While a new survey has President Bush's approval rating up to 53%, and varied news stories have Kerry's campaign starting to rip itself to shred in laying blame for their disasterous August, I think its time to stand back from it all and take a quiet look at the situation.

How many times a day, dear readers, do you use an obscenity? I'm a former sailor of the United States Navy, so my catalog of verbal filth is a rather thick volume; but I'm not a foul-mouthed person. I don't, to put it simply, rely upon vulgar language to make my point. But have you noticed how often those who oppose President Bush in particular and the GOP in general use them?

Our Democratic friends do like to harp upon the alleged use of the "F" word by Vice President Cheney in a private conversation a little while back - and I guess they consider Mr. Cheney's indiscretion to be their license to really let 'er rip on the foul language. The invaluable Best of the Web today gives us a fair sample of it, cleaned up for decent company:

People in line heckled back the potty-shirted heckler, and he responded by repeatedly shouting, "You're scum! You're the slime of the earth!" A guy behind us observed, "I love hearing that from someone wearing a shirt like that." Suddenly a group of perhaps a dozen materialized, chanting and carrying a banner that read "Free John Hinckley." Their slogan: "F--- Reagan! Go home!" They moved down the avenue at a very fast pace and were gone as quickly as they arrived...

...One featured performer, the comedian Lewis Black, had a message for GOP delegates who might hold other views.

"It is un-fu**ing-believable that since the time I was 15 we have been having to argue this sh**," Black said. "There comes a point where you say, f**k you, enough is enough. There is no argument. It's not your body, a**hole. Shut the f**k up."

This is the sort of discourse we get from people on the liberal/left side of the spectrum - the side of the spectrum the liberal/left elite advise us is far more intellectual than we, and more willing to entertain differing opinions. Yeah, right; whatever.

Its just words, of course; and they don't hurt. But they are symbolic - what they symbolise is the complete end of any attempt on the part of the liberal/left to defend itself. Their only real tactic is to try and use words to intimidate. It is hard to argue with someone who just told you to "F" off, isn't it? I mean, what do you really say to such a person? You can shout back the same sort of vulgarity, but what does that actually accomplish? Essentially, people who shout like that are left alone - and might appear to win in their little sandbox. We're not going to try and counter-demonstrate these people on the streets because we've got better things to do than try to outshout mindless, ill-mannered people who wont stop shouting for fear their brains might start to work.

They shout because they cannot think; and they also shout to keep their own flagging spirits up. They shout, also, because they are protected - protected in a cocoon surrounded by people they ostensibly hate but who stand between them and a punch in the mouth by the people they routinely offend. You'll note that these vulgar shouters don't normally take their show on the road outside of urban liberal enclaves - if they tried their stunts outside my house then they'd be lucky to be arrested before I and the neighbors gave them what for.

Shouting, banging, clanging insipid little mindless drones of the left - that is what we've got out in the streets of New York City while the adults of the world gather to discuss important matters inside.

One Zell of a Good Time

What can I say? I think Zell Miller stole the show tonight. His message and delivery were perfect. He stood up there at the podium, staring everyone down with a look that said "You better listen to me, I have something to say, you need to pay attention!"

He spoke with his mouth and his eyes, and you knew he meant business. It's a tough feat to beat Guiliani's performance on Monday, but I think Zell may have taken the trophy tonight.

I wasn't there on the floor, but I can imagine what it must have been like. I was up at Bloggers Corner, watching on TV, and a number of bloggers were up there watching as well as a good number of volunteers and staffers who were glued to Zell Miller's presence on the screen.

Did I want to blog during this time? Yeah. But you just couldn't leave during that speech.

How refreshing it was to listen him speak from his heart, and tell us whom he entrusts the future of his future to - my President and yours, George W. Bush.

Zell asked, "Where is the bi-partisanship in this country when we need it most?"

A great question. We all know the answer. John Kerry and John Edwards keep talking about two Americas. Perhaps they are right. We are a nation divided and it is Zell Miller's party, the Democrat party, which has indeed divided us.

Zell Miller can see the faults of his own party and has come out in strong support of our President because he knows that leadership is not defined by party. Leadership is defined by decisiveness and strength of character. George W. Bush has these qualities.

John Kerry doesn't. The Democrat party doesn't. Not anymore.

From my close encounters with Terry McAuliffe this week, I can only imagine just how infuriated he must be after hearing Zell Miller's speech. Zell Miller took his own party and hung out its dirty laundry for all to see.

Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator.

And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators.
...
No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country if he doesn't believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home.

But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution.

Miller nailed it. And for a Democrat to say this makes the message resonate even more. Miller even made it clear that it is "not their patriotism - it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking."

Indeed.

Zell first mentioned John Kerry by name by coupling him with the one and only Ted Kennedy. Kennedy and Kerry, both my Senators, have been the most wrong the most often.

And he is certainly right.

He then went to talk about Kerry's record - the very record Kerry has been running from this campaign season. Another great line of Millers preceeded his runoff of weapons programs Kerry has opposed:

Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but Americans need to know the facts.

Oh, was that gold. I think most of us were shocked yet ecstatic over Zell Miller's boldness. After going through these systems Kerry opposed, Miller asked "This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?"

I can't begin to describe the reaction our group at Bloggers Corner had. The cheering... the laughter... it was priceless. I may not have been on the floor, but I was in good company.

We loved a lot of Zell Miller's lines:

Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide.

John Kerry, who says he doesn't like outsourcing, wants to outsource our national security.

Perhaps most powerful was his praise for President Bush:

I can identify with someone who has lived that line in "Amazing Grace," "Was blind, but now I see," and I like the fact that he's the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday morning.

He is not a slick talker but he is a straight shooter and, where I come from, deeds mean a lot more than words.

I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel.

The man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family.

Absolutely fantastic. I was loving every minute of this speech and it just seemed to get better. He could have gone on for hours and it would have felt like a mere fraction of the time. You just couldn't help being awe struck by his presence and attitude.

And of course, he went out with a bang,

Right now the world just cannot afford an indecisive America. Fainthearted, self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world.

In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him.

Thank you.

God Bless this great country and God Bless George W. Bush.

Zell Miller hit hard tonight and it is just what the convention needed. This not about partisan attacks, this is about keeping the right man in office, and preventing the wrong one from getting in. Zell Miller understands a lot more about the situation we face than anyone else in his party. This not about him being disloyal to his own party, because his unwillingness to change parties despite major differences between his party and his conscience shows that he understand loyalty.

But party loyalty doesn't come before security.

Zell Miller delivered this message to America tonight. I hope they listen.

Let's Make A Wager

How much do you want to bet that this page will never be updated?

"George W. Bush will never seek a permission slip to defend the American people."

Dick Cheney is on right now!

UPDATE: 11:00PM Cheney is gone. He was awesome too...

Click below for Cheney's speech

Zell! Zell! Zell!

Zell Miller was absolutely amazing tonight!!!!! I was up at Bloggers Corner with some fellow bloggers watching on the TV and it was absolutely incredible. Zell had great lines, great jabs at Kerry and we almost couldn't believe just how authoritative he was.

He hit the ball out of the park nailing Kerry for voting against funding our troops.

He hit the ball out of the park nailing Kerry for his past votes against the very systems which have helped our military achieve success; the B-1 bomber, the B-2 bomber, the F-14A Tomcats, the Apache helicopter, and on and on..

And he hit the ball out of the park when he said, "This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?"

We were cheering and laughing so hard. Zell Miller was absolutely great, he couldn't have done better. From going after Kerry for being a weak leader, to highlighting the great leadership we've seen from George W. Bush, Zell was the star of the night.

