ABC Exclusive Interview: Palin's Wired; Gibson's a Robot
At least Sarah Palin passed the Mudd test in her exclusive interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson.
The Roger Mudd test, that is, when the country’s most popular hockey mom was able to answer without hesitation if she was ready to be vice-president and why she accepted the number two spot.
Political junkies remember well the infamous CBS documentary in 1979 on Senator Edward Kennedy, titled ``Teddy’’, in which the Massachusetts senator was asked by Roger Mudd why he wanted to be president? With a baffled look, Kennedy hemmed and hawed before clumsily drifting into a rambling incoherent 350 word answer, which demonstrated to millions of viewers that he really hadn’t thought about why he wanted to be president.
When asked almost the same question Thursday night in part-one of a three-part interview, Palin without as much as batting an eye, said ``I answered him yes, because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink.’’
The Alaska governor then went on to explain what exactly she brings to the table on the bottom of the Republican ticket, mostly involving her ability to help bring about energy independence due to her diligence as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Though Palin’s credentials still appear razor-thin, her reason for wanting to be the second woman vice presidential running mate in U.S. history on a major ticket, however, does appear as earnest as any other candidate when accepting the V.P spot; which is, to help carry the torch for their party when duty calls. If Sarah Palin, in her view, is the best person to help John McCain get elected, then Sarah Palin is ready to be vice president.
Her interview with the grim-faced Gibson did show she could have used a few more tutorials with McCain’s foreign policy wonks. When asked what the Bush doctrine was, the Alaska Gov. clearly didn’t know the answer, but like any politician, that didn’t stop her from giving what she thought was an acceptable roundabout or a ``blizzard of words’’ response.
I was almost waiting for the ABC nightly news anchor to pounce on a loud buzzer to let her know she was giving him the wrong answer. Instead, Gibson politely waited for Palin to finish before smugly informing her, ``the Bush doctrine, [..ahem!..] as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?’’
Oh, that Bush Doctrine? Sorry Charlie!
I searched the Internet looking for public opinion polls which would have showed how many voters knew what the Bush doctrine really was, but to my disappointment, I couldn’t find such a poll.
Clearly, a vice-presidential candidate should know what a major doctrine of the president is, but it nonetheless would have been interesting to know how many other voters had the same glazed look in their eyes as Palin had when asked the stumper of the night.
I was disappointed; in fact, Gibson didn’t ask Sarah what the S. stands for in Harry S. Truman’s name.
Lee Sigelman, Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, and author of ``Attack Politics’’ and ``Nominating the President’’ would be ``amazed if more than a single-digit percentage have any clue [of the Bush doctrine]. ``Obviously, the veep nominee isn't among that single-digit percentage’’ Sigelman responded, but warned: ``at some point, her inability to answer such questions -- more generally, her lack of knowledge of major issues -- may come back to bite the Republicans. ``But not yet; they're still basking in the glory of this unexpected development, as she is the media story du jour, just as Obama was for quite a while.’’
Actually, If Gibson hadn’t been so determined on embarrassing Palin over her interpretation of the Bush doctrine, he could have stopped her in mid-sentence and questioned what she meant when she said ``there have been blunders along the way’’ ``There have been mistakes made. ``And with new leadership…..Stop right there Gov Palin, Gibson should have interjected, ``what mistakes were made along the way?..who was to blame?.. exactly which blunders are you referring to, please explain?
Gibson’s gotcha moment came at the expense of a missed opportunity; her answer on what mistakes were made along the way could have been quite revealing in distinguishing McCain’s foreign policy from the current administrations
Palin handled herself more capably in part two of Gibson’s exclusive in discussing the battered economy, pointing out Alaska was the poster child of earmarks before ``killing that earmark, killing that project’’ after stepping into the governor’s mansion
The star of the Republican Convention regained her pit-bull charisma when dismissing misleading news reports of Troopergate, the banning of books when she was mayor of Wasilla, expounding on her personal views on abortion (which is in tension with her boss’s) her support for guns, and diminishing all the commotion paid over whether a mother of five will still be able to handle the demands of the vice presidency.
Judging it strictly as a television event, the Palin/Gibson interview lacked rhythm. Even worse, it didn’t seem to flow naturally from one topic to another.
I don’t recall Gibson ever cracking a smile. He seemed more interested in not giving a soft interview for fear of being labeled ``Softball Charlie’,’ instead of just sitting down and having a casual conversation with the Republican vice-presidential nominee on what her qualifications are, what she’s accomplished in Alaska, and what she views the most pressing problems facing the country to be.
Instead, Gibson came to the interview too much like a caged lion, too much like a principal calling one his underperforming students into his office, and too much like a programmed robot hoping to catch his guest in more embarrassing ``gotcha moments’’
A seasoned professional like Gibson should have known that when you ask scripted questions, you’ll likely get scripted answers.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
September 11 Seven-Year Anniversay: A Statistical Update
``Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’’
-Sir Winston Churchill
***
Thursday marks the seven-year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, when 2800 lives were lost at the World Trade Center (343 firefighters, 23 members of the NYPD, 37 Port Authority police officers, and 2,200 civilians), while 184 more died at the Pentagon building, all coming at the hands of terrorists.
