It remains to be seen whether or not the Sarah Palin pick turns out to be the decisive move of the 2008 Presidential campaign. Obviously, if she can successfully take on Joe Biden in the VP debate, it will be seen as a vindication of McCain's decision.
What seems beyond debate, however, is the fact that her nomination has exposed the wide gulf between the big city media and inside-the-beltway punditry on the one hand and the average guy (and gal) on the other. The enthusiasm of the GOP base, the swelling crowds of spectators at campaign stops and the spike in donations all speak to the connection Sarah Palin has made with so many Americans. Many of us are head over heels for her. There is something about her that simply resonates.
The contrast with the media is amazing. It is quite funny to listen to the pundits hedge their bets on the "Palin effect". Will it last? Will she make a blunder? Is there a skeleton in her closet? The talking heads want to appear cool , reserved and above it all. They want to be in a position to shake their heads knowingly should she fail. They can't let on that they "feel it" too.
Who knows? Its only been a week. She may turn out to be a flash in the pan (as so many lefty journalists, telling us that these polls are meaningless, hope she will be). My money is on her, though. She is just a breath of fresh air in the musty world of national politics. So many of us hope that she and John McCain will prevail and bring some real and valuable changes to Washington.
I haven't felt so un-cynical about politics for a long time. I sure hope Sarah and John can make this feeling last.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
McCain
John McCain had a bit of a tough assignment. He had to follow one of the greatest political performances most Americans have ever seen. He did a pretty good job.
One commentator pointed out that McCain secured the GOP base with the Palin pick so he was free to try to be "the old maverick McCain" from 2000. He did criticise the GOP as having "lost its way" and did emphasize the "scars" he got in some of his battles with the party establishment.
Another twist, McCain downplayed the experience angle (to some extent, he's already won that battle) and went to a newer theme of being a "fighter" and seeking change but "the right kind of change".
I'd call it a good speech, especially in the context of the Palin boom.
One last thing, I read a comment from the National Review Online wherein the writer suggested that in addition to energizing the base, Palin seems to have energized McCain, as well.
I think that's right.
One commentator pointed out that McCain secured the GOP base with the Palin pick so he was free to try to be "the old maverick McCain" from 2000. He did criticise the GOP as having "lost its way" and did emphasize the "scars" he got in some of his battles with the party establishment.
Another twist, McCain downplayed the experience angle (to some extent, he's already won that battle) and went to a newer theme of being a "fighter" and seeking change but "the right kind of change".
I'd call it a good speech, especially in the context of the Palin boom.
One last thing, I read a comment from the National Review Online wherein the writer suggested that in addition to energizing the base, Palin seems to have energized McCain, as well.
I think that's right.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Palin Warms GOP Hearts; Rudy Rips Obama
Sarah Palin passed her first big test with flying colors.
She gave a great speech with poise and humor. Her family and her personal story were clearly things that will help her connect with middle America.
Some of her best lines dealt with the criticism she has endured for her alleged lack of experience.
She pointed out that she had become the Mayor of her hometown and "that her opponents didn't think much of that experience". She went on to say that their criticism may have come from the fact that "they don't know what the job of Mayor requires". She continued, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening".
"We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco".
I loved it!
Earlier, Rudy Giuliani made me proud to have supported his candidacy. Rudy simply ripped Obama to shreds.
There were so many shots, I can barely remember them all. One of the good ones came after Rudy went through a list of Obama flip-flops, saying: "If I'm Joe Biden, I'm thinking I'd better get that VP thing in writing."
Rudy had one other line that was great, but may be lost in the Palin glow. He asked "how dare they ask how Gov. Palin can be a good mother and work as VP? Would they dare ask that of a man?"
Obviously, its a long way from a convention to the White House, but I know the Democrats are worried. The MSNBC crowd was nearly speechless at first after Palin was done. Andrea Mitchell was almost in tears as she asked Rudy if he didn't think his ridicule of Obama was too harsh.
