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Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Text of the Cheney speech There were so many good parts, but I like this one best: In his years in Washington, John Kerry has been one of a hundred votes in the United States Senate — and very fortunately on matters of national security, his views rarely prevailed. But the presidency is an entirely different proposition. A senator can be wrong for 20 years, without consequence to the nation. But a president — a president — always casts the deciding vote. And in this time of challenge, America needs — and America has — a president we can count on to get it right.A good address by Cheney who balanced off Zell Miller’s spicy speech with a measured and resolute tone. Well done. Kerry’s no-good horrible day First, his speech before the American Legion, from what I can tell, was a grasping affair with more of that amorphous and unsupported “I’ll do better” nonsense capped with a limp salute. Then, an Annenberg survey reports “Bush job approval rating rises to 53%” – with all polling completed before the RNC. And Zell Miller just wrapped up a blistering rebuke against Senator Splunge, focusing almost solely on his voting record on defense matters (Kerry’s against it.). The key phrase from Miller’s speech: “My family is more important than my party.” I could be wrong, but there may have been some smoke. Wednesdays are for W Tomorrow, President Bush will give his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination. But today, as for the past six months, the “Wictory Wednesday” bloggers (see the full list here) have been asking Bush supporters to donate or volunteer to the George W. Bush re-election campaign. Please do what you can for leadership that will keep America safe, more prosperous, and more secure. It’s important. I can answer that question Benjamin Ginsburg asks in the WashPost “Why aren’t the media scrutinizing lawyers and advisors to Kerry?” in connection to various 527 groups. There’s approximately a 2-4 week delay before the MSM is made conscious of its own bias. During this gestation period, the blogs do all the heavy lifting (research, commentary, links) on a particular story. Around the time the MSM decides to cover that story, all this blogged data is available on Google such that the “professional” journalists don’t have to do any real work at all. What a country! How typically crass Apparently, President Bush was naïve to think that the Democrats would extend the same courtesy to him when he suspended campaigning during the Democratic National Convention: “Tomorrow, as Bush readies to deliver his prime-time speech, Kerry will fly to Dayton, Ohio, to start a two-day bus tour across that critical battleground state, including a midnight rally in Springfield that is intended to compete with the coverage of Bush's speech on Friday morning news shows.” Classy. Kerry calls Bush “unpatriotic” – a confused Max Cleland reflexively rushes to Bush’s defense Here’s FactCheck on President Bush’s commitment to veterans: In the Feb. 15 Democratic debate, Kerry suggested that Bush was being unpatriotic: “He’s cut the VA (Veterans Administration) budget and not kept faith with veterans across this country. And one of the first definitions of patriotism is keeping faith with those who wore the uniform of our country.”Read the whole thing. Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Who dat?  Massachusetts delegates wearing 'John Who?' on t-shirts, in reference to Democratic presidential nominee Senator John F. Kerry, (D-MA), are photographed during the second night of the 2004 Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York, August 31, 2004. Twins! Amazing Race update – Well, Kami and Karli managed to avoid another last place finish in a large part due to Brandon and Nicole’s choice to pursue the Fast Forward. However, when the couple discovered the task involved cutting off all their hair, the professional models backed out. They came in last, but this (again?) was another non-elimination round so they’ll start the race next week without any money. Colin and Christie are simply unstoppable, grabbing their fifth first-place finish. Once again, Colin was a riot with his intemperate “I’m packing it!” Jenna and Barbara Bush were a tad nervous and – let’s face it – a little painful to watch. They’re not exactly polished speakers and plowed through their laugh lines. But it almost didn’t matter because Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech was simply superb. The Republican National Convention is a Hot Rod Lincoln hitting on all cylinders so far. (Trivia fun: “Twins” was also the name of an Arnold movie! And thus we come full circle on this post). Ah-nold is going to (clap) pump Bush up Arnold Schwarzenegger just took the stage and he’s really working up the crowd with some personal stories. Robert Novak believes that Ah-nold could actually