In remembrance, The Morning Delivery has compiled a statistical update on how one day affected the nation in so many different ways.
• In an effort to combat terrorism after 9/11, President George W. Bush signed into the law the Patriot Act on October 26, 2001, a bill consisting of 342 pages, 156 sections, and giving the FBI and CIA expanded powers to tap phones, monitor Internet traffic, and allow federal agents to obtain business and personal records. The Senate approved the bill (98-1), followed by the House of Representatives in a 357-66 vote.
• The USA Patriot Act is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
• On March 4, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed revisions to the Patriot Act (280 to 138), which placed curbs on the act’s powers, including protecting libraries from government intrusion and creating judicial oversight.
• According to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, as of September 9, 2008, 414 local, county, and state resolutions have been passed condemning the Patriot Act as a violation of civil liberties.
• Prior to September 11, 2001, The Federal Aviation Administration appropriated $244 million for airport security, including $102 million for Explosives Detection Systems, Trace Detectors, X-Ray Threat Image Projection; and $142 million for Operations (funding for employees salaries, operational travel and routine operating expenses).
As a result of 9/11, The Transportation Security Administration was created and put in charge of all forms of transportation, including airport security.
Between 2002 and 2005, $18.109 billion was budgeted for security by TSA.
As of May 31, 2005, the FY outlays for TSA were $2.861 billion.
In 2008, the total budget for the department is $ 6.3 billion
• When the Homeland Security Department was created in 2002, $3.5 billion had been budgeted for ant- terrorism measures. In 2004, the budget increased to $36.2 billion, a 64 percent increase from FY 2002 levels, and 7.4 percent more than 2003.
In FY 2006, President Bush requested $41.1 billion for the department, a seven percent increase from the previous year; and on February 5, 2007, the president’s fiscal year 2008 budget request for (DHS) represents $46.4 billion in funding, an increase of 8 percent over the FY 2007 level.
• In FY 2003, New York received $232 million from the Department of Homeland Security; in 2004, $167 million; and in 2005, 298 million.
On July 25, 2008, New York governor David A. Paterson, announced the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded New York State more than $251 million through the fiscal year 2008 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), including $144 million for the New York City Urban Area. New York State received an increase of more than $40 million in federal funds over the 2007 fiscal year.
• The Social Security Administration estimates, as of 2008, over $200 million in benefits have been paid out to people affected by the September 11 tragedy.
• According to ``Bowker's Books In Print'' database, in the U.S. publishing market alone, there have been 1,321 books written about 9/11, which includes fiction, pictorial books, and juvenile literature
• According to The Foundation Center, $2.6 billion has been donated for 9/11 victims.
• On Sept. 10, 2001, there were 11,327 firefighters and officers in the New York City Fire Department. The most recent figures available by the department reports there are now 11,500 firefighters and officers.
• According to the New York Chief Medical Examiners Office, as of August 23rd, out of 2751 reported missing from the World Trade Center, 1126 victims or 41 percent have not been identified; leaving 1625 which have been identified.
• On the eve of 9/11, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) budgeted $7.6 million for general security purposes, including its police force.
After 9/11, the agency received $ 591 million for security.
Despite only a fraction of that money being spent by MTA, the agency announced a deal on August 23, 2005, with Lockheed Martin Corp, which called for a $212 million security upgrade, including new video cameras and enhanced monitoring and surveillance equipment.
• Sept 11th also had an impact on the professional sport’s world:
Immediately after the horrific tragedy, Major League Baseball introduced a number of security changes, including prohibiting coolers, backpacks or large bags in any ballpark, increased presence of uniformed law enforcement at all games, and the identification and inspection of all ballpark deliveries.
• This year On September 11, all MLB teams will wear the Stars and Stripes hats that were worn the weekend of July 4. In addition, the Stars & Stripes caps will be authenticated and auctioned on MLB.com, with proceeds going to Welcome Back Veterans
Who Coined 9/11?
The New York Times first used the term ``9/11’’ in a headline for a Bill Keller op-ed article on September 12, 2001: ``Correspondent: America’s Emergency Line: 9/11’’
When asked about the origin of ``9/11’’ Jack Rosenthal, President of The New York Times Company Foundation, responded by email on his recollection of the day.
``Like just about everyone else in America, I kept asking myself all day, what can we do. That evening, the answer dawned on me: do just what we do every day at The Times Company Foundation, philanthropy. Why don't we start a relief fund? We already had in place the machinery for our annual Neediest Cases Fund -- 501c3 tax exempt status, phone numbers, online contribution site, credit card phone lines. Let's create a special solicitation of Times readers around the country.
