Just heard that Al Gore and Bill Clinton will both speak on Monday of the week of the convention! That will be great! At least the DNC has some brains................ :rolleyes:

Great news. :clap:
Are they speaking at the same place? Is this before or during the convention?
Hopefully more info coming.

It is the Monday of the convention. The very first day.

That's the traditional day for former nominees and ex-President to speak. Tuesday's are for issues and bios of the nominee. Wednesday is the actual nomination with mominating speeches. And Thursday is when the nominees speak.

Thats cool. Not sure if the convention starts early in the day or at night. If its during the day, then I suppose I will have to tape it.

Can't imagine what kind of speech Gore is gonna give. It ought to be awesome though.

I think it will be in the evening. CSPAN will cover it continious.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/politics...convention.html

First Night of Democratic Convention Is Again Clinton's Stage
By JIM RUTENBERG

Published: June 29, 2004

WASHINGTON, June 28 - Former President Bill Clinton will be the opening-night attraction of the Democratic convention in Boston next month, kicking off the four-day event with a speech in prime time, just as he did in 2000, party officials said on Monday.

But the decision to use Mr. Clinton this time came easily, party officials said, unlike the decision four years ago, when some advisers to Vice President Al Gore were ambivalent about giving Mr. Clinton such prominence at the convention. By contrast, some officials said, it is Mr. Gore's role at the convention this year that is still being worked out.

Details of the Democratic convention's speaker list began to seep out Monday, after the Republicans announced the lineup for their convention in late August and early September, which will include popular centrists like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York City and Senator John McCain of Arizona.

Democratic officials said their choreography of the convention reflected a belief that it was one of the most important events of the campaign for Mr. Kerry, who will use it to introduce himself to voters who may be paying close attention for the first time.

Several officials said that the speaking schedule was still being discussed and that nothing was final; all of them spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they could not be identified because the schedule had not officially been announced. But what is close to certain now, they said, is that Mr. Clinton will speak in prime time on the convention's opening night, July 26; Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts will speak in prime time on July 27; Senator John Kerry's running mate, who has yet to be named, will speak on July 28; and Mr. Kerry will give his acceptance speech on July 29.

Party and campaign officials said it was also likely that Mr. Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, would have a prominent speaking role at the convention, as could one or more of Mr. Kerry's primary and caucus opponents.

One senior aide to Mr. Kerry said the campaign decided to open the convention with Mr. Clinton because "we think Bill Clinton talking about the enormous prosperity of the 1990's, and the importance of John Kerry's candidacy, is an important discussion to have."

The Kerry campaign's comfort level with Mr. Clinton is far greater than was that of Mr. Gore's campaign in 2000, which feared not only that Mr. Clinton would remind voters about the sex scandal that marred his administration, but also that he would overshadow the staid Mr. Gore.

Another senior official with Mr. Kerry's campaign said Mr. Clinton had posed more concern for Mr. Gore because Mr. Gore believed it was crucial that he break from his boss and establish his own separate identity, which Mr. Kerry does not need to do.

Officials at the party and at the campaign said they were certain Mr. Gore would speak at the convention, but not certain which day and whether it would be during the hours of prime time television.

Mr. Gore, Democratic officials said, is a powerful figure whose very presence at the convention is expected to remind Democrats of the bitterness they felt in 2000, when Mr. Gore won the popular vote but lost to George W. Bush in the Electoral College. But party officials said they also wanted to be careful to ensure that the convention focused on Mr. Kerry's vision for the future, not the wrongs Democrats felt in the past.

Donna Brazile, Mr. Gore's campaign manager in 2000, said Mr. Gore should be given a prominent role at the convention precisely because of the fiery oratorical style he had honed in the last couple of years.

"He has not only found his voice,'' Ms. Brazile said, "but he has really gone after the Bush administration in ways I don't think the Kerry campaign can go after Bush administration. They should give Al Gore a key position, a prime time speech, and let him roll."

Michael Feldman, a former aide to Mr. Gore and now a Democratic strategist, said the former vice president's presence at the convention could prove crucial in inspiring Democrats to go to the polls in November.

