Open Thread: RNC Convention

by hilzoy

(From The Wonk Room. See also here.)

Comments

[cleek]

not a lot of ethnic diversity in that audience.

[KCinDC]

They're working on eliminating the gender diversity, cleek. MSNBC said they're moving on the men from the front and moving in women to be the visible crowd for Palin's speech. I'm sure that's just the trick to get women across America to come around.

[wonkie]

Alaska is one of the reddist red states meaning that they have a parasitic economy in conjuction with a self-congratulatory myth of being more independent than everyone else and truely staggering levels of intellectual dishonesty are required to sustain both simultaneaously.

I think that the porportion of assholes per unit population is higher than most places, too. But I don't have much tolerance for people who believe that they are better than other people by virtue of the place they live.

[br]

I believe wonkie counts as one of the enraged base I discussed here.

[br]

Rudy! Now I'm getting really angry.

[liberal japonicus]

But I don't have much tolerance for people who believe that they are better than other people by virtue of the place they live.

It was at this point that wonkie's audition to replace Robin Leach ran into difficulty ;^)

[br]

Rudy just said McCain was tortured! Sullivan is going to have a conniption.

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

shorter Rudy:

nevermind that Georgia crap. Now we are all Human Resources administrators. Do you hire the young talented guy who is going places, or Mr. Ageism-lawsuit-waiting-to-happen?

[felix culpa]

But, there, y’see?
She’s a pro. Knows her way around. She’ll fit in just fine.
Gaming the system’s the name of the game, right?

[br]

Ooh boy! That's great... insult community organizing.

[felix culpa]

LeftTurn, He didn’t say that.

Did he? Virtually really?

[br]

felix, it was a snarky paraphrase.

But Rudy is in full Mussolini mode. What a giant douche. He hasn't said 911 yet...

[br]

they are chanting "drill baby drill" and won't let Rudy talk.

What a freakshow.

[br]

wow... Josh @TPM just said the same thing as me in my 10:13 comment. hah..

[KCinDC]

Rudy, the Democrats didn't say "9/11" as much as you'd like during their convention because they knew you'd balance things out.

[Warren Terra]

Now, Rudy! says that the Democrats should be shamed for not using the phrase "Islamic Terrorism", because the phrase is an insult to Terrorists. That's just peachy.

[wonkie]

I love Alaska. But I do understand the impulse some Alaskans have for living as far away as possible from other Alaskans.

[KCinDC]

I see Obama's FISA reversal had the benefit that Giuliani was only able to accuse him of flip-flopping rather than aiding terrorists (though he's got plenty of other excuses for saying he likes terrorists).

[KCinDC]

Is anyone able to follow Rudy's explanations of these last supposed Obama flip-flops? I think his speech needed an editor. Admittedly, the audience aren't actually paying attention to whether it makes sense, just waiting for points to cheer.

[KCinDC]

The former mayor of New York City complaining about someone else's cosmopolitanness? (Repeating the ridiculousness of Romney's speech.)

[hilzoy]

I love the part about not mentioning Islamic terrorism. Obviously, mentioning Al Qaeda and bin Laden doesn't count.

[Warren Terra]

As I intended to indicate in my comment, I'm more upset that somehow the modifier "Islamic" demeans "Terrorism". Maybe I should point out that I'm neither a Muslim nor, in fact, a Terrorist.

But, yeah, the Dems mentioned Bin Laden quite a bit. Of course, the Dems may not have engaged in generalization verging on open racism in the way 9iu11ani wanted.

[KCinDC]

Olbermann just said they canceled the video intro for Palin because Giuliani's speech was so long.

[KCinDC]

They're really harping on the slander about Obama preferring to lose a war than to lose an election. Attacking Obama's patriotism is one of the themes of the night.

[Warren Terra]

I've got a shiny nickel says Palin now announces Levi has joined up ...

[br]

I thought families were off limits?

[br]

Didn't she give this speech last friday?

[Warren Terra]

I thought families were off limits?

I apologize if I transgressed. I'm just feeling punchy because every G-D time anyone tries to mention Palin's crappy record in performance of her public duties the R's insist they're really talking about her sordid family drama. And you get the R's, as they did earlier tonight, denouncing arguments that no actual named person is making, for example that you can't be a mom and an executive. And as you can tell, criticizing her family is off limits, but they get to wave her family around continuously.

