Did you know John McCain was a a war hero? I think I heard that somewhere the last couple nights.
For my money, Mike Huckabee is still the best speaker the Republicans have.
Shocking I know, but hypocrisy in politics and media is alive and well. The same Republican pundits who bemoan Obama's "celebrity" are crowing about Sarah Palin and announcing that "A star is born." And I didn't hear the slimy Rudy Giuliani slapping around the "liberal media" when they were slurping up to him, crowning him "America's Mayor".
Palin can crack wise all she wants about hauling away the Greek columns from Obama's stadium stage, but anybody with a brain understands that all politics at this level is carefully orchestrated, focus group-tested theatrical stagecraft. Let's be real.
Note to Fred Thompson-I don't care if the Vice President of the United States can field dress a moose.
I suspect I'm in the minority here, but I did not like the tone of Sarah Palin's speech. Yeah, she did what she needed to do and certianly performed well in her first time on the big stage. I liked her introduction to her family and her story. However, I thought the parts that were supposed to prove she is tough as nails came off as sarcastic and condascending. (And I love to employ sarcasm.)
I'm already sick of the phrase "heartbeat away from the presidency."
I found one line of her speech particulary interesting-"Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."
Were I a reporter, I could ask her or McCain's people exactly what they meant by that statement. I read it to mean that Obama is more worried about terror suspects having rights and being treated humanely while being detained than about whether any info is extracted. Don't you think John McCain would have loved to have been read rights,treated humanely and protected from toture during captivity? Just asking.
Finally, as someone who is a fan of this political game and as someone who has not decided where his vote will land, I think this race just got very interesting. If nothing else, it should be a fun two months.
4 comments:
Word.
word, part deux.
except the part about Mike Huckabee. he's too 'awk-shucks' to be a great speaker.. but he may be better than most.
I read stuff about the Greek columns before Obama even gave his speech, so I think their inclusion may have tried to emphasize something that would be rightly ridiculed by his opponents -- but at the same time, you're right that it's just a little scripting here and there, and I can't help but wonder if any of the Palin news was not _timed_ (it couldn't have been scripted, but it could have been known and "used").
I respect that she can field-dress a moose (assuming that's true) -- I can't; maybe that makes her more manly than me, that's OK.
I have to agree with you on the tone. As much as I like her, and think she makes it all so much more interesting, the tone was a little too {something}.
And just to counterpoint your final point; it's not about the rights of terror suspects -- uh, crap. I've re-read your statement 10 times, and I can't figure out if I'm on the side of the terrorists, or USA's #1 war hero. Your interjection about what he might have prefered as a POW in Hanoi certainly taints it.
Let's say this: if the VC in Hanoi read(gave) him some basic rights, didn't torture him, but treated him humanely while using him as a political tool against the majority of Americans; I'm guessing he would have strongly objected against his views/statements being twisted and would rather have been tortured. Just my guess, and I may give him too much credit.
Wednesday evening was definitely all about rallying the base, I think. It was much more partisan in tone than Thursday, but isn't that the way these things work? Get the surrogates to make the more outlandish statements and leave the candidate to be the "voice of reason?"
I was pleased that Sarah Palin's speech wasn't shrill. So many times, women's voices at these large events come off as some sort of shriek. I am also impressed by the fact that she pretty much had to wing it for the second half of her speech, as the teleprompter malfunctioned.
I think that lines is referring to the two different approaches when dealing with terrorists: law enforcement approach vs combat approach. I could be wrong, but that fits the pattern of criticism from the past 20 years or so.
The two days leading up to her speech, the speech writers gathered to alter the speech they already had prepared for the male VP they expected him to pick, either Pawlenty, Ridge, etc. The Palin pick was only known to a select few high up in the campaign, and she was only vetted the day before the announcement. Thats because he wanted Lieberman or Ridge, but the RNC folks said NO. They were leaning Romney but McCain said NO. So to try and step on the DNC's bounce, they picked a VP that would be a newsmaker and rule the airwaves.
Once she was out there, they had to go back and alter the speech to reflect a feminine POV, and include her family stuff, but they tried to keep in most of the attack dog stuff that was already there. Thats why her speech came off, besides the family stuff, a bit snide and sarcastic.
And after listening to the lead up to and McCain's actual speech, it's good to know that he absolutely does not and will not use his time as a POW as a political tool in his campaign, which he has said on several occasions.
Oh wait....nevermind.
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