Last day of the convention - thank goodness. All goodwill I tried to muster (I wasn't perfect - but at least I tried) for these Republicans was lost after last night's speeches: Romney - Huckabee - Guiliani - Palin.
I saw a good comeback to the community organizer thing (in Daily Kos somewhere) - tailored for Christians...
Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.
Although the intention to that comment is to remind Christians that when they mock Obama for his work, they mock a lot of good people, they'd twist it to sound like the person who said that thinks Obama is a god or something.
Tom Cole of Oklahoma
Vice President is "handmaiden to liberal special interests"
"thanks to a do nothing liberal congress" we have 4.00/gallon gas. What an idiot.
State and Local race candidates are introduced, come out and say a few things: I don't think I need to listen to every word to know what they'll say. Blah, Blah, Blah.
Eric Paulson - Minnesota
Jay Love - Alabama
Charlie Summers - Maine (he looks like a golden boy, with a wife who really is golden. She campaigned for him when he was deployed to Iraq right after he started his primary campaign. Too bad he has aligned himself with the Republicans. He could go far though - good looks and a good speaking voice.)
Aaron Schock - Illinois (wow, very young - only 27. Won in an inner city district of Peoria, IL. I wonder which kind of Republican he is..."a leg up, not a hand out". He says McCain has always been a hero of his. I think he must be thinking of the 2000 McCain.)
David Cappiello - Connecticut
Sen John Ensign - Nevada
Blowhard
*****
Taped piece about America. Lots of pictures of military people. Man, these people love the military. Its the Robert Duvall thing from yesterday - repeat.
*****
Mitch MocConnell. They're going to vote for the Vice Presidential nominee.
Bore-Ing.
Sarah Palin is nominated by Acclimation
Now they're playing Heart's "Barracuda" and the people are dancing as if being a 'barracuda' is a good thing. Idiots.
Maria Cino 2008 Republican National Convention CEO
Rep Marsha Blackburn - Tennessee
After Palin's speech, she spoke to constituents and all others and they said "Its about damn time"
Then she chastised the media for telling her and Sarah Palin when she's taken on too much and etc, etc.
This is not my type of person.
Last night the "brilliant spark of leadership caught fire". Is that what she calls leadership? I call it Road Rage on a stage.
Rosario Marin - Former US Treasurer in Bush administration
She was supposed to talk about taxes and government reform. But, after seeing how the media and the Democrats have treated her, she feels the need to speak about Sarah Palin.
She tells that she used to be a mayor and has a Down Syndrome child. She was criticized, apparently, for working while she had a child with Special Needs.
The Republicans are responding to this 'criticism' as if it was hurled at them instead of from them. They started the 'criticism' and now are acting like the victim of it. They're so devious.
(Stephanie Miller said the first person she knew to have said it was Dr. Laura Schlessinger)
Joe Watkins - Pennsylvania - Pastor
Mel Martinez - Florida
*****
I've stopped watching the convention to watch Bill O'Reilly because I think Barack Obama's supposed to be on ?
Its ridiculous that the FOX news people, who are part of the media, are acting like the press is unfair to Sarah Palen.
So, Bill O'Reilly is too partisan to be palatable.
He badgered Barack Obama. Obama was good, but it was on Bill O'Reilly's pace - sound bytes and quick answers are the only requirement.
My friend J made note that Fox News can't allow anybody to answer questions thoughtfully and with deliberation because neither their moderators or their viewers
*****
Back now from Bill O'Reilly -
Lindsey Graham says "Barack Obama's campaign is built around us losing in Iraq" That's really quite a hateful thing to say isn't it. It implies that anybody, any American, would choose to see people die in order to further their cause. I think that's pretty rotten. So, I now know Lindsey Graham's character. I'm not going to bother listening anymore.
****
Aye ai ai - we have to have a filmed piece on Sarah Palin. Isn't anybody sick of Sarah Palin yet?
