As excellent as Bill Clinton and Joe Biden were last night at the Democratic convention, I have to reserve my greatest praise for two of the people who are responsible for more than a few of the gray hairs I've accumulated since 1988 -- John Kerry and Michael Dukakis.
While the talking heads on most networks nattered on, over-analyzing every syllable uttered by anyone having anything to do with the Clintons, those who were checking out PBS or C-Span got to see John Kerry deliver the speech of his life. If he'd given a speech that fiery and on-the-money four years ago instead of defending the bullet wound in his buttocks inflicted 35 years earlier, we might be re-nominating him for president tonight.
But hey, better late than never. Kerry spent his ten minutes riling up the crowd with pure, delicious red meat. He lashed John McCain and George Bush together with his razor-sharp oratory and reminded us how Senator McMaverick and candidate McRove might as well be two different people. And he really knocked the ball out of the park when he said, "This election is a chance for America to tell the merchants of fear and division: you don't decide who loves this country; you don't decide who is a patriot; you don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't."
It was nice to see John Kerry as angry at George Bush and John McCain as Democrats have been at John Kerry the last four years. The man ran one of the worst presidential campaigns in modern history and blew an election we should have won easily. Who knows how things would have gone in Iraq and New Orleans under a Kerry administration? I'm glad he's just as pissed as we are that we'll never find out.
But we can't put all the blame on Kerry. And manfully shouldering the responsibility for the debacle that has been the Bush administration is my new favorite presidential also-ran of all time, Michael Dukakis. Talking with Katie Couric outside the convention center, In a show of honesty almost unprecedented in political history, Dukakis said the words that reminded me why I'm still proud to have cast my first vote for him in 1988:
"Look, I owe the American people an apology. If I had beaten the old man you'd have never heard of the kid and you wouldn't be in this mess. So it's all my fault and I feel that very, very strongly."
He also said, "I was the first of the Democrats to face this Republican attack machine, and I just did a terrible job of dealing with it.... Obama and Biden didn't fall off the Christmas tree yesterday. They know what's hitting 'em, and I think they're ready for this."
Such candor is refreshing coming from anyone, but from a former presidential candidate it's positively astounding. And for once, I think a politician may be accepting too much responsibility for the crappy way things have turned out. Come on, Duke, it's not ALL your fault. I mean, what about Al Gore? He had a chance to beat "the kid" the first time out, and we all know how badly he screwed that one up. Al, I look forward to hearing your own "This is what I should have said when I was actually campaigning" speech. Whenever you're ready.
In the meantime, come home, Kerry and Duke. All is forgiven. Just don't expect me to support another Democrat from Massachusetts for president anytime soon.
Follow Tony Sachs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RetroManNYC
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