Politico

Obama speech to echo Clinton, Reagan, JFK

August 27th, 2008 · No Comments

Barack Obama is drawing inspiration for his acceptance speech from three past convention speeches: Bill Clinton in 1992, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and John F. Kennedy in 1960, chief strategist David Axelrod said today aboard the campaign plane from Billings, Mont., to Denver.

"The speech is substantially written, but as with all Obama speeches he will be refining it and buffing it up right to the end," Axelrod said.

Obama could visit the stadium tonight to do a walk-through of the site, and will practice the speech through tomorrow. He arrived in Denver at 3 pm local time.

Obama began thinking about the speech before he left for vacation in Hawaii, and has been working it intermittently ever since, Axelrod said, sometimes with speechwriters, other times alone in a Chicago hotel room. He writes long hand on a legal pad, types his notes into a computer and circulates drafts among his staff.

"He is going to make a case about the choices that people face," he said, when asked how much Obama would go after McCain. "He is going to make a respectful argument, but I don’t think he will shy away from making those contrasts where they are appropriate."

As for the Republican attempts to cast the stadium - and reports of the stage looking like a Greek temple - as a vain endeavor, Axelrod was dismissive.

"I know that Sen. McCain and his people are shooting barbs about the opulence of our convention from the mountaintop in Sedona, the McCain estate, I don’t think that warrants a response," he said.