On Demand
RNC Coverage: Hour 1
Joe Klein, political columnist for Time Magazine and author of Politics Lost: From RFK to W: How Politicians Have Become Less Courageous and More Interested in Keeping Power than in Doing What's Right for America and Robert George, New York Post editorial writer and blogger at Ragged Thots, react to John McCain's Speech.
Then
Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC's On The Media, talks about watching the conventions on TV.
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The Republican Party; The only party that can fix the damage they have done.
Okay, I'll admit, as sentimental as I feel about McCain, I went for a run instead of listening to his speech. And I just did a quick scroll through the transcript. So my question is:
Did I miss something, or is there some reason none of these guys can discuss the D word? As in, kiss my $9.5 trillion federal deficit?
Is it a death kiss to say the D word? It's a truly non-partisan issue.
If they keep ignoring it, will it manage to vanish? Or is there some plan they haven't told us about, like nuking the countries we owe the money to?
If someone at a convention says, "hey, we're up to our necks in debt to China," is it just going to spoil the mood?
Dear Brian,
I know she may be a competitor, but your show has to report on the arrest and prosecution of fellow journalist Amy Goodman. It is very scary and a very dark development and journalists should investigate it now.
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/9/3/call_to_action_on_behalf_of_dn_journalists_facing_charges_for_reporting_on_the_republican_national_convention
Oh and just in case you forgot 911, 911, 911....Democrats bad, Republicans good...
How about the great coverage of people getting there heads knocked in by the police for practicing the right to assemble. Yeah I loved the coverage.
Der Rudy carried on a relentless attack full of lies and smears. Save your phony piety about sexism for the way you treated wife no. 2 Rudy. You divorced her at a press conference you ugly toad of a human being.
Oh...and sweet, sweet Sarah Palin played Nurse Blaylock from the Omen really well. She's the Mouth of Sauron with a banana clip......Christian my ass... That was just the same type of mean and nasty stuff we have been hearing for years. What's the difference between Spiro Agnew and Sarah Palin? Absolutely Nothing. What's your view on the economy Sarah? What's your view on health care Sarah? How are you going to fix Social Security, Sarah?
Community Organizers, Sarah? Who got laws passed for children with special needs? Who got civil rights laws passed? Who got voting rights for women passed? Who got clean water laws passed? What you seem to forget Caribou Barbie is that even Christians line the streets in the history of Community Organizers.
Brian, I appreciate you having fact checkers on, but honestly, can you please start calling the bs as it happens? A little perspective about Fiorina would have been good -- perhaps a comment from an HP shareholder during her reign. Or the WSJ editorial board: yes, if you average GHWB unemployment rate that BC inherited into the figure, it is going to be higher than the rate of what pres. s*&t-for-brains is by averaging in the low rate he inherited.
That anyone buys this load that the repubs are selling, I fear for the species.
Brian I love you and your show but why is there no coverage of the thousands outside the convention protesting the knuckleheads inside?
It seems like the real "party" and the real Americans are the protesters outside who are being gassed, beaten and arrested a la Republican style.
Can you mention these real people? College students and Minnesotans, and journalists like Amy Goodman being roughed up by cops under RNC orders?
It's absolutely unimaginable that this is a Democracy in the USA.
@ Daniel Smith: "...played Nurse Blaylock from the Omen..."
THAT'S funny! Thanks for a laugh to start my Friday.
mary #5 bless you for your comment.
Like you, I had hoped that the repubes had learned their lesson over the past miserable eight years. But they are like mules, not elephants (who have better memories), and stick stubbornly to their empty guns forgetting all the mistakes the folks they continue to vote for keep on making. McCain is four more years of Bush-Cheney agenda.
We just can't take any more of this.
Where were all the lapel flag pins at the Republican national convention?
I didn’t see any on Tom Ridge, Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mitt Romney, or … JOHN MCCAIN!
Makes you wonder how patriotic these people really are, doesn’t it?
I found it remarkable that McCain didn't once mention Afghanistan; rather, Iran is the chief sponsor of terrorism, and Russia is trying to restart the Cold War.
Also, does this bit: "...that strategy succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans." mean that we've suddenly won the war in Iraq? I suppose that's the only way he can reconcile the fact that Bush is agreeing to leave with his determination to stick around for eternity until we achieve victory.
Also also, what's up with the sob-story about the people who had to find new jobs after they lost their "real-estate investments"? Insert multiple-house joke here.
