McCain's Speech
| Thu Sep. 4, 2008 8:11 PM PDT
McCAIN'S SPEECH....Like Hillary Clinton, John McCain isn't a naturally great speaker, and that showed tonight. Overall, his acceptance speech struck me as flat and pedestrian, full of boilerplate and talking points.
But that's not to say it wasn't effective. It might well have been. For one thing, McCain successfully dialed down the red meat, something he desperately needed to do after last night's culture war fest. He addressed substantive issues more than previous speakers. He was good on the bipartisan roots of corruption in Washington — which didn't go over so well on the convention floor but probably did at home. And he was very good, I thought, when he was talking about war and national security. He sounded like the farthest thing imaginable from a hawkish neocon, and his line about working to build good relations with Russia while not overlooking aggression was just what the doctor ordered. Nobody watching this speech would guess that this was a man who never met a war he didn't like.
And the peroration at the end? It seemed to me like he was trying to match Barack Obama's brand of soaring rhetoric, but it didn't work. It's just not something McCain can pull off, and it clearly didn't raise the house the way Obama's final few minutes at Invesco Field did.
Still: it was workmanlike and competent and he hit most of his marks — though some of those marks (e.g., his support for a culture of life) didn't get hit with much passion. But the base didn't need any more pumping up after yesterday, so that's probably not a problem. Bottom line: I have my doubts that this speech is going to sway a lot of votes, but it was OK.
On a slightly different note, though, are the convention planners idiots? Did they really have him standing in front of a green screen for minutes on end during the middle part of his speech? It looked terrible.
And I guess they decided that Heart's "Barraucda" would be Sarah Palin's theme song after all. They didn't play that last night, did they?
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Comments
Frankly, I thought he did a very good job. Bear in mind that, because of my profession and background, I tend to judge this stuff from an advertising/marketing/promotional point of view. But based on that point of view, I thought he did quite well. Much, much better than Palin, certainly.
There were some times -- for example, when he pursued the theme of "we lost your trust" -- that I thought he was onto something (discrediting the Bushies), but he passed on with that. When he said of his POW experience "they broke me," I thought that was a hell of an admission.
As much as McCain's POW story is dissed by the left, it's not something that should be dissed. None of us has ever been in such a situation. It doesn't make him a hero, but it's not something to be written off casually.
Still, I'm voting for Obama. And he's still got Palin.
Two things stuck out to me. The first was his claim that government programs that were designed in the 1950s need to be updated for the new century. The second was his claim that he'd double the child tax exemption from $3500 to $7000. Tonight was the first time I've ever heard him mention that.
It doesn't seem like his Web site mentions these, at least not prominently. While the first day of the convention was curtailed, they did have the last two days to mention these ideas, among others. Did they? I'll admit I didn't watch a lot of coverage, for various reasons, but it these seem like significant issues to discuss as part of a broader discussion on the economy.
So why the hell didn't they do it?
Who disses his POW story?
The closest thing to dissing I have read is the criticism of its overuse and of his hypocritical proclamations to the effect that he does not want to use it at all.
I have been closely following his campaign this time and I have lost all respect for him (though I still admire his sacrifices) because of all the lying and the embrace of people who essentially pushed him into the gutter eight years ago.
"As much as McCain's POW story is dissed by the left, it's not something that should be dissed. None of us has ever been in such a situation. It doesn't make him a hero, but it's not something to be written off casually."
Actually, I'd say it does make him a hero. It just doesn't give him any extra competence in any particular area.
I can't think of a single person who dismisses his service. We're just getting tired of him using this as answer to everything. We're getting even angrier that the press seems to let him off whenever he mentions it.
The "fixed" the green screen by replacing it with a blue screen. It's the same thing. Stephen Colbert and his fans will be able to put anything they want behind McCain. These idiots want to run the country, and can't find a video consultant that could tell them that.
It's from "Rudy." The same song was played when Sarah Palin was introduced last week in Ohio. Now, if there's one thing that would ever get me to vote for McCain, it might be that song. It's just great. I used it as inspiration for myself in college.
"Who disses his POW story?"