deliver Cal-ee-fornia for President Bush – “Schwarzenegger may hold key to president’s re-election.” Extra – The PoliPundit, also an immigrant, has a personal response to Arnold’s story: “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.” Still searching for a rationale From the WashTimes: “Still no case for Kerry” But biography is the past — or at best prologue. The question is what comes next. And in this context, Mr. Kerry was largely silent. I know, some will point to all the position papers the campaign has produced, and the intelligence of its advisers and the lines of substance about what lies ahead that actually were uttered during the convention and in the intervening weeks.The rumors are swirling that the Democrats are livid with the Kerry campaign and heads will roll. My guess is that Team Splunge will expunge all references to Vietnam for the next month now that they realize that approach is backwards-looking. Which Kerry will show up? From the American Spectator Washington Prowler: On Wednesday, Sen. John Kerry intends to present a completely revamped speech to the American Legion. The speech, written largely by Kerry communications guru Bob Shrum, is intended to get the candidate some attention at a time when much of the media focus will be on New York and the GOP convention. "It's going to get him within the top two or three stories on the nightly news that night," says a Kerry adviser.For the wrong reasons, I’ll wager. Moe at Occam’s Toothbrush is putting his blog on hiatus so that he can devote his energies towards the Presidential election. He urges you to visit this website, at least until November 3rd. Yet another electoral vote projection: Bush 280 / Kerry 242 This one has Pennsylvania going to Bush, but Tennessee going to Kerry. Oh please: Tennessee didn’t go to Gore, for heaven’s sake. I’ve got a crazy idea: Bush should spend some time campaigning in Hawaii. It has four electoral votes and a day in the oft-ignored 50th state could swing it Republican this year. Media “professionals” vs. the bloggers Glenn Reynolds has a great article on Tech Central Station today titled “A Media Meltdown?” that excoriates the mainstream media (MSM) for the very bias and journalistic sloppiness that it accuses blogs of perpetuating. I particularly liked this quoted heresy from Power Line: A bunch of amateurs, no matter how smart and enthusiastic, could never outperform professional neurosurgeons, because they lack the specialized training and experience necessary for that field. But what qualifications, exactly, does it take to be a journalist? What can they do that we can't? Nothing.This immediately brought to mind an exchange from an episode of “Cheers” when psychiatrist Frasier Crane confronts a fortune teller: Frasier: “You exploit vulnerable people, charging them huge fees for holding their hands and pretending insight into their problems.”Or, in the case of the MSM: “I’ve got this laminated press card and a long notebook.” Monday, August 30, 2004
GOP convention impressions John McCain’s speech was subdued, but that’s his style. He was forceful and sober (a little funny) and he got his point across on national security. A “B+” speech. But Rudy Giuliani….oh sweet mercy…he’s just awesome. He was at turns direct, humorous, somber, conversational and, most of all, impassioned about his party, city, and country. A wonderful speech – it’s a pity that it wasn’t carried on the networks. The man is a national treasure. I’ll post the whole transcript when it’s available. It’s too good to excerpt. Update: As promised, here's the transcript of Giuliani's speech. From the new WashPost/ABC News poll: “Kerry loses edge on issue of security” – “The new poll found that a slight majority of registered voters -- 53 percent -- say Bush is more qualified than Kerry to be commander in chief, while 43 percent say they prefer the Democratic nominee. At the end of the Democratic convention, Kerry enjoyed an eight-point advantage over Bush on that question.” Roll on, W! Amazing Race update  OK, I’m overloading on politics right now, so let’s recap the last episode of the Amazing Race, the first after Team “Whiny and Tiny” were mercifully dispatched from the contest. Twins Kami and Karli (above) came in last but this was a non-elimination round, so they’re still alive but without money. On tomorrow’s show, the two fit, blonde Americans will have to flirt with Islamic men in Dubai to gain cash, presumably without resorting to prostitution. This will be quite a balancing act. Meanwhile, I have two words for Colin who tried to stiff a poor taxi driver out of $50: seek therapy. Speaking of twins – Jenna and Barbara are hot hot hot (oops! back to politics!) There is no Plan “B” I don’t know what the answer to Iran’s nuclear ambitions is, but the Democratic ticket’s flippant and facile "plan" to address the problem is worse than irresponsible. From the WashPost “Edwards Says Kerry Plans to Confront