That night, sitting at my laptop in my Manhattan apartment overlooking the Hudson River, I sent e-mails to Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., our chairman and publisher; Rhonda Brauer, our Foundation lawyer; and other executives describing the idea and calling it The New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund. By morning, everyone had signed on so I did the next natural thing for a former reporter and editor; I wrote it up as a story, as a convenient way to get the information across to the hugely harried Times news department.’’
The New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund’s first article appeared on September 13; and according to Rosenthal, the fund raised $62 million with the money distributed within the first 6 months and benefiting 30,000 of the neediest families.
Websites to Keep in Mind
WTC Names: A complete list of the names of the 2,751 World Trade Center victims will be posted on the City of New York's website prior to New York’s Commemoration Ceremony at Zuccotti Park. Names will be read in alphabetical order as they are listed.
September 11 Memorials and Dedications by State
NYC Freedom Tower:
September 11: A Memorial: CNN
World Trade Center Investigation Plan from the U.S Department of Commerce
The 9/11 Commission: An Audio Chronicle: NPR
World Trade Center: Statistics and History (From The Skyscraper Museum)
September 11 News Archives
A Summary of News Coverage from September 11, 2001 (From Internet Archive)
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
September 10, 2008
Is Sarah Palin A Beacon For Other Women?
Now that a small town governor, who won a mayor’s term with 660 votes not so long ago running on the platform of ``roads and sewers’’ before being elected the first female governor of Alaska in 2006, has soared to a presidential ticket (only the second woman in U.S. history), the question is being asked how much of an inspiration Sarah Palin, 44, has become to other women?
In other words, are we likely to see in the near future, other PTA moms, members of small town city councils, follow the same path as John McCain’s running mate in running for higher offices, such as governorships , state legislatures, and the U.S Congress?
Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College, Marion Just thinks ``Palin has shown that a woman can have lots of young children, even children with problems, and still run for high office. ``Her example may encourage higher aspirations among other women governors (all of whom, by definition are outside the Beltway), such as Jeanne Shaheen (current New Hampshire candidate for the Senate), Montana's governor Judy Martz (who was once the state's Miss Rodeo), Janet Napolitano (first woman reelected governor in Arizona), and Kathleen Sibelius (who has played a role in the Obama campaign).’’
Others aren’t so convinced ``Palinmania'' will be such a boon to other women seeking higher office if she fails to pass the scrutiny of the press in handling some hot-button issues in the coming weeks, particularly during her highly anticipated debate with Joe Biden Jr., Oct. 2nd at Washington University in St. Louis.
Pippa Norris, Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University , observes there``are also serious questions about this particular choice of candidate, notably her complete lack of national and international experience, irrespective of her gender. ``And the nomination of a female candidate is not necessarily positive for the broader issues and policies which women care about and where they have distinct social needs and concerns’’
Considering Palin’s foreign policy experience shows nothing but blank spaces on her resume, Stephen Biegun, a former George W. Bush National Security adviser, along with economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, and others, have reportedly been putting the vice presidential running mate through a grueling``boot camp’’on some of the more prominent foreign policy issues she’ll likely be asked by an inquisitive press corp.
One thing is for certain: the Alaska governor will be stepping into the ring against a seasoned prize-fighter when she debates the Delaware senator, who in addition to 35 years as a legislator, is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Palin can ill-afford a misstep, similar to Gerald Ford during his debate with Jimmy Carter in 1976, when Ford said: `` There is no Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe’’, a huge blunder which the press was quick to pounce on.
Karen Beckwith, reached on her cell phone, thinks Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience might be the least of her problems in the coming weeks. The Professor of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University and co-author of a new book: ``Political Women and American Democracy’’ thinks in addition to her lack of foreign policy credentials, Beckwith argues, Palin will have to contend with some of her own shaky domestic issues, such as ``earmarks (in which it’s been widely reported Palin hired a Washington lobbyist in obtaining $27 million in earmarks for Wasilla), before she gains secure footing in being considered a legitimate candidate.''
After such a dazzling speech in St Paul Minn. during the Republican Convention, many were quick to compare the hockey mom with the pit-bull aggression to the star power that came to Mario Cuomo and Barack Obama after their keynote addresses in 1984 and 2004.
The jury still seems to be out whether the youthful Alaska governor is yet in the same league as the former New York governor and the Democratic presidential nominee; or even whether she should be considered presidential timber four and eight years from now. That question will depend largely on how well she holds up to further media scrutiny in the coming weeks, and how the McCain/Palin ticket fares in November. As Professor Beckwith points out, if McCain gets crushed by Obama, Palin might be just a one-hit wonder. On the other hand, if McCain wins and his age becomes even more of a concern four years from now, Palin will in all likelihood be the new darling tapped to lead the Republican ticket in 2012.
