I listened because we were driving. He brought tears to my eyes.

We have to win.

And the boy with the stutter. Wow.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
And the boy with the stutter. Wow.

It was a great touch for sure, but did any of you get the impression he was playing carefully rehearsed (phony) stutters?

FWIW one of the MOST - perhaps the only effective - anti-stutter therapies is Viktor Frankl's "paradoxical intention". Apparently trying one's damndest to stutter circumvents the output.

Can you think of anything more stress-inducing than feeling you just HAD to stutter for a TV audience of millions?

Oh, Amanda. No. It didn't appear faked or exaggerated to me at all.

I saw it as incredibly brave of that young man to let the world see what he goes through on a day to day basis. I was only getting the audio, so maybe it looked different on TV. But every time he came to a difficult word and got hung up, I thought, "How on earth did Biden learn to manage this, and how on earth did someone with a stutter gain the confidence to pick public life and public speaking as a career?"

And I feel really, really bad at how funny I thought stuttering was in the movie "A Fish Called Wanda." I wasn't the only one -- the whole theater was screaming with laughter -- but I am glad to see we have all come a long way in understanding that disability for what it is and treating those who suffer from it with respect.

quote:

We have to win.

This.

Rod Dreher, editor of the American Conservative magazine:

quote:

One of my kids is a stutterer. No matter how much courage you think Brayden Harrington's talk just now took, believe me, it's way more. God bless that kid, and God bless Joe Biden for giving him hope, and a chance to speak.

Wow, no, I don't think he was a staged stutterer.

I really enjoyed the virtual format. It was fast, the roll call was fantastic, the speeches weren't constantly interrupted, etc. I agree with some of the criticisms, but they border on trivial: was the speaker list a good one? was the time given to various speakers correct? why did they give Bloomberg so much time? etc.

I'd frankly love to see this be the new way conventions are done. It won't happen, I know.

And yes, we have to win.

Tim Miller, conservative ...


1. Tears

Well, they sure showed me.

In yesterday’s newsletter I expressed a weariness with the Zoom convention and wondered if four days were really necessary. Some readers objected to this and, well, score one for the readers.

The fourth night of the Democratic convention was brilliantly executed, kudos to Stef Cutter and my friend Addisu Demissie and the whole team over there for putting together a climactic evening that even left the cold hearts at Fox News gushing.

I knew things were beginning to turn when 13 year old Brayden from New Hampshire spoke about the stutter that he was overcoming in front of a nation-wide audience and by his mere presence *showing* not just telling the viewers about the contrast between courage and Trump’s cruelty.

If you’ll permit me a brief aside this moment held particular resonance as it echoed one of the most inspiring experiences I had in 2016. Towards the end of Jeb’s campaign that year, a restaurant owner in rural South Carolina named Tim Dyar reached out to the campaign to tell us that he was supporting Jeb because of his comments about treating people with disabilities with dignity following Trump’s smear of Serge Kovaleski. It had moved him in particular because his son Breylen had cerebral palsy. Tim had one of those larger than life personalities that is unique to the south, the kind of guy who could spin you up some hushpuppies and make you feel like family even though you’ve only known each other for two minutes. So Jeb went to their restaurant, ate dinner with Breylen, talked about football, and then had an emotional event in front of a big crowd in the twilight of the campaign. It’s these moments of goodness that get lost in the Twitter coverage of politics. A year later, Tim sadly passed away. Breylen and I have since become instagram pals and chat from time to time. It always warms my heart to hear from him and know that he will remember this moment where his dad stood up for him and brought the community together for a night of fellowship that had an impact on others who were there, who were watching, who were looking for some grace in the face of a campaign filled with so much cruelty. In a way, I felt like Brayden was carrying Tim and Breylen’s torch last night, since our campaign wasn’t able to get them the win that they deserved.

2. Tears Part Deux

But it wasn’t just Brayden. That was just the appetizer. What followed is what broke me. First the Biden grandchildren speaking so lovingly and earnestly about their Pop broke through amidst the sea of stilted politician Zooms. When they said that they called the family meeting to surprise their Pop by telling him they thought he must run for president for the country and for their dad/uncle Beau. Man. It started getting dusty in Oakland and it wasn’t just the air from the fire.

