DNC announces convention speakers; Latino mayor will deliver keynote speech

The Democratic National Convention Committee today announced the following additional speakers for the 2012 Democratic National Convention:

The list is as follows: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris; Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine; U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts; Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.

Previously announced speakers include President Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who will be the first Latino keynote speaker at a Democratic National Convention. The DNC will unveil additional convention program details and speakers in the coming days.

Castro will deliver the coveted keynote address at the DNC Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

"As mayor, Julian Castro has worked tirelessly to move San Antonio forward by building its economy from the middle out, not the top down, by putting the city on a path to being a leader in the new energy economy and making innovative investments in education to prepare San Antonio's students for the jobs of the future," said Los Angeles Mayor and Democratic Convention Chair Antonio Villaraigosa in a statement. "That's the same vision forward for the middle class the president has, and it stands in stark contrast to Mitt Romney, who's ready to return us to the same policies that crashed our economy."

Also, first lady Michelle Obama will speak at the convention's opening night, as she did in 2008.

In a video message, Castro, 37, called his role at the convention "an honor I don't take lightly." He recalled watching and being inspired by President Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 convention. That speech catapulted Obama, at the time a state senator from Illinois, onto the national stage.

"We've come so far over the past three-and-a-half years under President Obama's leadership," Castro said in the video. "And I know he's not done yet. We've got a lot more work to do."

The first two days of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Sept. 4 and Wednesday, Sept. 5, will be held at Time Warner Cable Arena. Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday, Sept. 6 at Bank of America Stadium.

Purpose of the keynote address

Barbershop singers ritually practice a “keynote” before singing a song, and the keynote sets the tone for the song in the same way a keynote speaker at a political convention broaches the topics and sets the tone for the year’s convention. They are expected to motivate the conventioneers toward the ideals of the party and rouse the spirits of those present.

As a candidate for president 1980, Ted Kennedy as the keynote speaker stood for the Democratic ideals championed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and also by his late brothers, President John F. Kennedy and especially his brother Robert, a presidential candidate in 1968.

His speech is generally considered the finest of Kennedy's career and serves as an eloquent defense of those liberal ideals. Listen to his speech here.

In 1976 Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan, the first African American woman to deliver a keynote address, uttered these words: “We are a party of innovation. We do not reject our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a better future. We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and reality of America can one day be finally closed. We believe that.”

Her speech is considered one of the most gifted and visionary convention speeches. Read her speech in its entirety here.

On July 27, 2004, Obama, then an Illinois Senate candidate, delivered an electrifying speech to the Democratic Convention, which was the springboard for his candidacy to run for president in 2008.

As the result of the now-legendary speech, Obama rose to national prominence, and his speech is regarded as one of the great political statements of the 21st century.

Listen to his speech here.

As the first Latino keynote speaker for the Democratic National Convention, Castro is expected to join the greats of his party in delivering an inspiring, rousing message and setting the tone for this year’s convention.

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Resources

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/20/4740524/dncc-announces-additional-speakers.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/julian-castro-democratic-national-convention_n_1723017.html

The Definition of a Keynote Speaker | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5250659_definition-keynote-speaker.html#ixzz246Fx1pjX

http://usliberals.about.com/od/extraordinaryspeeches/a/ObamaSpeech.htm