Hey, this might be an interesting thing to discuss: What was that mysterious mansion-esq building on the video screen behind McCain in the first section of his speech? Josh Marshall pegs it as the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php]. That would presumably mean (since it was up while McCain discussed his recovery from the POW camp) that someone running the show thought it was a picture of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
This may be a petty critique of stagecraft, but, with the POW stories front-and-center all week, wasn't that a kind of important detail to get right?
I have always liked John McCain and I thought he did a good job with his speech. I know he's voted with Bush 95% of the time, but I DO think he would bring an independent way of doing things to the White House. As I watched I felt a pang of wistfulness that this American hero was being held political hostage by his conservative base and evangelical running mate.
The Republicans have caused catastrophic damage to this country which will take generations to correct.
McCain was leading the charge in this process of dismantling this country.
Also he was not a war hero. He wasn't shot down he crashed his plane and signed a confession like everyone else.
Was this confession real because he was tortured? Or was it fake?
Sound familiar? All the people (men, women & children) we've tortured to get confessions.
I tried to listen to some of the RNC speeches but it was difficult. The adoration for McCain was ridiculous. This is the same party that used McCain's adopted daughter against him in South Carolina in 2000. This is the party where many said they would vote or Hillary rather than McCain. And now they love him.
I would have had some respect for McCain (not enough to vote for him) if he had stuck to his principles regarding torture. That change for political gain is so egregious that I can't believe how many republicans still go on about his honesty and integrity. I'm independent and cannot see how anyone can be a republican when this is the best they can do.
McCain is fresh out of ideas. He's suddenly all about "Change" because he saw it working for Obama, and plucks a random Governor out of obscurity just because she's the same gender as Hillary.
Plus he sounds like an old priest when he gives speeches.
The only thing I found more bizarre than seeing the son and grandson of Admirals and the husband of a multi-millionaire being portrayed as an everyday Joe, was the theme of the Republican convention, which now tries to sell itself as a party of change, resolution, and moderate policies. Next, they'll be selling freezers to eskimos! Barring a case of collective amnesia this election should be a landslide for Obama, but considering what happened in 04, everything is possible.
I didn't listen, tired of the war stories!
So i guess im late for the republican bash festivities.
This morning cable news started their 24-hour newsrooms with the question: "Now that the Republican Convention is over, how will Barack Obama regain the press narrative" ... Didn't they just answer their own question? That is the best judge of McCain's performance.
I thought it was the best delivery McCain has ever given. The content was mostly worn-out Republican talking-points - those same talking-points that promise smaller government and fiscal responsibility while delivering the $9.5 trillion deficit that eva's talking about. What happened to conservatism in the Republican party?! And, why does McCain's biography sound more believable from Fred Thompson than from John McCain?
I loved the end of the speech. It was like watching a Gary Cooper movie.
McCain's reference to his POW experience in his speech was nauseating and shameless.
A real hero is someone who does not feel the urge to constantly remind you of his heroism. The repeated references to McCain's POW experience by other speakers like Fred Thompson is equally tasteless and contemptible.
Showing video of 9/11 attacks was disgraceful and shameful. 9/11 happened on Repub George Bush's watch. Bill Clinton can be criticized, but 9/11 is an attack for which Dems and Repubs both deserve blame.
Thru-out the Repub convention, it was implied that Republicans were the true patriots and Dems weren't patriotic
@eva - you missed nothing. I expected him to shout at some point: "You kids get off my lawn!"
And Brian - someone at some point in this mishegoss has to ask Palin: "What books at the Wasilla library did you want to ban and why?"
Something to discuss: that mansion-esq building behind McCain in the first segment of his speech? I was probably the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php]. Since the POW story was central to the week, I guess they thought it was the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Kind of an important detail to get right, imho.
The more I listen to the coverage done by Brian, it seems to lean toward a preference for McCain...I do believe that Brian is trying to massage the issues with out tipping his hat overtly supporting McCain...Some one once told me that Brian is a closeted Neo-Con I am starting to have the same perception.
is it me or do i keep hearing a voice in the background today?
McCain is running against his own party, basically
John McCain is not Hitler. Let's get that much straight, but wasn't there something freighting and particularly upsetting by the way the senator tried to whip-up the crowd at the end of his speech. A little too reminiscent for my taste.
