RNC Day One

So far it has been about attacking John Kerry and odd introductions. Here comes Ron Silver...

Yeah, I realize that I am not the audience this is intended for, but Silver seems full of hate up there. He can look back in anger, but I'd rather look forward with hope. And he just said we'd see victory in the War on Terror, which seems to disagree with the guy he just supported.

McCain's speech was good. Probably hit a few swing voters. I'll post more on it later.

I must say first that having these women speak of their loved ones involved in September 11th is a bit over the top for me. The implication here is that they were all Republicans, and only Republicans can feel the pain of 9/11. Only the Republican party has the rights to 9/11. It makes me f'in sick.

The only good part so far has been the Michael Moore bit. I'm sure there will be a video feed shortly somewhere. McCain called him "disingenuous film maker," which really got the crowd booing. I thought it quite odd to make a mention of him in his speech.

Rudy just told me I'm wrong on almost everything. That's a uniting message. Supporting a uniting President. Good grief.

Alright, first McCain. Probably meaning the war in Iraq, but mentioning it under the war on terror umbrella, McCain declared:

Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war. Like all wars, this one will have its ups and downs.

I'm not sure who I have heard saying the war on terror in general is unnecessary. Certainly some say it on Iraq, but overall, a "straw man" for McCain to knock down.
This was actually a good line:

If we do less, we will fail the one mission no American generation has ever failed - to provide to our children a stronger, better country than the one we were blessed to inherit.

When McCain talked next of how we were united on September 11th after the attack, I thought that if Bush hadn't gone and screwed up all that unity he wouldn't be in the political fight he is now embroiled in. The fact that we have to be constantly reminded of this is a sign not of his greatness, but his lack of leadership in keeping us united.
Then McCain sells the Democratic Party position to the RNC:

My friends in the Democratic Party - and I'm fortunate to call many of them my friends - assure us they share the conviction that winning the war against terrorism is our government's most important obligation.

I don't doubt their sincerity.

They emphasize that military action alone won't protect us, that this war has many fronts: in courts, financial institutions, in the shadowy world of intelligence, and in diplomacy.

They stress that America needs the help of her friends to combat an evil that threatens us all, that our alliances are as important to victory as are our armies.

We agree.

Later, he refers to September 11th again:

But an absence of complacency should not provoke an absence of confidence. What our enemies have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. It cannot be taken from us. It can only be surrendered.

Like, I don't know, imprisonment without trial? Search and seizure without court order? The Patriot Act?

Again, a relatively solid speech that will appeal to some, but not to all.

Now Rudy is speaking. What a clown. Republicans will eat this up, but again, moderates probably won't see it that way. More when I find text.

Watching the post day one wrap up on the cable news channels, and I see no Democrats refuting anything, no liberal viewpoint on anything being said. Where are they? Why are they letting the news media fawn all over McCain/Rudy without refute?

Here's Rudy. I have nothing really to say about it. It was very anti-Kerry. Very compassionate. Very uniting. Very ridiculous. Maybe after I settle down we can revisit the thing.

This stuck out to me:

The war on terrorism will not be won in a single battle. There will be no dramatic surrender. There will be no crumbling of a massive wall.

Remember according to our President, it won't be won at all. Of course, there is no one out there right now to point this out.

If this keeps up, then yes, the election was lost Day One of the RNC.