Okay, for those who didn't catch on: the nice guys were on yesterday.
Wow… this was brutal. Zell Miller, who in his career has metamorphosed from Lester Maddox protégé to DLC stalwart and now on to dog-bites-man Democratic freakshow, absolutely lit into John Kerry. Tonight’s speech was as vitriolic as Pat Buchanan’s 12 years ago, but instead of being a general attack on culture, this was all pointed at one man. A man, oh by the way, that Senator Miller called an “American Hero” about 36 months ago, so his credibility is pretty low.
To me, this was a get the vote to stay home speech. I mean, they can’t expect any undecideds to get enthused about this hate-fest, can they? This speech was calculated to get the GOP base really afraid of Kerry, mostly by pushing the same junk you see on extreme right blogs, and to get moderates really sick of politics in general and sit this one out. It’s a sound strategy; most of the polls have undecided voters showing a distinct apathy towards the President, but no great love for Kerry either.
The Veep’s speech wasn’t as harsh, it couldn’t possibly be, but it was pretty partisan too. More dignified, certainly, as Dick Cheney’s permanent evil banker look and Joe Friday speaking style adds a certain gravitas to anything he says, but just as tough as Miller. It’s amazing how different the two conventions have been. The Democrats, despite being almost crazed with anger against the President, played nice at their convention. The Reps, who are always better at this game, haven't been afraid to be nasty. It has worked too, as we're 60 days away from election, and the GOP has totally defined Kerry as guy who sees four sides to every issue.
Of course, he is.
Posted by Frinklin at September 2, 2004 12:13 AM