Smearing Brian only reveals your own bias
Hey Brian,
I have an idea! Why not have a liar sensor on politicians. Like a really looong, loud beep everytime they tell a lie. You know, like they used to do on tennis matches when the ball was out of bound?!
Well what to say? The republicans are masters of misdirection. They expect the American people to fall for the lie that McCain is not in liege with the rest of the party. 90% agreement with the Bush/Cheney policies confirms this, yet they still managed to put on a circus of a convention. It was embarrassing as McCain went in one moment levying scorn against Democrats who he later states he's willing to work with! The gaul, to assume that it would still be easy after the mountain of ad hominems levied against them. It's as if they don't realize that they had control of government for 6 of 8 years and ran it into the ground. In baseball 2 strikes means your out, ditto for the republican party. The referendum against them in the legislature in 06' was strike three...they don't deserve a strike 4, they are out.
I liked when McCain talked about puppies...
McCain was extremely hypocritical in his speech. He praised Obama in one breath but in another breath repeated the sickening phrase "I'd rather lose an election, than lose a war."
According to McCain, Obama is a decent man but don't forget he's also a traitor.
McCain's questioning of Obama's patriotism would make Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover smile. McCain is a disgraceful person who lacks the integrity and inbtelligence to be president.
Fight Fight Fight ! Isn't that what we have been doing for the last 7 years? Can't we all just find a way to get along, work together?
I think the fight anthem is indicative of a warrior - that's how he has lived and learned to address problems. That's why he chose a pit bull with lipstick instead of a stateswoman to "fight" along side him.
@Leonardo. I just heard it too. I think when Brian thinks he's muted he's not.
The same can be said for Obama little rally last week there "voter from brooklyn"
there is something frightening about this display of party love, on both sides, republican and democratic.
Can independents have a big pow wow, perhaps in an airport lounge?
Hey Brian,
Seemed like McCain was trying to sound like an inspiring community organizer. "We need change! Fight with me and we can get things done!" How can everyone continue to discuss his integrity when he seemed to have signed on to a party platform he doesn't believe in. He's either lying to them or lying to everyone else.
bartholomew ryan;
Brian won't talk about anything that has any "radical" edge unless he dismisses it as fringe...the arrests for NOTHING at the DNC and RNC are extremely troubling.
good way to listen Brian....turn off the mic when you are pretending to listen to the answers
Does that mean that brian is not really listening to his guest? because it just seems like he is talking to his producer....hmmm interesting.....and a little dissapointing
Old jobs are gone, we need to embrace globalization (it is the only game in town.
To some extent Obama and Clinton were running against globalization (re-negotiate NAFTA -absurd), although I think they would never actually do it because it is pointless.
McPalin made the point we need to move forward and get new jobs in "New Energy". Obama made the same point.
Something to discuss: that mansion-esq building behind McCain in the first segment of his speech? I was probably the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php]. Since the POW story was central to the week, I guess they thought it was the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Kind of an important detail to get right, imho.
Re: Comment #6
1st: I condemn the anarchists, thugs, and hoodlums, who came to St. Paul just to throw rocks at police and generally cause chaos. They all are criminals and rightly belong in jail.
2nd: What really irks me about people like Chris Coleman, the St. Paul mayor, is that they offer nothing but praise for the police without even acknowledging that there were false arrests made. I understand that it takes time to sort out what happened, but I'm getting really tired of politicians not acknowledging the possibility that a handful of police officers go on power trips and arrest people for no reason. This is America, you can peaceably gather in the streets. Period. Arresting people for just being in the vicinity is unacceptable. Having an arrest record is a serious thing (though we all profess to call someone innocent unless they were convicted in court); I resent my tax money being spent for police to arrest anyone in a certain area.
For more, read local columnist Nick Coleman:
http://www.startribune.com/local/27839864.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1PciU_ck:qK8DMEkDUU
I get the feeling that the Right wing will try to "bump off" McCain and install Palin as president.
We should be have an activist government for alt.fuels
Why not spend a few billion a year?
In the long run we save 10 fold
@Seth in LI... Funny you should mention a real hero doesn't constantly have to remind people of how heroic they are. Cindi McCain said the same thing in her speech when taking about Senator McCain's father. She said Senator McCain's father didn't feel the need to constantly talk about his service to this nation, he was a true hero, then she threw in a "just like John" comment after.
Fight fight fight - is that the best way to move out of the dire situation our country is in right now, isn't that what we have been doing for the past 7 years?