Volunteers, staffers, and bloggers watching Zell.

Click below for his speech:

Keeping The Ass In Mass

I saw Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kerry Healey and Governor Mitt Romney speak tonight.

I have to say, Kerry Healey did a terrible job pulling off that speech. Hailing from Massachusetts, I was really disappointed in her.

Mitt on the other hand redeemed Massachusetts and he was great to watch. I loved it when he said "I'm proud to be from Massachusetts, where John Kerry will be the junior senator until 2008."

Face To Face With McCain

Kevin from Wizbang and I went off for some grub earlier and apparently we couldn't bring the food back to Bloggers Corner. We decided at a one point to check out the arena and we were kind of stuck at one of the entries, next thing we knew, John McCain stepped out and was a mere 24 inches away, he looked right at us and winked.

I have to say that's been one of the most bizarre things about being here at the Republican National Convention, finding yourself bumping shoulders and getting face to face with the leaders (and future leaders) of our country.

Here is a photo of the McCain encounter, courtesy of Kevin from WizBang's camera:

That is Karol on the right, and I am infront of her off-camera and next to Kevin, who took this quick photo.

Honoring the Gipper

I was in the big arena during the Ronald Reagan tribute earlier tonight...

Incredible moment.

Interview with Jim Holt, Candidate from Arkansas for the U.S. Senate

Tonight I got an interview with Jim Holt of Arkansas, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. We had a really good interview, we discuss his candidacy and the need to elect Republicans to the Senate. Check out the interview, then check out his website and be sure to help him out!

The Bush Convention bounce begins!!!!

President George W. Bush's job approval rating rose in August from July according to a National Annenberg Election Survey completed before the Republican National Convention began this week.

Bush's job approval rating among 5,146 registered voters surveyed from Aug. 9-29 was 53 percent, compared with 50 percent in a July 5-25 survey, the poll showed. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, 60, a four-term Massachusetts senator, had a 45 percent favorable rating in August, up from 43 percent in July, the poll showed. The Democratic convention was held from July 26-29 in Boston.

Bush's favorable rating rose to 50 percent from 48 percent, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg poll, based in Philadelphia.

``It's good news for Bush in the sense that Kerry didn't gain anything lasting out of the Democratic convention,'' said Adam Clymer, the political director of the survey, in an interview. ``It hasn't been a good month,'' for Kerry, he said.

Terry McAuliffe, Ignorant on the Blogosphere

After Terry McAuliffe decided to give credit to the already discredited story of Kerry's Cambodia "missions" he was interviewed by some fellow RNC Bloggers. Once again, Terry McAuliffe has absolutely no understanding of a particular issue. An issue very close to many of us who frequent this site:

Q: Why are liberals better at blogging in terms of politics?

A: Well, I think the Democrats... well, we're a younger party, we have a lot more young people involved the Democratic Party and I believe we've been on the internet more extensively than the republicans have... and I think the natural extension of that would be to move to the blog and they're very agitated by George Bush and his policies and I think that has really got them fired up...

Oops, wrong again... Perhaps he thought that Howard Dean's list of 90 blogs was a lot, or that Kerry's 55 was a decent amount. One can only assume that he isn't aware of the over 900 bloggers currently listed on the Blogroll For Bush.

I also have to say this, Terry also totally in the dark about who bloggers really are. Bloggers are not just young people. I've met many, and they are young and old. His biggest miscalculation however was his acceptance of the stereotype that the blogosphere is liberal. Look at the Blogroll for Bush... compare it to the one on Blogs For Kerry.

Oh wait a minute… there isn't a Blogs For Kerry site.

Silly me.

UPDATE: Terry McAuliffe guest blogged over at Red State.

Terry McAuliffe Says Kerry "Went To Cambodia Twice"

Bloggers get the scoop. Terry McAuliffe says he believes John Kerry went to Cambodia twice, then criticizes George W. Bush's service.

I guess Terry needs to read up on this a bit more.

Of course, my questions is this: Is John Kerry going to condemn the DNC Chairman's criticisms of Bush's service?

Or do we need to wait for them to coordinate with MoveOn.Org first?

Powerline has the video.

Franken Engages Hannity

I was there to witness Al Franken approach Sean Hannity while on break from his show. Surprisingly enough it was a civil exchange, even if Franken lied to Sean about what happened with Laura Ingraham's producer.

Bloggers Interview Former Senator Alan Simpson from Wyoming

RNC bloggers got an interview with former Senator Alan Simpson from Wyoming.

We began, and when he realized we were bloggers he said, "You thought I was adept at all this didn't you?" He told us has a Palm Pilot, and that he had e-mail but got rid of it because he got too much junk mail it was taking him too long to fiddle around with.

Then we discussed the latest shake up in the Kerry campaign. Simpson said the Kerry campaign would not be allowed to implode because "the hatred towards Bush and Cheney is so intense that ... they're going pay someone 60 million bucks for the next two months to save him."

He attributes the hatred toward Bush cheney to the 2000 election and the Democrats who can't get over the fact that "they got screwed." He also blames Clinton, who he says should have been censured, not impeached. "They should have taken the crumb when they couldn't get the loaf," he said, becuase they could have gotten a 100-0 vote for censure as opposed to a doomed to fail impeachment.

Check out the entire interview!

Protesters Disrupt Youth Convention

Earlier this afternoon I made my way down to the floor and arrived after the Youth Convention meeting. I had heard reports that there was some protesters who were forced to leave so I went to find out.

I spoke with Tiffany, 24, from Texas, who told me about the event. All the student in attendance were betwen 18 and 24 years old and selected by their state party and come from all over the United States.

"They had the Bush twins, George P. Bush, Ari Fleischer, Andy Card, some other people, it was like a big pep rally."

The spoke with the group, and Tiffany said it was a lot of fun and everyone was really pumped up "They encouraged everyone to vote, and talked about the things people can do."

She said, "They encouraged the kids not to let the media label you as liberal, and you go out and be who you who are and stand up for what you believe in."

Then I asked about the protest that occurred. She told me some people tried to protest and they were escorted off. They were seated amongst the crows and tried to disrupt the event. She didn't remember how many they were.

Despite the protest, everyone is having a good time and they've been really busy. They really enjoyed their event today. They have also been pretty busy, they came in on Saturday and did a community service project yesterday at the Hotel Pennsylvania, they've gone a broadway show and a went to a broadway show.

So, a small disruption didn't ruin the day for all these energetic young people at the convention. They are having a great experience here and they all seem pumped up to challenge the idea that young people are liberal. These young conservatives are going to help rock the vote this November!!

UPDATE: Drudge had a link to a story on the protesters:

Anti-war demonstrators disrupted a Republican youth gathering on the floor of the party convention Wednesday, shortly after President Bush (news - web sites)'s twin daughters left the stage.

Jenna and Barbara Bush introduced White House chief of staff Andrew Card. As he began speaking, 10 protesters sitting in the crowd jumped up, blew whistles and began to chant, "Bush kills." They also removed sweat shirts to reveal T-shirts reading "Bush Drop Global Debt Now."

Card tried to continue speaking, but was drowned out and stopped as young participants in the morning event scuffled with the demonstrators. Police moved in to remove the protesters, including a young woman hoisted out by two officers — one at her shoulders and one at her knees.

At least one delegate was slightly injured. Suhr Daniel, 20, of Milwaukee, said he was punched in the head by a protester. He had a cut near his temple and the side of his face was reddened.

Well, it's good to know that the other youths were not discouraged by this and aren't letting this incident get them down.