He didn't.
She gave a great speech with poise and humor. Her family and her personal story were clearly things that will help her connect with middle America.
Some of her best lines dealt with the criticism she has endured for her alleged lack of experience.
She pointed out that she had become the Mayor of her hometown and "that her opponents didn't think much of that experience". She went on to say that their criticism may have come from the fact that "they don't know what the job of Mayor requires". She continued, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening".
"We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco".
I loved it!
Earlier, Rudy Giuliani made me proud to have supported his candidacy. Rudy simply ripped Obama to shreds.
There were so many shots, I can barely remember them all. One of the good ones came after Rudy went through a list of Obama flip-flops, saying: "If I'm Joe Biden, I'm thinking I'd better get that VP thing in writing."
Rudy had one other line that was great, but may be lost in the Palin glow. He asked "how dare they ask how Gov. Palin can be a good mother and work as VP? Would they dare ask that of a man?"
Obviously, its a long way from a convention to the White House, but I know the Democrats are worried. The MSNBC crowd was nearly speechless at first after Palin was done. Andrea Mitchell was almost in tears as she asked Rudy if he didn't think his ridicule of Obama was too harsh.
He didn't.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
On The Lighter Side
Before the week-end is out, I expect to post something serious about the Palin pick for Veep, but in the meantime, check out this funny post regarding job interviews of the four nominees.
It gave me a chuckle. And, I think its true, as well!
UPDATE: Here's another great and funny post comparing Palin, Biden, and Obama, from Mark Steyn. I found this line quite to the point:
"Next to her resume, a guy who's done nothing but serve in the phony-baloney job of 'community organizer' and write multiple autobiographies looks like just another creepily self-absorbed lifelong member of the full-time political class that infests every advanced democracy."
It gave me a chuckle. And, I think its true, as well!
UPDATE: Here's another great and funny post comparing Palin, Biden, and Obama, from Mark Steyn. I found this line quite to the point:
"Next to her resume, a guy who's done nothing but serve in the phony-baloney job of 'community organizer' and write multiple autobiographies looks like just another creepily self-absorbed lifelong member of the full-time political class that infests every advanced democracy."
Let The Campaign Begin
We are in the middle of the kick-off of the serious part of the 2008 race for the White House. Some random thoughts:
Democratic Convention:
A fair analysis would probably say that it was a good convention for Obama and the Democrats. Bill and Hillary Clinton did about all that could be expected of them to try to unite the Dems. Obama's big speech was run-of-the-mill Dem. tripe, but the setting was spectacular.
Veep Picks:
It seems to me that Obama's choice of Biden was clearly a "safe" and "defensive" choice, one intended to help him with a perceived weakness (experience, national security credibility). It was pretty predictable and it was rather old style political calculus from the supposedly "new politics" guy.
The Palin pick caught me short at first. Knowing nothing about her, I immediately assumed that she was chosen simply because she was a woman who might pull a few Hillary voters in. Clearly, that is the take and spin from the Democrats. After seeing her and hearing her speech and learning of her story, I am developing a whole new attitude. She is an incredibly likable, tough, conservative. She is going to appeal to a whole lot of people.
McCain's Campaign:
I have had my doubts about the McCain campaign up until a few weeks ago. I thought they did a great job of bringing the messianic Obama back to Earth. As I noted, I was initially concerned about the Palin pick, but upon surveying the reaction it is clear that McCain helped himself in a couple of ways.
