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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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THOUGHTS FROM THE CONVENTION FLOOR: 1) Bill Frist has zero charisma. He also seems to be a frontrunner in 2008, along with Chuck Hegel. Frist and Hegel have the all-necessary social conservative credentials that McCain and Giuliani lack. Here's hoping that Hegel has a bit more pep.
2) Arnold started out by sticking it to the other side. "What an introduction! Like winning an Oscar. (Applause) Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called 'True Lies.' And that's what thr Democrats should have called their convention." Loved it.
UPDATE: The he says the US offers more hope for democracy than the UN. Yes. And then he calls the Democrats 'girlie men.' Heh.
3) This is not a racist political party. I cannot count how many black speakers have addressed the convention, but I would estimate that it is around seven and it is only Tuesday.
Nevermind the fact that these politicians are speaking -- that could be arranged by some cynical Republican strategist. Check out the delegates reactions -- no booing, no turing backs, no muttering, no indifference.
Indeed, minority speakers have proven among the most effective at arousing the crowd's passions.
That kind of discipline could not be imposed from above. These delegates are an unruly bunch at times, and nothing would have prevented an openly racist guesture. It didn't happen.
1) Bill Frist has zero charisma. He also seems to be a frontrunner in 2008, along with Chuck Hegel. Frist and Hegel have the all-necessary social conservative credentials that McCain and Giuliani lack. Here's hoping that Hegel has a bit more pep.
2) Arnold started out by sticking it to the other side. "What an introduction! Like winning an Oscar. (Applause) Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called 'True Lies.' And that's what thr Democrats should have called their convention." Loved it.
UPDATE: The he says the US offers more hope for democracy than the UN. Yes. And then he calls the Democrats 'girlie men.' Heh.
3) This is not a racist political party. I cannot count how many black speakers have addressed the convention, but I would estimate that it is around seven and it is only Tuesday.
Nevermind the fact that these politicians are speaking -- that could be arranged by some cynical Republican strategist. Check out the delegates reactions -- no booing, no turing backs, no muttering, no indifference.
Indeed, minority speakers have proven among the most effective at arousing the crowd's passions.
That kind of discipline could not be imposed from above. These delegates are an unruly bunch at times, and nothing would have prevented an openly racist guesture. It didn't happen.
"THE OWNERSHIP SOCIETY": The buzz at the convention is that Bush's new domestic slogan will be "The Ownership Society.", replacing "compassionate conservative."
As far as slogans go, "The Ownership Society" works for me. It could be even more effective than "compassionate conservative," because "the ownership society" is a little more specific: It means that government will promote welfare by encouraging the accumulation of private property. In other words, it will promote prosparity through the private sector.
Notice that the slogan is not "the ownership elite" or "the ownership top 1%." It says "the ownership society" -- the slogan wants to promote ownership by everyone. No class warfare here. This is a fundamentally egalitarian message.
A thorough discussion of this topic would take forever, but I think it will work politically. First, lets look at Bush's base: Private property is an essential concept to free market conservatives and businesspeople. The notion of ownership will also appeal to Christian right's emphasis on personal responsibility. Bush could probably also appeal to the NRA with this slogan, by counting guns as personal property.
Now lets look at swing voters. Upper-middle class, educated, suburban voters are usually fiscally conservative and socially moderate. The emphasis on private property will appeal to their fiscally conservative side, and the egalitarian nature of the call will appeal to their compassionate side.
Another type of swing voter is the socially conservative, economically liberal factory worker. The emphasis on hard work and personal responsibility will appeal to the socially conservative side of these voters. The implicit promise of more ownership will appeal to their interest in improving their bank accounts.
Finally, the slogan also offers something to immigrants. Note that private ownership is an empowering concept and a central part of the American dream. No immigrant comes to this country dreaming of one day living in collectivized housing, taking public transportation everywhere and working for nationalized industry. They dream of owning their own house, car and small business. Owning and not borrowing your own house, car and business is a crucial part of that dream.