All things considered, whether Palin’s rise to the presidential ticket was too hasty; or has ignited a much needed spark to the Republican Party not seen since the Reagan Revolution, you can’t help but marvel how so many voters that don’t ordinarily get excited about politics, have embraced the Alaska governor as a beacon of hope for a new breed of public servants.
Dianne Bystrom, Director of the Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University is encouraged by the Sarah Palin story. `` I hope her candidacy and the story of her small town roots etc. encourages more women to run for political office from both political parties. ``Even women who don't identify with her political views may indentify with her experiences as a wife and mother living in small town America. ``Frankly, Bystrom wrote through an email, women of both parties and from different backgrounds and political views need more encouragement to seek political office at all levels of government.’’
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
John McCain Accepts Nomination; Falls Short on Solutions
But with the country engaged in Iraq, Republicans are banking that this election will be decided not by flashy speeches, but by which party has the nation’s trust to take the baton from George W. Bush during perilous times.
Except for a couple of brief references, McCain stayed clear of going head to head with his rival, Barack Obama. Still, the question of whether his opponent has the trust and competency to satisfy voters will be a theme Republicans hope to drive at over and over again through November.
Obama’s lack of military experience contrasted with McCain’s decorated war heroism, his belief in putting ``country first'’ is an argument the Democrats will have to contend with if they hope to reclaim the White House in November.
McCain really didn’t need to attack Obama that much last night, now that ``Sarah Barracuda'' has been tapped as his running mate. Gov. Palin has been designated the new attack dog, as she demonstrated Wednesday in convincing fashion.
In the coming weeks ahead, when the campaign intensifies and the campaign ads get nastier, the Alaska Gov. will be the one doing the punching, unleashing sharp jabs, making sarcastic remarks, and delivering punishing body checks to her opponents, (just like any hockey mom would do), while McCain emphasizes his Father Knows Best appeal and war and legislative experience.
The road will not be an easy one. The party of Lincoln has a lot going against them. An unpopular president (with a dismal 30 percent approval rating); the economy in shambles, a nominee who might be too old to effectively lead the country, with a running mate who hasn’t yet been battle tested during the heat of a campaign.
While watching McCain slowly grind his way through his acceptance speech, like he was in a dentist’s chair (briefly interrupted by an anti-war demonstrator), it’s clear Palin has become a bigger story than her boss, which can’t be a good thing in the long run for a few reasons:
• Palinmania might take attention away from McCain’s central message; that of being the courageous war veteran who has the experience to lead this nation in time of war.
• Palin’s youth and growing popularity with small town America, and the way she has roused a new breed of voters, might make McCain look like he’s caught in a time warp.
• Palin will be under so much scrutiny in the coming weeks that her inexperience, particularly in foreign policy, will be overshadowed by her thin resume as a mayor and governor.
Already, Palin upstaged McCain with her stunning speech Wednesday night. Both during Cindy and John McCain’s speeches last night, the Alaska governor received the loudest roars of the night after being introduced.
In fact, The mother of five has become so popular, voters might feel cheated if they don’t get the opportunity to hear from the hockey mom on the campaign trail, almost as if McCain is getting in the way of her inspiring story.
Meanwhile, other than making a case for himself as a proven war veteran, who ``would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war’’, the Arizona senator failed to present a strong enough domestic package Thursday night in pulling the economy out of a near recession; and what to do about health care and the 44 million Americans without insurance, what do about the housing crisis and record number of foreclosures, what to do about the rising unemployment rate, while consumer confidence continues to tumble.
There will, I’m sure, be lots of spirited dialogue about the so-called ``cultural wars'' between Republicans and Democrats, especially with Palin now on board, discussing abortion, guns, and the meaning of what defines a true patriot, but a McCain/Palin ticket will have hard time convincing voters to return the Republicans to the White House unless they come up with a detailed economic plan that emphasizes more than just job training and the menace of pork- barrel projects by a spend thrift Congress.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Sarah Palin Takes Center Stage: A Star Is Born
The same can’t be said for his running mate.
Like Ronald Reagan speaking at the 1964 Republican Convention; and New York Gov. Mario Cuomo’s memorable keynote address at the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco, a star was born Wednesday night at the Excel Energy Center in St Paul, Minn.
Even if Obama/Biden win in a landslide, America will remember the first time they fixed their eyes on Sarah Palin and the words and the fire that flowed from her lips.
After five relentless days of the media digging up bits and pieces of her life, (troopergate, a teenage daughter pregnant, husband charged with DUI), Palin finally was given the opportunity to let America do their own vetting; and based on the pounding cheers and persistent chants that erupted during her 34 minute speech, America liked what they heard.
The Alaska governor had an awfully tall mountain to climb last night.
Unlike Joe Biden, who everyone knows like the back of their hand for the last 35 years, no one really knew who Sarah Palin was except through the buzz from the Internet and profiles slapped together by major news organization over the past week.