John Kerry can do no wrong, just ask him. No matter if he is falling down on the ski slopes or ineptly responding to troubles with his campaign. He always seems to blame missteps on “those other guys”.

The latest out of his sinking swift boat campaign is that he is “Mad”. Oh yes, he is so mad he passed on second servings of truffles and caviar this morning.

As many know by now, the men who know him best have put out a book (#1 best seller Unfit for Command) and have put out ads to correct the record and Biography Kerry has been trying to rewrite since the late 70’s.

The New York Daily News has this today.

Sen. John Kerry is angry at the way his campaign has botched the attacks from the Swift boat veterans and has ordered a staff shakeup that will put former Clinton aides in top positions. "The candidate is furious," a longtime senior Kerry adviser told the Daily News. "He knows the campaign was wrong. He wanted to go after the Swift boat attacks, but his top aides said no."

Instapundit has more.

Don King On John Kerry

This morning I got to follow around Don King as he was being shuffled from interview to interview. I first caught him being interviewed on Fox News Radio with Tony Snow. Now, I didn't know this until I saw him here at the convention, but Don King is an avid Bush supporter. He could talk and talk about how much he supported George W. Bush and why. I'll try and transcribe some of his great lines later.

I have to say that Don King is quite a character. I have a bunch of audio from a few of his interviews, but I thought this was the most hilarious. This is Don King speaking to John Kerry:

More Photos From Al Franken's Monday Night Fight

I just got these in, here are all the available photos of Al Franken's fight with Laura Ingraham's producer:

How are you going to feel if you wake up on November 3 to the prospect of a John Kerry presidency? For four years, a medal-throwing anti-war protester would be president. He'd go crawling to Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder. He'd withdraw our troops from Iraq (he's said within six months) and give terrorists all over the world new hope that the America of today is the America that lost the Vietnam war.

You can do something to stop this from happening! Volunteer or donate to the Bush campaign today.

Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, over one hundred bloggers ask their readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.

If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And then e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com so that you'll be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:

Speech Reflections

I was down at the floor, less than thirty feet away from the stage. The crowd went wild when Arnold came up. It was almost funny seeing him in person after so many years of seeing him on screen or on TV. Similarly, for someone from Hollywood to be up there on stage stumping for Bush the way he did was great.

Arnold talked about his own personal experiences as a child in Austria, which tied in perfectly with his message of the greatness of our country. His story about how he determined he was a Republican was very effective as well. I think in general his speech had the ability to appeal to moderates/independents and given his star power, I can imagine this speech would overwhelming sit well with them.

I have to say, I didn't realize Jenna and Barbara Bush were going to come on stage. It was an exciting moment, because I had only gotten to see them standing on stage earlier following their speech soundchecks -- and now I was going to get to see them actually give a speech... only 30 feet away.

I have to say, while I love the Bush twins, I was unimpressed with their speech tonight. It came off as ingenuine and was probably twice as long as it needed to be because of that. While I understand that they may not be political at this point in their lives, I didn't see much value in including their political indifferences in their speech and essentially telling us that they felt obliged to join the campaign.

Further, I thought it strange that they made a point to say they weren't political, but carried on a long joke suggesting they wanted to have an influential role in their dad's presidency. It made that joke even more cheesy.

However... I liked how they introduced their father and I thought the satellite feed was great. It caught me by surprise, and everyone was cheering.

From the Bush twins' quirky little stories, to Laura Bush's own personal stories, you really got a nice look into the First Family, and I think that will sit very well with those who watched the convention.

All in all, it was incredible experience to be there. I am glad I was able to get on the floor - even with some hassle with the Secret Service and I continue to look forward to the upcoming speeches.

The American Dream

Did you ever get the feeling that the GOP knows what its doing?

Its a serious question. While I'm not an old man, I am old enough to remember when we of the GOP had the exceptionally deserved unofficial name of "the Stupid Party". We had this habit of taking the most amazingly great opportunties and blowing them in a bad way. The last time we did this, by my reckoning, is when we allowed Pat Buchanan to speak at the 1992 GOP convention. Since then, however, we've just done one smart thing after another - evidence of this is provided by pointing out that the man who gave the keynote address at the other party's 1992 convention is tomorrow going to give the keynote address at ours.

Governor Schwarzenegger gave the most magnificent and moving explanation of what the United States stands for in the world. We native-born Americans are often too jaded to fully understand that for millions of people the world over, the nation we live in isn't America, its...

AMERICA!!!!

It was, of course, Ronald Reagan who pointed out to us the way back to viewing our nation as it really is. He, however, was contending with a tide of negativism and defeatism and it was all he could do to just hold the line. It was his example, however, that inspired. Once upon a time, I was the "younger generation" in who's hands the hopes of the nation were placed - and fortunately for me, I had Ronald Reagan as the central figure of American life when I was maturing. It is those of us who came after Reagan who have finished refurbishing the ideal of America - to make everyone understand what the real American Dream actually is: Liberty.

We are still the lamp lighting the world, especially those who struggle. No matter in what labor camp they slave, no matter in what injustice they're trapped, they hear our call. They see our light. And they feel the pull of our freedom.

They come here, as I did, because they believe -- they believe in us. They come because their hearts say to them, as mine did, "If only I can get to America." You know, someone once wrote, "There are those who say that freedom is nothing but a dream." They are right. It's the American dream.

We forget, because we are immersed in freedom, just how important it is. We've been at least partially conditioned by decades of the nattering nabobs of negativism to believe that there is something wrong with our country - that there is something wrong with us; that we are, in some undefineable way, unworthy of the power we have at our command. Governor Schwarzenegger answered those natterers - there is nothing wrong with our country, and there is nothing wrong with us, which cannot be fixed by courageous and free men and women.

We do not inherit our freedom - it has to be won anew each generation. We do not inherit our power - it has to be re-created each generation. We are the worthy sons and daughters of those who went before us - and we have the moral duty to do whatever we can to expand and propagate the American Dream to the ends of the earth. It was when we stopped seeing our duty, when we started listening to the nattering nabobs that we lost, for a time, our unique place in the world. President Reagan understood this, and President Bush understands this - and this is why we fearlessly went into Afganistan and Iraq; not for gain and not for revenge for our loss, but because we rediscovered in President Bush's leadership the real American Dream.

And this, my friends, is what dismays our Democratic friends. They have also been told by the naysayers that there is something wrong with us - with the difference being that they have been listening to them for a bit longer than we have, and they have been less apt to listen to those in American leadership who are pointing to the truth about America. Poor souls, our Democrats, they are simply unsure of themselves, and afraid of the undiscovered country right outside their front doors. A big, burgeoning and confident America alarms them - so they retreat into "nuance" and hope that they can impart their fear into an electoral college majority by November 2nd.

We have in 2004 the President to lead us, the military to fight for us and the American spirit to sustain us in our long, hard battle for the total victory of the American Dream.

W Stands For Women

Yesterday I attended a great convention event sponsored by a women’s coalition. I didn’t really think it would be such a big deal to hear these people speak in person, but I was wrong. It was very exciting and a lot of fun. Even with a requirement to rsvp in advance for security reasons, the ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was packed with women. The panel of speakers, also all women. They were: Lynn Cheney, Barbara Bush, Doro Bush, Liz Cheney, and Ed Gillespie’s wife. The two Bush twins were also on stage. They did not speak, but were there to give support to their father. Behind the panel, but also on-stage, were several rows of women in skirt-suits, all of whom work for Bush in one capacity or another. Most of them work in the Administration. There was easy access to get close to the stage, and some political appointments were signing autographs before the event started. Cameras were clicking like crazy.