I think it could work. In fact, I think it is actually better than compassionate conservatism. In 2000, many conservatives complained that Bush was essentially labeling plain, vanillia conservatism uncompassionate. Who in the Republican base will be offended by "The Ownnership Society"? Some conservatives might say that moral issues (such as gay rights) are more important than ownership issues -- but I doubt they will take offense as some did to "compassionate conservatism."
BUSH'S FIVE RULES OF POLITICS: ABCNews' The Note lists these five rules of the Bush campaign:First Rule of Politics: "It ain't beanbag."
Second Rule of Politics: "Never lose control of your public image, but force your opponent to lose control of his."
Third Rule of Politics: "In times of battle, all hands on deck."
Fourth Rule of Politics: "Keep your candidate above the fray, but force your opponent to debate and defend against surrogates and shadowy, ferocious enemies."
Fifth Rule of Politics: "Say things that get under your opponent's skin, and which will sound so implausible to his ear that at first he won't bother to defend himself."
HIGH POINTS FROM McCAIN'S SPEECH: "I don't doubt the sincerity of my Democratic friends. And they should not doubt ours."
If attacking your opponent's patriotism is off bounds, then it ought to be much worse to attack your opponents decency and humanity. Democrats have not only questioned President Bush's patriotism (see Kerry's comments about Bush's military service, his "Benedict Arnold CEO supporters", Teresa Heinz-Kerry's charge that Republicans are "un-American" and more examples here), they have questioned his basic humanity.
They allege that he is calculating enough to kill Iraqis and Afghans for no reason except to earn a profit from oil stocks. They allege that he is so bloodthirsty that he rushed eagerly to war, ignoring realistic solutions to the gathering threat in Iraq. The Democrats have portrayed the President as a murderer -- sometimes out of bloodlust, and sometimes in the name of profit.
For some reason, these and other attacks on the President's patriotism and humanity are not held to the same standard. To my knowledge, the double standard has not been noticed nor explained by a single mainstream journalist during this campaign.
The quite from the McCain speech was actually part of a larger sequence which was equally strong. My friends in the Democratic Party - and I'm fortunate to call many of them my friends - assure us they share the conviction that winning the war against terrorism is our government's most important obligation.
I don't doubt their sincerity.
They emphasize that military action alone won't protect us, that this war has many fronts: in courts, financial institutions, in the shadowy world of intelligence, and in diplomacy.
They stress that America needs the help of her friends to combat an evil that threatens us all, that our alliances are as important to victory as are our armies.
We agree.
And, as we've been a good friend to other countries in moments of shared perils, so we have good reason to expect their solidarity with us in this struggle.
That is what the President believes.
And, thanks to his efforts we have received valuable assistance from many good friends around the globe, even if we have, at times, been disappointed with the reactions of some.
I don't doubt the sincerity of my Democratic friends. And they should not doubt ours.
Our President will work with all nations willing to help us defeat this scourge that afflicts us all.
GENERAL CONVENTION THOUGHTS: There has been a lot of patriotic, nationalistic sentiments expressed. Lots of praise for the American people and New Yorkers for their post 9/11 courage.
Kudos to that, but we're here to nominate and promote George W. Bush's. I'm not completely confident that all of this patriotism/nationalism stuff actually helps Bush defeat John Kerry.
The Republican party doesn't deserve that much credit for being so openly patriotic. It doesn't take much to genuinely admire New York's first responders, the 9/11 victims and post-9/11 America. It is quite normal and natural to admire these people and to say so, especially during an election season.
Granted, the "blame America first" mentality is much more popular on the left, and the left is more uncomfortable with open displays of nationalism. Still, no one running for public office will allow these sentiments to be associated with their campaign.
I'm concerned that swing voters will tune in and watch Giuliani praising the NYPD for ten consecutive minutes. "That's great," they'll say. "The NYPD is totally praiseworthy, most definitely. Now why should I vote for President Bush?" I frequently wished Giuliani or McCain had taken more heat to Senator Kerry.
