McCain Tonight

4 Sep 2008 1928CDT a Recommendation (ahead of time) to Sen John McCain:

Do not try to outshine Gov. Palin - you may not be able to; if you don't it will be turned into a negative.

Instead, focus on your key speaking strengths: You are a humble and engaging man. Focus on that - be yourself - humble and engaging - and if you do, your speech will be both memorable and successful. Walk around, hold the mic - engage the audience - focus on reaching beyond the base, but don't compromise your principles.

Disclosure: I did not want to vote for you, but I am inspired by Gov Palin and I want you to win this election. Best of Luck!

Stew

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Update: 6 Sep 2008

I enjoyed your speech. I know you didn't read it here first, but I think you focused on your strengths and succeeded in reaching beyond the base.

Bill Whittle's article from National Review Online captures my feelings exactly.

For those who missed it, here is John McCain's acceptance speech as recorded by CSPAN.

Sen. John McCain's full speech to the RNC.

See for yourself.

Govenor Palin's acceptance speech

Wow.

Joan and I sat riveted throughout the entire speech, offering 'high-fives' and 'fist-bumps' each time she delivered a great line. Yes we are fans!

My reaction to Senator Obama's speech is here.

My reaction to Govenor Palin - spectacular!

In the interest of fairness, however, here are the two speeches - side by side.

Senator Obama:

Sen. Barack Obama's Full Speech to the DNC

Govenor Palin:

Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (AK) at the RNC

Judge for yourself.

MSM Fails key test

Start by looking at this post, over at Confederate Yankee.

The key quote I saw?

We now know far more about Sarah Palin in just four days than we've learned about Barack Obama in 17 months.

This is the theme from a previous post of mine, Confederate Yankee does it better.

Sen Obama's Acceptance Speech

Updated and bumped: I guess I was not the only one disappointed by the speech. Look here.

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Disappointing

I listened to the entire speech. I kept hoping for lines like;

...we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall

Didn't happen. In fact, I can only remember one quote. "Thank you".... many many times.

Sen Obama presents himself as the post-racial candidate who has adopted his black roots at the expense of his white ones. No? Read his book-Audacity of Hope or Dreams of my Father (or have him read it for you)

Here were his opportunities

1. He has to demonstrate his post racial credentials
2. He has to reach beyond his base - they nominated him, this speech is not to thank them, but to start his campaign.
3. He has an opportunity to electrify the country (38 million will be watching)

Here are my post-facto recommendations.

Start with Dr. King
Recognize the struggle
Acknowledge that we have moved into the era of Post-Racial Politics
Deliver a great tag line
Promote policies that appeal to the country as a whole - avoid Democratic boilerplate
Accept the nomination - bask in the applause
Wind down and thank the people who helped you get this far - in context of mobilizing them for the general election
Introduce your team

Didn't happen. I am disappointed.

Experience

Here is the report; a snapshot of an upcoming interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Senator Obama is comparing the experience garnered running an election campaign with that of running a small city (Wasilla, Alaska), Governor Palin's job from 1996 - 2002. (Timeline here)

Bias Test - will Anderson let this comparison stand? or will he call Senator Obama out for this ridiculous comparison?

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Update: Anderson did not challenge the comparison. The transcript is here.

OBAMA: Well, you know, my understanding is, is that Governor Palin's
town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We have got 2,500 in this
campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know,
we have a budget of about three times that just for the month.


So, I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I
think, has been made clear over the last couple of years. And,
certainly, in terms of the legislation that I passed just dealing with
this issue post-Katrina of how we handle emergency management, the fact
that many of my recommendations were adopted and are being put in place
as we speak, I think, indicates the degree to which we can provide the
kinds of support and good service that the American people expect.

COOPER: Senator Obama, thank you for your time.

OBAMA: Great to talk to you, Anderson.

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Here is an idea, while we are making nonsensical comparisons - Compare Senator Obama's legislative history with Senator McCain's accomplishments at the US Naval Academy.

During the same period of time (1996-2002) Senator Obama was a State Senator from Illinois. I doubt he had more than 50 employees, nor did he manage a budget of $12M.

Senator, if this is the best you can do, you are relying on the good graces of Anderson Cooper not to make you look like a buffoon.

I will look at the transcript following Anderson Cooper 360.

Where is Sen Obama?

Update as of 1 Sep 08 15:14 CDT: Sen Obama Responds. Reported by Ben Smith. Thank You Senator.

Update: Here is the controversy. Thanks Amanda.


The good Senator once said that he will run a campaign free of personal attacks. He also said that his family is 'off limits'.

Minions who support him are attacking Gov. Palin and her family.

Where is Sen. Obama's leadership in this issue?

I won't link to the Daily Kos. So read about the attacks here. (Thanks Michelle)

Calling Senator Obama, Cleanup on September 1st.

In the Tank for Obama

Here is a point that Jonah Goldberg makes.

The phrase "former mayor of a town of 9,000" was repeated all day long
by Obama surrogates and talking heads. The problem is thatwhile yes,
she's the former mayor of a small town, she's also currently the
governor of Alaska. There's no way the phrase "a former community
organizer" or "former state senator" would be allowed to stand as
Obama's highest qualification. But that phrase was used or recycled
uncritically about Palin all day long.

An any 'respectable' journalist that allows that statement to stand is offering de-facto proof that they are in the tank for Obama.