The vetting process will almost certainly continue. The press will surely scour her closets for more skeletons and report on possible conflicts of interest; and her opponents will undoubtedly question her foreign policy experience, but at least for one night, Gov. Palin silenced her critics over whether she has the right stuff.
When ``Sarah Barracuda." first stepped to the podium, displaying a weak wave, with a tight smile, you almost got the feeling you were about to listen to a student government speech from your local high school gym.
But after introducing America to her version of the modern-day Von Trapp family (Bristol, Willow, Piper, et al) and then dressed down her opponent, her words seemed to increase in intensity, her lips tightened, and you got a sense she’s fought a battle or two in her lifetime, and her road wasn’t always an easy one.
Delegates crunched together in the Twin Cities and those sitting in their living rooms must have thought they were watching a microcosm of themselves: a hockey mom, sons in the military, husband belongs to a Steelworker’s Union, sister and brother-in- law just opening a service statition, a mother of five, including one with Down Syndrome.
Sarah Palin’s life seemed to be the same life led by millions of other Americans, only she’s been mayor of Wasilla and is Governor of Alaska; and now wants to be the next vice president of the United States.
The most significant slice of Palin’s speech aside from striking a populist cord with Republican delegates was the way she not only answered questions about her qualifications, but nimbly turned the tables on her opponents and questioned their credentials.
Specifically, the Alaska governor sarcastically compared her stint as mayor to Senator Obama’s time spent on the South Side of Chicago as a community organizer. I guess the only difference, Palin deadpanned, is ``mayor’s actually have real responsibilities’’, a zinger that sprung party members to their feet. Later, Palin ridiculed Obama for authoring two memoirs, but not authoring one constructive bill in the U.S Senate.
Watching this hockey mom, former PTA mom, now Gov. mom, attack her opponents in a chic pit-bull manner, made you feel like you were watching Jimmy Stewart in ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.''
Line after line, it was one small town American story after another, the way she got rid of the corporate jet after being elected governor, doing her own cooking instead of having a chef, driving herself to work etc.
A large chunk of voters, without question, must have felt for the first time in quite a long time, maybe the first time in their lives, they weren’t listening to a wily politician spewing out the same old company line, but were hearing words from a real person for a change, who understands their concerns, feels their pain, and who will be their``friend and advocate in the White House’’
Whether this hockey mom that has hopped on the Straight Talk Express makes it to Washington to ``shake things up'' will be the talk of the town in the coming months ahead
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Republican Convention: Two Mavericks Save The Night
There was so much nostalgic film footage of past party titans like Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan that I was expecting Shelby Foote to appear, but then I remembered the distinguished novelist and Civil War historian has long since gone to his grave.
Watching First Lady Laura Bush, whose never been known for her public speaking skills, trying to attest to her husband’s character, sounded stale and trite as she repeated the same old tired Bush accomplishments: education reform, Supreme Court justices…. ``let’s not forget George Bush has kept the American people safe’’ a line which was met with a subdued but respectful ovation.
Mrs. Bush, I thought, would have done much better sketching a picture of the man no one really knows, such as the president’s emotions being Father of the bride to his daughter Jenna , the burden the president carries, daily, watching young men and women putting their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan, who were his heroes growing up?
George Bush’s (beamed via satellite at 9: 53 p.m EST) from the White House, didn’t display much more energy than wife Laura’s. He tried to inject some salesmanship behind the McCain candidacy, saying ``he’s ready to lead the nation’’ and saluting his maverick streak. ``John McCain is an independent man who thinks for himself’’ Bush said.
The 43rd president looked every inch like a man who will go down as one of the least popular president’s in history. His speech lacked flash or rhythm. What’s worse; it looked like he was delivering a press briefing, instead of rallying fellow Republicans, which could have been realized had he been dressed in his signature jeans or speaking in a fire-side chat setting.
The party really didn’t get going until 10:08 p.m., when Fred Thompson wandered out and started belting out a rustic testimonial to McCain and why he should be elected president.
First, in descriptive detail, the former Tennessee senator spoke about McCain’s heroism, about the beatings and cracked ribs while being held captive. ``His bones may have broken, but his spirit never was’’ the Law & Order star said, as delegates assembled at the XCEL Energy Center finally began to spring to life
Thompson was especially effective making a strong case for McCain’s maverick status, and war heroism, while tearing into Obama, without once mentioning his name.
Compared to the Democratic nominee’s junket to Iraq, Thompson reminded Republican’s, ``McCain was in Iraq eight times’’, and not for publicity, a clear shot at Obama’s media-frenzied trip to Iraq in July.
Attempting to weaken the significance of the Democrat’s historic moment in nominating the first African-American to a presidential ticket, Thompson retorted ``history making in that he [Obama] is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for President’’, words that revved up the restrained crowd and made it sound like a convention again.
Joe Lieberman was the last up before calling it a night. And the former Connecticut Democrat turned independent spoke to McCain’s independence in putting ``country above party'', a dominant theme Republicans hope to drive home through Thursday.