Perhaps fighting is part of the DNA of a military man and is the reason he chose a "pit bull in lipstick" instead of a stateswoman or business woman to govern along side him.
I think we need to find a way to get along and reserve "fighting" for last resort.
I also condemn the Code Pink protesters who interrupted McCain's speech. He has a right to give his speech, so let him do it. Free speech is for everyone, not just Code Pink.
The US is not in a "dire situation" any more than Iraq was an "imminent threat"
Please stop repeating that alarmist rhetoric.
Is this our finest moment finically? No
but hardly dire
Listening to three days of speeches at the Republican Convention, I have come away with several impressions. First and foremost, they would like us to vote from our fears rather than our strengths and vision. Second, the language of violence(albeit couched in sarcasm at times) prevailed; the use of words like "fight", "victory" etc. leaves one with the impression that republicans can't accomplish anything peacefully or through non-violent means. Third, I don't deny the courage and heroism of John McCain but that doesn't mean that he should be president of the US. And lastly, the nomination of Sarah Palin is one of the most manipulative, selfish (country last; McCain first) actions that could have been taken by a man desperate to win. And just as an aside, didn't the republican party nominate a man with executive experience(governor of Texas) eight years ago. I guess that's the measure of ability!
Just a week ago, I thought Obama would win this one easily. Now I'm beginning to think that our electorate is getting ready to fail another IQ test. As Eva @2 points out, don't talk about the ruinous economic issues facing the country. Just keep your head in the sand and pull it out every once in a while to take another swig of the partisan kool-aid.
This election was supposed to be above partisan politics and about real issues Instead of critical analysis, (never mind solutions) Palin serves up a reheated dish of the same old right wing fantasy: An imagined past in which real Americans were guided by Christian values rather than constitutional rights, unquestioning of calls to war yet free thinking, practical and hardworking rather than intellectual, and above all, the antithesis of "east coast, liberal, urban culture". Ridiculous!
"McCain's, maverick version of the "real American" says simply "trust me," on the basis of character.
Are Americans as easily manipulated as such rhetoric presumes, or come Election Day will their votes reflect intelligent analysis of real issues and best interest?
@ J.C. since when does protest infringe on free speech Also one of the hecklers was an Iraq war vet. With the republicans talking about country first a fair question to ask is what about the troops?
@BORED - I don't think it's just the right wing that would want to "Bump off" McCain and install Palin as President. Any enemy of the US would probably want to do the same. Imagine the global chaos that would ensue with the Gov of Alaska running the country? A person who has had a NRA license for 20 years and a passport for 20 months.
John McCain's speech, while short on specific policies, will appeal to precisely the people I fear most: conservative, Republicans with a commitment to social conservatism. His town hall style contrasted with Obama's "celebrity" Greek columns which looked gaudy when compared with the simplicity of the McCain backdrop of a blue background with an American flag.
Frankly, between the VP choice and the down-to-earth but empty speech of last night, McCain has me scared and getting ready to pack my bags for Canada.
I thought McCain's speech was extremely weird. It made no sense -- either for his party of the nation at large. It was an exhortation to something -- but what and why? It was long on generalities and short on specifics -- in fact there were no specific policies. He set up straw man after straw man and then shot them down -- but thing was based in reality. True, he did feed them some obvious red meat here and there. But mostly he presented himself and the party as insurgents and outside reformers. Huh?? Even hearing the clips playing on various programs this morning it seemed completely out of touch. And what was the fight, fight, fight at the end? It was totally bizarre.
That speech was mediocre at best. It moved all over the place, had no arc, and no life. A complete snooze fest in my books. Half way through McCain launched into his POW experience which I thought was the most compelling part of the speech but it was sandwiched between something and something else. There was nothing about policy in there except for some standard lines which I could have come up with after months of following the election. It sounded a lot like Bush's last State of the Union - brush over everything, mention somethings, with no details.
And what was with that green background???!
Em your right.
If thousands of US citizens can be "Truthers" then for sure the swing voters can be "swung"
As pointed out on South Park, "1/4 of americans are retards"
Although, McCain's speech was generally ok, I still feel as though nothing was truly addressed; no game plan just talk.
It's no surprise that McCain uses "fight" so often. Most of us have our world view shaped by our earlier experiences. For me it was "the bomb," the Cuban Invasion and VietNam. For McCain\ it seems exclusively to be his imprisonment, torture, and belief that America "lost" the VietNam War because it refused to "fight." He firmly belives not only that VuetNam could have been "won" but that America cannot afford to "lose" again. Thus Iraq must be fought to the end, whatever that is!