[br]

You know who made that argument today, Warren? Dr. Laura! The queen of the liberals.

[Warren Terra]

I Can. Not. Believe. This. She is still lying about the Bridge To Nowhere. Is she shameless, oblivious, or just much better informed about the state of the media than I am?

[hilzoy]

OMG. She actually repeated the lie about the bridge to nowhere.

[Warren Terra]

Oh, and while I can't concur or demur (I'm listening on radio, and I'm not familiar with the archival video), but Joshua Micah Marshall on the Giuliani speech:

he's got the Joseph Goebbels hand gestures down pat

[br]

Ack you both beat me to it! Is she going to get away with that crap?

Also, this speech is boring. Rudy wasn't boring, I was getting up and screaming at him. And then I gave 25 bucks to Obama.

Oh, wait. Is that sexist?

[KCinDC]

I see she's keeping the lie about the bridge to nowhere.

[br]

And they get up there and say that Obama has never written a law! What gall.

[KCinDC]

She hasn't embarrassed herself, so the media is going to say she did a great job and showed her toughness.

[KCinDC]

How much of her speech is stolen from Hillary? There's a reason I thought Hillary was running a Republican campaign. How much resemblance is there between the way Democrats talk about McCain and the way McCain's primary opponents did?

[Warren Terra]

She hasn't embarrassed herself

Between the extended elaborate "small town hicks are the only Real Americans" routine and the repeat of the debunked lie about the Bridge To Nowhere, I'd say she has, but I know you're talking about the pundits' judgement.

[br]

Yeah, best. speech. ever. Especially when she was reading some stuff about those foreign places off the teleprompter.

[liberal japonicus]

I see her, not now, but some point in the future, overplaying her hand. She is enjoying getting in the digs at Obama and Biden, and she is getting off the roar of the crowd and I can see her taking it too far and getting busted for it.

[KCinDC]

Wait, the biggest reason for voting for John McCain is that it will piss off Harry Reid? Isn't that taking the politics of resentment a little far?

[Warren Terra]

One thing for sure: this is a pretty well-written red meat speech now that she's got past the extended family routine, arguably as effective as Giuliani's, but it is about as unPresidential a speech as I've ever heard from a Presidential or a Veep nominee. Since the campaign staff wrote it anyway, they should have given it to someone not on the ticket for use in a keynote.

[KCinDC]

LJ, getting busted by whom? The pundits are going to love that she's disproven people's doubts about her ability to be an attack dog (wait, is that sexist?).

[liberal japonicus]

Was that crack about dealing with adversity a backhand slap at Biden's back story? Truly, truly slimy?

[Warren Terra]

Also, what horrible series of accidents happened to all the fearsomely talented professionals of stagecraft that brought us the 2004 convention? Giuliani started late and ran over, they allegedly had to skip a Palin video because of Giuliani running over, and now Palin doesn't seem to be bringing it to a close (I could be wrong ...) almost 10 minutes after the hour.

[liberal japonicus]

Busted by the Obama campaign, then amplified by the press. I hope.

But now, listening to Howard Kurtz, I sink back into despair...

[Warren Terra]

Well, I was certainly wrong, it was coming to a close, albeit in terms of the writing it was more like a shuddering halt.

I note that while they clearly despise Obama, and think that will work for them, the only apparent ideas expressed in the main speeches tonight were More War and Drill Now. If there was an actual positive policy proposal other than those, I didn't hear it.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Thank goodness, Palin just finished -- I thought I wasn't going to make it through the whole thing.

I think, as Democrats go, I am one of the fairest commenters on this site -- going so far today, for example, to praise Fred Thompson's speech last night.

But this was awful.

Just awful.

Whereas I realize Thompson took some liberties -- these are political speeches after all -- this lady delivered a half-hour's worth of distortions, which I'm sure will be talked about later.

The one that got me out of my seat and down to our computer room: When she said Obama wants to "forfeit" Iraq.

I hope Biden -- and Obama himself -- answers back.

This is such bullshit.

"She clearly gives a great speech," Keith Olbermann just said, so maybe I've missed something.

I agree with with Chris Matthews: "This isn't an alternative to Hillary. This is a cultural difference to Obama."

Frankly, I see her candidacy as an insult to anyone who support Hillary Clinton. But that's just me.

Keith O just compared her to Norma F---in' Rae.

Am I the only person here who feels like throwing up?