Lieberman, much like Thompson, didn’t mention Obama’s name when he said that ``eloquence is no substitute for America, not in these tough times’’, a clear swipe at the Democratic nominee being rich in rhetoric, but lacking in substance.
By far, the best slap of the night was when Lieberman compared McCain to Bill Clinton as a president who worked with Republican’s in getting legislation passed. Obama, by comparison, Sen. Lieberman told cheering delegates, `` never crossed the aisles'' during his short time in the Senate with a sprit of bipartisanship.
The way Hurricane Gustav wiped out the opening night of the convention, the tidal wave that followed with revelations of Gov. Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter's pregnancy, and the lifeless energy evident during the first few hours of the convention, you got the feeling things were quickly headed for a disastrous nose-dive.
The convention was saved, ironically enough, by a couple of mavericks in their own right: Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Republian National Convention Preview: John McCain Completes Hat Trick
To counter the stellar performances at the Democratic National Convention by Bill and Hillary Clinton that culminated in Barack Obama’s dazzling acceptance speech on Thursday, John McCain pulled off a hat trick of his own by selecting Alaska Gov. and ``hockey mom’’ Sarah Palin as his running mate. 1.) It showed the Arizona senator’s maverick streak has returned in picking an anti-establishment, outside the beltway unknown; 2.) He strengthened his conservative base, by choosing a candidate who opposes abortion, is a member of the NRA; and has supported an amendment that bans same-sex marriage in her home state; 3.) Selected a woman, a young one at that, 44, who might be able pull in a portion of the 18 million who voted for Sen. Clinton.
If you consider 60 percent of Democratic voters are women, picking Alaska’s first female governor makes perfect strategic sense.
Palin, who drives a pick-up truck to work, is the mother of five, with a highly regarded track record in confronting oil companies, and is married to a man who works on the oilfields on Alaska’s Arctic coast, not only brings a fresh face to the ticket; it recharges the lethargic Republican Party, who after watching the Democrat’s make history in nominating the first African-American to a major ticket, made history of their own, by putting a woman on the Republican ticket.
The downside, of course, in choosing someone as young as Palin with less than two years of experience as governor in a state with a population of 660,000, and a former mayor of Wasilla (population 9,780), centers on the many questions that will be raised about her lack of understanding in world affairs, which takes on added importance when you consider McCain, 72, if elected, will be the oldest commander-in-chief ever to occupy the Oval Office.
Nonetheless, James W. Muller doesn’t necessarily buy into this ``lack of experience’’ canard that has already been wrapped around the Alaska governor. ``As mayor of Alaska’s fastest-growing city and then as a popular governor who commands support from 85% of the state’s voters, the Professor of Political Science at the University of Anchorage, notes ``she [Palin] has thirteen years of executive experience—more than Obama, Biden, or McCain put together.’’
Unquestionably, Palin’s familiarity of foreign policy will be severely tested in the coming weeks and months ahead and even more so during the vice-presidential debates when she squares off against the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair with 35 years of legislative experience: Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The combative Delaware senator could very well make confetti out of Palin, by exposing her weakness in front of millions of television viewers if she fails to grasp what’s at stake in Iraq and Afghanistan, the menace of Russia’s new assertiveness in the Caucasus, and how best to deal with China as a formidable global power. It could make McCain look downright foolish having selected such an inexperienced candidate if she falls flat in the debates.
On the other hand, if the youthful governor surprises everyone with her grasp of foreign affairs, a swath of independent and disheartened Republican voters might think twice about voting for Obama, knowing that if something should befall McCain, the country would be in competent hands.
One corner of the globe Palin has a personal interest in involves Iraq. Her son, Track, who enlisted in the Army last year, is scheduled to be deployed to Baghdad in September. Biden's son, Beau, by the way, an Attorney General in Delaware and a member of the Delaware Army National Guard, is also scheduled to be deployed to Iraq (October 3, 2008), which should at least make for an interesting exchange between the two candidates on the theater in Iraq.
It’s almost laughable the way so many have criticized McCain’s selection of Palin as being an act of desperation, that forced him to launch a ``Hail-Mary’’ pass.
Well, guess what? McCain is desperate; therefore he needed to inject some razzle-dazzle into his campaign in order to slow down a surging Obama/Biden ticket which undeniably caught fire with a vast majority of American voters after a flawless convention.
Let’s face it; despite some polls showing McCain and Obama within 10 points of each other, after eight years of George W. Bush botching everything from the war in Iraq to leaving the economy in such sad shape, nothing (and no one) is really going to save the Republicans from losing the White House in November.
Palin just makes the election a little more interesting. What’s more, by selecting the first woman on the Republican presidential ticket, McCain has opened the door (intentionally or unintentionally) for a new breed of Republicans, who will replace (four and eight years from now), the old tired establishment, and especially the outdated mantra of post-9/11, which candidates like Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney championed on the campaign trail without much success.
