John McCain's Speech

I know I promised, but with all the McCain and GOP bashing I have done, I wanted to say something nice.

John McCain gained back some of the respect I had lost for him over this campaign last night. He was a good soldier last night for his country. He told the GOP what it needed to hear, and what the country already knew. That the GOP screwed up the country and needs to be reborn if it wishes to govern again. Although I don't think McCain believes he is going to be the one who does it. Rather it's going to be Palin and that new generation of GOP'ers that will reinvent the party.

Perhaps this is a stretch, and I still think the election will be close. But last night he told a room packed full of the party faithful and millions of viewers at home: "Instead of changing Washington, Washington changed us...We lost. We lost your trust."

Contrast that with everything you heard the previous two evenings and it's clear that John was trying to save his soul and the Republican party's as well. I really admire him for doing that, and we will likely never see that again from a candidate who accepts the nomination for President.

Read Joe Klein's article about the speech here.

Survey Results

Last night Sarah Palin gave a speech that solidified her as a force to be taken seriously. Her ability to be divisive, condescending, and warm at the same time are pretty formidable political skills. This was her introduction to the nation, and what an introduction it was. In political terms this speech was to her, what Obama's speech in Iowa was to him.However, the difference in content is pretty stark.

She obviously has a talent for giving a good speech at a convention. She will have to wait another four years to do that again. Palin hasn't taken a single question from a reporter yet or stated her policy positions on any positions outside of those policies that affect Alaska.

She took it to Obama, the media, Michelle Obama, and the Washington establishment. That really fired up the base and gave them one night of feeling inspired about their candidate. But the crowd wasn't inspired by what she had to say about the middle class, the poor, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, health care, veterans care, the home mortgage crisis, the economy, and education. They couldn't have been excited about those things because she didn't mention any of them. We will see tonight if the top of the ticket thinks those things are issues worthy of addressing for the next President of the United States.

What is "amusing" in all this is the sudden reversal of fortunes that Republican's who love Palin find themselves in. They are trumping up Palin's experience, fawning over her one speech, and decrying the sexist media. As John Stewart astutely pointed out.

I heard what I wanted to hear in 2004 at the Democratic Convention when Obama gave his speech that talked about the promise and hope of America. And the more I have listened to both sides the more sure I am about who I want to lead this country.

"America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess." - Barack Obama, Denver 2008

Palin's Comeback

There is a lot of chastising going on about Palin and her family right now. A lot of the questions regarding her decision to be a VP nominee are fair to ask and some, in the grand scheme of things, are not. But the McCain campaign has not made her available to answer or refuse to answer any of those questions. They have her hidden away and the ensuing vacuum of her absence has allowed for others to create the news about her and her family.

Before you think I am feeling sorry for her, realize that I believe this sets her up perfectly for a great "comeback speech" tonight. I fully expect her to bring the house down with her speech (speech writers have been working on it all week) and send the press into it's favorite exercise, navel gazing about themselves. I can't decide if the McCain campaign is savvy enough to have scripted this or if they are lucking into this scenario.

Palin will rightly criticize the media for making as big of an issue out of her 17 year old daughters pregnancy as they have (3 stories on the front page of NY-Times is excessive). And she will be hailed for defending her family against the onslaught of media coverage and the angry left (is it angry to point out hypocrisy in a political ideology....hmmm). I fully expect her to be strong, unfazed, and full of passion, and kudos to her if she can pull that off tonight. But that doesn't change the fact that she was chosen by John McCain in an attempt to win an election and not to govern the country.

Yes I will agree with people out there who say that Barack Obama doesn't have the longest resume for a Presidential Candidate. However, we have all had 18 months, 22 debates, countless speeches, and memorable moments to get to know how Obama thinks and feels about countless issues facing our nation. His speeches are all written by him and the speech he gave at the last night of the convention was all about the challenges facing this country and what he wants to do about them. Something the GOP has yet to do at this convention.

In contrast, we only have 66 days to get to know Palin, and that's an awfully short time to get to know a person and make them the second most powerful person in our Nation. There are so many questions to ask and the list grows longer every single day. Tonight I think she will shine, but tomorrow the questions will remain. And until she faces them on her own she should be viewed with utmost skepticism and doubt.

NEW POLL (can't see it in an rss reader):

She's Made of Wood!

As the general election gets under way I think it's important for all of us to take a moment and have a lesson from good old Monty Python and the Holy Grail regarding logical fallacies. What should we learn? Don't believe every e-mail forward you're sent, blog post you read, or other unfounded rumor you may hear about Obama or McCain. Listen to the candidates yourself, watch the town halls and debates, and do your own research using reputable sources like www.factcheck.org