August 2. 9, 2008 question

I didn't watch or listen to Obama's speech last night. I read it. I know he's an extraordinary speaker who always puts on a good show. But I wanted to look at nothing more than the words. What the words revealed is a politician with a revolutionary approach. He's already displayed his savvy in the YouTube generation, knowing that he's never speaking to a room full of people and always addressing the virtual world. He stayed true to his brilliant track record of producing his speeches like television shows that segue seamlessly into the nightly news. And last night he and his scribes crafted a speech that was delivered from the Democratic Convention in the midst of his most ardent supporters but was intended for everyone else.

He wasn't talking to people wearing his buttons. He was talking to people who were either undecided or opposed to him. That's the difference between Obama and every other politician I've ever paid any attention to. The rest of the lot play politics like Monopoly. They build on their own property, then sit and wait for people to come to their turf and empty out their pockets. Obama plays politics like RISK, continually advancing into enemy territory until he has conquered the entire world, or at least until he's gained a prominent foothold in Kamchatka.

And he's really, really good. I'm still not saying I'd vote for him, but I am saying that he's really, really good at what he does. And I also don't think the pollsters have any idea how to gauge how well he's doing. Just my thought for the day.

As for yesterday, Kyle, Steven F (the F stands for Fly The W Flag High), and Charles (in a 3-point effort since he didn't specify which war) knew that World War II put a halt to the Cubs' first shot at installing lights. Yup, they were actually going to be pioneers of the night baseball era, but they took the light towers intended for Wrigley and donated them to the war effort after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. That's why this was a History question and not Sports.

Now the standings are as follows:

Charles: 8
Frislem: 5
Kyle: 5
Steven F: 5

And here it is, the final question in the History Event:

Where was the 1980 GOP Convention held? (3 points if you know the state only, 5 points if you know the city and state, and 10 points if you know the venue, city, and state)