I thought Barbara Bush was the best speaker. She had a great sense of humor, and a nice personality. Several of the speakers provided information on all that the Bush administration has done for women, at home and abroad. Some of the facts included were the following:

• W has liberated women in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan where women were tyrannized and tortured by brutal dictators. Over 50 million people were liberated by the Bush administration, over half of whom were women and children.
• Previously, in Afghanistan, women were whipped if their ankles showed in public, and their fingers were cut off if they were caught wearing nail polish.
• As a result of their new-found liberation, now women who were tortured for merely speaking their mind, have freedom to express themselves.
• In Afghanistan, girls are attending school and learning that they have value and worth, whereas previously they were not allowed to be educated.
• Most interestingly, Mrs. Cheney pointed out, that the Iraqi soccer team played at the Olympics this year. For the first time in history, the person who represented Iraq, was a WOMAN. She led by carrying the torch, and came out with her head uncovered, and held high. None of the players had to fear being murdered if they lost. All of this was thanks to W.
• Finally, President Bush has hired more women in his administration than any president in the history of the United States (including Clinton)!

A PBS reporter wanted to know what I thought of Laura Bush for a documentary she was working on. I was caught off guard and don’t think I answered it the way I would have if I had given it some thought. I merely said that she seemed nice and I thought she was cute. I’m sure she was asking since it was a women’s event, and I’m suspicious that she wanted to make an issue of how Mrs. Bush is rather quiet and a housewife.

I should have told her that people will vote based on whether or not they like the President, not Laura Bush. I should have pointed out how wrong it is to be given a public policy position merely because one is married to the President, as Hillary was, how not everyone wanted “two for one” and that such a provision is not in the constitution. I should’ve pointed out that Laura Bush is a supportive wife, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The first lady is not an issue unless she makes herself one. She can attract attention to herself in a positive way, as Jackie Kennedy did, bringing style, fashion, class, culture and art to the White House. Or she can attract attention to herself in a negative way, the way I think Theresa Heinz-Kerry will do.

Ms. Heinz-Kerry has already shown us that she is arrogant, politically inept, and while she has money, she has NO class, NO etiquette, and no grace. Despite her spin that women who make comments like hers should be described as intelligent and well-informed, “shove it” and “four more years of hell” exemplify no such traits. Theresa Heinz-Kerry is NOT the right role model for women in this country. If I had daughters I would not want them to be like her. That Laura Bush is not an issue shows that she can discern when it is appropriate to speak in a political context or not – not because she’s female, but because she wasn’t elected. She has class, tact, and discernment. She appears happy and secure in who she is and does not need to overcompensate by upstaging her husband.

All the women in W’s family clearly felt they could be themselves around him – whether they are outspoken like Barbara, or more subdued like Laura. The women who live with him or work with him have nothing but good things to say about him. The women of Afghanistan and Iraq don’t need to say anything: their options as a result of the freedoms his policies have provided, say everything. Given the opportunity, women can achieve anything. No president in recent history has given more women more opportunities than George Bush. W definitely stands for Women.

Our Clash With Al Franken

That's right, you read correctly.

After we got the scoop on his fight with the producer of Laura Ingraham's radio show, we felt inclined to approach him when we saw him standing by Blogger's Corner. Kevin from Wizbang has a photo and a brief recounting of our inquiries on that subject.

After we decided to ask him what he thought about the speeches tonight. Kevin and I had just returned from the speeches so they were fresh in our minds...

He said he watched some of them, but was "distracted" at times. Scott from SlantPoint asked what he thought about contrasting the Bush family and the Kerry family. Struggling a bit, Franken just said "Well, I really... uhh... uhh... you know I don't ... uhh think... uh I don't know the Bush family at all. I don't, you know..." "Well, I know the Kerry girls I've met them both, and I've talked to them, interviewed them both. I haven't met the Bush girls and uhh I don't do that kind of thing."

Scott then asked what he thought of the Bush girls' speech tonight, which he pretty much responded the way we did, "cute, quirky anecdotes."

Kevin said that fellow RNC Blogger had made a comment that "as a comedy, it was horrible," and Al Franken responded, "The people don't want the First Family to be the funniest family in the country."

This was the lighter side of our encounter. We had a laugh over the hamster joke. Then I asked what he thought about Arnold's speech.

"Oh, I thought it was disgusting."

When asked why he felt that way, he said Arnold "missed the point about the "two Americas theme" and questioned why Arnold said we have to believe in the economy.

"I don't know what that means." Franken said, "do you have to believe that there is an economy, but that does that mean you think it's good?"

After that, he went on the typical liberal talking points of the economy... just lost, the deficit... He ignored the jobs that have been created, saying we've have a net loss of a million jobs, which of course he blames on George W. Bush.

So he continued his rant and started badgering everyone who tried to contradict him, then he just kinda of shrugged us off and walked away.

And doggone-it, it was over.

Salon Dumps On RNC Bloggers

Yeah, whatever, who cares?

UPDATE: Kevin McCullough defends us...

UPDATE: Captain Ed rips into Follmann's piece

Back From The Convention Floor

I have just returned from the convention floor. I was very close to the stage and took plenty of photos... Here's a sampling

Quick thoughts on the speeches:

Arnold was great. The crowd loved him, and he spoke very well. I expected that his speech would include his personal story of being an immigrant and that tied in extraordinarily well with his entire speech.

Jenna and Barbara were so-so. It was exciting to see them up there, however, it didn't feel very real to me. They both looked fantastic, but there speech came off corny to me. The best moment was them introducing their father, our President for another four years, George W. Bush.

Laura was great. Being so close I got a real sense of her presence and she really presents herself well.

Although we should continue to focus on the positive message of the Republican Party that we hear at the Convention, the following quote was too good to pass up:

The even worse news for Kerry is that despite the exceptional job his campaign has been doing at executing political hari-kari, the Bush team hasn't even started to attack him yet. . . .

Kerry's recent Swift-Vet-driven collapse is the political equivalent of a boxer being clocked by a random spectator on his way to the ring.

Polipundit Confession -- Arnold Speaks to Him

As an American born citizen, I may be unable to fully appreciate the sentiment but not the meaningfulness, sincerity and emotion packed into this short post:

I'm listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger speak and it's so very personal for me.

Like Arnold, I'm a legal immigrant. Like Arnold, I dreamed of leaving my socialist homeland behind for the Land of the Free. Like Arnold, my political awakening came because of a televised presidential debate - his because of Humphrey-Nixon, mine because of Gore-Bush.

I've waiited in endless lines in a socialist country for mundane services - electricity, telephones. No more!

I'm a conservative Republican because of the same reasons Arnold is - because conservative Republicans believe in rewarding work and enterpreneurship. Because conservative Republicans want to combat socialism in every form. And that's more important to me than anything else.

Interview with Pat Spero of Bush Country Ketchup

Click below for an interview with Pat Spero, contributing writer to Blogs For Bush and founder of Bush Country Ketchup

Al Franken's Fight on Radio Row Yesterday

More details to follow. Check out Wizbang for a pending interview with firsthand witness. But, we do have photos:

UPDATE: 8:26PM **INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS**
UPDATE: 8:41PM **CHECK WIZBANG FOR MORE INFO**

General Tommy Franks Supports President Bush for Reelection!

Click here for RNC Bloggers Interview with General Tommy Franks:

We got General Franks' first official endorsement of President Bush for reelection. After talking with us he went on to Sean Hannity's Show, where he was supposed to announce it first!

Captain Ed is working on the transcript

Check out RNCBloggers.com for continuing coverage.

And Hannity is still under the impression that he got the exclusive announcement!

Scott from Slant Point recounts General Franks using his laptop ...