"Look, he's the embodiment and a reminder of what's at stake in this election, that every vote counts," Mr. Feldman said.

Three officials said Mr. Kerry had a high level of comfort with Mr. Gore. Campaign and party officials said the fact that Mr. Gore would be featured significantly at all was a break from past conventions, which have not normally given much attention to losing candidates of the past. And a senior adviser to Mr. Kerry said the convention planners would show Mr. Gore due respect as the former vice president and the winner of the popular vote in 2000, adding emphatically, "He will speak and he will not get dissed."

As the Democrats neared completion of their convention schedule, Republicans said Monday that they had put the finishing touches on theirs, set to begin in New York on Aug. 30. Aside from giving prime-time speaking roles to Mr. Schwarzenegger, a popular new figure on the Republican scene, and Mr. Giuliani, whose national stature grew significantly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, convention planners said they would also give prime-time speaking spots to First Lady Laura Bush and Gov. George E. Pataki of New York.

New York City's mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, a Republican presiding over a predominantly Democratic city, will speak, but on the morning of the convention's first day rather than in prime time.

Talking with reporters, Mr. Bloomberg said Monday that was fine with him, given that the two other New York Republicans on the convention bill, Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Pataki, had worked hard to re-elect the president, while he was simply a host.

"It is perfectly appropriate that both of them were given starring roles," he said. "And I am happy for both, and I certainly will listen to them, to the extent I have the time to do so."

Jennifer Steinhauer contributed reporting from New York for this article.

I'm really looking foward to watch Gore and the rest of the dems at the DNC,this is a must see i can't wait. :clap:

If the leadership of the democratic party nationally and in Florida really believed that every vote counts then they would at least be filing suit to stop Jeb Bush's latest effort to illegally remove many thousands more legally registered democratic voters in Florida for 2004. They as of yet haven't done so and of course they've never held the Bush election stealers accountable for their theft of Al Gore's victory in 2000. Not only did Al Gore get the most votes nationally but he also got the most votes in Florida. The pro Bush media badly distorted the Florida Supreme Cout's ruling and lied big time in order to invent a Bush victory that doesn't exist in order to hide the truth that Al Gore got the most votes in Florida and is the rightful winner of the 2000 election. The failure of the leadership of the democratic party to defend our right to vote is "1984" doublespeak at its worst and it will go down as one of the great betrayals in the history of our country. They should be ashamed. I'll be watching the people's choice for President in 2000 Al Gore and President Clinton but forget the rest of the dems who hid in their ivory Washington towers while Bush was trampling we the people's right to vote and stealing Al Gore's victory.

Dems plan a tribute to
veterans at convention
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/s...2p-178812c.html
BY KENNETH R. BAZINET
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - The Democrats are putting together a tribute to America's veterans at their nominating convention next month in Boston, sources said yesterday.

The preliminary agenda for Sen. John Kerry's hometown coronation includes veterans addressing the convention and a special salute to vets.

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, rarely does campaign events without remembering those who have served in uniform.

Following tradition, the Massachusetts Democrat will speak on the final night of the four-day convention beginning July 26 at the Fleet Center.

Former President Bill Clinton is the opening night's prime-time draw, but his ex-veep, Al Gore, gets an earlier, low-profile slot, party sources said.

Plans call for party icon and liberal patriarch Sen. Ted Kennedy to share the second night's prime-time bill with Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Kerry's yet-to-be-named running mate will get the third night's keynote spot.

The party is also trying to find time for some, if not all, of this year's Democratic primary candidates, including Sens. Bob Graham and Joseph Lieberman, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. John Edwards, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the Rev. Al Sharpton, former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Rep. Dick Gephardt.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) may also have a role, possibly introducing her husband, but those plans are still in the works, another party source said.

What hasn't been announced is who will get the prized spot of introducing Kerry.

Originally published on June 29, 2004

So from this I take it he is not going to speak during Primetime....low-profile slot, humph!

Why the hell is Teddy Kennedy getting a prime time slot? This makes me mad!

Maybe because the convention is taking place in Kennedy's home state where he has been a Senator for over 40 years serving together the Kerry for the last 20. Or maybe because his brother was one of the greatest Democratic Presidents of the last century. Maybe that has something to do with it.