Countless blogoshere commentators. If you've been following things closely on liberal bogs, you've seen them. Allusions to treason, other POWs attacking him, that he should have escaped, etc.
The "dissing" I'm talking about has not been "official," from a Democratic campaign, but it's been there -- along with criticism of overuse. I'm not talking about complaining of "overuse."
It was a boring, boilerplate speech with too many lies about himself and about obama. Sorry, I don't buy that crap about his foreign policy experience. If he knew how to pick which war to fight and which war to avoid and a maverick with an independent mind, he would have opposed Bush's Iraq adventure right from the beginning.
And after criticizing Obama for his diplomacy first approach, McSame does a flip flop from "we are all Georgians" to "I'll have a dialog with Putin."
Oh well, this is politics as usual from the Republican party. I believe the country made it clear that it is looking for a real change and McCain's actions indicate he is beholden to the right wing base who have been running the country the last 8 years.
It is my belief that McCain giving a speech is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Man, that was boring.
Oh well, in the end 49% of Americans will vote for McCain simply because he is not Obama -- if Obama supporters haven't realized that my now they are in for a rude awakening.
The only way Obama gets it done is through organization -- getting out the vote. The problem is simply that young people don't vote (sorry, the numbers do not lie).
Don't think I'm a liberal elitist, but I've never seen "Hoosiers." The reason I'm pretty sure it's from "Rudy" is that I listened to the song several times while studying for finals. I can still picture it from the movie, when he's training and there are voice overs from his coaches.
"I can't think of a single person who dismisses his service. We're just getting tired of him using this as answer to everything."
Maybe it is *his* answer to everything, not that I think that's an adequate answer to *everything.*
But, I doubt you'd object to an Auschwitz survivor seeing the world based on his experience, and mentioning it often.
My point is that it's not irrational for a person to view life through a prism of personal trauma. It may bore you. You may disagree with the point of view. But, it's as valid a way to view life as basing your outlook on a compendium of theories or different life experiences.
"Allusions to treason, other POWs attacking him, that he should have escaped, etc.
I have read NONE of that.
Links, please."
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
Read the archives.
The green screen / out of focus lawn / sky blue was horribly distracting. It was literally visually painful and made it very hard to even listen to what he was saying. There's a reason Obama's campaign built "The Parthenon" behind him - it looked good on TV! Someone on McCain's campaign needs to be fired for that horrible production.
You provide a link to
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/.
That's a huge archive. Please provide a link to a post by one of the bloggers, not a comment.
I can say for sure that Kevin never dissed his POW status when he was there. I doubt that Steve Benen or Hilzoy did. But I am open to being corrected.
"My point is that it's not irrational for a person to view life through a prism of personal trauma. It may bore you. You may disagree with the point of view. But, it's as valid a way to view life as basing your outlook on a compendium of theories or different life experiences."
It can be, sure but I don't see how McCain has reflected on his experience to relate it to the problems we face today. Perhaps you'd like to fill me in on what he's said.
Of course, even if he has done what you said is possible, he's still using it as a crutch. When he mentioned that for five years he didn't have a kitchen table after the issue of how many homes he owned came up, it became not just annoying but almost ridiculous.
I can't believe that the same Republicans who trashed military experience of a presidential candidate in 2004 now want us to elect another based solely on his military experience. If anyone showed disrespect for war heroes, it was the Republicans who did it and are proud of it.
And the peroration at the end? It seemed to me like he was trying to match Barack Obama's brand of soaring rhetoric, but it didn't work.
It worked pretty well on my car radio. I didn't think they'd try to out Obama Obama, but my first thought was that McCain actually took a pretty good shot.
I got this the same way I got Palin's: the last 15 minutes over the radio. What I heard was moving but made me think he was running for Sec Def of the Obama administration.
Okay speech for a guy who is not good at giving speeches. Everyone will apply their subjective eye to it. I assume the McCain campaign just wanted him to get through it without a problem (which he did) and establish the basis for a few campaign arguments. And probably to avoid attacking anyone. No harm, probably no significant benefit at this point unless he is sucessful in making the campaign rguments take hold.