Terry McAuliffe

After Terry McAuliffe finished on Sean Hannity's show he spoke with some media, and have captured the audio of that brief encounter:

Terry on Hannity

Terry McAuliffe is about to go on Hannity's show!

Win Ben Stein's Photo

I got to meet Ben Stein after the end of Laura Bush's speech soundcheck.

Ciick for a larger image

The Bush Ladies

The bloggers were fortunate enough to get to Laura Bush with Jenna and Barbara on stage after speech soundchecks. We missed the actual soundchecks but we got close enough to the stage to get a few photos while they were still there.

The Democrats stepped in it today. The problem started yesterday when they tried to nail Bush on a Quote he gave "The Today show".

What the Dems and the Media what you to belive President Bush said.

"We can't Win the War on Terror"

The only problem the Dems/Media have is with the truth.

Read the conversation in context here,

Lauer: “Have you ever thought, President Bush, about what the first four years of your presidency might have been like were it not for 9/11?”

President Bush: “No, I haven't because I haven't had that luxury. Well, I haven't had the luxury because it was defined by 9/11. You know every day, as I tell the people, every day I wake up thinking about how better to protect America. It’s just the nature of the presidency right now--one of those moments in history that is a defining moment for all of us. I really haven't sat down and had that luxury of thinking what it'd be like.”

Lauer: “You said to me a second ago, one of the things you'll lay out in your vision for the next four years is how to go about winning the war on terror. That phrase strikes me a little bit. Do you really think we can win this war on terror in the next four years?”

President Bush: “I have never said we can win it in four years.”

Lauer: “So I’m just saying can we win it? Do you see that?”

President Bush: “I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world –- let's put it that way. I have a two pronged strategy. On the one hand is to find them before they hurt us, and that's necessary. I’m telling you it's necessary. The country must never yield, must never show weakness [and] must continue to lead. To find al-Qaida affiliates who are hiding around the world and … harm us and bring ‘em to justice –- we're doing a good job of it. I mean we are dismantling the al-Qaidaas we knew it. The long-term strategy is to spread freedom and liberty, and that's really kind of an interesting debate. You know there's some who say well, ‘You know certain people can't self govern and accept, you know, a former democracy.’ I just strongly disagree with that. I believe that democracy can take hold in parts of the world that are now non-democratic and I think it's necessary in order to defeat the ideologies of hate. History has shown that it can work, that spreading liberty does work. After all, Japan is our close ally and my dad fought against the Japanese. Prime Minister Koizumi, is one of the closest collaborators I have in working to make the world a more peaceful place.”

They knew going in that they would to take it out of context to make the smear attempt work, but it has backfired.

Now President Bush and Terror record are back at the top of the News.

He will be asked to clarify his comments at each and every interview. Guess what? This is a great chance for the people to hear how in-tune the President is with the real challenge we face.

From today's interview on Rush.

Listen, I should have made my point more clear about what I was saying, you know, what I meant. What I meant was that this is not a conventional war. It is a different kind of war. We're fighting people who have got a dark ideology who use terrorists, terrorism, as a tool. They're trying to shake our conscience. They're trying to shake our will, and so in the short run the strategy has got to be to find them where they lurk. I tell people all the time, "We will find them on the offense. We will bring them to justice on foreign lands so we don't have to face them here at home," and that's because you cannot negotiate with these people and in a conventional war there would be a peace treaty or there would be a moment where somebody would sit on the side and say we quit. That's not the kind of war we're in, and that's what I was saying. The kind of war we're in requires, you know, steadfast resolve, and I will continue to be resolved to bring them to justice, but as well as to spread liberty -- and this is one of the interesting points of the debate, Rush, is that, you know, I believe societies can be transformed because of liberty, and I believe that Iraq and Afghanistan will be free nations, and I believe that those free nations right there in the heart of the Middle East will begin to transform that region into a more hopeful place, which in itself will be a detriment to the ability to these terrorists to recruit -- and that's what I was saying. I probably needed to be a little more articulate.

Right on.

I would like to ask the Dems to keep bringing up terrorism as much as possible.

Priorities

OK, so I have been fortunate enough to attend a few parties this week, but last night I was at a special reception for Rudy Giuliani (who needs no introduction) and got to shake his hand and thank him for all he has done. I met Bernard Kerik who risked his life throughout his career keeping the streets of New York safe and then starting from scratch the new Iraqi police force. And I met many others. But whose photo was the only one I remembered to ask for?

The lovely and beautiful Angie Harmon. Having missed so many others, this one seemed to keep me sated for the night.

However, I did finally come down from my school-boy crush long enough to snap a few photos of some others in the room.

Former House member and now MSNBC host, Joe Scarborough

Pollster Frank Luntz

and my good friend running the show on the California Senate campaign for Bill Jones, Eric Beach

« Show less.

Roaming Madison Square Garden

As I said before, I got to the convention early today, security was much quicker to get through. I forgot to mention that after I got through the security check, I turned around as saw that Don King was a few spots behind me. It was a humorous scene seeing him being checked by the security guards with the metal detector wand.

Anyways... There was a bit of an internet blackout when I got to Bloggers Corner which was finally fixed recently... During this down time I decided to go around and and get some photos and see what was happening. Granted nothing was really happening. I saw a few interesting things.

Well, one advantage to being at the convention early is that I got to walk around without having to push my way through huge crowds of people. I decided to check out the floor and take some photos there.

I figured it was a good opportunity to get close to the stage, so I checked that out... It is certainly different than when there is something going on. But I walked around, and got some photos.

I'm hoping to get closer to the stage during one of the prime-time speeches tonight. I can't make any guarantees, but we are working on it. The stage is really nice though.

One thing which I was kind of shocked to see was Al Jazeera's skybox from the main floor. I had heard they were going to be at the convention, but it was still kind of shocking to see them there.

While I was there one of the performers tonight, Jaci Velasquez, was doing a soundcheck. I was able to record one of the sound check performances -- however the quality is only fair, but if you want a small taste of what the entertainment tonight will be like click the button below to check it out.

Here is a photo from their performance.

On my way out, I saw some staff people mounting the presidential seal on one of the walls of the main floor area:

After returning to Bloggers Corner to discover that the internet still wasn't working, I went to Kevin from Wizbang to find some food and we ran into model and singer Dana Glover. We got to chat for a minute, we each gave her our cards and I gave her a Blogs for Bush bumper sticker.

Big things should be happening today. Our interview with Ed Gillespie has been postponed, but potential future interview include Gen. Tommy Franks, Mary Matalin and Peggy Noonan. I will keep you posted.

« Show less.

Audio Blogging from Bloggers Corner

Click the play button to hear live audio coverage!

UPDATE: 1:40PM, back online...

Blogs For Bush in USAToday

Yesterday I did an interview with USA Today, you can read it here.

Settling Back At Bloggers Corner

Hey everyone, I've been here at Bloggers Corner for about an hour an half setting up. It seems as if Blogs For Bush was having some server issues... but things seem okay right now.

I am here right now with Captain Ed, and Kevin McCullough has stopped by. I was fortunate enough to get here early enough that there was no lines getting into Madison Square Garden.

Things are starting to pick up. I'm probably going to go roam around for a while.

They're at it again. The Democratic ticket of Johns Kerry and Edwards (whom observers less serious than us would call "Flipper and the Breck Girl”) demonstrate why they are not up to the task of leading the defense of America, by claiming that our dealings with Iran should be modeled after the 1990’s approach to North Korea. Recent statements by Edwards reveal that not only are their ideas flawed, but they cannot learn the clear and simple lessons of the past that most recognize as obvious:

A John F. Kerry administration would propose to Iran that the Islamic state be allowed to keep its nuclear power plants in exchange for giving up the right to retain the nuclear fuel that could be used for bomb-making, Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards said in an interview yesterday.