That still does not make it right that he gets to speak in primetime over a candidate who won the popular vote just 4 years ago. Unbelievable.

Why isn't Gore considered a ready-for-primetime player? This is an outrage! :mad: And while Donna Brazile and the rest of them can say that it's good for Gore to speak because he'll get everyone fired up about what happened in 2000, to me, that's like pimping for Kerry. It smacks of exploitation, IMO. And with Gore continuing to express views that are so different from Kerry's, the whole thing just doesn't sit well with me. I believe he "endorsed" Kerry for the good of the Party and the good of the country, but I don't believe he really endorses his positions. Gore is in a very different place about Iraq from all the big players in the Dem. party, and as we all know, the war is a key issue, although now the Bush administration is going to be down-playing our role their with the lie that we've handed power over to them and they are again a sovereign nation. Bullpoop. Americans are still the ones risking their lives there on a daily basis, and we will be for years to come.

Anyway, I digress. In my opinion, Gore should be the keynote speaker at the convention since he's the guy who won last time around.

The report didn't say Gore would not be in Primetime just that he would be on earlier than Clinton. And since the convention doesn't usually start until about 7 or 8PM, then Gore should be on in Primetime.
And as the original NY Times article stated "Campaign and party officials said the fact that Mr. Gore would be featured significantly at all was a break from past conventions, which have not normally given much attention to losing candidates of the past." We should give them some credit.

Gore's views are so different from Kerry? On Healthcare? On taxes? On Job? On the economy? On Affirmative Action? On international relations? On going forward in Iraq?
Sure they didn't agree on the Iraq war initially. But past is past and there are many many other issues where they seem to be very close. Let's not become so myopic that we let one issue cloud everything else out.

Well this doesn't sound like primetime to me:

Al Gore, gets an earlier, low-profile slot

James your defense of of the clearly anti Gore leadership of the democratic party is shameful. Why should we give credit to the N.Y. Times for again lying about the 2000 election? Al Gore got the most votes nationally and in Florida in 2000 and that will always be the truth. Why is it so dfficult to tell this truth?

Primetime is 7 to 11PM in the Eastern time zone. How could he not be on in Primetime if the convention doesn't start until 7PM?

Hey looks like Jan is back. You're problem is you're looking at this from a 'either your with us or against us' prespective as usual. Instead of giving them credit for having Gore speak at all when it is not the tradition to do so, you jump on the fact that he won't be as prominant as Clinton.
Last August when Gore gave his speach at NYU, I was outside handing out DraftGore flyers. A Lyndon LaRouche supporter came up to me and started berating me about some imagined snub that Gore had made against LaRouche. I think unless Gore supporters stop being so myopic & hypersensitive and start looking at the big picture, we'll just consign ourselves and Gore to the fringes along with the likes of Lyndon LaRouche.

I agree with you James that it may be in primetime, but a low profile appearance. I guess I am just disappointed.

James, I did an IP match up and found out that this is actaully RestoreDemocracy or AKA RelectGore or AKA Nancy. I can see how you got mixed up though.

You're also quoting a report from the NY Daily News which is one step above the Murdoch owned NY Post.
But you do have to expect that Gore is not going to get the same fan fare as Clinton. Like it or not Clinton was a very successful Democratic President for 8 years.

The vitriol :mad: sounded the same. Opps!

Well, you beat me to it, Chris, but I was going to tell James that I could tell from the wording of the post that it wasn't Jan that wrote that comment but Nancy, aka Restoredemocracy. Knew she couldn't stay away.

You say we should give them some credit. I don't think so. Gore was not a losing candidate. He won the last election, remember? No matter how you slice it, he won. Having the election stolen by the SCOTUS doesn't constitute making him a losing candidate. There's just that little technicality of him not having been allowed to take the oath of office and serve out his term. Despite that, he WON the election, and as such, he damned well better be given a high-profile role at the convention.

I knew who it was (and wasn't immediately).
Please be sure of who you accuse.

I agree James i was hoping Gore would get a prime time slot to speak at the convention but a low-profile slot,please.