Comments on: Do Conventions Have a Point?

By: AlanC

AlanC — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:08:08 +0000

Lem, you wrote “…comparison btwg Obama and McCain…”

Is btwg a typo or an ancronym? The only thing it reminds me of is “BTWG stands for Beyond the Walled Garden (social software blog)”

So, que pasa?

By: Roy Lofquist

Roy Lofquist — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:22:00 +0000

Dear Lem,

As Medved says: “The greatest country on God’s green earth”.

I can’t remember an election that wasn’t “The most important election in our history”.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the show. It’s going to be a doozy.

Regards,
Roy

By: Lem

Lem — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:25:22 +0000

The American people are wise beyond the comprehension of thee and me.

Bolstering aside, in the we hours of the morning, after reading and reading, I wish I could confidently say the same.

By: Roy Lofquist

Roy Lofquist — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 06:07:47 +0000

Dear Annabel,

I was there when Dwight David Eisenhower defeated the “intellectual” Adlai Stevenson. I can remember my father, a lifelong Democrat saying, when he saw that famous picture of the hole in Stevenson’s shoe: “This guy is as phony as a three dollar bill”.

The American people are wise beyond the comprehension of thee and me. I am enjoying the Hell out of this election.

Love,
Roy

By: Barry Dauphin

Barry Dauphin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:04:43 +0000

It’s not clear that conventions have a point, but this year’s convention coverage of both parties drew higher ratings than American Idol finale. So the big speeches have something to offer citizens. But for the most part conventions harken back to the days before primaries and more direct democracy. Conventions probably energize the die-hards who do a lot of work that few people notice.

By: Annabel

Annabel — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:32:34 +0000

Roy Lofquist, I could not agree with you more. It’s encouraging to hear someone else articulate my feelings so precisely. I hope and believe you speak for many.

By: Lem

Lem — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:18:12 +0000

I suspect many democrats who secretly never intended to vote for Obama, Palin is just the icing on the cake.

What Palin does is allow a viseral comparison btwg Obama and McCain that w/o Palin would be nearly impossible.

McCain is not only matching Obama’s offer, now he can say – I was the better candidate all along.

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:37:40 +0000

I would like to see the comeback of the modern equivalent of the fireside chat. I think McCain would excel at that.

By: Lightnin' Hopkins

Lightnin' Hopkins — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:51:35 +0000

“She is dangerous!”

Evidently. Judging by the reaction of Dems I know personally, the Obama camp, and the media, she has set some knees knocking.

By the way, Democrats are never cynical or calculating, are they Peter? How about the Clintons, are you familiar with their work?

By: Roy Lofquist

Roy Lofquist — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:47:54 +0000

Dear Sirs,

I have been watching these things since 1952. Give me the smoke filled rooms. Now we have MTV.

That said, I’d like to say something about the speeches.

Sarah Palin gave the most spectacular speech I have ever seen. From out of nowhere and subject to calumny from the media she came in and eviscerated them. The barracuda has entered the lagoon.

Barack Obama gives speeches like a Pentecostal preacher. I went to one of them once when I was quite young. I heard the talking in tongues and went down to the altar and gave my life to JESUS! The next day I thought “so that’s what temporary insanity is all about”.

I don’t think people realize how lastingly powerful was the speech of John McCain. Perhaps this will never be recognized – except in the election results.

I am tempted to compare it to the Lincoln – Douglas debates or the failures of William Jennings Bryan. Douglas and Bryan were famed orators. Lincoln, with a reportedly thin and reedy voice, is a giant of history. Lincoln spoke in simple words. He expressed eloquent ideas in the language that the people understood. Nobody reads the two hour speeches of Douglas. Everybody knows the Gettysburg Address.

McCain was low keyed. He was talking to each of us – not the crowd. No soaring rhetoric or rabble rousing. Sure there were memorable lines from Obama and Palin, though the lines from Obama have already slipped my mind. McCain sold us his story – of a born again, in the universal sense, humble person who is an extraordinary everyman.

People have compared Palin to Reagan. I think that is a superficial reading. McCain is much closer to “Ronnie” – the humble, amiable man who we trust.

Regards,
Roy