Ron Paul supporters, you have my sympathy. That video they showed was just pathetic. I thought the big guy, hisself, was going to speak, hopefully issuing a small tut-tut to the conventioneers to keep their collective eye on the fiscal ball, but no. All we got was a campaign commercial. Hmph.
Remember, by the end of the debates, a lot of people saw what I meant when I said at the beginning, "I completely agree with 75% of what he says. The other 25% scares me to death." In many, if not most ways, he really does have the right answer, but in the general election, every vote for Ron Paul is most likely a vote taken from Romney. That stuff's fine during the primaries, but we're trying to win the big one here. The best thing we can hope for is that the press (continues to) completely ignore him. The less press, the less votes. The less votes, the greater our chances.
Remember Ross Perot in '92? Result? A Clinton dynasty.
Say, I've got a good idea. How 'bout an Obama dynasty? Cool idea, huh?
Vote for Ron Paul!
More inane blather below the fold.
But at least I'm honest about it.
Some guy named John McCain is flapjawing away, so I'll take the time to expound on a related subject. That is, if you consider the next president of the United States a 'related' subject.
For all those bitching about how Romney isn't just 100,000% perfect, allow me to remind you how imperfect our former flames were. What about Bush and 'Shamnesty', when he was ready to capitulate to the Dems and grant a free citizenship pass to all the poor, hapless undocumented workers out there?
How about that aforementioned McCain fella joining the Lefties during the anti-torture brouhaha while the Iraq War was raging? Big help, John.
In the first vice-presidential debate four years ago, Sarah Palin indicated she believed in man-made global warming. She has since rescinded, but what if she hadn't? Way to knock one out of the park, Sarah.
It's not a case of 'most perfect'; it's a case of 'least bad'. All politicians have flaws.
With all due respect to the people currently suffering in Louisiana from Hurricane Isaac, I might note what a good thing it was to have Monday cancelled. People tuning in on the first night then saw Ann, who really might have been the most important speaker of the entire event. She had to connect with America's women, and I believe she did. Some polls had Romney shooting up 4% the next day. I'm sure lots of people tune in the first night, just to check things out, but not so much the second night, so this was important. Republicans in Louisiana, your sacrifice shall not be in vain.
I'm glad I was wrong in predicting Romney & camp would go the safe route and pick Rob Portman for the VP slot. He's likeable enough, but he's simply too much the politician. As a general rule, I think most of us like 'real' candidates — candidates who come across as truly being themselves (Palin, Cain and Christie spring to mind) — and Portman is the very opposite of that. Not that Ryan is any charismatic poster boy, himself, but he's certainly a notch or two above Portman.
And, as predicted, Huckabee opened with a joke:
I was so very honored to be asked to address one of this week's themes, 'We Can Do Better'. Then I was backstage and I heard some folks say, after hearing me speak the delegates are going to say, 'We sure can do better — than Huckabee!'
He threw a few more yucks in, and hit some good points, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Huckabee's likeable enough, but he really doesn't have that charismatic edge that Christie does. His speech is here.
Typical Republican delegate
As I mentioned yesterday, after Bush and 'Shamnesty', I was ready to start a 'Condi Rice for President' campaign in 2004.
The crowd gave her the biggest welcome so far.
I don't know who it was, but whatever blogger I read this morning who predicted Condi would focus on foreign matters is certainly crowing today. She stuck exclusively to foreign issues for most of the speech, ranging from security issues to trade agreements.
As any of you who read my wrap-ups during the debates know, I place all kinds of meaning on crowd reactions. There are a number of subtle variations to applause; duration, intensity, and whether it was a response to an 'applause line' or spontaneous.
Not only was the crowd applauding her every 'applause line', but they were going nuts over inconsequential things she said. All she ended up saying at one point was the simple platitude, "...that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going", and the crowd wouldn't shut the hell up!
And I think I figured out a big part of her appeal. She never raises her voice. Contrast that against some fireball like Mia Love, who spoke yesterday. Condi introduces passion into her voice at the appropriate time, but the actual decibel level barely changes. If I were to put it metaphysically, I'd say that, rather than having the loud finale shoved in your face, you find yourself reaching out for it, instead. It then evokes the applause from you.
And here's a writing technique I like using, myself; doubling back on something you said earlier, completely disproving it, and making an even larger point in the process.
And your greatest ally in controlling your response to your circumstances has been a quality education. But today, today when I can look at your Zip code and I can tell whether you're going to get a good education, can I honestly say it doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you're going?
She then goes on to shred our current educational system. All in all, a very enjoyable experience. Her speech is here.
Susana Martinez, Governor of New Mexico, is the first Hispanic governor in U.S. history. She gave a nice speech, but really blew one thing. At one point, she slipped into Español, and said something simplistic like "In America, anything is possible." What she should have done was taken an entire minute to address the huge Hispanic population in the country and told them to wake the hell up and get on board. Being given a whole minute, in such a venue, would have been impressive.
I would also note that if the Tea Party is looking for a back-up for Palin, Gov. Martinez might be a likely candidate. Just a hunch. Her speech is here.
Paul Ryan did it perfectly. Start off humble, then turn to folksy. Every grandmother in the crowd immediately wanted to wipe a smudge off his face. Then he stuck, stuck, stuck to economics, drilling home how badly things have become under the Obama reign administration.
And here's a good Republican Convention trivia question:
When did the first boo-birds come out, and what triggered it?
Answer: When someone finally ended a sentence with the word ObamaCare. It had been mentioned before in passing, of course, and there was always a negative reaction from the crowd, but it wasn't until Ryan actually ended a sentence with it that the audience could really let go.
Personally, though, I'd have a stern talk with Ryan's speech coach and speechwriter. There were too many 'applause lines', and his speech coach should have told him that you don't wait for the applause, you keep going and let it interrupt you. Looking like you're expecting it is amateurish. But he'll get better. His speech is here.
On tonight's agenda is Newt 'Big Picture' Gingrich, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, and the irrepressible Marco Rubio. It also appears another one of those Grade B Hollywood actors is going to say a few words. Has a funny name, something like Clank Eastwood. Whoever he is.
Then Mitt will address the crowd and that'll wrap things up. The schedule I'm using is here, and YouTube is streamcasting it live.
Next stop:
The finish line.
