About That Speech

by digby

Now that I’m back in my (heavenly coastal cool) secure bunker, I want to get back to regularly scheduled programming. But first I have to thank all of you who have sent me kind emails and written comments here and around the blogosphere. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I feel much better now — not just because it’s over, but because I realize that my tribe is filled with such generous, warm hearted people that I should never have been so terrified in the first place.

Thanks also to Dover Bitch for doing yoeman’s work in filling in for me. I was somewhat obsessed for a few days and couldn’t possibly have written anything decent. She did a great job and I hope she’ll come back frequently and that you’ll all visit her blog as well.

Finally, I have to publicly thank my new hero Joel Silberman, speech coach extraordinaire, who works as a media consultant with a number of high profile bloggers and such groups and People For The American Way and the National Women’s Law Center. Jane Hamsher knew that I was panicked about all this and insisted that I allow him to help me out. The man is a miracle worker. I was a nervous wreck and his advice was simply invaluable. I’m not exaggerating to say that my speech would have failed without him. I hope that every liberal public speaker or group will consider hiring Joel. It could be the difference between success and failure. It certainly was for me.

I’ll be writing a bit about my pseudonymous, genderless experience in the next little while, and sharing some of my observations about identity and the internet. There are some interesting things to say about that. But I don’t plan to change much of anything around here, certainly not what I write about or how I write it.

The speech is currently on the front page of The Nation website if you want to read the prepared text.

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