First, as all the pundits agree, it took Obama's speech off the radar screen. You would have had a hard time finding anything out about the speech on the TV or Internet today. Second, and far more importantly, the pick has apparently energized many in the GOP. If you survey the commentary on National Review Online, you will find scores of comments like this:
"Toss me in as another Republican who's ecstatic about this pick and who's writing a check. I teared up as I watched the speech given by Gov. Palin. I haven't been this proud to be a Republican in far too long a time. I am proud we have a bona fide American hero running for president who has the political chops to miraculously energize his base and sucker punch the opposition at the same time."
and this:
"Today, I go from from an ambivalent McCain supporter driven more by fear of Obama to someone who can feel good about the prospects of a McCain administration. If there are a few million more like me, maybe the all-important undercard of Senate and House races won't turn out as badly as some experts are predicting."
here's another:
"[Palin] has thrilled the GOP's conservative base, which can now in good conscience give itself to the McCain candidacy with enthusiasm—not feigned enthusiasm, real enthusiasm—for the first time since the senator entered the race. This has solved McCain's worst strategic problem."
Only time will tell, but, if McCain ultimately pulls out a win, it may be that his campaign operatives will attain the stature of Karl Rove and Lee Atwater.
Finally, it wouldn't be a Repoman post if I didn't link to a Victor Davis Hanson comment on the race.
Democratic Convention:
A fair analysis would probably say that it was a good convention for Obama and the Democrats. Bill and Hillary Clinton did about all that could be expected of them to try to unite the Dems. Obama's big speech was run-of-the-mill Dem. tripe, but the setting was spectacular.
Veep Picks:
It seems to me that Obama's choice of Biden was clearly a "safe" and "defensive" choice, one intended to help him with a perceived weakness (experience, national security credibility). It was pretty predictable and it was rather old style political calculus from the supposedly "new politics" guy.
The Palin pick caught me short at first. Knowing nothing about her, I immediately assumed that she was chosen simply because she was a woman who might pull a few Hillary voters in. Clearly, that is the take and spin from the Democrats. After seeing her and hearing her speech and learning of her story, I am developing a whole new attitude. She is an incredibly likable, tough, conservative. She is going to appeal to a whole lot of people.
McCain's Campaign:
I have had my doubts about the McCain campaign up until a few weeks ago. I thought they did a great job of bringing the messianic Obama back to Earth. As I noted, I was initially concerned about the Palin pick, but upon surveying the reaction it is clear that McCain helped himself in a couple of ways.
First, as all the pundits agree, it took Obama's speech off the radar screen. You would have had a hard time finding anything out about the speech on the TV or Internet today. Second, and far more importantly, the pick has apparently energized many in the GOP. If you survey the commentary on National Review Online, you will find scores of comments like this:
"Toss me in as another Republican who's ecstatic about this pick and who's writing a check. I teared up as I watched the speech given by Gov. Palin. I haven't been this proud to be a Republican in far too long a time. I am proud we have a bona fide American hero running for president who has the political chops to miraculously energize his base and sucker punch the opposition at the same time."
and this:
"Today, I go from from an ambivalent McCain supporter driven more by fear of Obama to someone who can feel good about the prospects of a McCain administration. If there are a few million more like me, maybe the all-important undercard of Senate and House races won't turn out as badly as some experts are predicting."
here's another:
"[Palin] has thrilled the GOP's conservative base, which can now in good conscience give itself to the McCain candidacy with enthusiasm—not feigned enthusiasm, real enthusiasm—for the first time since the senator entered the race. This has solved McCain's worst strategic problem."
Only time will tell, but, if McCain ultimately pulls out a win, it may be that his campaign operatives will attain the stature of Karl Rove and Lee Atwater.
Finally, it wouldn't be a Repoman post if I didn't link to a Victor Davis Hanson comment on the race.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Oil Price Hypocrisy
I heard a radio ad for Eric Massa yesterday. The ad dealt with economic issues.
I was struck by the reference to high gasoline prices. Massa's ad described them in a way that would lead a listener to think that Massa believes high gas prices are "bad" and that he will do something about them.
But isn't this just political hypocrisy? The Democratic party champions higher gasoline prices as the vehicle to get people to move to conserve gasoline and move to alternative fuels. The Democrats routinely told us that we should add taxes to the price of gasoline that raised the price even further, so as to achieve environmental goals.
Massa is strongly supported by the national Democratic party. He knows the Dems stands on the environment, offshore drilling, and energy policy in general. So why is he pretending that he will "do something" about high gas prices?