Iran on Weapons”: 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.They “know” it! To Kerry/Edwards it’s an indisputable fact that the Europeans will be swayed to the U.S. point of view if we only speak to them slowly and make significant hand gestures to convey our deep concern. No other outcome is conceivable. Not exactly a glowing endorsement - Here’s Kerry supporter William Raspberry in the WashPost in an article titled “Is ‘Not George Bush’ Enough?”: “But if Bush is frightening -- in part because he so dogmatically believes what he believes -- Kerry is frustrating and infuriating because he seems not to believe much of anything worth risking offense.” Scott at Election Projection has updated his electoral vote prediction and just like every other poll over the past week, Bush has surged ahead to a 284-254 EV lead. Wednesday will be the beginning of the end for Kerry I’m putting my “pundit” status on the line to make the following prediction: after a cruel August, September 1st will be the single worst day for the disintegrating Kerry campaign. I’m basing this prediction on two events scheduled for Wednesday: Kerry’s appearance before the American Legion and Zell Miller’s keynote address at the Republican National Convention. Kerry is breaking with tradition to address the American Legion convention in Nashville, Tennessee; so, right from the start, he’s failing to extend the same courtesy to yield the spotlight that Bush did during the Democratic convention. It will smack of either political gamesmanship or just plain impoliteness (or, perhaps, creeping desperation?) And that’s before Kerry even opens his mouth. The American Legion is likely to give the Senator a cool reception, if the reaction of the Veterans of Foreign Wars is a precedent: Kerry received his most enthusiastic response from 6,000 VFW members when he strongly advocated improving health care, disability and other benefits for veterans. But overall, he was received here far less enthusiastically than was Bush, who generated two standing ovations during his speech. By contrast, Kerry's audience offered cordial and polite applause, with one detractor heckling the Massachusetts senator.That meeting was before the Swift Boat Vets ad campaign really took off. By now the Legionnaires have fully digested the consequences of Kerry’s anti-war activities after he returned from Vietnam. They should be reminded of this also: The RNC notes that Kerry criticized the VFW and American Legion in a 1971 book: "We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the 'greater glory of the United States.' ... We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars," he wrote.Since Senator Splunge can’t make up his mind on troop deployments, watch for him to pander on veterans' health benefits (that the Bush administration increased funding by 40%). The problem with this approach is the upper-cut in this Wednesday one-two punch: Zell Miller’s primetime speech on John Kerry’s diaphanous Senate career John Kerry's "miserable record" over the course of his 19-year Senate career will be a focus of Sen. Zell Miller's highly anticipated speech at the Republican National Convention, the renegade Georgia Democrat told The Post.In nearly two decades in the U.S. Senate, Kerry has sponsored three pieces of legislation that passed into law. When he bothers to show up at all, he has amassed arguably the most liberal voting record in the Senate, reflexively taking the Ted Kennedy line on economic and military matters. In the 1990s, as Al-Qaeda nefariously planned, John Kerry skipped 76% of the meetings of the Senate Intelligence Committee. There’s a reason John Kerry devoted a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it twenty seconds to his Senate career during his acceptance speech to the Democrats last month – he’s justifiably ashamed of it. So, if my instincts are correct, Wednesday will be the day we will see with a new clarity the other sides of John Kerry. The American Legion meeting (with the help of the Swiftees) will remind us of the anti-war activist who called himself a hero even as he accused his “band of brothers” of war atrocities. Then Zell Miller will remind us of the Senator who consistently voted to raise taxes, block defense bills, and otherwise rubberstamp the decisions of the senior Massachusetts Senator. And the hits just keep on comin' Hard to like – Make of this what you will, but Bass Beer sponsored an informal poll of patrons at five pubs around New York City. The result: although a majority of those polled favored Kerry/Edwards over Bush/Cheney (44%-34%), a wider majority (43%-25%) would rather have a beer with President Bush than with Senator Splunge. [Hedgehog Report-style disclaimer: 40% of the bar patrons identified themselves as Democrats and 31% as Republicans] Sunday, August 29, 2004