[KCinDC]

Olbermann mentions something I was thinking of: This speech does make it harder for people to portray her as the poor woman being beaten up on by the nasty man in the debate.

[KCinDC]

Bedtime, I thought there were echoes of the late-campaign Hillary, friend of working people and scourge of latte drinkers, in the speech, especially around the "bitter" comments. But only small echoes.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

"wait, is that sexist?"

Thank God, you said it KC.

At the risk of embarrassing myself, I believe you are a woman, not that it matters, I guess.

But I just got back from my annual three-hour fantasy football draft in time to watch the speech and maybe I let what I read here affect me too much, wondering since I left the house if, "Geez, maybe I'm being too sexist (after reading some of Dutchmarbel's complaints)."

Then I think, "Geez, I might be the biggest Hillary Clinton supporter on this blog."

Maybe I'm not making sense, so I apologize, but in the background, I'm listening to the lefties on MSNBC continue to heap praise on Palin.

I imagine they are cannonizing her over at FOX.

I hope John Thullen shows up sooner or later.

I'll be interested in what Hilzoy says because (1) I know she is a woman and (2) I respect her fairness and perspective. Tell me I'm not overreacting, hilz.

[KCinDC]

CNN is gushing more than MSNBC, which was plenty impressed.

[Random African]

The media is kinda swallowing it.

[KCinDC]

No, Bedtime, not a woman (not that there's anything wrong with that). I wonder what gave you that impression. But then I thought you were a woman for a while when you first appeared, probably mostly because you were such a fervent Hillary supporter.

David Gergen isn't gushing quite as much, pointing out that this speech appeals only to the base, though it should be great for them. That's expected for a convention speech, but this was also her introduction to the country.

[KCinDC]

Gloria Borger says it's reviving the culture war, with small-town America against urban America.

If that's true, it's a good recipe for winning the presidency while losing the popular vote.

[russell]

OK, I watched for a while, then it got really boring, so I turned it off.

Cut taxes, control spending, kick foreign ass.

Families are good. Small businesses are good.

Government is bad. Government is too big.

Democrats will take your money and piss it away. They are effete, narcissistic snobs. They will not fight our enemies. If they are elected we will all die.

Same sh*t, different day.

Oh yeah, I forgot. McCain is not a Washington insider.

Seriously, I should run for federal office as a Republican. You can do it from flash cards.

Is there anyone in the god damned city of St Paul who isn't white, pudgy, and wearing a suit?

I've had enough. The TV is off now.

I'm tired of trying to find common ground. I'm tired of listening to the same simplistic, feel-good, moralistic claptrap, year after year. I'm tired of the whole damned thing.

It's a big country, there's room for all kinds of points of view. I want Republicans to stay in their damned red states and stay the hell out of mine, and I will set it as a goal to keep them, to the best of my ability, the hell out of the white house and the court system. Not much I can do about Congress outside of my own guys.

Hey, both Obama and Biden went out of their way to express their personal respect for McCain during the Democratic convention. Sarah F'ing Palin, mayor of a town that I can't find on a map with a microscope, and governor (with all due respect) of a what is more or less a national park with a socialist oil concession, wants to piss on every Democrat whose name she can think of.

Screw her.

I don't really hold any hatred for Republicans at a personal level, but I really hate what they're doing to this country, and I hate the crap they shovel out every election year.

I've had enough. I hope she and McCain get their sorry asses kicked from here to Timbuktu come November. As far as I'm concerned, and with all due respect to their service to our great nation, they're punks.

Thanks -

[bedtimeforbonzo]

KC: "Bedtime, I thought there were echoes of the late-campaign Hillary, friend of working people and scourge of latte drinkers, in the speech, especially around the 'bitter' comments. But only small echoes."

I'm not going to sit here and deny that, although I think Clinton helped toughen Obama up and, with the GOP taking the gloves off tonight, I think the hard primary fight was for the good.

Also, it was only a matter of time before those "bitter" comments came back to haunt him -- and, hopefully, Hillary using them first took some of the sting out of them.

BTW, I'm not saying Palin didn't have some strong lines.

Like: "We prefer candidates who don't talk one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

And: "A small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer except you have actual responsibilities."

Rachel Maddow -- thank God for Rachel Maddow -- just said she was suprised by all of the "sarcasm" and "insults" toward Obama.

Pat Buchanan, whose view "from the other side" I value and often enjoy, just said Palin was a "rookie who through a shutout in the first game of the World Series."

