I haven't said too much about the conventions of the last two weeks. As far as the speeches go, it's hard to judge them. How commentators evaluate a speech depends on what party they are in, it seems. What's important is what the average, undecided voter thinks of them, and that's not me (although I claimed to be undecided today when trying to avoid answering some high schoolers' question about who I was voting for). However, I'll offer a few thoughts on McCain's address, from my conservative perspective.
- McCain is not known for being much of an orator, so Obama beats him on that count, but how many people really care about that?
- I don't like when politicians talk about how they met Mary Walters from Lisbon, Colorado, who is behind on her mortgage and has osteoporosis. I want policy proposals, not emotional stories. But I guess there are those out there who want to know that the candidates, to borrow a Bill Clinton phrase, "feel their pain." Also, it was not great when McCain mentioned a location, and that state cheered, right before McCain talked about cancer or war death or some other sad occurrence.
- I don't think McCain knew that, when the crowd started chanting "USA, USA," that they were trying to drown out protesters. He seemed to be thinking, "What are you doing, people? I'm speaking here." But he obviously saw that old hag parading down the aisle in her pink shirt.
- I really liked the end of his speech, when the crowd was cheering and he was fired up. Rather than waiting for them to quiet down, he pressed on, and it provided a great closing image for the voters.
i really liked how he kept speaking at the end of his speech, too! the crowd seemed energized by his words - very cool. and totally what the GOP needs. i think your ticket is a major contender, whereas last month i thought obama would win by 20 points.
ReplyDeleteI think being a great speaker is much more important than you think. Eight years of watching Dubya smirk, botch cliches/idioms, and mispronounce simple terms has only reinforced that belief.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't already, you need to check out politifact.com. They analyze claims from both sides and determine whether they're true or not. I find it very informative and fascinating, and especially enjoyed when Huckabee was presented with a "liar liar, pants on fire" ruling.
A lot of people do say "I just want a President who can speak!" But I assume most of those people are Democrats who don't like Bush anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think you could transplant the commentators from any football game or golf tournament into a political convention and get about as much useful information as the 'experts' give us.
ReplyDeleteOr vice-versa...maybe a golf tournament would be more exciting with a political analyzer behind it!
I'm pretty sure W's speaking style would make me want to pull my hair out no matter what his actions or political affiliations.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have a president who can walk the walk more efficiently than they talk the talk. Everything they say during the campaign is a lie anyway just to get votes.
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