Then it was time for the VP. And I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. It’s a tough format, and excellent public speakers like Kamala struggled to get in the flow a little bit. Plus while I recognize that the “mental acuity” attacks on Biden are noxious hyperbole, if we are being honest his performances to date on the trail have been uneven. All he really needed to accomplish last night was a check the box acceptance speech that didn’t make anyone question whether he was in command. (and btw thank you Trumpers and conservative media for setting the bar there!) And frankly that’s all I was expecting.

But then the closer came out of the pen and well…

Biden brought the mustard. The speech had a clear theme. He demonstrated passion and empathy and decency. He let loose some righteous anger. He did what everyone has been yearning for since March and spoke directly to the families who have lost loved ones to this plague. And he closed with a damn Irish poet saying “make hope and history rhyme.” It was 100% unadulterated Joe and I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t shed a tear.

I was on Charlie’s podcast this morning and so you can hear more of our thoughts on the Biden performance there but I wanted to share one thing that we discussed after the show was over. Both of us we were caught off guard by how emotionally attached we were last night to this candidacy. We had sort of expected to feel this reluctant, begrudging support for the Democratic nominee, to have been left in a tough spot between one normal bad choice and one existentially bad one. But that isn’t what happened. Joe Biden has me energized. And frankly, that he has both Charlie and I reflecting on whether maybe in the past we were just...in the wrong…

One final thing. I did see a lot of people saying last night that this was his best speech ever. And while it was certainly his best speech of the campaign, if you have not seen his speech to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) speech in 2012, it’s worth your 19 minutes.

Go watch it.

quote:

Originally posted by Nina:
Wow, no, I don't think he was a staged stutterer.


And yes, we have to win.

Please don't misunderstand me, Nina, Cindy and anyone else who didn't entertain my thought.

I have NO doubt this young man suffers from a genuine, serious stuttering problem which causes him great pain.

However, I got the impression studying his speech that on several occasions he was forcing an extreme stutter which had been rehearsed. Just in case his natural stutter was blocked by his ATTEMPT to stutter when the stakes were so high.

I tried to link to Frankl's stuttering therapy but somehow it kept coming out way too wide so I stopped trying. Hopefully, you will google it yourself. I'll bet Frankl himself would consider it seriously. It just would have been so unfortunate if this "intention" blocked his natural stutter, that I believe it likely he practiced (with speech therapists) a few extra long stutters. "To be on the safe side".

Because of the nature of stuttering per Viktor Frankl, I can easily picture a situation where stuttering was so very important, it wouldn't happen. This isn't an ironic accusation of artifice, but an applied practical strategy. Either way, the boy was both charming and courageous, and including him gave insight into Biden's old handicap (and his kindness toward this fellow sufferer). It was both effective and brilliant.

(It sure sets the stage to explain away Trump ridicule of any future Biden stutters too! Bound to elicit sympathy for Biden and deflect Trump's typical meanness. Extra clever campaign planning!)

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Tim Miller, conservative ...

Mary Anna and I have been having this conversation about Biden. We were talking about the difference between "good" and "decent". I think Biden's defining characteristic, top of the charts, is that he's a decent man.

I don't think anyone, not even Trump's own family, would say that without prompting. They might say he's a good man ... that he's done X or Y good thing, that he was a good father, etc. ... but I have a hard time believing that the word "decent" would spring to anyone's lips about Donald Trump.

Had the stuttering not happened, I’m sure everyone involved would have been delighted. The boy would have confidence that he could be on the biggest stage and speak flawlessly.

As it stands, it was a brave young man doing his very best to communicate.

People with disabilities tend not to exaggerate them for dramatic effect.

I do not understand the point of speculating about whether this boy was coached on how to stutter properly for a TV audience. Enlighten me.

This was not live. I'm sure they had the capacity to do a number of takes if the kid forgot where he was, messed up his lines, or whatnot. I have no idea what they actually did, and speculating about it seems like arguing passionately about whether or not Elon Musk has the right personality to build rockets. Uh, who cares.

Number of eyeballs watching, and fundraising stats.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/21...iewership/index.html

I'm so hopeful that the Dems message is getting through. Maybe there are enough people tired of the current drama, chaos, and lack of empathy that they'll get out and vote for Joe.

Video of when Biden met the boy the first time.

https://twitter.com/joncoopert...864641491116032?s=21