Edwards said that if Iran failed to take what he called a "great bargain," it would essentially confirm that it is building nuclear weapons under the cover of a supposedly peaceful nuclear power initiative. He said that, if elected, Kerry would ensure that European allies were prepared to join the United States in levying heavy sanctions if Iran rejected the proposal. "If we are engaging with Iranians in an effort to reach this great bargain and if in fact this is a bluff that they are trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, then we know that our European friends will stand with us," Edwards said.

Jews for Bush

With President Bush's strong and resolved stance in the war on terror and his unflinching support for the State of Israel (the only democracy in the middle east, with Iraq soon to join it; I'd put Afghanistan in Central Asia as opposed to the mideast, but why quibble), Republicans are hopeful of making great strides with Jewish voters. Traditionally, Jews, as they say, live like Episcopalians and vote like Puerto Ricans - which is to say roughly 90% for the Democratic Party in an almost genetic fashion. But, as Democrat and former New York Mayor Ed Koch explains, this year could be different. This year, we hope to change that and, as a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition (yes, there is one), I can affirm that we are as excited as ever. Since Jews have significant populations in only a handful of states, many of which, such as Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are swing states, a slight encroachment by the GOP could make the difference. This is why the lively crowd at the RJC's "Salute to the Republican Congress" was so encouraging.

I estimate about 500 people gathered at the Plaza Hotel to fete Republican congressmen both for their uncompromising support for the war on terror and unwavering backing of Israel, which is the canary in the mineshaft of global terror. The MC was Senator Norm Coleman (MN) and participants included Senators Rick Santorum (PA), Arlen Specter (PA), John Cornyn (TX), John Kyl (AZ), Jim Talent (MO), Mitch McConnell (KY), George Voinovich (OH), House Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (VA), Majority Whip Roy Blount (MO), Gov. Haley Barbour (MS) and others. But the most rousing applause was reserved for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (TX). As I commented to the New York Post's John Podhoretz, who happened to be standing next to me, the biggest ovation was for a non-Jew - and that says something about today's Republican Party.

These delegates and activists will now fan out to their home states to spread the word about how President George W. Bush's agenda is in sync with the values of the Jewish community and our frined and ally, whose special relationship with America may only be rivaled by that of Great Britain, the State of Israel. All it may take for the President to win key swing states could be a few thousand votes, and only minor inroads with Jewish voters could be the difference.

C-SPAN

I am on the phone with C-SPAN right now!

UPDATE: 8:01 AM, it's over. I hope I did alright. Any get to watch?

UPDATE: Click here, you may be able to find a streaming video of it.

Monday Round Up

Well, I'm back at Kevin's for the night. Monday was a long and fantastic day. I did not get blog this morning about our Blogger Breakfast at the Southgate Hotel, where BC'04 Chief Strategist Matthew Dowd spoke to the bloggers. David from OxBlog has a good write up of the breakfast.

After the breakfast we went over to Madison Square Garden. We got to experience the neverending journey of the security checks. Equipment has to be turned on... from digital cameras to laptops. It's a tedious but necessary ordeal.

Our arrival to Bloggers Corner was followed by the challenge of actually getting connected to the internet.

Yes, it took some time... Too much time if you ask me. After getting connected (which felt like hours later) it was time to get to business.

We have some good people helping us and I have to say from our interview with Ed Koch and then Ari Fleischer I couldn't believe what we were able to do today.

My interview with Kevin McCollough went very well. I should be on again a few times this week. After that interview coming back to Bloggers Corner Ken Mehlman was there. After he was done answering some questions I got to introduce myself, and he said that Blogs For Bush was his favorite blog. I'm hoping to get another chance to talk with him this week.

The NRO Bar Night was fun. Meeting Jonah Golberg was great. I saw David Frum but didn't get to approach him. Senator Rick Santorum showed up. I got to introduce myself and give him my business card. I got a nice photo of him with my host Kevin Patrick.

Later on, back at the convention, Captain Ed, David Adesnik were on the Hugh Hewitt Show.

Erika Harold also took me by surprise. Earlier I had asked about the possibility of getting her, and then a few hours later she was sent my way.

I was unable to make it to the convention floor for McCain's speech, but I did get to see Guiliani. That was great. To be there in the room is quite an experience. The energy was positive, and Guiliani really just speaks great and the crowd responds well to him. Standing there, I really felt that when he speaks he really is being honest and genuine as opposed to just feeding us rhetoric. I thought his criticisms of Kerry were important to include and I thought his praise for Bush was heartfelt and very powerful. He really got the crowd going.

After Guiliani spoke, I made my way back to Bloggers Corner for a while, then came back home.

So far, covering this convention has been an extraordinary experience... and it's only been one day...

Don't forget, tomorrow sometime between 7:45 and 8:15 am I'll be on C-SPAN.

John McCain and Rudy Giuliani

In listening to the speeches by Senator McCain and Mayor Giuliani, we were exposed to the definitive arguments in favor of the Bush Administration's conduct of the War on Terrorism. Over the course of the next three days, other speakers will also touch upon this subject, and we can expect that President Bush in his acceptance speech will also devote a substantial amount of time to this subject - but tonight, for all practical purposes, the critics of the war have been answered. And the answer is indisputable.

Senator McCain began by invoking the shades of Franklin Roosevelt, quoting him talking about the rendezvous with destiny an earlier generation of Americans had in another time of peril - and pointing out that we, too, have such a rendezvous:

The awful events of September 11, 2001, declared a war we were vaguely aware of, but hadn't really comprehended how near the threat was and how terrible were the plans of our enemies.

It's a big thing, this war.

It's a fight between a just regard for human dignity and a malevolent force that defiles an honorable religion by disputing God's love for every soul on earth. It's a fight between right and wrong, good and evil.

Senator McCain went on to talk about how we dare not try to go back to sleep-walking through history. Much as we all pray that this scourge of war should speedily pass away, we must brace ourselves to our task and see it through to the end. McCain pointed out that we are safer than we were on September 11th, 2001 - but we are not safe; our enemies are still out there, and there is a reason, according to Mayor Giuliani, why they want to kill us:

We stood face to face with those people and forces who hijacked not just airplanes, but a great religion and turned it into a creed of terrorism dedicated to killing us and eradicating us and our way of life.

They killed us on That Day, and seek to continue killing us - all of us; Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, it doesn't matter in the least to our beastly enemies - because of what we are, and what we stand for in the world. In the long sweep of human history, filled by crimes beyond numbering, the United States stands apart as the only nation which has ever shed its blood and spent its treasure in entirely altruistic crusades for liberty and just for others. Mayor Giuliani sees this:

The president understands that the changes necessary in the Middle East involve encouraging accountable, lawful, decent governments that can be role models and solve the problems of their own people.

This has been a very important part of the Bush doctrine and the president's vision for the future. Have faith in the power of freedom. People who live in freedom always prevail over people who live in oppression.

We either have faith in human liberty and believe it best for mankind, or we have no faith in liberty at all, and may as well turn ourselves over to some tyrant who will run our lives for us - and if we believe that liberty is best for us, then it simply must be best for all others. Respect for liberty has created an America of 300 million very different people - we are Catholics, protestants, Jews, Moslems, Hindus and atheists; we are conservatives and socialists and every political shading in between; we are white, black, brown; European, African, Asian; we are every people on earth with every problem of every people on earth and yet we live in peace and prosperity right next to each other. We cannot beat terrorism with mere firepower - we must present the long-suffering masses of the Arab/Moslem world with a better alternative. This is what President Bush is doing, and unless we do this, we will fail and we will lose this war - and this, in the end, is why we must re-elect President Bush.

