RNC: Day Two Impressions

I only watched the RNC from about 9 or so. And I must say, it was quite a view. The one thing the GOP does better than the Dems is stay on schedule. Especially this year in a truncated convention where time was critical.

The video tribute to Michael Mansoor literally had me in tears. At a time of so much selfishness and cynicism, here was a young man who leaped on a grenade to protect his fellow soldiers. That, and the tribute to the veterans of different wars, set the evening in a really good way for me.

The Dems lost steam too often with breaks. Not the Republicans. Immediately after the tribute was what I thought was a pretty good speech by First Lady Laura Bush. There's something pretty awesome about her - she has so much grace and class! And she went to point out the stats the media have not bothered to point out - especially the highest ever minority performance on achievement tests, and what I think should be the legacy of the Bush administration - increasing the number of Africans receiving antiretrovirals from 50,000 to about 2 million.

President Bush was decent - he had a few good lines, but I don't know if it was the fact that he was speaking by satellite, or what, but he's been better at public speaking. But it was short, and kept the momentum going into the video tribute of Reagan.

The Reagan piece was ok. Seriously, how do you ever make a vid on Reagan and not include the famous "Tear Down these Walls" speech? But there were moments when it was touching.

Fred Thompson was the best speaker of the evening. Talk about knocking it out of the park. Best line was talking about hope ... the hope that McCain had as a POW, that is the true hope. His re-telling of the McCain story was incredibly moving, and for someone like me who has already heard it, I still found myself tearing up.

Joe Lieberman was decent, but entertaining if only because I was surprised how aggressive he was. I won't expect to see calls for his censure within his causus, but it truly motivated the folks at the convention center, and the base in general to see the former VP pick of the Dems come over.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good night. I think the GOP candidates have less of a need to be specific since they are running on an experience platform. And their experiences have been of surviving torture, reforming government ... not how their candidate met his wife, and asked her out!!

I'm real excited about the Palin speech tonight. The more I see her old interviews, the more I like her. She's been viciously attacked by the jerks like the DailyKos and the far left, but that's a post for another time.

DNC: Day Two Speeches

I need to go to bed, so this will be short ...

Good speech by Hillary - just what the base was looking for. Paint the distinction between the parties' philosophy, attack Bush-McCain, talk about the favorite Democratic talking points. Oh, and while you're at it, get maximal publicity for yourself - anyone notice how she walked around the podium after she finished for maximal exposure. Best line: "Did you do it just for me, or for that woman who has cancer, ..."

I thought the best speech of the night was Mark Warner. He reminds me why I would have supported the Democrats if he ran for President. He's a centrist, and rather than focus on the liberal bashing of American corporations, he focuses on building creating the right environment for new businesses. Best line: None I can think of now, but his story about Lebanon, VA was fantastic!

Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas was bland! Thank heavens for the Dems she wasn't pick as the Veep candidate. She had a few good punch lines, but her delivery was flat, and she didn't seem particularly passionate (I must confess I heard her on the radio, which in some ways in a great way to judge speakers). Best line: "McCain is for some renewable enery - renewing Bush's failed energy policies"

Bob Casey, Jr did well as did the Montana Governor. A former secretary of energy, Frederico Pena was good in presenting Denver as a model of green energy for the country. But there's still too much time between the good speeches, and it's been a challenge to try to keep watching ... like the Oscars without the awards or the celebrities!!

DNC: Carville's Take

On CNN, James Carville looks just as frustrated as me ...

If this party has a message, I sure haven't heard it.

Yawn! Yawn! I'm no Democrat, but I am always engaged by good political discourse ... but this is a real snoozefest!!

DNC: Teddy Kennedy

It was quite something to see a 76-year old veteran pol recovering from cancer come up and give a speech with as much vigor as he did. Although it's more hope, hope ... at this rate, I'm not going to be able to survive the next few days of TV watching!

Meanwhile, Drudge reports that NYT will cite sources that the Kennedy tribute was to take the focus off the Clintons. Interesting!

DNC: Yawn So Far

So far I haven't been impressed with the convention. From what I've seen, there's been a ridiculous amount of dead time, and not that much in between to get you fired up. Jesse Jackson, Jr seems to be wanting to ape Obama, coming out with one of those speeches where you want to grab him and say, what the heck do you want to do on any of the issues!! David Gergen correctly pointed about that the first 2 hours have been breathtakingly short on specifics!

I'm a little shocked by the nonsensical hero worship, including Caroline Kennedy talking about Ted Kennedy being inspired by Obama! Ted Kennedy is a liberal icon who has achieved so much in life, and the notion that he would be inspired by an amateur like Barack is ... well, ludicrous!