Some more musings on politics from my lunchtime perusal of the papers, as they clean up the confetti in Denver, and pray that Gustav doesn’t distract from Minneapolis:
- The Speech. I was actually quite impressed with Obama’s speech last night. He made some good specific attacks on McCain’s positions, without attacking McCain the person. He acknowledged all the folks he needed to acknowledge (and thus hopefully continued to smooth ruffled feathers). He stated his positions clearly, and clarified his differences from McCain. It should be interesting to watch the debates unfold.
- VP Choices. So McCain has chosen Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Choices say a lot about the chooser. Obama’s choice was risky because it highlighted both the difference in experience and the difference in age. McCain’s choice does the same thing, but I think in a more negative way. The main function of a vice-president is to take over for a president should the unthinkable happen. With Obama it is unlikely he will die in office, but he has a choice with a lot of experience, one who is qualified to be president. As for McCain — he’s the oldest candidate for president, and thus more likely to die of old-age in office. And his choice? Someone with even less experience than Obama, with no foreign policy experience. Makes me think of Dan Quayle. She appears to have been chosen just because of her age and gender — perhaps McCain thinks she will appeal to the PUMAs. But I think when they look at her positions, they will see she is no Hillary. I think it is a poor presidential first decision, Johnny.
- A Lot of Wind. No, I’m not talking about the global warming caused by Al Gore’s speech. I’m talking Hurricane Gustav. It looks like Hurricane Gustav may hit the Gulf Coast the same week as the McCain-Palin show hits the Twin Cities. This is both good news and bad news for the Republicans. On the good side, if there is major damage on the Gulf Coast, President Bush (and possibly VP Cheney) will be in the disaster area attempting to help (which, of course, a presidential visit won’t do)–but it does mean they won’t be speaking at the convention, which is a plus for McCain. On the bad side, it will (a) remind voters of the Katrina (and Rita) fisascos, and (b) distract the news focus from the convention. Of course, the timing is interesting. The Democrats arranged their convention to overlap with a number of significant anniversaries: the 100th birthday of LBJ, the anniversary of the march on Washington, etc. The Republican’s had no such anniversaries, but one appears to have been arranged for them.
- Style, Not Substance. I’ve begun to wonder about the news media. As opposed to the unbiased reporting we believed we were getting in the 1960s convention coverage (who remembers Huntley-Brinkley anymore?), we’re now seeing kerfluffles based on idocy. Examples are easy. Look at the news reports complaining about the Greek-style stage at Invesco stadium, whereas the Republicans will have a simple stage (never mind that the Republicans have gone with the temple motif before). There are also people focusing more on Hillary’s pantsuit than what was said. Oh, how are news media has fallen.
As I close, keep in mind these immortal words of Tommy Smothers: “I’m an American. I don’t have to see something to know it is stupid.”
