Republican National Convention Thread (September 1-4, 2008)

My wife is one of the coordinators for the volunteer drivers. These are folks whose responsibility is to drive folks to various venues. For the most part they are driving from around 7:00 AM - 2:00 AM.

 

I support McCain, and I will tell you that delivering the speech from NOLA would be the hokiest, cheesiest, and most contrived looking thing they could possibly do.

Not helpful in an election where McCain is probably gonna need some help.

 

But he has to do this and people should realize that. Hopefully his handlers will set up a better venue so McCain looks decent on TV. If he doesn't, you could have "Dukakis in a tank" all over again.

I think all of this actually helps McCain.

 

We disagree. I think there is no way to pull that off without it looking staged and insincere.

That's cool. We'll see what happens. Things are gonna get interesting.

 

No, he doesn't. He is not the mayor of NO, he's not the Governor of LA, he's not even the President. He's a Senator and Presidential Nominee who's down south acting like he has any authority on the matter. That's what irks me a bit. I can understand he has to do something, but not even Bush himself (nor Obama) have gone down there yet, because they would rather stay out of the way of emergency response officials.

And to hold an acceptance speech down there, imo, would come off as manipulating the situation for your own political gain. That's not "country first."

 

OK, both to you and Refman, I'll backtrack some. But I'll still cut McCain some slack if he makes a speech from down there.

 

So, weslinder, does Cindy McCain's dress look as bad in person as it did on TV? Chick looked like Cruella de Vil!

 

Completely agree with Refman, A_3PO. There's no way McCain makes his acceptance speech from NOLA or anywhere else where Gustav came into the coast without it looking like a contrived political event that, IMO, will make him look bad. I'm really surprised that he would even think of doing such a thing. It sounds like a bad idea from an underling that a political pro would laugh at. The way GOP presidential campaigns have been run the last several campaign cycles, it doesn't compute, at least for me. Were Obama to do the same thing during the Democratic convention, he would have received the same opinion from me.

Comes across as another "shoot from the hip" McCain idea. It bothers me. Since there is still a chance he could become our president, even though I think that chance remote, it bothers me even more. Is he going to make a quick, reckless decision when a crisis comes up? If any Republican, besides the local ones, of course, decides to make a speech from NOLA during the GOP convention, it should be Mr. Bush. That would be appropriate. Actually, considering his low approval ratings with the American people, it might be the best way Bush could address the convention. Just from a political point of view, at least from where I sit, McCain should be at the convention and Bush should make a speech from the disaster area. Good political theatre.

 

Yeah, but you've got to understand that the conservative base is beginning to sound as if Reagan's been cloned. It's bizarre, but as theater goes it's not bad. I'm heartbroken that W & Dick aren't going to be speaking tonight, but hey even I can only appreciate farce if it comes with a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" slant to it.

And I don't see that happening, so I'll appreciate this Republican convention less than I did in '76 but, you've got to admit it's going to be interesting.

 

This is from msnbc.com

 

This is exactly how the GOP didn't want Palin introduced - on national news, with people asking "what else do we not know about her?"

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1753218519/bclid1759767972/bctid1768047079

 

I'm more worried about what more we don't know about Obama... or even Biden.


They're both known for plagarizing speeches... so if they can't even be honest about what they speak on, and is delivered as their own speech... what else are they hiding?


At least the McCain / Palin ticket is being open and forthright with this info. They heard rumors that is was beeing discussed that Palin's baby was really her daughter's child... so they let everyone know that her daughter has appeared pregnant because she is, with her own, out-of-wedlock, child.

Why they would need to hide things is beyond me anyway... She's been in public offices for years now, so what will be dug up, has been dug up.


By the way read up on Biden... he was booted from the POTUS running two decades ago for plagarizing... and left in shame.

SAME STORY, DIFFERENT YEAR


My how standards have lowered.

 

via Josh --

The Palin Meltdown in Slo-Mo
By Greg Sargent - September 1, 2008, 6:20PM

On the same day that the Republicans were forced to dramatically cut back their convention activities, the Palin Meltdown unfolded with extraordinary speed. It's worth pondering the totality of what happened today, in a mere half day...

* The news that Palin once backed the Bridge to Nowhere went national.

* It emerged that Palin has links to the bizarro Alaska Independence Party, which harbors the goal of seceding from the union that McCain and Palin seek to lead.

* The news broke that as governor, Palin relied on an earmark system she now opposes. Taken along with the Bridge to Nowhere stuff, this threatens to undercut her reformist image, something that was key to her selection as McCain's Veep candidate.

* The news broke that Palin's 17-year-old daughter became pregnant out of wedlock at a time when the conservative base had finally started rallying behind McCain's candidacy.

* Barely moments after McCain advisers put out word that McCain had known of Bristol Palin's pregnancy, the Anchorage Daily News revealed that Palin's own spokesperson hadn't known about it only two days ago.

* A senior McCain adviser at the Republican convention was forced into the rather embarrassing position of arguing that McCain had known about the pregnancy "last week" -- without saying what day last week he knew about it.

* It came out that Republican lawyers are up in Alaska vetting Palin -- now, more than 72 hours after it was announced that she'd been picked.

* Palin lawyered up in relation to the trooper-gate probe in Alaska -- a move that ensures far more serious attention to the story from the major news orgs.

What else will come out today? After all, there are still six hours left until September 2nd...
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/the_palin_meltdown_in_slomo.php

 

Five ***** (stars)! But watch the die-hards continue to shout how briliant of a pick it was.

 

Of course you are. Because it's much more likely that someone who's been in national politics for between 4 to 30 years (depending on which one), been in a Presidential campaign for 1.5 years, and represented a very large state for many more would have more things hidden than someone who's been in a remote state and only entered the national scene with national media 4 days ago.

So they were upfront only when even worse rumors were spreading - that's the Edwards-like confessing when you get caught.

But apparently that doesn't apply to Biden or Obama, right? You really think there's a huge investigative nature to Alaskan politics?

I agree - now Republicans are resorting to the idea that even basic vetting is no longer necessary. Or at least some are. The actual party has now sent a team of vetters to Alaska to do the vetting that seems to have been missed.

 

Have you managed to make a single post that has contributed anything to the debate? Damn...it really is possible for you to step away from the keyboard T_J errrr rocketanalyist.

 

It's all that taking pride in ignorance thang.

 

Police are already unconstitutionally intimidating and arresting suspected protestors.

No real surprise here. This is the new america.