The Answer? Poll driven hypocrisy.
Just as Nancy Pelosi and Barak Obama have changed their no drilling tunes in light of overwhelming public opinion, Eric Massa has chosen to try to deceive the public about his true beliefs and to just tell us what he thinks we want to hear.
I was struck by the reference to high gasoline prices. Massa's ad described them in a way that would lead a listener to think that Massa believes high gas prices are "bad" and that he will do something about them.
But isn't this just political hypocrisy? The Democratic party champions higher gasoline prices as the vehicle to get people to move to conserve gasoline and move to alternative fuels. The Democrats routinely told us that we should add taxes to the price of gasoline that raised the price even further, so as to achieve environmental goals.
Massa is strongly supported by the national Democratic party. He knows the Dems stands on the environment, offshore drilling, and energy policy in general. So why is he pretending that he will "do something" about high gas prices?
The Answer? Poll driven hypocrisy.
Just as Nancy Pelosi and Barak Obama have changed their no drilling tunes in light of overwhelming public opinion, Eric Massa has chosen to try to deceive the public about his true beliefs and to just tell us what he thinks we want to hear.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A Matter Of Perspective
A few random thoughts on media bias:
Yesterday's Democrat & Chronicle contained a story about the Democrats failed attempts to oust Wayne Zyra as President of the Monroe County Legislature. The report discussed the fact that there were several "party line" votes.
So if the votes were all "party line", why is it that the D&C portrays the GOP as the partisan, unyielding party? Have there been any issues where the Democrats came around and sought a compromise? From my perspective, the past few years have been full of partisan maneuvering by both parties. The Democrats intransigence on the sales tax, David Gantt's antics, Bob Duffy's "reservations" about Ren Square all struck me as partisan politics. The D&C didn't think so.
It seems however, that the term "partisanship" only applies to the GOP's actions. The Democrats, being the noble and progressive public servants that they are, only want what's best for the people. Thus their actions are characterised as righteous efforts at thwarting the GOP's malefactions.
On the national scene, the media's treatment of the Edwards sex scandal is similarly instructive. The New York Times and the other big players in the mainstream media, would not even look into the Edwards story, let alone report on it. The msm quickly dismissed the story as a tabloid fairy-tale.
Lets compare that to the story the Times broke about John McCain and his alleged affair with a lobbyist. The Times didn't have a problem reporting on the "fact" that there were rumors of an affair by McCain. So they reported on those rumors while they would not even check the facts on an actual affair by Edwards.
What could the difference be? I guess its a matter of perspective.
Yesterday's Democrat & Chronicle contained a story about the Democrats failed attempts to oust Wayne Zyra as President of the Monroe County Legislature. The report discussed the fact that there were several "party line" votes.
So if the votes were all "party line", why is it that the D&C portrays the GOP as the partisan, unyielding party? Have there been any issues where the Democrats came around and sought a compromise? From my perspective, the past few years have been full of partisan maneuvering by both parties. The Democrats intransigence on the sales tax, David Gantt's antics, Bob Duffy's "reservations" about Ren Square all struck me as partisan politics. The D&C didn't think so.
It seems however, that the term "partisanship" only applies to the GOP's actions. The Democrats, being the noble and progressive public servants that they are, only want what's best for the people. Thus their actions are characterised as righteous efforts at thwarting the GOP's malefactions.
On the national scene, the media's treatment of the Edwards sex scandal is similarly instructive. The New York Times and the other big players in the mainstream media, would not even look into the Edwards story, let alone report on it. The msm quickly dismissed the story as a tabloid fairy-tale.
Lets compare that to the story the Times broke about John McCain and his alleged affair with a lobbyist. The Times didn't have a problem reporting on the "fact" that there were rumors of an affair by McCain. So they reported on those rumors while they would not even check the facts on an actual affair by Edwards.
What could the difference be? I guess its a matter of perspective.
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