Wow, I thought I was watching a Republican convention. Tight, on-message, extolling such virtues as military service, self-sacrifice and personal responsibility; what happened to the moonbats we all know and love? It seems the Democrats, including the Clintons, really DO want to win this thing. Monday was an exceptional convention day, and the highlights were numerous:
-The opening tribute to the victims of 9/11 was incredibly moving (I teared up during the violinist, and I bet you did too) and politically savvy as well. By putting the RNC in New York, the Bushies have made it very clear they’re planning making this a very 9/11 focused event; expect to see innumerable shots of the President amidst the rubble of the WTC. The Democrats have blunted that, claimed a bit of the tragedy and the heroism for themselves.
-Al Gore gave a fine speech, self-effacing and effective. Yesterday I advised the Democrats to ignore both the 2000 election and the former Vice-President. Obviously, this was in jest, as the two are far too important to the party. Well, they covered the bases as effectively as possible. Gore gave a fine speech; his line about “growing up and winning the popular vote” will play well, as will the moment where he asked 2000 Bush voters if they got what they wanted. According to Tim Russert, Gore wanted to give one of his barnburner partisan screeds. Calmer heads prevailed. This was effective and understated. Had Gore gone out there and screamed, that would be all you saw today. The Clintons would be ignored. Good, good move by the Kerry campaign.
-Jimmy Carter’s speech was dull, but since Carter is pretty dull, that’s to be expected. It was also a little more partisan than I would have liked, especially for an ex-president. It does not really matter though; Gore and the Clintons are the story today, not Jimmy Carter.
-Hillary gave a turgid, mechanical speech, but Hillary is a turgid, mechanical person. The Mrs. Frinklin came out of the shower this morning just in time to see the Today Show’s Hillary Highlights. My wife, a nominal Hillary fan, merely said, “She sounds so programmed.” This is very true. Reason #235 why Hillary Clinton will never be President: She is awful public speaker. She did the job though, the crowd loved her, she slipped in a very un-Democratic note about expanding the military, and introduced the Big Man.
-Over the last four years, I’d forgotten what it was like to have a President who could actually sound Presidential. When he is good, he’s great: when he is bad, he’s really bad. Like say, 1988 when his convention speech was the worst in modern political history. Last night though was gold though, a masterpiece, regardless of party or affiliation. The moment where he compared GW Bush and Kerry’s Vietnam record, while lumping himself in was masterful.
If the Democrats can do this well all week, Kerry may well win. Tonight is Ted Kennedy, Barak Obama, and Teresa Heinz Kerry. Ted is Ted, a shadow of both his former self and his brothers. I’m interested in Obama, who seems to excite every Dem who’s heard him. I want to like THK, I love that she doesn’t take herself seriously all the time, but she kinda creeps me out. I don’t know why. Might be the accent.