The most powerful speech of the Democratic National Convention, night 1, was not delivered by a first lady, or a former or sitting governor, or any politician.
We caught it in our house because we got tired of the talking heads and networks editing what they think is important. We channel surfed to C-SPAN and ended up crying.
The most powerful speech of DNC Night 1 was delivered by a mom whose family has been turned upside down by illness.
Stacey Lihn was granted a primetime speaking slot to explain about her daughter, Zoe. She explained what Obamacare has done for her. She put this in terms even the most heartless of 'pro-family' Republicans can understand.
Zoe and Stacey Lihn need to be the face of this election just like 2008 had Joe the Plumber.
The Lihn family knew before Zoe was born there were congenital issues with her heart. Zoe has already had two of three heart surgeries she will need within the first five years of life. She may still need a heart transplant to live. Zoe is already halfway to her ore-Obamacare lifetime cap for care set by insurance companies.
Stacey walked all over Mitt Romney's assertion that people like her were most excited about President Obama the day they voted for him. Stacey got most excited when she got a letter from her insurance company telling her the caps are gone from Obamacare. The insurance companies are out of the death panel business -- for now.
Stacey is afraid, as all of us are when Mitt Romney runs his mouth about repealing Obamacare on his first day, where does that leave her? She is in a fight for her life, just like her daughter.
Here is the CSPAN speech online. I think you can hear Zoe crying as her mom does great on the national stage.
After Stacey Lihn's speech, we channel-surfed again. We hit the Phillies -- losing again. Then we hit MSNBC and caught Rachel Maddow breathless as she talked about something that happened on the floor of the convention while the MSNBC team was talking about the same things they always talk about. They did a recap of the Lihn family.
This has been the problem for the Democrats. They cannot get the message right, even though they have the content.
The DNC produced a video about the family's plight that was shown before the Lihn family walked onstage. But you can't find the video on their website. This is my frustration. This is an issue where the Democrats should crush the GOP. They are frittering it away.
When you look at their websites, it is insular and internalized to their own political classes.
If everybody wants to run on Obamacare, here is your image: a toddler struggling with half a heart.
The Democrats can run with Stacey and the Lihn family, or any family in the thousands of communities where there are kids not physically perfect. This is "It's the Economy Stupid" on steroids. It is just not the money needed to keep a kid physically well, it is the emotional toll of families on the edge.
The Lihn family understands they are in the fight of their lives. They are willingly ready to go out and explain what this president has done for them. It's not political exploitation -- it is volunteering for duty for one's country.
I have given up on trying to figure out what goes through the heads of these campaign 'gurus' who run candidates into the ground. But the Lihn family is a foolproof method to deliver a continuation of Obamacare for the next four years.
Come on, Mitt, let's see you take on little kids' health care.
Come on, Mr. Ryan -- let's see you go Ayn Rand on a member of society already compromised.
I'd rather hear Zoe cry on the stump for the next 3 months than Joe the Plumber whine for another minute.
I think the rest of the country will feel the same way.