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Footnotes about Republican Conventions
• In 1896, the Republicans became the first party to endorse women’s suffrage.
• Today, GOP stands for ``Grand Old Party.’’ But the original meaning in 1875 was ``Gallant Old Party’’; and later ``Get Out and Push’’, when automobiles were invented.
• The 1940 Republican Convention held in Philadelphia was the first to be broadcast on television by NBC using an AT&T coaxial cable
• The first Republican national convention was held in Philadelphia on June 17, 1856: John C. Fremont of California was the party’s choice for president; William L. Dayton of New Jersey received the nod for Vice President.
• The Republican convention held in Chicago on June 8, 1920, marked a historic moment when women for the first time, were permitted on the floor as delegates. And a new term had entered the political lexicon: `Smoke filled room’’, according to convention historians, was used for the first time as way of describing delegates deadlocked at the Blackstone-Suite 408-10-- before deciding on Sen. Warren G. Harding of Ohio in the early morning hours.
• When the Republicans gathered in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 10, 1924, it marked the first national party convention to be broadcast on radio by 15 stations nationwide. It was also the first time a woman was elected to the national committee.
• On June 26, 1944, Republicans prepared a civil rights plank that called for an investigation into the treatment of blacks in the military, a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate the poll tax, laws that would abolish lynching, and the establishment of a Fair Employment Practice Commission.
Thomas E. Dewey became the first Republican to accept the nomination in person.
• August 29, 2004: On the eve of the Republican Convention, more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Manhattan protesting the administration's war in Iraq. Four nights later, George W. Bush tells a cheering crowd inside Madison Square Garden after accepting his party's nomination ``that we will build a safer world and a more hopeful America and nothing will hold us back."
Origin of the Republican Party
Republican Party (1854): The party was born in response to antislavery forces angry with the passage of Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed citizens in those two territories to allow slavery if they voted for it.
Horace Greeley, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, coined the name Republican Party in a June 17, 1854 issue of his paper.
Between the years 1860 and 1932, the Republicans were the majority party; 56 of those years occupying the White House; 50 years controlling the House of Representatives; and 60 controlling the Senate.
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Websites to Keep in Mind:
2008 Republican National Convention
Contributions to John McCain’s campaign (by state) through 7/31/2008 by the FEC
Governor Palin’s Biography(State of Alaska website)
Republican Convention: Facts & Figures (Minneapolis Convention & Visitor’s Bureau)
Statistical Facts about St. Paul (and Denver) from the U.S. Census Bureau
John McCain vs. Barack Obama on the issues (From America.gov)
Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speeches: 1880-2008 (from The American Presidency Project)
Minneapolis Saint Paul 2008 Host Committee
Political Experts: University of Minnesota
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Obama Ready For Prime Time
The Democratic nominee addressing the packed mob at Invesco Field at Mile High, picked up right from where Bill Clinton left off Wednesday, which is, making the case for change.
Obama mentioned the word ``change’’ 15 times during his 41-minute acceptance speech last night.
Change was the essential Democratic message to the American people over the past week; specifically, the failed policies of George W. Bush and the need for fresh leadership.
In Mr. Obama’s own words, America need change because:
• ``Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists, who wrote it’’...
• Change bankruptcy laws
• ``Change because the Bush administration has strained our ``old alliances’’ in the international community
• ``Change we need doesn't come from Washington’’ Obama said, ``Change comes to Washington.’’
An extension of the ``change’’ theme was linking the Republican presumed nominee to the failed policies of the Bush administration. ``John McCain voted with President Bush ninety percent of the time’’ Mr. Obama reminded cheering Democrats.
In another line, Obama took the opportunity to mention McCain once said the economy has made ``great progress’’ under the Bush administration. And toward the end of the speech, the Illinois senator noted the ``Bush-McCain foreign policy’’ has ``squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.’’
It was a well crafted speech full of patriotic fervor with the aim of returning America to its roots: traditional values through hard work, ``dignity of work’’, and reminding Democrats they come from the ``party of Kennedy and Roosevelt’’, and the need to restore the ``American spirit.’’
The speech was deliberately decorated with red white and blue themes in anticipation of the Republican Convention (beginning Monday) in which the party will nominate a war hero, and a party which has traditionally played up the patriotic themes to the point of nausea.
Obama was dressed in a blue suit, sporting a red tie, and wearing a white shirt. And yes, he was wearing an American lapel pin; at least it looked like he was.
When he was through, the stage where Mr. Obama was speaking resembled a scene from the motion picture``Yankee Doodle Dandy’; fireworks soaring through the air, a large American flag on the stage, all four of the Obama’s hand-in-hand, with most in attendance waving their hand-held American flags. All that was missing was Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps dishing out apple pie.