This is no time for pettifogging arguments about arcane points in the tax codes; nor is it time to get into contentious debates about the best way to deliver healthcare to the less fortunate - important issues, these; but they do not cut to the core issue of 2004: the war. We have a war on and it must be won, lest the enemy eventually kill more of us (and, maybe someday, millions of us) and the only way to win the war is to follow President Bush's idealistic, sublime and heartfelt program to bring succor to the long-suffering masses and break the shackles which chain them to Islamo-fascist murderers.

Giuliani's Remarks

Once again, Blogs For Bush has them.

Click below:

McCain's Remarks

We got them here at Blogs For Bush!

Click below:

There She Is... Miss America...

I just finished an interview with Miss America 2003 Erika Harold:

Here is the interview:

National Review Party

Shortly after our interview with Ari Fleischer we went to the Turtle Bay Grill for NRO Bar Night with the folks from National Review.

It was packed, but it was a good time. I got to meet Jonah Goldberg, and Senator Rick Santorum stopped by as well.

Jonah Goldberg and I

Kevin Patrick of Blogs for Bush with Senator Rick Santorum

Ari Fleischer with the Bloggers

Click the button to hear the interview:

Ken Mehlman Talks To The Bloggers

Ken Mehlman stopped by Bloggers Corner, I was coming back from my KMC LIVE interview so I didn't get all of it, but I did get to introduce myself, and he even said Blogs For Bush was his favorite blog! I hope to get another chance to ask him some questions. I will keep you posted.

I didn't get a photo, but Captain Ed has a photo.

On The Air With Kevin McCullough on KMC LIVE

Earlier today I was on the air with Bush-blogger Kevin McCullough on his radio show

You should be able to hear the show in his radio archives. I should be back on his show every day this week during the convention.

Sean Hannity Is In The Building!

I'm pretty sure this was mentioned before, but Bloggers Corner is directly across from Sean Hannity's broadcasting booth, and he has just arrived.

Earlier today I saw Al Franken at Air America's broadcasting booth. I guess Air America is still on the air... quite surprising.

Well, according to Drudge, he's doing well enough to have Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle use images of President Bush in his campaign ads:

Sen. Tom Daschle: Tonight, the President has called us again to greatness, and tonight we answer that call.

Male Voice: In our country's hour of need, Tom Daschle made us proud.

We've got 'em on the run.

RNC Bloggers Interview Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch

We got an exclusive interview with the former Mayor.

This was our first exclusive interview, all of the bloggers gathered around to ask him questions. He first asked what blogs were, and after the explanation he joked "So I'm a half-assed blogger!"

We talked about his endorsement of President Bush, telling us he was the one who first used the term the "Bush Doctrine." He explained that while he doesn't agree with President Bush on many domestic issues, he said all the other issues "are trumped by the single issue of standing up and dealing with international terrorism," and said flat out that the Democrats "don't have the stomach to do this."

Koch also said that liberals like Ted Kennedy don't represent the entire party, as well as whom the media dubbed as "Deaniacs."

His rant on Kerry was quite interesting. He told us why John Kerry can't be trusted, with his voting to give President Bush the authority to go to war to defend our country and his flip-flop by not voting to fund the war and support our troops, and then to say that he would have still voted the same way even after what he knows now.

He criticized Kerry's changing of positions on the issue of gay marriage, and how he views changed when he spoke to the entire country vs. when he spoke to his constituents in Massachusetts. He outright called it hypocrisy. "If that isn't hypocrisy, what is???" he said.

Alan Simon asked Mayor Koch about Bush's support in New York, he said he wondered how even he got elected in New York.

When asked about Kerry's promise to wage a "sensitive" war on terror, he said Dick Cheney was right to criticize him over that. He said, regarding the terrorists, "They want to kill us... I don't want to be killed."

I asked him "What do other Democrats say about your endorsement of Bush?" He quickly replied "Who cares?!?" And explained that as of today he's only got four letter denouncing him, and he's even responded.

I also asked "Why do you think more Democrats haven't come out publicly in support of Bush?"

Koch replied, "Fear."

Click the button above to hear the entire interview!

Alan Keyes Gets Interviewed

I got real close to Alan Keyes getting interviewed by the media.

John Kerry reached his island retreat at 2 a.m. Sunday, after taking a red-eye flight from Seattle on his campaign jet, for a week of ceding the political spotlight to President Bush.

He'll kite-surf the Nantucket Sound breezes, ride his $6,000, U.S.-made racing bicycle and dine with wife Teresa Heinz Kerry at restaurants in this old whaling port.

And now for the punch to the gut.

During the Democratic convention, Kerry told his Navy crewmates from the Vietnam War that he'd enjoy taking them "out on the water" while the GOP staged its show. But such a visit wasn't organized.

Watch what John Kerry does, not what he says he'll do. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure he planned to do it before he told his “Band of Brothers” to wash his car instead.

(story USA Today)

Audio Blogging from Bloggers Corner

Click the play button to hear live audio coverage!

Words to kick off the week.

Senator McCain on President Bush:

" ... He has been tested and has risen to the most important challenge of our time, and I salute him. I salute his determination to make this world a better, safer freer place. He has not wavered. He has not flinched from the hard choices. He will not yield. And neither will we."

And from America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

"There are many qualities that make a great leader but having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader.

"Winston Churchill saw the dangers of Hitler when his opponents and much of the press characterized him as a war-mongering gadfly.

"Ronald Reagan saw and described the Soviet Union as 'the evil empire' when world opinion accepted it as inevitable and belittled Ronald Reagan's intelligence.

"George W. Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is and he will remain consistent to the purpose of defeating it while working to make us ever safer at home."

RNC Press release.

Big Night In The City

Today, (well, yesterday) was a big day. Earlier, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Dick Cheney'sspeech sound check, and this evening was a quite interesting as well.

First, some RNC Bloggers got together at the Churrascaria Plataforma, a Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Hugh Hewitt was there to join us. Those of us who could make it had some drinks together, talked about politics and blogging and all that wonderful stuff.

Hugh Hewitt had to leave early, but we had a good crowd stick around, David Adesnik from Oxblog, Roger L. Simon, Scott from SlantPoint, Tom Bevan from RealClearPolitics, Kevin Alyward from Wizbang and of course myself. We all had a good time. We had some intersting discussions on blogging, and we talked about the convention.

Afterwards, Scott, David, and I made our way down to R the Party at the Roseland Ballroom, where the Bush Twins were in attendance. Thanks to my host Kevin Patrick, we were able to get tickets to this "invite only" event.

Unfortunately, we did not see Jenna or Barbara, but we met lots of young Republicans and Bush supporters. I will post some photos later.

All in all, it was an extraordinary day and I'm sure things are going to just get better!

UPDATE: Here are photos:

Here is a photo of Jenna and Barbara from the party... no I did not take it, this is from the AP, but man.. I wish I could have seen them:

We here at Blogs for Bush will naturally be mostly concentrating on President Bush and his positive agenda for the next four years over this coming week, but I just can't pass up on this report, related to us by the invaluable National Review Online's The Corner:

From the Miami Herald:

“John Kerry had just pumped up a huge crowd in downtown West Palm Beach, promising to make the state a battleground for his quest to oust President Bush, when a local television journalist posed the question that any candidate with Florida ambitions should expect:

“What will you do about Cuba?