To be sure, Rudy and McCain were there to persuade independents and moderates -- the kind of people who might be turned off by a hardcore partisan jabbing. Still, it seems they went pretty light on the Democratic nominee. Giuliani mocked Kerry relentlessly, but I think it can be done more effectively.
One can attack Kerry's flip-flopping either (a) by refusing to take him seriously and ridiculing it, or (b) by taking him completely seriously and pointing out how scary it would be in a national crisis. Thus far, Giuliani and others have used the former tactic. I'd like to see the latter.
ANDREW SULLIVAN ON GIULIANI'S SPEECH: "You just cannot imagine a story in which a huge, ham-handed construction worker would ever give John Kerry a big, warm bear-hug." Nope.
THANKS TO MY DAD'S PALM PILOT: I can blog directly from the convention floor, which is what I'm doing right now. The convention has just started, and Ed Gillespie is currently doing some parliamentary procedural stuff. It seems that both parties' conventions are organized as though there is actually something to decide.
Gee, I wonder who the Republicans are going to nominate this year.
Some thoughts:
Pandemonium will break out when George W. Bush hits the stage. It will probably break out when McCain, Arnold and the others come out, too.
The excitement here is more palpable than anything I've ever experienced. Of course, this is my first convention, so maybe it is nothing new -- but it is definitely striking.
It definitely makes me wonder how the Kerry convention felt. If Democrats are this pumped up (and I suspect they are), this will be a tough fight for both sides -- even tougher than I previously thought.
BIG ENDORESEMENT: The New York City Police Union just endorsed Bush with some moving remarks which I would love to reproduce here.
Sadly, the convention's wireless plan fell through, so I'm forced to blog from a handheld. That makes typing pretty tough -- especially when the connection is bad. I've already lost a few posts. There's definitely plenty of blog-worthy stuff going on.
I'M HERE IN NEW YORK CITY, gearing up for the convention. As I ready for bed, CNN's "The Mission of George W. Bush" is on the air. If you get a chance to watch this, I suggest that you do so.
As former Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile notes (as does Karl Rove himself), George W. Bush is neither stupid nor powerless over his own political destiny.
CNN's documentary does not portray Bush this way. Nor does it shower affection on him -- nearly all the gripes about Bush are aired. But the documentary presents a leader who is assertive, aware, self-confident, contriversial and in control of his political destiny. I'm not really offended by people who don't like the President -- to each his own. But I would definitely prefer that people base their decision about a portrait of a man, rather than a characature. Kudos to CNN for putting together a balanced and well-rounded bio.
PHILLIPINO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ: Not popular with everyone: MANILA, Philippines - Riot police used water cannons Friday to disperse protesters demanding that the Philippines lift its ban on allowing its citizens to go to war-ravaged Iraq (news - web sites) for jobs.
The protesters marched to the presidential palace to urge President Gloria Macapagal Arroy to let them leave for Iraq, where they said U.S. military contracts await them.
"Your concern for us is highly appreciated but we need cash," one placard read. "Please allow us to work in Iraq," said another.
THE LATEST NEW REPUBLIC COVER STORY is "How the Bush Campaign Bought Off Rudy Giuliani and John McCain." "Its all about 2008," is the subtitle.
UPDATE: The articles aren't available to non-subscribers, unfortunately -- but I'll repost any interesting bits.
UPDATE II: Interesting speculation; no real dirt.
COMEDY CENTRAL has some clips from John Stewart's interview with John Kerry. You can see the Democrat's utter lack of charm as well as John Daily's sucking up.
STOLEN HONOR is a new documentary capturing reactions from US Vietnam POWs to John Kerry's testimony that US soldiers fighting in Vietnam were war criminals.
Meanwhile, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has released a third ad. I think the second one was more effective.
CHEIF DEMOCRATIC VICTIM Max Cleland has tried to hand deliver a letter to President Bush denouncing him for his "connections" to the Swift Boat ads and insensitivity to veterans. The President promptly shot back with a letter of its own. Read the letter here.
THE FINAL WORD on the Swift Boat charges.
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