This was, of course, all perfectly orchestrated by the Democrats to shoot down the Republican’s tendency to paint them as lacking in patriotic credentials.
Obama, for example, challenged McCain to agree that patriotism has no party. ``So let us agree that I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain.’’ Obama said.
Another traditional perception that the Democrat’s are nothing but tax and spend liberals, was shattered by Obama, promising to cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families, while eliminating federal governments that are wasteful or no longer work, usually a promise made by Republicans.
So after watching the Democrats taking away all their bread and butter themes, Republicans must be scratching thier heads wondering how Team Obama was able to rip a page out of their own playbook.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Bill Clinton Knocked One Out of the Park in Denver
Opening words spoken by former president Bill Clinton to the raucous ovation he received at the Pepsi Center last night in Denver.
The former president proved in convincing fashion why he is the better half of the Clinton’s.
Hillary delivered a forceful compelling speech on Tuesday. In fact, it might have been her best speech yet, but it didn’t really compare with hubby Bill’s, who electrified the crowd with his sage advice and command of the podium, as he worked the packed Convention Center like he was a Principal conductor of an orchestra: the tempo, rhythm, and harmonization were perfectly in tune before building to a crescendo.
Clinton’s speech was part nostalgia (of his White House years), part validation (of Barack Obama ready to be president), but mostly it was a hard repudiation of the Bush years, and the danger that lurks if John McCain is elected
The former president pushed all the right buttons: ``Katrina and cronyism’’, ``third term is not the charm’’, ``badly strained military’’ ``rebuild America and restore leadership’’ all phrases that charged the American flag waving crowd into a frenzy.
But the most important lines of the Clinton speech was his convincing endorsement of the Democratic nominee.
``Barack Obama is ready to be president’’, Clinton yelled. Later, he reminded the crowd, in 1992, about those naysayers who said he was too young and too inexperienced to be president, but they were wrong because he was on the ``right side of history’’. And ``Barack is on the right side of history’’ as well, Clinton roared, words that sent Democrats at the Pepsi Center over the top and put to rest any questions about division between the Clinton’s and the Obama’s.
One thing that struck me during Mr. Clinton’s gripping speech was they way he’s completely out of his element as a mere bystander or second banana.
Unlike when he was stumping for Hillary, his face often looking as red as a fire engine, finger wagging at the press, the former president last night looked relaxed, confident, regal, and very presidential.
Immediately after the speech, ABC’s Sam Donaldson (via webcast) correctly observed that it was a good thing the 22nd amendment was passed (limiting a president to two terms) or Obama might be in trouble.
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While watching Joe Biden deliver his acceptance speech, it occurred to me 2008 might be the first presidential election in which the election is settled by who the vice president is.
Biden with his distinguished 35 years in the U.S. Senate was selected primarily to put some more pop into the ticket as experienced enough in foreign affairs.
With John McCain 71 years-old, voters will be looking for a vice president who has the experience and understanding of the international arena, much like Biden has, but also somone who is younger and capable enough to carry the torch should McCain die in office.
I always thought the office of the vice president ``wasn’t worth a bucket of warm spit’’?
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Democratic Convention (Night Two) Observations: Hillary Delivers
The junior senator from New York had it both ways last night: As promised, she delivered a unity speech to urge her supporters, delegates, and all Democrats to gather behind Barack Obama.
And yet, without mentioning Mr. Obama’s name for long stretches of her 23 minute speech, she nimbly ticked off her own agenda, just as she’s done over the past 19 months: on universal health care, civil rights, labor rights, gay rights, women’s rights, the voters she met on the campaign trail, like the woman she met stricken with cancer, without health insurance, who had ``Hillary’’ painted on her bald head; the injured Marine deprived of medical care…then shooting down the failed policies of Republicans over the last eight years. ``No way, no how, no McCain’’ became her war cry.
It was a booming speech and accomplished just what it was intended to do: unite the party, put away past differences, and attack the real enemy, the Republicans, namely, John McCain, with Mr. Obama as their nominee.
Still, in a way, the speech was so well delivered and pumped so much high energy into the partisan crowd, it has now put all the more pressure on Obama to top her Thursday night at Invesco Field, or voters might come away thinking they nominated the wrong candidate.
Before ending her speech, Hillary being Hillary, took a couple parting shots, but in a subtle skillful manner.
First she challenged Senator Obama to carry on her signature campaign issue: universal health care, saying, ``I look forward to the day when President Obama signs into law a health care plan that will cover every single American’’. Obama and Clinton, as all remember well, had some lively debates on how universal health care could best be accomplished.
Then she reminded everyone about the glory days of the Clinton years. When talking about all the possibilities under a future Democratic administration, Mrs. Clinton said ``as I recall we did it before with President Clinton’’
So through all the brush fires gathering force over the past week between Obama and Clinton delegates, Hillary came to Denver as a uniter not a divider, which is exactly what Team Obama and the Democrats needed to present a united front to voters.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]