Again, I imagine I am missing something.

I just didn't see someone who seemed very presidential.

[Tony P.]

Here comes Rudy.

Agrees this is the most important election in our lifetime -- a turning point. (Rudy and I agree about SOMETHING!!)

Newsflash: the people will decide, not the media or Hollywood celebrities. (So why is GOP so hot to give media and Hollywood celebrities the biggest tax cuts?)

Riffing on the presidency as a JOB, the election as a hiring decision. Give it to the 'true American hero' because he has 'sacrificed for it'.

(Just how does a POW 'refuse' early release, BTW? I should look it up.)

Obama is a gifted man with an Ivy League education who worked as a community organizer -- the first 'problem on his resume'. On to the old saw about voting 'present'. Me and Palin never got to vote 'present'; POTUS can't either. Celebrity Senator, could only happen in America. Never had to lead people in crisis. (Obama campaign never had a crisis.)
McCain is substance; Obama is style. Quoting Biden, on-the-job-training; Hillary, 3AM phone call. McCain will keep your children safe. (Never mind he might draft them.)

Change is not a destination; hope is not a strategy. Agrees more of the same ain't good enough. (Is Dubya listening?)

Drill baby, drill!! Applause. Tribal chants. Dems will tax us more. ('Us' is millionaires, I guess.)

Again with the Dems too PC to say 'Islamic terrorism' meme. Dems did not even mention 911! (No, only the uncaught, unkilled bin Laden. Tastefully refrained from chanting AbuGhraib!AbuGhraib!, too.) McCain will keep us on offense. (Even against enemies we don't have yet.)

Troop surge. Dems giving up on Iraq was Dems giving up on America. Reid said 'we lost'. So who won, al-Qaida? (Why, yes, Rudy, yes it did.)

Obama broke public finance pledge. (Well, taxpayer funding of campaign, maybe.) Obama flip-flopped on FISA. (To YOUR side, idiot.) Obama flip-flopped on undivided Jerusalem. (Nothing is as important as Jerusalem!) Biden better get VP nomination in writing. (Done.) McCain was right on: we are all Georgians! (Not, however, Darfuris.) Obama sees moral equivalence, has 300 foreign-policy advisers, wants the You-En to resolve conflicts, forgot Russia has a veto. Advice to Obama: call McCain next time. (He probably will. Serious Presidents do tend to consult Congress.)

McCain will enlarge the GOP. McCain picked VP for the future, Obama reached back to the past. Palin has more executive experience than Dem ticket combined. (Than Dem ticket plus McCain combined. Even Colbert has pointed that out.) She was a mayor! Sorry Wasilla isn't cosmopolitan enough, sorry people cling to guns and religion there.(Sarcasm becomes Rudy.) Took on GOP corruption. (As Mark Kleiman points out, there's plenty of it to take on. Why not cut out the middleman and vote Dem in the first place?)

How dare they question 5-kids VP?!? When did they ever ask a man that question? (GOP has championed career women, family leave, all that woman-friendly stuff, forever!)

GOP believes workers should have the right to work. Freedom for everybody! (Supply your own literary reference here.)

Shake up Washington to move USA forward! Thank you.

--TP

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

One thing for sure: this is a pretty well-written red meat speech now that she's got past the extended family routine, arguably as effective as Giuliani's, but it is about as unPresidential a speech as I've ever heard from a Presidential or a Veep nominee. Since the campaign staff wrote it anyway, they should have given it to someone not on the ticket for use in a keynote.

Apart from Biden hamming it up with his Irish-American grandmother, I'd have to agree.

It struck me as a really good keynote speech (fire up the base) crossed with a really good speech if you are running to get elected as the mayor of a town of say about 10,000 people, which underlined just how painfully unprepared she is for the complexities of leading a nation of 300 million people, with numerous urban areas far larger in population that her entire state, a staggeringly complex economy, and a global empire for good measure.

To top it off, she delivered her lines with the sort of combination of smirky and snarky charm that I normally associate with a local news/weather/sports crew. I don't know if that will wear well. For some reason the phrase "next up, Doppler radar" kept running thru my head.

Also, the audience was a horror show. I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place who all look just exactly like the one guy who shows up for church every week hideously overdressed and then peers over your shoulder as the collection basket goes by to see how much you put in.

