If you're gonna win an election, you need people involved,” he said.
Boy did he get them involved.
Hillary's speech was riveting as well, less for the delivery than the backstory. The Montana Clinton delegates are ready to move on to elect Obama. Longtime Hillary supporter (and friend of the Clintons), delegation Chairwoman Carol Williams was hoping a different history would be made at this convention.
Williams was with Bill Clinton, Bobby Kennedy Jr. and other close Hillary friends in their luxury box just before her speech. She thought Clinton did great: “And (for her) just to be up there, understanding her disappointment but moving past it - it just made me respect her even more.”
The celebrity sightings have ratcheted up as the week has progressed. The night of Hillary's talk, I was within shouting distance of former NBA star Charles Barkley and actor Matthew Modine - and I squeezed past director Spike Lee on my way out of the arena. The star power here is so bright, I'm starting to mimic paparazzi, so it's a good thing the convention is coming to a close. One more day and I might not take my mic out of Spike's face.
Sally Mauk is news director for Montana Public Radio, on assignment to the Democratic National Convention. Her reports from the convention air nightly at 5:30 on MPR, and are running throughout the week in the Missoulian.
Listen to Sally Mauk's reports from the Democratic National Convention
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