We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
SELECT c.categoryid,
c.category_name,
c.category_icon,
c.category_description,
c.authorid,
c.category_left,
c.category_right,
c.parentid,
a.username,
a.username AS loginname,
a.realname
FROM csg_category AS c
LEFT OUTER JOIN csg_authors AS a
ON c.authorid = a.authorid
LEFT OUTER JOIN csg_authorgroups AS ag
ON ag.authorid = c.authorid
LEFT OUTER JOIN csg_access AS acl
ON (ag.groupid = acl.groupid AND acl.artifact_id = c.categoryid)
GROUP BY c.categoryid
ORDER BY category_name ASC
It took a while to get here, but it's been a fun run. I enjoyed every minute of the debates, the primaries were quite interesting, as was pondering who would grab the VP slot. Now that the convention's over, it's time for the main event to get under way.
At this point, I like our chances. Along with gauging audience reactions, I also like gauging the overall feel of the comments on non-political sites. That is, if I'm on some site selling dog brushes, and someone mentions Obama in the site's forum and, the next thing ya know, there are regular, non-political people screeching about Obama & company all over the place, this is a good sign, and I see it all the time.
As for last night's show, the Reagan tribute was pretty cool:
On a local note, we have proof that Mitt Romney's son, Craig, reads Maggie's Farm. Hi, Craig! In my wrap-up yesterday, I suggested it would have been a smart move for Gov Martinez to talk to her fellow Hispanics en Español for an entire minute, just to show them that they really meant something.
So what did Craig Romney do tonight? Spoke in Spanish for an entire minute.
Thank you, thank you — I'll be here all week. Try the veal.
The ping-pong speech by Newt and Callista Gingrich was basically just Platitude City. With each of them doing their little bit, then handing it over to the other (after the obligatory applause had died down, of course), there wasn't any chance to build up a real head of steam. I wanted to hear Newt call for Ben Bernanke's head on a pike again, darn it.
News Flash: R&R Does E&E — Film At 11
As it's E-volved, it appears the two mains themes — the major and minor, if you will — of the campaign from here on out will be Economics and Education. A number of speakers spent most of their time talking about this or that, then finished up bashing our current educational system. Personally, I've always agreed with the famed Neal Boortz; that the NEA presents a greater danger to our country's future than al-Quida.
One buzzword seems to be Zip Code. It was in Condi's quote in yesterday's post, and Jeb Bush used it a couple of times tonight. While I'd be the first to admit that 'Economics & Education' makes for a pretty dry mix, I'd also admit it's the safest way to go, with the additional benefit being that it's also the correct way to go. It's amazing how sometimes that works out.
Some really old (over 40) geezers are talking now, so I'm ignoring them. Worse, I actually heard a Biblical reference at one point, sending tremors of dread throughout my body.
RELIGIOUS FERVOR SWEEPS THROUGH REPUBLICAN CONVENTION — JESUS SPOTTED RIDING BRONTOSAURUS! screamed the New York Times the following day.
BTW, speaking of the MSM, not only did Susana Martinez and Craig Romney have the utter gall to speak in Spanish for a moment, but Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio joined in the act later on. Look for the MSM to accuse the Repubs of 'pandering' tomorrow. Also known as 'communicating' in some circles.
A meme that will last until the end of time
I have the feeling that, ratings-wise, tonight is going to come across as a dud. It depends on how the Nielsen Ratings system works. There just weren't any firecrackers during the first few hours to really get the viewer involved. As I said earlier, it was Platitude City until the show really began around 10. I imagine a number of viewers tuned in at the start for a bit, then went off to other things then came back at 10, when the main speakers had been headlining. So, if the Nielsens have a minimum of one hour for it to count, then the numbers will be high. If the majority of a show has to be watched for it to count, I expect the numbers to be low. There simply wasn't one 'impressive' speaker from 7 o'clock until President Obama told Romney to "Go f*ck yourself" around 10. Seriously.
Some Grade B Hollywood actor named Clank Eastwood came on stage and brought an empty seat with him and told us President Obama was sitting there. I've heard this Clank guy is pretty tough, so I was forced to believe him.
What? What do you want me to tell Romney? (listens) I can't tell him to do that. He can't do that to himself.
It was the only line of the entire convention that actually drew guffaws, whoops and whistles from the crowd. You just don't get that kind of blunt implication from your standard politician. The 'empty chair' metaphor should make for a great meme.
And the only moment of 'audience participation' during the entire convention?
Clint: "Go ahead..."
Audience: "MAKE! MY! DAY!"
It was a brilliant selection on the organizers' part, and double-fun because they kept it secret. His speech is here.
More average Republican delegates
I think the key to Marco Rubio's popularity isn't just his delivery, but his speechwriting. Whether or not he has a hand in it, or just has some genius nerd behind the keyboard, is anybody's guess. What strikes me about his speeches is that he's so easy to follow; he explains things well.
This isn't to say his speech wasn't laced with 'applause lines' — there's always that — but there's just something different about the wording. His countenance also works for him. He's 'young', by political standards, yet he doesn't come across as 'young' when he talks. Put another way, even battle-hardened old veterans like myself will actually pay attention to him. Condi Rice is in that category, as is Palin. Not a lot of others, tho'. Marco is quite special. His speech is here.
Fantasy Scenario:
You're incredibly excited. You're down on the red carpet and Mitt Romney is headed your way. Unfortunately, you're standing behind the front row of packed-in people and won't be close enough to shake his hand. When he's right in front of you, you reach out your hand, but, unable to shake his, you put it into an upright fist and Romney fist bumps you back.
A few months later, Romney is in the White House.
You have fist bumped with the President of the United States of America.
You are the coolest person you know for the rest of your life.
You are awesome forever
Most of Romney's speech went according to expectations. The one 'cute' moment was when he solemnly said:
"President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans..."
And then just let it hang there in the empty air. And the entire convention hall was forced to take the sentence literally — and its ridiculousness eventually started cracking everyone up. It was pretty funny.
And look, an actual pun:
I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began his presidency with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No, Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators.
The speech was decent enough. The MSM seemed to like it. That is, I didn't see any "Romney Uses Code Words, Dog Whistles, to Rally Racist Republicans" headlines this morning. But maybe I didn't look hard enough. His speech is here.
As for the next few months, the general consensus seems to be that if things keep rolling along the way they have, Romney has a better-than-average chance. If some disaster develops and we 'rally around the president', then that'll be enough to ensure Obama's continued reign administration.
So, the question Obama & staff are asking themselves today is, How can we manufacture another Granada or Somalia?
Wouldn't it make the most sense to secretly pay Israel to attack Iran? 'Two birds with one stone', and all that?