I imagine the memories have faded from past conventions, but this is the first time I can remember seeing a bunch of Republicans on TV and thinking to myself: "these people don't look like Americans. They look like they're from another country".

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Sorry, KC.

Your comments have always struck me as fair and not vicious, sort of like Hilzoy, so that's how I bleeped up the gender, I guess.

Yeah, and initially, I thought folks might think the same thing about me since men don't usually go to the mat for Hillary, or so it seems. (Just as my handle must have seemed like a tribute to Ronald Reagan and not a beloved, beloved dog -- guess stereotyping on the computer is dangerous.)

I wish I could keep going but my wife just gave me the 2-minute warning: While my mother-in-law is staying with us from Russia, she is occupying the den/computer room. Tonight would be a fun night to keep going, however.

[hilzoy]

KC: I didn't think it was sexist. People did have those doubts. She did dispel them. Possibly I'm missing something, like maybe the fact that if she's a dog, attack or otherwise, then since she'd have to be a female dog, she's (definitionally) a "bitch", but I think that since you didn't use that word, and it's just an overly literal extension of a perfectly gender-neutral phrase like 'attack dog', it's fine.

[hilzoy]

Of course, the people who had those doubts might have been sexist. Personally, I did not, having watched her a bit and read up on her record. Nothing I've seen or read in any way suggests wimpiness. On the contrary.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Russell: "I'm tired of trying to find common ground."

I second that.

Reading Russell's comments, I was thinking how the Republicans had the nerve to attack Obama's speech as nothing but liberal boiler plate -- then they give us this. Classic.

[wonkie]

So she gives a great speech.

So what? Isn't that exactly how Obama detractors dismiss him--he gives a great speech?

I know I'm not an unbiased judge but she creeps me out. She reminds me of the evil blond character in the movie about a high school election--the actress was Reese Whetherspoon.

I wonder how she will strike people outside the bubble of political activists? Her picture on US magazine and that other supermarket checkout stand mag is all fake smiley and too many teeth--beauty queenish--and the articles are critical, judging by the headlines.

There was a parody of Palin and McCain on YouTube that I saw yesterday. Palin was depicted as mean, mean, mean in a cold way like the teacher you really hated back in the day.

I guess her speech had an element of sarcasim and anger to it, beyond the usual partisanship. (I didn't listen to it)

Anyway she doesn't seem warm to me. THe glimpses I've seen of her seemed cold,

It's too bad that how a politician seems is more important than what she or he says. But we are an anti intellectual society as Dr. Ngo syas.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Hilzoy: "Nothing I've seen or read in any way suggests wimpiness."

Indeed.

This woman clearly relishes a partisan fight.

She basically called herself a pit bull.

[KCinDC]

Carl Bernstein also thinks we're going back to the culture wars (not sure when they ended).

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Boy, I wish I could stay on. But I will keep harmony in the family and comply with my wife's wishes, head upstairs. Look forward to reading you guys in the morning.

[KCinDC]

Wonkie, an important difference is that Obama writes his speeches. Hers was written by the McCain campaign, by members of the dreaded old boy network.

[russell]

Your comments have always struck me as fair and not vicious, sort of like Hilzoy, so that's how I bleeped up the gender, I guess.

Excuse me?

Since sexism seems to be one of our topics du jour, I'd ask you to kindly re-read this sentence and tell me how it isn't sexist.

Nothing personal, just saying. The axe cuts both ways, folks.

Thanks -

[hairshirthedonist]

You know how you can often tell who's written a comment before getting to the bottom to see their handle? Well, I don't know that I've ever been more surprised than after seeing "russell" at the bottom of his last comment, or, rather, your comment, russell. Although you almost always write good ones, and that was a good one, you're usually not that pissed off. I'm feelin' you. I'd just like to see a talking head say something like, "Well, she accomplished one of the main goals for the night. She really pissed off russell."

[wonkie]

Well Of course. I meant that the people who dismiss him are hypocrits for praising her. She appareantly has good delivery but that is literally all. She doesn't even have the wherewithall to write her generic Republican crap speeches.

Joe Klien says over at Swampland that her speech was brilliant. He also says that it has no substance and is full of inaccuracies but that doesn't matter, she is a major player now.

I'm not sure he understands what a devastating criticism he has made, by implication, of our press corpse.

Tracy Flick is tha characgter I was tgrying to think of.

[hairshirthedonist]

Should I bother writing that I wasn't referring to your 12:00 comment, but the one before?

