Democrat - Obama delivered a good speech. The big hit was galvanizing his incredible base and getting them ready for one final push. The big miss was that at times it felt heavily plagiarized and hollow. - Michelle also did well. - Al Gore is a much better and more compelling speaker now than he was as a candidate. - Hillary mailed it in. - Bill is still the best public speaker in America. - The production was outstanding. Republican - McCain delivered an OK speech. The big miss was the first 45 minutes. Two big hits in my book - he wasn't afraid to call out his own party for f#cking things up right in front of a crowd that likely thought everything is hunky dory. Secondly, and the bigger hit, was his personal story. I know Democrats don't like hearing it. If Obama had that much personal credibility, I wouldn't like hearing it either. - Palin kicked ass. - Nobody else was remotely compelling. - Production was awful. - The protestors pissed me off immensely. Overall, I think the biggest long term hit of the conventions in terms of impact in the booth will be Palin. One way or another, she's making people talk. Like Obama in 2004, when people think of this convention, they'll think of her.
It's funny how McCain 'hates' talking about his time as a P.O.W. Hell, I can be John McCain's speech writer. [Noun] [verb] POW. [Interjection!] [Noun] [verb] POW. [Noun] [verb] Country First! POW. My friends, [Noun] [verb] POW. Blah blah blah POW. Dribble, drabble, blah, POW. God bless America It's become his 9/11 per Rudy Giuliani. Good lord that was such a boring speech. Towards the end, I was wondering if the crowd was cheering more because they thought it was ending soon, or if they actually thought it compelling. Maybe they should have ended with Palin...or at least give some of the speech writers they devoted to her to McCain. One has to wonder, who will be talking more on the trail, McCain or Palin? As per Palin's 'star making' speech: it wasn't all that new. It was basically a divisive attack. At least Obama's speech in 2004 was written by himself. (source: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837368,00.html) The GOP had to get Bush's speechwriters to write it for her. (source: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/09/putting_words_in_palins_mouth.html)
country first, give us your life, die in our wars, but we'll be damned if you give us any of your hard earned money to make our country a better place for all, Country first guys. Republicans are the party of hypocrites !!!! Every one of their issues is a giant contradiction
Actually, I don't like hearing it because it only underscores how his political life has betrayed his Navy experience. His "personal credibility" as a politician is a purely subjective matter. You may prefer to see him as the heroic figure in the cage. I see him as a politician running for President, whose affiliations include the Keating 5. Personally, I don't give a flying f*** about his experience in Vietnam. I care about our future.
Yep. The only problems I have with Bush are that he's not tough enough on illegal immigration (the same thing with McCain) and that he allowed too much spending (which McCain is campaigning against). Reagan was my favorite President too....there's more fodder for ya'.
You could at least say Reagan left us stronger than he found us (whether it was him or us is another conversation). Bush has left us pretty much a heaping pile of rubble. We'll bounce back quickly though, whether its McCain or Obama. As far as the conventions went, I liked Obama's speech, but thought his acceptance in his first win in Iowa was better. I wanted just a little more bite, a little more detail. Hillary surprised me. Bill, too. Biden bored me. I hate to sound nasty and partisan, but I turned off McCain's speech, mostly on style alone. I turned off Rudy's speech as well, but just because I was so sick of the grade school bull shit. Palin was effective as hell, but I see her as a sprinter. I see her being a psuedo Howard Dean a la 2004. Starts off strong because no one expects it, but just doesn't have the full-season experience to carry her through to the Superbowl.
After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly The democrates left McCains name because other wise they would all be democrates and for no other reason. Democrates are very ethical aren't they?
Democrats New Candidate with Insider/Senator as VP who emphasized change... far better firework display... Republicans Established Candidate with Outsider/Govenor as VP who emphasized reform... far better balloon display... Democrats probably had the more exciting Convention with new ideas as change; Republican Convention stressed established principles of reform. One of the best political analysis of the choice at hand I heard was on the first day of RNC where the issue was taken head on; Democrats tie McCain to Bush and say that next four years would be four more years of low ratings of Bush; while Republicans say that Democrats must accept tie to Pelosi and accept that next four years under Obama would be four more years of even lower ratings of Pelosi. That's a fair and legitimate claim.
Oh man, do go for that. Pelosi annoys GOP hacks and Rush listeners. Bush pisses off the majority of Americans.