Mother, Moose Hunter, Maverick
Mayor, Governor, Maverick
I notice that there aren't very many pictures of her family over the years - all the pictures look pretty recent. Her hairstyle is the same anyway.
"When Alaska's maverick joined with America's maverick, the world shook, the world trembled, and the world will soon be a better place". Oh, puhleeze.
*****
Tom Ridge - Former Homeland Security Secretary
*****
Film of Cindy McCain. I missed the first part. I'm sure she's a lovely woman. I understand the pretty dress she wore the other day cost 300,000. And the Democracts call Obama the elites? Ridiculous.
She does have a nice speaking voice. Its got a moderately low register which is easy on the ears. She's speaking calm and steady.
*****
I'd like to make a special comment about the teleprompters. What the heck is wrong with them? The people have to make a special point to turn one way and then the other. Why is this happening almost universally at this convention? Almost every speaker has turned unnaturally from left to center to right to center to left, etc. And its always at the end of a sentence or paragraph. Odd. Somebody should have fixed that.
*****
Musical Interlude
*****
Now we'll get the life story in film of McCain.
John McCain is a "Mama's Boy" Okay - that was humorous.
His Mother really does look well for her age. I wonder if she's had plastic surgery?
When he was young he was a poster boy for a playboy lifestyle.
He was only prolife when he needed the evangelicals for his base.
"The stars are aligned, change will come"
I understand that being a POW will change a person profoundly, and maybe everything, for him, comes back to that. But, its been used so much its losing meaning.
Dramatic...the room is dark, a voice reads about the POW time from John McCain's book. A light comes on and John McCain walks out. Dah, dah , dah Dah!!!!
I don't think Palin is paying as much attention to this whole process as would be expected. During Cindy's speech she was looking away and now when McCain comes out she's looking behind her (I think the kids are running around?)
And now the nationalistic, jingoistic U-S-A chants. Really do those people know what they're implying? Disgusting.
A green background? Didn't they have trouble with a green background once before in the campaign? Oh - its grass in the huge picture behind him. Still
More U-S-A chants.
"McCain votes against vets" sign in the back of the auditorium.
McCain thanks Bush for leading us in the days after the worst attack on our soil, and keeping us safe from another attack. That's a mistake.
More U-S-A chants. I think its because of the protester. Yeah - go protester!
It does appear that Cindy and John love each other. That's good for them.
One thing I've noticed in the Republican convention is the awkward standing to accept applause. I think they all think if their name is mentioned they should stand and wave. But, I think you should only stand if the applause won't die down unless you acknowledge it. That's just a little note - I can't fault them for this. Except that it looks like whoever is in charge didn't explain to the people what they should do.
When McCain mentions Obama, somebody starts to boo, but is quickly shushed. McCain gives respect to Obama. But, it doesn't make up for all the unnecessarily mean things his surrogates have said in the last couple days.
Another protester and the crowd starts chanting again.
"Please don't be diverted by the crowd noise and the static."
"But Americans want us to stop yelling at each other, okay?
Another protester - and the people didn't listen to John because they start chanting U-S-A again and he's getting pissed. His face looks mad.
Now its time to mention Sarah Palin. So far he managed to tell her accomplishments without bashing Obama - so far.
If that Bristol and Levi hold hands any more often they're going to get blisters.
I do believe he hates pork barrel spending and that he will make them famous and "you will know their names". Although I think he better make sure he understands the full story before he starts spouting off about things. I suspect there are some items he might define as pork barrel spending that are legitimate.
Lessone he's learned - it doesn't matter that you fight, it matters what you fight for, that's the real test.
Now comes the littany of people who are regular Americans. When he mentions a person and their state, the people from that state start cheering. McCain waves them quiet. I think he's thinking "These crazy evangelists are messing up my message. Don't they realize I'm trying to talk to the people at home - not them?"
I see McCain knows what he gave up to get these people's support and I believe he's not going to betray them. But, I bet its not a bed he feels comfortable in.