Conventions are pageantry, not policy.
The Executive branch is the PR wing of the Oiligarchy.
"Change"...heh...Whatever it takes to win.
The Republican convention, taken as a whole, was a travesty, a fraud, and an insult to logic, reason, and common sense.
Repub talking points I picked up included
McCain should be president because he was tortured
Community organizing is a joke
Republicans love their country, Democrats don't
We should aspire to be everyday Joes. Doing anything to eduacte yourself or gain expertise is bad and makes you untrustworthy
The rollout of Sarah Palin was the most Extreme Makeover of all-time
Palin is a close-minded religious zealot. Thru the magic of Repub propaganda she was transformed to a rooting tootin, gum snaping, smalltown tomboy, and Jane sixpack.
Don't fall for Sarah Palin. She's a creationist, Global Warming denier, antiabortionist, and censorship advocate.
I wish someone in the media would say the obvious: McCain's speech was very long on events that happened 40 years ago and very short on any new ideas for digging the US out of the financial and image hole eight years of Bush rule has wrought. Bottom line, it's the same failed mantra of lower taxes, vouchers, spending cuts and smaller government with no mention of health care, technology or global warming.
Why should I trust McCain to change DC when he's been an insider for 20+ years [Has everyone forgotten about the Keating Five?] If he's basing his candidacy on his character, it's time to take the gloves off. We need to know more about where McCain will take the country and how his policies are different from Bush's.
BORED:
This may have been the anti-war Iraqi war vet "protestor" there.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AdamKokesh
Has some great things to say from his point of view as someone who has been there.
The 'protesting' was grossly disrespectful.
It reminded me of my two year old nephew's antics at thanksgiving when he felt he wasn't getting enough attention.
A draw. Each spoke to and galvanized their bases which is what these speeches are about. Each of the other sides' pundits were nearly identical in their criticism of the other canddates' speeches.
I understand what you're getting at with your reply to my comment Leonardo, but I found the end of Senator McCain's speech particularly troubling. Be nationalistic, fear-monger while talking about the peace to come, and end the speech with a call to arms (so to speak).
Brian - please call your guests on saying McCain departed from Bush on Iraq - it's just a Republican talking point:
“I think that Blix’s report will be fairly definitive. But Mr. Blix has made a lot of reports over the years, and I think the judgment made by the United States of America will — and the president of the United States — will prevail here.” [NBC, 2/12/03]
“I believe as strongly today as ever, the mission [in Iraq] was necessary, achievable and noble. For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration.” [GOP Convention, 8/30/04]
“The fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.” [Meet the Press, 6/19/05]
MR. GREGORY: Do you, do you have confidence in the president and his national security team to lead the war at this stage?
SEN. McCAIN: I do. I do. I have confidence in the president and I believe that he is well aware of the severity of the situation. [Meet the Press, 8/20/06]
“I’m sticking with the president in this respect [on Iraq]. This is our last chance. The consequences of failure are catastrophic.” [CNN, 2/13/07]
“I am proud of this president’s strategy in Iraq.” [Receiving Bush’s endorsement, 2/13/08]
P.S: That green background was the Walter Reed Middle School in Hollywood (not one of his 7 mansions). I think the idea was to put up the Walter Reed Medical facility but someone in graphics - not too well versed in common sense - put up the School picture instead. Priceless.
On a more trivial note it was shocking to see all the little things went wrong last few nights? The video was out of sync, Guliani upstaging the Palin video, the mic wasn't turned up over the crowd, that custom song (as you noted) was just awful. Cindi taking 20 minutes of primetime right before that speech? The WALTER REED photo (WOW!) It all felt disheveled and disorganized. Like a Democratic convention (drop the &%@#! balloons).
As for the Democrats be united on matters of substance, as one of your guests put it the doves weren't banging the hawks over the head, one reason might be that the hawks have rolled over. On Iraq, with very few exceptions, the Democrats have all taken the position that the only interest we have remaining there is getting our troops home. With the "hawks" endorsing the doves' position, no wonder the doves are fine with them now.
of course, all of the preceding two weeks discussions, the conventions, the primaries, etc. are moot if we still have a flawed election process that does not accurately tabulate
the will of the people--or, worse, can be subverted. (florida 2000 anyone?)
please take time to examine this issue in the few remaining weeks of this endless campaign. a lot of people want to know: will their votes count?!!
