Republican National Convention

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
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I think this would be a more appropriate title to discuss the happenings in New York this week…

RSU’s “Rudy’s Lost it” is a lame attempt at damage control. I think even he knows how effective Rudy was.

Here are some of my favorite lines:

Rudy said, "At the time, we believed we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said to Bernie, “Thank God George Bush is our President.”

And I say it again tonight, “Thank God George Bush is our President.”

On September 11, George W. Bush had been President less than eight months. This new president, vice president, and new administration were faced with the worst crisis in our history.

"President Bush’s response in keeping us unified and in turning the ship of state around from being solely on defense against terrorism to being on offense as well and for his holding us together.

For that and then his determined effort to defeat global terrorism, no matter what happens in this election, President George W. Bush already has earned a place in our history as a great American president."

Very powerful.

I was very surprised by how effective Ron Silver was.

To paraphrase one of his most effective lines, he said that the hatred of George Bush has blinded many in the Democratic party to the things he does right. Things that the Democrats should be supporting wholeheartedly. He said to Brit Hume later in the night that 9/11 changed his perspective drastically. I was quite impressed with his entire presentation.

Finally, John McCain was nothing short of brilliant. Had he been as eloquent, steady, and measured in 2000, I would have been far more supportive. I think his speech was as eloquent as many of the best political speechs of the 19th century. He was particularly effective when he stated that “George Bush has risen to the challenge of this generation.” He implored us to not become “complacent in success.”

Finally, the tribute from the widows/sisters of the 9/11 families brought a lump to my throat. It should serve as a clarion call to those who have forgotten the horrors of that day.

It was a spectacular opening night. It exceeded my wildest expectations.

Would love to hear your thoughts,

JeffR

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[quote]JeffR wrote:
Rudy said, "At the time, we believed we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said to Bernie, “Thank God George Bush is our President.” [/quote]

Little did Rudy know that George Bush was sitting frozen in a classroom listening to little kids read “My Pet Goat” with a glazed look on his face. Then he took off in a plane and flew around in circles for the rest of the day.

Maybe if Bush had actually read his August 6th Presidential Daily Brief titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike within the US” we could have been better prepared. Instead, Bush spent the entire month of August on vacation. Nice work if you can get it!!! But do we want a president who was a lazy sack of shit, until tragedy struck?

9-11 was the low point of Bush’s presidency, so I don’t know why the Republicans are celebrating it.

Tonight, Laura Bush is expected to discuss how George Bush is “more serious now” than he was 4 years ago. In other words, when George Bush took office he wasn’t totally serious. Do we want a president who isn’t totally serious, until after tragedy strikes?

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JeffR:

You could not be more correct in your analysis!

I expected something quite different to be very honest. Something more subdued. However, right from the start with the “Saturday Night Live” opening I was impressed and just had to watch what was coming up next.

The speakers were excited! The topic was appropritate, given where the convention was held and how President Bush handled the situation.

If the rest of the convention is anything like the opening night I am sure that President Bush will receive at least a 5pt bounce if not more.

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Compare Rudy’s speech vs. Rev. Sharpton or Ted Kennedy’s speech early in the Democratic convention.

Even biased detractors of the Republicans gave Rudy kudo’s for his speech. It was brilliant and effective.

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Thought the speech was great. I liked Ron Silvers also.

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It’s going well so far. Reports are that McCain’s speech did very well with TV viewers, even though it was mellower and thus had less applause from the delegates.

Still, given the lack of national TV coverage last night, I’m not certain how much impact those great speeches will have.

Hopefully though, they’ve set the tone – the convention seems very positive so far, stressing Bush’s leadership. They should keep on message, as leadership is seen as a weakness of Kerry’s because of his indecisiveness and reluctance to take a clear position on the issues. In fairness, his base is more fractured, and its position further removed on the national security issues that seem to be most important to the undecideds, so Kerry faces a very difficult dilemma: feed red meat to the base by talking about pulling out of Iraq cedeing defense decisions to the U.N., or reach out to the undecideds in the middle and risk de-motivating the base, which can either stay home of vote Nader (in some states anyway).