The Dems aimed their convention directly at the middle class. They offered both platitudes and actual ideas of what they would do to try and make things better. The GOP tried to hold a pep rally for USA. They told they offered change but they only gave us a bare glimpse on what it might be, and gave us no thoughts on how they would get us there
My thought: God, I'm sick of the spin doctors on both sides who read from their scripts. McCain could have barfed green blood on stage, and the reep spin doctors would say how great he was; same for the dems. Are there really that few impartial analysts out there? Can't the networks just hand their mikes off to Dodd and King for, like seven hours? Both conventions were fairly hideous, IMO. But I'm no fan of the political parties; the conventions are nothing but a big infomercial. BTW, Bob Barr was on CNN today. He got a couple of minutes only - only time to rip McCain, and not really spout his own policies. Apparently, he's polling 11% in Georgia. (By an odd twist, I am in Atlanta on business, staying at the CNN Center. Between the remnants of tornadoes and Gustav, I can't wait to get on the plane home.)
You have to take them as 1. Both get excited about their sides but I think both of them are pretty level headed about it. I watched Charlie Rose last night for the first time. He seemed fairly neutral although fairly macabre.
I think Buchanan is about the best analyst out there, and I really like Maddow, too. I know it sounds crazy coming from me, but Buchanon is about the best barometer for judging the effectiveness of the reeps - bar none. And Maddow keeps him pretty honest. She's sharp and calls Pat on any BS he might pull. Yes, there are good analysts out there - Chuck Todd, The other King (not Larry), Buchanan, Maddow, Matthews (soap opera!), Olbermann, a few others. The pollsters. Brokaw. These analyses are typically all great. Right now, I'm trying to think of any decent Fox announcers, but only Maura Liasson (sp?) comes to mind. But, who the ******** give's a rat's ass what the Governor of Hawaii has to say about Palin? (She was so ********ing wonderful, I had a multiple orgasm!) Or the Senator from Utah (I had my first stiffy in fifty ********ing years!). Or the seventeen year old reep delegate (Whoa dude, I just, uh, think more than other teenagers. Hey, you got a light? Oh yeah, Palin rocks, man!)
I actually like Buchanan as a political commentator. IMO he's one of the best political analysts in the country.
Democratic Convention: Well choreographed show, culminated by an inspiring speech that made an effort to reach most Americans and the middle class with a new vision of American politics. Obama already has my vote, so he was preaching to the choir. Republican Convention: Well choreographed effort to personally destroy Obama with sarcasm and derision, which played well enough with the media-persecution-complex Republican base, but probably turned off more independents than they realize. Bush/Cheney conspicuous by their absence. The Reeps are lucky Gustav came around, so they at least had an excuse for trying to ignore the last 8 years. But ultimately, the Republican party still carries a massive bowling ball on a chain around their necks with the initials GWB. And that's what's going to sink them. As Tom Davis has said, the Republican brand is dead. We may have caught glimpses of a new party emerging with the likes of Sarah Palin, but she's going to have to try to move beyond the snarkiness and sarcasm and provide some actual substance (and with her uber social conservatism, that substance might not jive with mainstream America) if she hopes to capitalize on her moment in the spotlight.
Well, sometimes you do get a partisan in the occasional Freudian Slip: Tom Ridge: "John Bush" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/05/tom-ridge-sums-up-the-mcc_n_124120.html That does help make up for endless hours of spin-doctoring.
There was a woman on Monday or Tuesday night...the President of some Republican committee or other. She ended her speech by praising the VP choice of "Sarah Pawlenty."
I think this is a an extremely tricky line to hoe, along w/ his appropriating Obama's campaign slogan: "change". He essentially recognizes that the country needs change. He recognizes that the country is fed up w/ the GOP, and that the traditional GOP needs major reform. But all he's offered is a platform that has been lightly polished, and he's trying to make ppl think that he'll be any different? And he has crept closer and closer and closer to the Fundie Base, even picking a running-mate that speaks to the Fundie Base... ... which is part of what has turned off moderates and made the country swing left. I'm just not sure that he'll pick up moderates and independents. Thoroughly cleaned up your post. 20 years of Reeps in the White House running up spending deficits -- also at the state level -- tears your initial post asunder.
Bill Clinton regained any bit of respect I might have lost for him during the primary ... and then some. If there was anything that surprised me, it was John Kerry. If only, eh? I missed most of the RNC, thanks to Gustav. I did get to see Palin. It was the only thing I could catch on television at the time. The hurricane was less annoying. McCain's speech was a McCain speech. So much for that "not going to run on being a POW" thing that we heard early on. I'm glad there is now a GET A BRAIN MORAN V2.0.