I give it about a B. It wasn't terrible, and was actually moving at many points. Not enough policy, true. But I don't really love conventions on the whole. They always end up turning slightly cultish. For example, people kept breaking out into inexplicable chants of "USA USA USA." I think at one point McCain mentioned the economic downturn, saying something like 'I know you are struggling to pay the bills' and suddenly there was an outbreak of "USA USA USA!" Strange. In any case, I liked his down-to-earth way of connecting with us.
mccain delivered his speech reasonably well. but letting everyone know that you're a "maverick" and a former POW is weak. other people should bring those things up. and since it's likely the mccain people had their hands in the giuliani and palin speeches and made sure those points were stressed it looks especially lame. how it is that mccain gets away with this game of insisting that his POW experience is something he would never trade on and at the same time CONSTANTLY bringing it up himself is bizarre. he really can't seem to open his mouth for more than a minute without dragging it out. yeesh.
I thought it was a relatively weak speech. The pundits on PBS were calling it "great" (except Mark Shields who pointed out that McCain is not comfortable talking about his self and he gave a "great" speech for Bob Dole at the '96 Conventino). How on earth can that be called a "great" speech?!
There are a couple of problems in focusing on "maverick", even though he has been one for much of his career. Philosophically, this is all about the individual. But it really does take party, community, broad movements to really accomplish things and not a freewheeling maverick. But more obviously, for the last couple of years he has towed the party line, cozied up to the right-wing religious crowd and the lobbyists. So he has sold his soul to gain this nomination, something a real maverick would never do.
McCains speech was better , not spcificly for content but for the bullet points or slogans it will leave in peoples heads. American elections are not won by informed voters , they are won by ignorant masses with one or two bullet points in their mind. Republicans will win the undecided vote with simple little slogans whether they are true or not. Never underestimate the ignorance of the masses.
Best speech of the last two weeks. I'm an independent who was wavering between Obama and McCain. McCain won my vote last night. Deciding factors were character, sincerity, as well as demonstrated, long term service/experience. For all his flaws, McCain is his own man and that came through loud and clear last night.
"You will know their names," McCain says. One of their names is Sarah Palin, who hired a lobbyist for Wasila to extract pork barrel projects from Washington. For 60K a year, she got millions of taxpayer dollars.
If you believe the last 2 elections were stolen.
Then you have to believe McCain will win.
Why?
Because nothing has changed.
Still a "conservative" court
No sanctions against Diabold and their voting machines.
Oh boy. Obama's O'Reilly interview broadcasts next week.
Speaking on the President Bush's troop surge:
Barack Hussein Obama: “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
Now THAT's change we can believe in.
No. McCain doesn't smirk. He just looks really, Really proud of himself when he reads a good one-liner ad hominem attack that someone else wrote for him to read... What speech was Brian watching (While talking to his producers with the mic on. I had the same thought Leonardo A.)?
Who would have thought John McCain was the green candidate?! (too bad it's sickly green reflected green from the backdrop). Does it seem that Palin keeps an unnatural distance from him on-stage? maybe she doesn't want to be green as well?
"Obama gives it up" better late than never
"character, sincerity, as well as demonstrated, long term service/experience."
Couldn't agree more. I think these aspects move me more than great oratory.
It was just: country, country, country. McCain loves his country. Mom and apple pie. Wow, he is really a maverick, what a bold position.
What is means is: I am a real patriotic American. The other guy is not. That is the whole campaign and every thing McCain does will be to drive that message.
the convention theme was service, military....
john maccains life has been the military.......which
was stressed non stop......much
talk about terrorists and fighting. Fear mongering and rallying the troops for battle. That's how it sounded to me! The world war 3 ticket!
I am so tired of McCain's POW story. I know that we are going to have to listen for the next few months...Robert DeNiro doesn't have to walk around and say that he is a good actor....a true hero doesnt have to keep remind telling us that he is a hero.
they exploit his POW story just like they sadly exploited 9/11 last night with the "tribute video".(would we have expected less though) if he is now about change, why did they snow this horrible video to stir up more fear?
Great point by Joe Klein on the laughable, godawful vetting job done regarding Sarah Palin.
McCain's campaign performed a drive-thru window vetting of Palin.
Delivery drivers for Domino's Pizza receive a more thorough vetting than Sarah Palin.
McCain will win:
Why?
