McCain didn't give a great speech, but he never really does. This wasn't special, but I think McCain did well enough. What stood out is not policy -- there wasn't much of interest there -- but his intense desire to change the petty partisanship of Washington. There was lots of GOP boilerplate there, but there was some pretty moving "country first" rhetoric that struck me as genuine and from the heart. Still, I wish there had been more innovative policy proposals.
A word at convention's end: I have been down on my own party for a long time, as have lots of Republicans. The GOP has been demoralized, and for good reason. These three days in St. Paul, though, have made a huge difference, a difference I think few politicos saw, or could have seen. It wasn't that the convention was well-executed. I saw nearly all the major speeches, and no more than a handful were worth a damn. But the convention re-energized the party. And the difference between now and then -- all the difference -- was made by one woman: Sarah Palin.
The Republican Party now stands a fighting chance this fall. It stands a fighting chance because it finally has a leader worth fighting with, and fighting for. It also has John McCain, who's not so bad once you get used to him.
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The Republicans express pride in America, citing it's great achievements and benevolence ... while the democrats spew a constant drumbeat of criticism and guilt towards America. This paves the way to their call for an overall change. But, many of the democrat's proposed changes involve throwing out the baby with the dirty bath water. For example, McCain/ Palin want to assist business with tax breaks ... while the democrats want to increase taxes to business owners. The democrats want the government to redistribute money, by simply handing it over to non producing Americans. Well, check out today's 6.1% unemployment figures. Cutting the legs out from under employers will only increase those unemployment figures.
AlanT,
I was wondering about Sarah Palin's advocate comment as well. I'm curios to know if she has something concrete in mind or if it was just a throw-away line.
It's my understanding that early intervention is most beneficial as well. My state has a program that will help pay for the therapy but applying for it has been a hassle. Twice we've thought we had all the paperwork submitted and then a couple months later we would get a request for more. Recently we got a letter from the county demanding a document that the state is responsible for and we have no control over. It's been almost a year since he's been diagnosed and we still don't know if he qualifies for the program. Even if he is approved, the waiting list is around 18 months or more. Our legislature took up the issue a year or two ago. The Democrats wanted to require insurance companies to cover treatment. The Republicans wanted a one-time funding increase to shorten the waiting list. In the end, nothing was done. From our perspective it would be best if medical insurance would cover it. Sorry to go on and on. It's been hugely frustrating for us.
On the bright side, our local public school has been absolutely wonderful. I can't praise them enough. They use occupational therapy and PECs (sp?) and he is making slow but noticeable progress.
One thing McCain did last night that I really liked - he actually had the decency to apologize to Americans for the past 8 years! Something I never thought I would hear from any speaker at this convention.
I agree that it was not a great speech, but, to me, McCain's essential decency and straightforwardness shown through. I really do like the man, but I'm still planning to vote for Obama.
The Republican Party establishment didn't let McCain pick Joe Lieberman for his running mate, and they are going to fight him tooth and nail on most of the reforms he has in mind and I think that they are going to constantly push him away from the Center and away from his reformist agenda. After the past 8 years, our country doesn't need more of the same.
It was a great speech though McCain has never been an orator and so are not majority of politicians.He was quite convincingly promoting his election manesfacto and the audience was responsive.
In the context of foreign policy,his agenda seems to be quite crystical clear in particular the dangers posed by terrorists to the USA and rest of the world,Good luck Mr.McCain
I actually liked a lot of what John McCain had to say, and it reinforced the respect I had for him-- he deserves the high regard in which he's long been held, and he showed once again that whatever his flaws, he genuinely cares for the nation and doing the right thing. I certainly liked his speech much better than the juvenile, arrogant vitriol that Sarah Palin gave in her own speech.
Unfortunately-- it wasn't nearly enough to help McCain, because he didn't say much of anything about how he plans to deal with the current crises.
If there is one, overarching criticism that I have of the Republican convention, it's that the Republicans don't seem to understand that the nation is facing a genuine crisis right now, and Americans are scared and stuck. They just don't get it. We are in a recession now, period, and the more that the Republicans try to brush this aside and belittle it, the more damage they do to themselves. (McCain's half-hearted acknowledgment was at least a step in the right direction, but not nearly enough.) The misery index is sky-high now-- jobs are being shed right and left, and the real unemployment figure is much higher than the posted unemployment (which counts only people getting unemployment assistance, not those temping or just tossed up their hands). All this while prices are going through the roof. Moreover, with the credit bubbles now all unraveling at once, consumers are being squeezed and it's only getting much, much uglier as we speak.
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