1. gregladen
  2. Prior keynote speeches at the DNC

Prior keynote speeches at the DNC

By gregladen on June 4, 2008.

The DNC does not always have a keynote speaker. Sometimes there is a speaker that can be thought of later as such, but was not necessarily labeled "keynote" at the time. So this list can certainly be argued with.

Obama was the DNC keynote during the last Presidential nominating convention. It is often presumed that the keynote speaker will be a key player in future elections. However, that is definitely not always the case. Sometimes the keynote is finishing old business (in which case their name is usually "Kennedy" and other times reorienting the party towards its traditional liberal values. Other times the keynote is a display of the Democratic Party commitment to diversity and equality.

1960 Frank Church.
1964 Robert Kennedy.
1968 Daniel Inouye.
1972 Nobody, really
1976 John Glenn and Barbara Jordan
1980 Teddy Kennedy
1984 Mario Cuomo
1988 Ann Richards
1992 Barbara Jordan (again)
1996 Evan Bayh
2000 Harold Ford (if you watch MSNBC you see him a lot)
2004 Some skinny kid with big ears and a funny name.

Tags
Politics

More like this

Do the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary Matter?
What is the relationship between what happens in these two early primary races and what actually happens later on in the election cycle? It turns out that this is a difficult question to answer. One very simple way of asking the question is this: Does the winner of a given contest also become…
Greg's Movie List 100
One hundred movies that if you have not seen, perhaps liked, perhaps think represent something either important or entertaining, and remember, then you are probably not me. I'll make a deal with you. You can tell me to watch any movie that is not on this list and if I have not seen it, I'll put…
101 Movies meme.
I saw it at Julie's. Below the fold is a list of 101 movies that the movie-intelligensia think you should have seen in order to have an intelligent discussion about film. I have bolded the movies I have seen. As well (though I'm adding this part), I'm italicizing movies I have officially "seen"…
Kudos to Obama
But Obama supporters should keep something in mind that Jon Swift wrote: The biggest loser of all was Hillary Clinton. If she can't win in Iowa, where can she win? In every contested race since 1972 (Bill Clinton ran unopposed in 1996), the winner of the Iowa caucuses for the Democrats has gone on…

Why was there a convention in "1998"?

:-)

I sure would have liked to have voted for Barbara Jordan for president -- probably the most impressive politician I've ever heard speak. A black woman, a lesbian it's rumored, but she just had an aura that spoke of justice, equality, concern for *everyone*, ethics, and principle.

The keynote speaker this year may be Hillary unless she is VP candidate, then she gets a speech for that. Otherwise Bill is a very good chance.

It is remotely possible, in my opinion, that it will be Ted Kennedy. Just a hunch.

Thanks for the FYI Monica- d