Well, f you believe the last 2 elections were stolen it seems inevitable.
Because nothing has changed.
Still a "conservative" court
No sanctions against Diabold and their voting machines.
They will do it again.
See, "Yes I am", Obama's ability to accept when the other side gets things right is exactly what makes him a better candidate.
And nice use of his middle name. Keep taking the cheap shots.
Re: Comment #50
It doesn't matter if the protester was an Iraq war vet. You can't interrupt a speech like that (i.e. free speech doesn't permit the "heckler's veto"). Find another venue to voice your protest and then you will be owed the same respect (i.e. the Republicans would be out of line for interrupting you).
Yes, I bet I'd agree with what the protester was saying, but Free Speech 101 says that you also let your opponents speak.
Re: Comment #50
I doesn't matter if the protester was an Iraq war vet. You can't interrupt a speech like that (i.e. free speech doesn't permit the "heckler's veto"). Find another venue to voice your protest and then you will be owed the same respect (i.e. the Republicans would be out of line for interrupting you).
Yes, I bet I'd agree with what the protester was saying, but Free Speech 101 says that you also let your opponents speak.
I was offended by all the talk about thanking god everyday. Whose god? It excludes everyone in this country and in the world who might believe differently.
I am extremely turned off by all the talk about how proud they are of America every day. Maybe in this time of potential change they should mention what they are not proud of in America.
I also am very surprised and disappointed that you are not discussing the police abuse and invalid arrests that happened at the convention.
Let McCain name names!
To which pork-barrel, old-style, corrupt Washington politicians is he referring? Precisely WHO puts self-interest ahead of country? Obama? Biden? The Democrats in Congress only? All of Congress except for him? Any other members of the Washington establishment
McCain says he "can't wait" to introduce" Palin to Washington: So why DOES he wait?
Its funny/sad (more sad then funny) that 9/11 was a major symbol at the Republican convention but there was no mention of the collapsed bridge that happened in that area. This says a lot about the republican party and what they think is important.
#85 Kate:
It was his acceptance speech at the national convention...
I'm sorry you're tired of hearing about it.
Maybe you should change the channel back to the Hills or American Idol.
Oh wait, American Idol was broadacasting all last week from Denver...
bob #70: try reading "what went wrong in ohio" or any of the numerous reports about election fraud that greg palast has written.
as for brooke gladstone, am i the only person who just finds her irritating? she compared obama to those muslims who declared jihad on cartoonists after he (obama) complained about that disgusting new yorker cover. this was an editorial she delivered for "on the media" in july on the 17th, i think. how seriously can you take someone who'd make such an asinine point? was she suspended for it? she was off the show for at least 2 weeks after it happened, though it was never mentioned again and the editorial itself was NOT on the rebroadcast of the show.
Brian - please ask Brooke what she thinks of the McCain campaign's decision to hide the hockey mom:
According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don’t care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace — in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough’s show — the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin’s scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.
Source: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/05/clock-is-ticking-as-mccain-campaign-hides-palin-from-the-press/
We blame the media cause the MSM doesn't do an honest job...
Name one instance -- just one -- when the pundits set up a politician's speech as the "be all and end all," a must "hit out of the park or else," a "defining" moment -- and then evaluated it afterwards as falling short. Starting with W Bush. Every time the media set up a situation for failure -- they ended up praising the miracle of success. Even when the bar was a millimeter off the floor. It's this false set up and equally false evaluation that has created this looking glass world of political discourse.
Has anyone considered and commented the quite startling "Holy Roller" couple of speeches that were given before Mrs. McCain's speech and Senator McCain's address last night?
Frankly, I was rather horrified at the revival tent tone that stressed God over the actions of government. What was the message the GOP was trying to send? That God and Jesus are leading the US? Or that if one does not embrace either or both deity, one is not fit for public service and elective office? For persons who may have beliefs that are not evangelical, which was the unquestionable thread of those speeches, these were exclusionary remarks.
I would imagine that observers outside the US were either perplexed or amused by these perfervid declarations of faith; how did they constitute Party Platform planks? And if they did, YIKES.
I know that separation of Church and State has been honored in the breech in past eight years, but these introductory speeches augur an intention to continue that very questionable and non-inclusive trend.
We're voting in November on the legislative and executive branches, not the church, synagogue, temple or meditation spot of a candidate's choice. The revival tent has its place for some folks, but I submit it does not belong in an election campaign.
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