A good kind of flip-flop From US News & World Report: “War over war crimes – A new ad takes Kerry to task over what he said in 1971, but the truth is complicated” Until a few weeks ago, John Brenner, department commander for Pennsylvania's Veterans of Foreign Wars, was leaning toward George W. Bush.That’s good! Then he caught wind of a TV ad launched by an anti-John Kerry group accusing the Democratic candidate of lying to get medals in the Vietnam War. "I don't want to see them question anybody's record," says Brenner, 61, a Vietnam vet. "Especially if they got a Purple Heart and . . . shrapnel in their leg."Uh-oh… But last week, Brenner saw a second ad from the anti-Kerry outfit--Swift Boat Veterans for Truth--which blasted Kerry for telling a Senate committee in 1971 that U.S. forces had committed atrocities in Vietnam. This time, Brenner's anger turned to Kerry and other antiwar protesters, who, he says, prolonged Vietnam and made it "hard on troops that were still over there."Better dispatch the trial lawyers! Michael Phelps, giving probably his 10,000th media interview of the Olympics, said at the closing ceremonies that he just wants to "go home and sleep." Such refreshing honesty. Mark Steyn: “Something tells me Bush holds all the aces” – “So the most likely outcome this November is an increased Republican majority in the House, a couple of extra Senate seats, and a second term for Bush. I might be wrong. Anything is possible. But the reluctance of the British press to admit the possibility that Bush isn't a loser suggests that they too have over-invested in John Kerry's very weak hand.” And here’s another great one from John Podhoretz: “Not a bad place” – “Just before Kerry's convention, Bush pollster Matthew Dowd suggested Bush would begin this week 15 points behind Kerry — which was spin, to be sure, but surely even Dowd didn't expect that Bush would begin his convention ahead among likely voters in three major polls.” And this is before the Republican convention: the Iowa Electronics Market shows a widening lead for President Bush over Senator Splunge. Meanwhile, Tradesports is betting on a 57% / 43% Bush win (hat tip to Daly Thoughts) Rassmussen Electoral College update Just out today: Bush – 213 / Kerry – 207 / Toss-up – 118 Over this past weekend, Arkansas, Virginia and Missouri moved from Toss-Up toLeans Bush. Minnesota moved from Leans Kerry to Toss-Up. Maine and Michigan moved in Kerry's direction--from Toss-Up to Leans KerryI also thought that the latest from Wisconsin should cause some heartburn for Team Splunge: Bush 48% / Kerry 45% Extra: CNN also says Bush leads in electoral count: 274-264 (and that’s with Wisconsin in the Kerry column.) I'm back! And, holy poll positions Batman, things are looking up for President Bush heading into the Republican National Convention this week: the Real Clear Politics composite poll shows Bush/Cheney taking a small lead over Kerry/Edwards both in a head-to-head matchup and with Nader thrown in the mix. In fact, of the five national polls that are combined for the RCP average, only that left-wing Fox News poll shows Kerry with a small lead. Wednesday, August 25, 2004
On vacation again - Yes, in the European style, I'm taking a large chunk of August off. This time, I'm going camping so there's really no hope of an Internet hookup. How 20th century is that? See you Sunday. Wishful thinking alert From Senator Splunge’s blog: “The Washington Post reports on the testimony of another Vietnam veteran eyewitness who contradicts the claims of the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Minute by minute, day by day, the SBVT claims are washing away.” Or not: “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth raised $1,764,000 in donations on website in past 2 weeks, sources tell Drudge.” What media bias? Jeff Jacoby is blinded by the obvious: “Some of Kerry’s biggest fans are in the press – Not much doubt who the media wants to win” Earlier today, Solomon was in high dudgeon over Boston Globe columnist Thomas Oliphant: The Globe's Thomas Oliphant continues to peddle the fantasy that the Mainstream Media are the guardians of the public good with regard to the SwiftVets movement -and that's how it strikes me, as a movement. These guys are driven.Wise Solomon: don’t you know that the mainstream media has the superhuman ability to cast aside bias and report the news in a factual and objective fashion? Certainly the minor detail that Oliphant’s daughter is working for the Kerry campaign has nothing – nothing whatsoever – to do with his leftist commentary: I write now because the political junk is much higher profile now, though no less misleading -- and not, by the way, because in her fourth job in the public arena, my daughter just joined Kerry's staff.Perish the thought, Tommy boy! Hugh Hewitt – Master Pundit Earlier today, Hugh posted this: “They [Camp Kerry] needed a big lead at this point in the race, and instead they have a dead-heat and the Swift Boat vets are chewing them up --because Kerry won't "meet the