Well, now we have seen the big two. Both speeches were okay, not great, but okay. I don’t like John Edwards. Every time I see him, I can’t help but think of Eddie Haskell. Everyone seems to consider him this great communicator, but I am repulsed by his smarminess. It doesn’t help that I didn’t like a large chunk of his speech. I’m really concerned about the Dems sharp veer towards protectionism. As I have mentioned previously, NAFTA was the crowing achievement of the Clinton/Gore years, and it is sad to see how quickly the party runs away from it. I also have to chuckle about the Democrats sudden desire to see unity amongst Americans. Isn’t this the same party of affirmative action and racial quotas?
I thought Kerry’s speech was better, though his delivery seemed shaky in the beginning, and he raced through large portions of it. Editing out some of the middle “laundry-list” section would have been advisable. This would have allowed Kerry to slow down, and luxuriate in the applause that the crowd wanted to give. The content was much the same as Edward’s speech, with a giant dose of Vietnam added. The best news came from both concerning terrorism. The language was tough and uncompromising. It makes for good rhetoric; whether they would keep to it is the question.
David Broder has a very interesting article concerning the divide between the largely DLC-oriented candidates and the old-school liberal delegates. It is a fascinating read, and makes me question whether a victorious Kerry would be able to govern as he says he will.
Top Five Speeches
1-Barack Obama
2-Bill Clinton
3-Al Sharpton
4-John Edwards
5-John Kerry
My lovely wife took umbrage with my dismissal of Teresa Heinz Kerry here, and I want to clarify something: I wouldn’t want to seem sexist any way; I would be equally uninterested in a presidential husband. I also agree with her that it would have been nice had the Democrats found a woman not related to a candidate for a major speech. I was optimistic about Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, but what I saw of her speech seemed like a bad SNL sketch. Not the content, but the bizarre contortions she seemed to take. I could not tell if she was a Kucinich-style hand talker or having serious spasms.
Fred expounds on my Obama/Pujols comparison, complimenting me in the process (thanks Fred) and mentions Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford, who was the Great Hope for the Future in 2000. I liked Ford, but the “Not Ready for Prime Time” vibe was easy to see.
Last on the convention: I usually stuck with MSNBC and Hardball for my coverage. I like Chris Matthews, he irritates me sometimes, but his passion for politics is infections. Howard Fineman is good, Willie Brown is always fun, and Joe Scarborough is really growing on me. He is not the automatic Republican he used to be. He doesn’t seem like a FOX news refuge, either. I did check out Larry King on CNN a few times. He seemed to come up with his oddest panels ever this time around. Ben Affleck and Gideon Yago? Seriously? Featuring Mo Rocca didn’t help. He grows unfunnier every day.
Posted by Frinklin at July 30, 2004 06:22 PM