It might play better than it looked. The Larry King show just flashed a couple clips on fighting and changing Washington that made him look pretty good. He then showed he "fight" close which also looked pretty good in the replay.
Successful convention. Race probably is a toss up at this point. It likely will turn on whether someone makes a serious mistake, whether some crisis happens in the world, and whether the negative ads against Obama hurt him.
"That's a huge archive. Please provide a link to a post by one of the bloggers, not a comment.
I can say for sure that Kevin never dissed his POW status when he was there. I doubt that Steve Benen or Hilzoy did. But I am open to being corrected."
You're right. But, I'm not going to do homework based on your objection.
Just let me ask you this: Does your view of the world, its problems, and the solution to those problems have anything at all to do with YOUR OWN life experience? If not, whose life experience is it based on? Or were you actually born an opponent of John McCain? Was it in your genes? Your political convictions have nothing to do with your actual, um, experience? Or are you the exception to everyone else on Earth?
"You're right. But, I'm not going to do homework based on your objection."
You must be trying to some sort of deep, bizarre comedy routine here. You indicate that the archives are overflowing with examples, but are too goddamn lazy to cite one example of an action you claim happens repeatedly. That's the mark of a clown.
"Just let me ask you this: Does your view of the world, its problems, and the solution to those problems have anything at all to do with YOUR OWN life experience? If not, whose life experience is it based on? Or were you actually born an opponent of John McCain? Was it in your genes? Your political convictions have nothing to do with your actual, um, experience? Or are you the exception to everyone else on Earth?"
Here's the thing. Nobody denies that this shaped McCain's view of the world. The question, for the four hundredth fucking time, is how does this reflect on his policies? Can you give me a few examples, or at least an archive to look through?
I don't doubt his bravery, but I don't see how it makes him more capable as a military leader. I don't see how it makes his policies for education and health care better than those of his opponents. I don't see how it relates to the alleged need to "drill, drill, drill." Maybe it does, but right now, it's your turn to explain HOW. Until you can, stop bringing it up.
McCain explained to the GOP in his speech why it's OK for an African American to run for president:
And, finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters...
We're dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our creator with inalienable rights.... And I wouldn't be an American worthy of the name if I didn't honor Senator Obama and his supporters for their achievement.
Ah. Now we know why it's OK for Obama to run.
... McCain successfully dialed down the red meat, something he desperately needed to do after last night's culture war fest.
You must be joking. Whom do you think is responsible for the tone the convention's taken thus far? And of course it seems like he dialed down the red meat. At the rate things have been going, he would have had to pound his fist on podium & bark his speech in German just to keep up with the other speakers.
He addressed substantive issues more than previous speakers.
Jesus Christ, but you set the bar low. Did any of the previous speakers so much as whisper the syllable of an issue, substantive or otherwise? And that quote about education being a civil rights issue is a quote lifted directly from Bush's 2000 campaign.
He was good on the bipartisan roots of corruption in Washington...
But not so good that he was ready to pass up a fundraiser set up by Jack Abramoff crony, Ralph Reed. Or that he hasn't turned his entire campaign over to a fleet of lobbyists.
Honestly, Kevin, you're a soft touch. I hope your wife doesn't let you make major purchasing decisions by yourself.
"I don't see how it relates to the alleged need to "drill, drill, drill." Maybe it does, but right now, it's your turn to explain HOW. Until you can, stop bringing it up."
God, you're right! I promise never to bring it up again. I must confess that what I have read on Steve's blog, I never read. And I swear no one else saw these things.
I am certain that no one else saw such things as links to web sites where people call John McCain a traitor.
I confess that I have no idea how John McCain's trauma in Vietnam caused him to say, "Drill, drill drill!" (Not that I stated that and explained some connection -- but, please forgive me for having an opinion or even living.)
I apologize, Kommandant, for implying that people might act and behave based on their own life experiences -- including you, Kommandant -- without being able to interpret their psychological motivations for their political policies.
Whew! Thanks a bunch. I am now re-educted!
"I must confess that what I have read on Steve's blog, I never read. And I swear no one else saw these things."