[Tony P.]

Tina Fey, er, Sarah Palin comes on immediatelly after Rudy.
Cheers. Todd holds Trig, Levi stands by Bristol.

*******************

I accept challenge of tough fight against competent opponents.

McCain was counted out because he refused to yield his commitment to the country he loves. (Iraq?) Rather lose election than war. (And won't rule out 2nd term. You do the math.)

Voters saw McCain's caliber. Wore uniform, kept faith with troops who brought victory within sight. (Memo to candidate: surge worked already.) I want him as my son's CINC. I will say prayers for our troops as a mom. (Dems abort their babies and pray to idols, dont you know.)

After chants of USA!USA! recite names of kids. (GOPers are creative with names: Healthy Forests for logging; Enhanced Interrogation for Torture. Why should naming KIDS be more prosaic?)

Special-needs kids inspire special love. To their families: you will have advocate fighting for you in the White House. (Fighting against WHO? Liberal Dems??)

Hubby: fisherman, oil-driller, steelworker union, snowmobile champ, still my guy. (And, as she said in McCain's presence, "The man I most admire in the world." But anyway: aww, how sweet.)

Mom and Dad worked for elementary school in town. (Oh no! Not government employees!)

Truman followed unlikely path to VP. We grow good people in our small towns. (Crop must be dwindling; most of us live in cities and suburbs now.)

Average hockey mom, signed up for PTA. Difference between hockey-mom and pitbull: lipstick. (Sexist!) Wanted to improve public education. (Probably needs more piety.)

Small-town mayor's job explained to Obama and Biden: community organizer with actual responsibilities. (And borrowing authority. That helps.) Tsk, tsk on guns and religion bitter comments. (Fundie NRA members are NOT bitter.) My running mate is the same man everywhere.

Not member of prominent political establishment. Media says that means unqualified, but newsflash: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion, but to serve the good people of this great country. (What a relief! I feel less exploited already.)

The right reason to go to DC is to challenge the status quo. (Do Dick and Dubya LIKE this kind of talk?)

Pledge integrity, openness, servant heart. (I may have missed something here; the dog was barking.)

Stood up to oil companies. (Read: got more money out of them. S'okay: they can pass on the extra cost, no problem.)

Got rid of Guv's jet on Ebay. Kids miss Guv's chef. Veto works for public interest. (Just like filibusters?)

Thanks, but no thanks on Bridge to Nowhere. (But did not send back the money.)

Got pipeline deal done for American energy independence. (B(ritish)P(etroleum) not complaining, I bet.)

Railing against petro-dictators without using the exact term. (Petro-governors are good, though.)

We know drilling won't solve EVERY problem, but it's SOMETHING. We will do all the forms of American energy. (Not without some tax money or tax breaks, you won't.)

Obama authored two memoirs, but no bills or even reforms. Can talk about America's wars without using 'victory' except w.r.t. his own campaign. After Greek columns are back in storage, what's his plan? (He can tell it you; he can't hear it for you. Idiot.) He will grow guvment, take your money, give you orders, weaken America. Wants to meet nuke-seeking terrorists. Worries nobody will read terrorists their rights. (Rove must have writer's cramp.)

Obama wants to raise income, payroll, death taxes. My sister just built gas station; how is she, or you, better off with higher taxes? (Sister planning to make Britney-Spears-size income, is she? Expecting Paris-Hilton-size inheritence, maybe?)

Some use change to promote career; McCain uses career to promote change. Dig at Prez seal. McCain doesn't run with lobbyists(!); not looking for a fight, but not afraid of one. (Will FIGHT for poor, put-upon rich against those eevil libruls.)

Harry Reid said he can't stand John McCain; that proves McCain is the right guy. Reid only proved he can't stand UP to John McCain. (The woman has a point here.)

Running for Prez is not journey of personal discovery. World not a community, doesn't just need an organizer. Only McCain has ever fought for you. Fought, get it? Suffered for his country. Long way from POW cell to Oval Office. McCain would bring compassion, having known powerlessness. He understands evil. Wise by the grace of God. McCain gave thumbs up after "torturous interrogations". That's the kind of man we need. (All 'issues', right? No character to see here, people, move along.)

Obama inspires with words, McCain with deeds. Change is our goal. (Right again! But didn't Rudy say 'change is not a goal'?)Thank you. God bless you.

****************************

Cheers, applause! Look at all them Palins!

