Sunday, August 31, 2008

Back again...

So I took a few weeks off from this blog, but now that the summer is coming to an end, I am back...

I have spent the last week or so watching the Democratic convention, and I have to say it was quite well orchestrated. Perhaps I am a cynic, but I didn't buy a single bit of the drama over how well the Clinton's would come to support Senator Obama.

I am sure that some of Hillary's supporters genuinely were pushing for a larger role for their candidate, and were willing to follow where ever she lead. But I am convinced that the nature of both Hillary and Bill Clinton's speeches were determined well in advance of the convention. The drama was entirely manufactured for media consumption and distribution.

It sure worked -- you couldn't click a link on-line, change the channel on the TV, or turn the page on a newspaper without seeing dramatic speculation on what would occur... It certainly drew viewers to the convention coverage too... Based on the ratings that Senator Obama received for his speech, I think that the Democratic Party can crow "Mission Accomplished!"

All that said, I thought that Senator Obama delivered one heck of a speech on Thursday. The text was good, and the delivery was better. Even staunch Republican's admitted that Obama sounded like a statesman...

It will be interesting to see how the Republican Party does this week. Unfortunately hurricane Gustav seems fated to interfere with both the coverage, and with their speakers. To some degree, that may be a boon... With some notable exceptions, there is a dearth of moving speakers in the top tiers of the Republican party. It may be far more positive for Senator McCain to be seen going to the Gulf Coast. In many ways, Senator McCain's strength is at the individual level, so seeing him talking to and helping ordinary citizens does far more for him than giving a speech.

I am not sure what to make of his selection of Governor Palin as his running mate. From her record, it appears that she is a reformer, and a believer in small government, so that is a positive. On the other hand, the choice of a female governor in her first term, just looks a bit to calculated... Is her gender alone going to attract former Clinton voters? I am not sure that active democrats who supported Clinton will jump ship to vote for a strict pro-life Republican who strongly supports drilling in ANWAR...

Interesting times...