"We were elected to change Washington and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of America"
I have to give him some credit for saying 'WE' lost their trust. Not like all the other Republicans who've been acting like they're not the party that's been in power for years.
My opponent will raise them (taxes)
My opponent will close them (new markets)
He will increase it (spending)
His tax increases will eliminate them (jobs)
His plan will force small business to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a beurocrat stands between you and your doctor (health care)
Cutting the business tax will help companies create jobs and keep jobs from going overseas.
etc. See McCain plan on his website.
I'll note that he's not having the teleprompter problem. He's moving between them, but he's mostly doing it in the middle of a sentence or paragraph instead of waiting for the end where it becomes so obvious.
Education is the civil rights issue of our day.
He likes school choice options. Private-Public-Charter
The people love the Drill Now philosophy. I wonder why they want to do it so much? So they can keep driving their SUV's? I don't get it.
I notice the screen is now blue.
Okay - its only 51 minutes after the hour - he's still talking, but I'm kind of done. This is a standard speech. He's doing a good job keeping on the issues, just like Obama did.
He has some vicious surrogates though. Obama's surrogates weren't nearly as mean as McCain's.
I still don't agree with McCain and I fault him for throwing his lot in with the Republican party and for standing beside George Bush after the way they treated him in 2000.
Okay - his statement "I hate war...I'm running for President..." that was a good statement. It had some power and emotion and seriousness behind it.
This speech sounds more like the McCain of 2000. That McCain was popular.
He says partisan rancor in Washington isn't the cause for stalemate in Washington, its the symptom. It happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves instead of for you.
He's talking about bipartisanship the same way Obama does.
Isn't it a shame that these two men (Obama and McCain) both want to reach across the aisle. But, he made the mistake of not believing in his dream of bipartisanship enough to not sell himself to Rove and Company. He could have worked with Obama and made a lot of
He now talks about the change that happened to him as a POW. Before he was a POW he thought about his own pleasure - picking fights and causing trouble. After he refused to be sent home early becuase his father is an admiral, they tortured him more than before. "They broke me" and he was ashamed. But his friend taught him to stand up again. He developed an appreciation for America. "I wasn't my own man anymore, I was my country's"
He kind of blew the power of that moment by implying Obama is running becuase he thinks he's been annointed.
He makes a plea for people to get involved.
"Nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than youself."
Fight with me, fight with me, fight for what's right for our country...fight for justice and opportunity for all...stand up to defend our country from its enemies...stand up, stand up, stand up and fight...we're Americans and we never give up, we never quit, we never hide from history, we make history"
8:10 It's finally over!! Yeah!
I have to say, I was moved by his personal transformation story. Before he was a POW he was selfish, and afterward he was devoted to something greater than himself.
Now, I don't agree with the policies he's associated himself with, but I can appreciate that kind of transformative moment in a person's life. I hope it was an honest telling of that experience.
I thought it was good that he told Americans what they can do to be involved in America; in something greater than themselves. He had a list.
And, at the end, he really had the crowd going. I thought it was powerful, though I won't be fighting with him.
But, I found myself feeling sorry for him. When he threw his hat in with the Republicans he sold himself to the people who could give him a solid base. He's a victim of his own ambition. Because now, I think he'll discover the price he paid - he doesn't have the respect of people anymore. He obviously has his base - but that's because of Sarah Palin. After that speech he'll have some of his old fans from the 2000 race. And those are independents so it could be good for him. But, he also had to lose his self-respect and, again, I think he knows it and feels bad about it, but wants to be President so bad it was a price he was willing to pay. I think pork barrel stuff is his pet project and he really does want to be President only for that. He's willing to put up with all the rest just for his ambition. I feel sorry for the man who has to live with that decision from now until the day he dies.
He did kind of inspire me to get to work out in the world to support political causes I believe in. But, it would be for causes that are opposite of his.
I just watched the 9/11 video that I missed during the convention. Wow - that really was exploitative. The Republicans are acting like it happened yesterday. I can only shake my head and sigh.
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