McCain apparates -- in person. Proves political maverickiness: passes up the chance to kiss a baby. Looks unsure about stage directions at the end -- smiles, shrugs, and leaves.

On to the liberal elitist media spin!

--TP

[KCinDC]

a local news/weather/sports crew

You mean like this (unfortunately the video is gone)?

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

Russell: "I'm tired of trying to find common ground."

My patience is sorely tried by this kind of speeches.

Somebody help me out here. I think this is just my own cognitive bias at work, but who knows.

When I listen to a Democrat like Obama give a speech, and he tears into the GOP, it doesn't sound to me like he is attacking Republican voters, showing disrespect for their lives, their cities, their culture. It sounds to me like he is talking about the GOP party leadership and their policies.

But when I head Republicans give partisan speeches, it sure sounds to me like they aren't just tearing down the Democratic leadership. It sounds to me like they are making it personal with me, a lowly voter. They are tearing me down and pissing all over everything that I value. They are telling me to go f**k off and die, because I'm not a Real American.

And you know what? It bloody well pisses me off, it does! I can't watch these things in a mixed audience because I'd probably pick up a chair and hit the nearest Republican over the head with it.

If they are trying to incite us to murder each other, they (the GOP leadership) are going about it the right way. Sometimes I'm honestly surprised we haven't had another Civil War. Sometimes I'm bloody minded enough to think I wouldn't mind it if we did.

Is that an accident or is it by design? Is it symmetric? Do conservatives have the same reaction when they hear Democrats speak, or is it different?

[hairshirthedonist]

I want Tony P. coverage for the whole convention.

[russell]

Although you almost always write good ones, and that was a good one, you're usually not that pissed off.

No man, trust me, I'm usually pretty pissed off. I just do my best to be nice.

IMVHO, Palin's a punk. She's got nothing but tribal ID and a willingness to piss on everybody else.

Screw her. I'll look forward to seeing her go home to Alaska with her tail between her legs in November.

Thanks -

[hairshirthedonist]

Is that an accident or is it by design? Is it symmetric? Do conservatives have the same reaction when they hear Democrats speak, or is it different?

I wonder the same thing. The GOPers sound fake and lacking in intellectual heft. The Dems sound like they know what they're talking about and they mean it. I don't know if it's just me.

[KCinDC]

And the target of the first post-speech trial of the plan to characterize critics as sexist is Harry Reid, whose spokesman said, "Shrill and sarcastic political attacks may fire up the Republican base, but they don't change the fact that a McCain-Palin administration would mean four more years of failed Bush-Cheney policies."

Apparently "shrill" is a offensive word only applied to women. That will be a surprise to the blogosphere, but Campbell Brown confirmed its offensiveness.

[gwangung]

But when I head Republicans give partisan speeches, it sure sounds to me like they aren't just tearing down the Democratic leadership. It sounds to me like they are making it personal with me, a lowly voter. They are tearing me down and pissing all over everything that I value. They are telling me to go f**k off and die, because I'm not a Real American.

Well, this is what their base thinks about us. And they resent the direction we've taken the country, because it's not their America. Even though we represent a very big part of AMerican and make more money than they do (for the most part) and have a real interest outside of our own borders and...

[RoseLane]

I thought the Palin speech was effective up until she belittled Obama for his community organizing. Whether someone's job is in fast food, education, government, etc. they deserve respect. It struck me as mean and elitest. I was also uncomfortable with the Palin's baby being used as a prop, especially when Cindy was holding him. It was a bit over the top.

[KCinDC]

ThatLeft, I think part of it is that Democrats have to go along with the myth of "the heartland" as the "real" America, because it permeates our culture. Even if most Americans no longer live in places like that, that's still somehow the ideal. Democrats also need votes in those places to win.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are free to attack the effete, un-American urbanites to their hearts' content, because they're not going to get votes from the cities anyway (on the presidential level, at least). The former governor of Massachusetts and the former mayor of New York City, as part of seeking higher office, are almost required to mock the people whose votes they used to seek.

[gwangung]

I thought the Palin speech was effective up until she belittled Obama for his community organizing. Whether someone's job is in fast food, education, government, etc. they deserve respect. It struck me as mean and elitest.

How much grassroots community organizing have Republicans done lately? Particularly in the neighborhoods Obama worked in?

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

The former governor of Massachusetts and the former mayor of New York City, as part of seeking higher office, are almost required to mock the people whose votes they used to seek.

