A CELEBRITY MOMENT

By Andrew Lemens (Drake)

August 22, 2008

This afternoon, we participated in what I would deem a celebrity moment. Governor Dean was scheduled to address those of us from The Washington Center and from the moment he stepped foot in the room, he was surrounded by students wanting to shake his hand or snap a picture. The mob slowly progressed to the front of the stage where, after a short introduction by Reverend Daughtry, Governor Dean began to speak. His remarks were not long (maybe 15 minutes at the most) but they certainly did not come up short for content. He spoke of generational differences, promoting the party, and the need for youth participation in order to achieve success. The speech was nothing original by any means and very obviously a set of talking points used when in front of a young audience. This did not matter to the audience as they were visibly hanging onto every word out of the Governor's mouth. After coming to a passionate conclusion, we, as students, left the room with a new energy. It felt as though Dean had touched a nerve in each of us and under the leadership of the DNC, the Democratic Party was infallible.

While I will freely admit that I am a sucker for passionate, energizing speeches, I felt something special in the room today and it got me thinking to the power of a speaker. We, as educated students, were presented with a “political celebrity” and took the bait. There was excitement at the thought of hearing from Governor Dean, but his presence, and words of assurance brought the audience to a new level. It is truly something powerful when one person can captivate an entire audience. We have spent part of the week discussing how the Democratic Convention must go well for the both the party and the Obama Campaign. Delegates, guests, and the party faithful must leave the convention energized for the upcoming months so they can in turn inspire those around them in their state organizations. I have the feeling that Governor Dean has nothing on Obama when it comes to inspirational speaking and the convention week slate of speakers (including the Clintons, Al Gore, Michelle & Barack Obama, along with many others) will have no problem sending us home ready to fight on to November.