”As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry was ready with the bravado appropriate for a challenger who knows that every answer carries magnified importance in the state that put President Bush into office by just 537 votes.

'I'm pretty tough on Castro, because I think he's running one of the last vestiges of a Stalinist secret police government in the world,'' Kerry told WPLG-ABC 10 reporter Michael Putney in an interview to be aired at 11:30 this morning. Then, reaching back eight years to one of the more significant efforts to toughen sanctions on the communist island, Kerry volunteered: ``And I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with him.''

”It seemed the correct answer in a year in which Democratic strategists think they can make a play for at least a portion of the important Cuban-American vote -- as they did in 1996 when more than three in 10 backed President Clinton's reelection after he signed the sanctions measure written by Sen. Jesse Helms and Rep. Dan Burton.

”There is only one problem: Kerry voted against it.”

Don’t worry, don’t worry, he has an explanation:

”Asked Friday to explain the discrepancy, Kerry aides said the senator cast one of the 22 nays that day in 1996 because he disagreed with some of the final technical aspects. But, said spokesman David Wade, Kerry supported the legislation in its purer form -- and voted for it months earlier.”

There’s a bit of a pattern here, I think.

I think I see the pattern, too.

Guys and gals - we've got no worries; if we can't beat this guy John Kerry, then we can't beat anyone.

It will only get better

The World is a more peaceful place. Many on the left and their friends in the Media will want to hide under the bed for this report.

The authoritative Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in a 2004 Yearbook report says 19 major armed conflicts were under way worldwide in 2003, a sharp drop from 33 wars counted in 1991.

The Canadian organization Project Ploughshares, using broader criteria to define armed conflict, says in its new annual report that the number of conflicts declined to 36 in 2003, from a peak of 44 in 1995. (story)

President Bush is pushing a foreign policy that put Thugs and Murders on notice, and it’s working. This type of wide-eyed acknowledgment to the treat has many on the left and media clucking their tongues, but no longer will America sit idly by while terrorists kill our people. (Somalia, 1st World Trade Center Bombing, USS Cole, African embassy bombings)

We are about to start a week that will shine the spotlight on a leader that this country needs for the next 4 years.

In other news.... It looks like we have a Bull Market going into the Presidents Big Week.

Iowa Markets tracking.

Dick Cheney's Speech Sound Check

Well, as you already heard, Scott and I were able to witness the speech soundchecks of Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne Cheney. This was really cool to see. We didn't expect to find ourselves in the same room as the Vice President. We had come to Madison Square Garden after picking up our credentials to just get a little familiar with everything and locate Bloggers' Corner. After that we figured we'd go see the main floor. Coincidentally Dick & Lynne Cheney were there. They were there for probably 15-20 minutes after we had arrived, so we were lucky to catch them! We did not get to meet them, but Scott and I were both thrilled to be there. Here are photos:

Dick Cheney on stage

The Cheneys

The teleprompter they read from

Me at Bloggers Corner

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Matt Phones in a Report

Matt calls to say that the audio-blogging is temporarily down, but he phoned in this report.

Matt and Scott of Slant Point, having acquired their official credentials for the convention, were on the main floor of the convention center today checking things out.

As they were familiarizing themselves with the area inside Madison Square Garden, Vice President and Mrs. Cheney arrived to do their soundchecks at the podium. The text of the soundcheck was the Gettysburg Address.

Their appearing was a surprise, and a coincidence, but Matt and Scott got to within about 50 feet of the VP, and managed to get photos from the delegate seating area. [Photos will be posted when Matt has 'net access.]

One enterprising reporter asked the Vice President if there would be any surprises in the speech, to which he replied, "Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." [Heheh - Russ]

Matt and Scott also checked out Blogger's Corner, which, as it turns out, is directly across from the position from which Sean Hannity will be doing his broadcasts.

Matt will have followup reports later.

Check out the video CJ mentioned in the comments section of my post below. The peaceful Bush protestor is assaulted by the Kerry supporter in clear view of the camera and then the cops move in an arrest the thug.

As we at Blogs for Bush know all to well, from personal experiences, violent responses by Kerry supporters happens all too often.

But we're the "war mongers" . . . yeah right.

Audio Blogging from Union Square

Click the play button to hear live audio coverage!

UPDATE: 2:20 PM, back at homebase. We made it back safe.

Jesse Jackson at Union Square

Audio Blogging from Herald Square II

Click the play button to hear live audio coverage!

Not many people here at this point

Audio Blogging from Herald Square

Click the play button to hear live audio coverage!

34th Street

Often campaigns have to be in so many places at so many times that the casual political observer may question a campaign’s tactics or statements. The one thing I grudgingly admit, though, is when the casual observer has these concerns they usually don’t understand the tactics and methodologies these sophisiticated campaigns employ to achieve their goals (the "method to the madness", if you will).

I think, however, that I have uncovered one of the Kerry campaign’s bedrock strategies that is apparently driving the comments, actions and policies of its principal and surrogates: The truth is irrelevant, when there is an expedient political point to score.

Check out John Kerry in Florida on his voting record (can you freaking believe he actually brought that up! Lol) regarding relations with Cuba:

John Kerry had just pumped up a huge crowd in downtown West Palm Beach, promising to make the state a battleground for his quest to oust President Bush, when a local television journalist posed the question that any candidate with Florida ambitions should expect:

What will you do about Cuba?

As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry was ready with the bravado appropriate for a challenger who knows that every answer carries magnified importance in the state that put President Bush into office by just 537 votes.

"I'm pretty tough on Castro, because I think he's running one of the last vestiges of a Stalinist secret police government in the world," Kerry told WPLG-ABC 10 reporter Michael Putney in an interview to be aired at 11:30 this morning.

Then, reaching back eight years to one of the more significant efforts to toughen sanctions on the communist island, Kerry volunteered: "And I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with him."

It seemed the correct answer in a year in which Democratic strategists think they can make a play for at least a portion of the important Cuban-American vote -- as they did in 1996 when more than three in 10 backed President Clinton's reelection after he signed the sanctions measure written by Sen. Jesse Helms and Rep. Dan Burton.
There is only one problem: Kerry voted against it.

Of course, the “nuanced” politician left it to his surrogates to explain that he actually supported the legislation before he voted against it. So I guess the take-away is, if you want a commander-in-chief who will give you lip service support but then leave you high and dry when he has to vote on it, John Kerry is your man. Not only have we heard this before ("I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it" which was to fund our troops in Iraq) but the Kerry-Cuba lie has been furthered by Kerry for months! Check out this post from March of 2004 that exhaustively blows away Kerry's lie.

But this "lie so long as its expediant" tactic also applies to surrogates like former Democrat TX Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes. He has come out trying to boost the claim that Bush used political connections to avoid service in Vietnam. Per Associated Press:

"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was lieutenant governor of Texas" - former Democrat TX Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes

And per CNN there were waiting lists for some positions in the TANG, but no waiting list for F-102 pilots, only "a handful of applicants willing and qualified" for those slots:

...while Bush's unit in Texas had a waiting list for many spots, he was accepted because he was one of a handful of applicants willing and qualified to spend more than a year in active training flying F-102 jets.

Update: Here is the video of Barnes stating he got Bush into the NG "when I was lieutenant governor of Texas" (elected 1969, Bush signed up in 1968)

Waiting for C-SPAN

I'm waiting for C-SPAN to call right now...

UPDATE: 8:44 a.m. and I still haven't gotten the call....

UPDATE: 9:00 a.m., just spoke with my contact at C-SPAN, looking into it...

UPDATE: 9:05 a.m. I just learned there was a technical problem at C-SPAN and they couldn't call. We have reschedules for Tuesday morning.