If what you read is so prolific, why can't you cite a few examples?
"I confess that I have no idea how John McCain's trauma in Vietnam caused him to say, "Drill, drill drill!" (Not that I stated that and explained some connection -- but, please forgive me for having an opinion or even living.)"
What an idiot. Don't put words in my mouth.
Instead of incessantly repeating that his POW experience has shaped his views on the world, why don't you tell us how it has shaped his view on the world? Why don't you tell us, even in a very abstract way, how this is reflected in his policies?
I agree more with Josh's take on McCain's speech: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213764.php.
It was mediocre.
"But, I doubt you'd object to an Auschwitz survivor seeing the world based on his experience, and mentioning it often."
Really? And how would you know that? My mother was an Auschwitz survivor, and she undoubtedly saw the world based on her experience. But she sure as hell didn't mention it to anyone. And she sure as hell didn't use it endlessly as an excuse or a crutch.
"I must confess that what I have read on Steve's blog, I never read. And I swear no one else saw these things."
"If what you read is so prolific, why can't you cite a few examples?"
Did I say they were prolific? Read the original post. I read some very nasty stuff about a month ago on Kevin's original site. As you well know, there are threads within threads, so it's not so simple to find them. If I found them, you would likely dismiss them as trivial, so I won't bother. I didn't find them trivial, and my reaction was based on my own life experience, not yours.
Beyond that, however, if crassly dismissing McCain's time as a POW because one just don't like hearing about it (don't tell me you haven't seen PROLIFIC posts with "POW POW! POW" as a response to everything McCain) is not "dissing," I disagree.
"I confess that I have no idea how John McCain's trauma in Vietnam caused him to say, "Drill, drill drill!" (Not that I stated that and explained some connection -- but, please forgive me for having an opinion or even living.)"
What an idiot. Don't put words in my mouth.
I didn't. YOU said "Drill, drill, drill."
Instead of incessantly repeating that his POW experience has shaped his views on the world, why don't you tell us how it has shaped his view on the world?
I can no more do that than tell you how something that happened to you (which I can't know) shaped your world.
Why don't you tell us, even in a very abstract way, how this is reflected in his policies?
"Us?" Have you assembled a court? How about I tell *you* that I have no idea how McCain's experience as a POW is reflected (influenced by) his policies.
Be honest, Brian J. Are you just upset because I said I thought McCain made good speech, and that wasn't an approved thing to say? Even though I qualified it and said I would vote for Obama?
By the way, thanks for taking the time to call me an idiot.
"But, I doubt you'd object to an Auschwitz survivor seeing the world based on his experience, and mentioning it often."
Read my statement:
"But, I doubt you'd object to an Auschwitz survivor seeing the world based on his experience, and mentioning it often."
And you ask:
Really? And how would you know that? My mother was an Auschwitz survivor, and she undoubtedly saw the world based on her experience. But she sure as hell didn't mention it to anyone. And she sure as hell didn't use it endlessly as an excuse or a crutch."
Answer:
How do I know if someone would object if she did? Frankly, I doubt if anyone would object. Not me.
You're making stuff up, and you know it.
OK speech, but nothing to recommend *McCain* as the answer to what McCain thinks has been wrong with Washington!
Did anyone catch the brief panoramic shot by PBS that showed all the empty seats in that arena? They avoided that camera angle until near the end.
Steve R: Before you imply that I'm dissing your mother, let's have a second look at what you wrote:
"My mother was an Auschwitz survivor, and she undoubtedly saw the world based on her experience."
Sounds much like what I have been trying to say about McCain -- without excusing his policies or explaining where his political philosophy (the basis of his policies)came from.
"But she sure as hell didn't mention it to anyone. And she sure as hell didn't use it endlessly as an excuse or a crutch."
Tell, me Steve R, did I say that? Did I imply that? About your mom or about McCain? One way or another?
No, I did not! But, thanks for your help.
New York Times news analysis:
[McCain] and his supporters sounded the call of insurgents seeking to topple the establishment, even though their party heads the establishment.
But as a matter of history, it is easier to run as the opposition party if you actually are the opposition party.
