RNC

The Republican convention has been a breath of fresh air compared to watching the Democrats last week. This is the most I have ever watched of the conventions, as I watched just about every night, and it has been educational and interesting. I have greatly enjoyed watching them on PBS, as they do not have all the tickers and junk running across the screen and it is much easier to focus on what is being said. Also, I think they do a fair job of providing unbiased opinions on what has been said. Watching CNN and MSNBC has been somewhat nauseating considering their obvious biases and inability to be objective. Fox News is just as bad on the other end of the spectrum.

I thought Fred Thompson's speech was excellent and provided a great opening, preaching Republican values like down home Southern lawyer. I also liked the U of M alumnus wearing a beautiful blue and gray tie. Here was one of many lines I liked from his speech:


THOMPSON: Now, our opponents tell us not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they're not going to tax your family. No, they're just going to tax businesses. So, unless you buy something from a business, like groceries, clothes, or gasoline, or unless you get a paycheck from a business, a big business or a small business, don't worry, it's not going to affect you.


Now, on to Governor Sarah Palin. What a genius pick. Would any Republican have been excited about Joe Lieberman or Mitt Romney joining the ticket? What a boring convention that would have been. Not only did she energize the base, she got the attention of the entire country. And would the media be going after another woman in the same way the have set out to destroy Palin? All of the sudden things that were never asked about Hillary are being asked of the Governor. Where has the scrutiny of Joe Biden been? He had to withdraw from the 1988 Presidential race because he got caught plagiarizing speeches. He has skated by without anyone questioning his past. What about his statements that Obama is not ready to lead and that he would be honored to run on a ticket with McCain? Anyways, the scrutiny on Palin's 17 year old daughter has been tacky and despicable. Why is Obama not questioned about the fact that he has children that are 7 and 10 years old? If he is so family focused why is he running for President? The fact that Palin has five children does not make a difference, as 3 of hers are older than Barack's. There have been numerous other comments and criticisms that would not be allowed if she were a Democrat.


At first I wasn't entirely sure what to think about the selection, but was eagerly anticipating her speech Wednesday night. And she came out firing. She was smart, funny, strong, firm, tough, and more. She did an excellent job and won over a lot of people and got the crowd really fired up. She definitely backed up the pit bull line. I loved the fact that she called out the "community organizer" and the media. And the fact that she may not have written her own speech doesn't matter. Do you think that Obama actually writes any of his own speeches? Of course though that was never pointed out last week, only the fact that Palin didn't write her speech.

McCain did better than I expected last night, and I thought he did a great job of tying his personal story into what he stands for. It may have been a little lacking on policy, but there is plenty of time for that over the next 8 weeks. I was actually surprised how good the ending was, with everyone cheering as he asked the crowd to fight with him and kept talking over the crowd. I am excited to watch the debates now. I think it will be difficult for Obama to spill out his rhetoric in one or two minutes, and expect a lot of uh's and ah's to be peppered in as he tries to think on his feet. I expect McCain to be direct and straightforward. The VP debate should be especially interesting. I am still unsure of the Republicans chances come November, but I think this week and especially Governor Palin have made it a race again. Either way we know there will be hope and change, but only one party has the hope and change that we need.