press."” Before Kerry appeared on the “Daily Show” tonight, host Jon Stewart made some joke about how the Senator won’t go on “Meet the Press” but he’ll come on the “Daily Show.” I thought it was a pretty clean jab about how the Senator is avoiding tough questions. Zing! Today’s feel-good story: Bush Wins Iowa Bush trounced Kerry in a straw poll at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. By way of explanation, the Kerry campaign cited the lack of East Coast newspapers available to Iowa voters. You can't flip-flop with no voting record - Owen at Boots and Sabers notes that John Edwards is criticizing new overtime rules that went into effect yesterday. They’re so awful, and yet John Kerry couldn’t be bothered to cast a vote in the Senate on the measure. Tuesday, August 24, 2004
I just finished watching John Kerry on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. Memo to Kerry staff: please put the Senator on more shows. Give him more exposure. That will surely sink his candidacy. Kerry came out with this unnatural grin on his face that only dissolved when he was required to make a "serious" point. His self-deprecating jokes were horribly forced and his rhetoric was as stale as week-old bread. (Are we really still talking about getting the French into Iraq? Oh my heck.) Take a big whiff America: there's a remote chance that this walking 2x4 could be President. He makes Michael Dukakis look like Robin Williams. Monday, August 23, 2004
Mark Steyn – “Kerry: Strange, stuck-up, and stupid” If this campaign were any more inept, Michael Moore would be making a documentary claiming Kerry's a Republican plant secretly controlled by Karl Rove and the House of Saud. Up and Atom! True story: my senior thesis at college was “Ceramic Nuclear Fuels” and part of the project was a contemporary review of the technology. At the time (1991) I postulated that the nuclear energy industry would experience a resurrection of sorts because the dual effects of spiraling fossil fuel prices and a resurgence in the environmental movement. To this latter point, I noted that the only waste caused by nuclear energy is spent radioactive material that could be reliably contained at the repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. I noted in the report that nuclear waste would be active for 10,000 years but that Yucca sees so little rainfall that any water passing by the buried radioactive containers would not reach the water table for 9,000 years. My professor wrote in the margin: “What about the other 1,000 years?” Um…we’ll all be living on the moon? Even the uber-leftist New York Times couldn’t furrow its brow at this far-out concern: A federal appeals court decision has thrown a gigantic roadblock in the way of efforts to create an underground burial site for nuclear wastes at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. A three-judge panel in the District of Columbia ruled last month that regulators could not simply require the repository to contain the wastes for 10,000 years, the standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency, but must instead ensure that Yucca could function acceptably for hundreds of thousands of years. That standard is so outlandishly stringent it may not be achievable.If atomic energy were more readily available, America could reduce its dependence on coal-fired electricity generation, which accounts for the vast majority of electricity sources (nuclear and natural gas are a distant second and third). Oh but we hates that nuclear energy and we loves Nevada’s five electoral votes: Congress will no doubt be reluctant to tackle the issue in an election year, especially since Senator John Kerry and other Democratic leaders, pandering shamelessly for the electoral votes of the battleground state of Nevada, have pledged to block Yucca.Holy cow, the NY Times said that? Are they also in cahoots with the Bush campaign? As Howard Dean would say: the timing is suspicious. Glenn Reynolds has the Bizarro World version of the Kerry campaign while Chris Lynch details the inept reality. Let's get reeeeeaaaady to flip-flop! I smell a policy adjustment coming: "59% Favor Plan to Redeploy Troops from Europe, Korea" Initial public reaction to a proposal for reducing the number of American troops in Germany and Korea is very positive.This is the trouble you invite when every position you have is "not Bush." Quote of the Day From Mackubin Thomas Owens in National Review on "John Kerry's Two Vietnams" As a correspondent pointed out to me in an e-mail, each episode of the HBO series Band of Brothers, begins with a voiceover in which the narrator says of the World War II soldiers portrayed in the program: "I was not a hero, but I was surrounded by heroes." In contrast, what John Kerry is saying in essence about his "band of brothers" is that "in Vietnam, I was a hero, but I was surrounded by war criminals."Except for those who basked in the aura of JFK II. |