I caught a bit on MSNBC right after Rudy's speech where Andrea Mitchell was interviewing Romney and asked him about how well Gov. Palin's social conservative views would go over back in his "home state" of Massachusetts, and Romney threw his former state under the proverbial bus. He basically said "We aren't going to win MA anyway [implied subtext: so who cares?], what matters is how well that will play in MI and OH".

And I was thinking (while watching this) - what a slimeball. I'm sure those people in MA really appreciate you not caring what they think anymore, seeing as how they no longer matter to your national ambitions.

Yeeesh.

[Gary Farber]

This is an open thread: I just got a letter from WakeMed informing me what my bill is from my emergency room visit last week.

$1,012.00

[russell]

Well, she accomplished one of the main goals for the night. She really pissed off russell.

Sorry for the tone of my post upthread, folks.

As I watched Palin's speech it became clear to me that McCain was going back to the mattresses -- fire up the base, fire up the base, fire up the base, fire up the base, and then fire up the base.

And when that fails, fire up the base.

It's deja vu all over again. I find it very discouraging.

Thanks -

[Gromit]

I wonder if she is just as unfamiliar with what a community organizer does day-to-day as she is with the responsibilities of the vice president. Never mind that she is comparing Obama's first job with the highest office she'd attained only two years ago.

And she's belittling private sector experience in favor of government (BIG government for such a small town, from the sound of it) to boot! Nice to see a Republican admit that government can do good things, too bad her idea of good government involves bullying subordinates and raking in tens of millions of federal dollars (hundreds of millions as governor) for boondoggles in one of the least populous states in the nation.

[Jesurgislac]

Steve Bell's Convention Sketchbook.

I didn't know the Guardian had sent Steve Bell to the Democratic and Republican conventions, but that's very cool. His sketches of Sarah Palin begin here.

[liberal japonicus]

Thanks for that link, Jes. I like Bell's comments next to the sketches
15
t’s unfair to say that she merely continues the attack, since she makes the process wholly her own. She is not simply offensive, she is vicious and very good at it.
16
She goes down an absolute storm with crowd. After a particularly successful passage and her 17th standing ovation, a very nice Republican lady next to me says (knowing I’m English): “Another Margaret Thatcher?”. Diplomatically, I say: “It’s a bit early to tell,” but I have a horrible, sinking feeling she may be right.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Russell: "Since sexism seems to be one of our topics du jour," I really seem to be stepping in it and will try to be more PC in my comments.

Nevertheless, and here I go again, after watching Palin last night, a lot of this sexism talk seems like a red herring to me, designed to put Democrats on the defense.

[russell]

I really seem to be stepping in it and will try to be more PC in my comments.

Hey man, please don't worry about being PC on my account.

Palin put me in a no good, very bad mood. Sorry to have taken it out on you.

Thanks -

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Well, Russell, I'm still flummoxed as to how I mistook KC for a woman. Thankfully, KC, you seem in touch with your feminine side, as am I:)

Being in sales -- and I've learned I'm not the only one who has made this mistake -- when making small talk with a heavy-set woman, even if you think she's pregnant, don't ask her when she's expecting: You just might find out she's not pregnant at all. Talk about mortifying.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

I thought a funny moment occurred late last night when Keith Olbermann said: "Let's go to Savannah Guthrie in Alaska where she is talking to actual Alaskans."

[KCinDC]

Wasn't there a Seinfeld episode where someone mistook a man for a pregnant woman and gave up a seat on the bus to him? Can't find it through Google, so maybe it wan't Seinfeld.

Just heard Michael Steele explaining that Obama's team is largely white (can you imagine the reaction if it weren't). Somehow that means blacks should vote for McCain.

[Jeff]

I'll look forward to seeing her go home to Alaska with her tail between her legs in November.

Sexist! (Me too, although I hope she is forced out before then.)

[hairshirthedonist]

Sorry for the tone of my post upthread, folks.

russell, since your apology seems to be in response to my comment, I assume I'm one of the folks you're apologizing to. There's no need to apologize, at least not to me. I have no problem with what you said. In fact, you got me a little fired up. I was just noting that it seemed a bit out of character for you, but not in a bad way - just different. A bit of passion on the Dem side probably wouldn't hurt right about now.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

"In fact, you got me a little fired up."

Seconded.

[Teseenjoymn]

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