More Random Thoughts

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Tonight’s the big night. Barack Obama, acceptance speech, outdoor stadium. Good idea, or bad? We’ll see. This has got to be the speech of his life. Expectations are high; if the speech doesn’t meet them, the buzz will be that he failed.

Tomorrow John McCain is supposed to announce his running mate. I wouldn’t put Joe Lieberman completely out of the running. It would give McCain a boost among Americans who are utterly clueless, which is a substantial part of the electorate. Mitt Romney, the GOP establishment favorite, would be a big yawn to most of America, I believe. And, of course, the infamous white evangelical Christians don’t like him.

President Bush is supposed to speak on the first night of the GOP convention, but the White House is hinting he might not go because of Tropical Storm Gustav. Not that it would make any difference to anyone on the Gulf Coast where His Worthlessness is. Louisiana Governor Jindal, one of the GOP’s token nonwhite people, might stay home, also, if Gustav turns into a hurricane and hits New Orleans (nearly three years exactly since Katrina).

I would be very sad if Bush doesn’t speak, because I think he would get the GOP convention off to just the right start.

Michelle Malkin and the Hot Air crew have been trying all week to stir up some news about Dem convention protesters. I think somewhere in her vacuous head she thinks people protesting the Dem convention are somehow connected to the Dem convention or belong to the Democratic Party. (From what I can tell, most of the protesters — beside the PUMAs — are the usual vocational demonstration crowd that shows up for everything, bullhorns at the ready.)

First she said there were riots. Then she complained the riots were sparsely attended. I’m looking forward to her coverage of Ron Paul supporters at the RNC convention next week.

Get this: McCain adviser says “there are no uninsured Americans.” His solution to the problem of millions of uninsured Americans is to officially declare there are no uninsured Americans. I’m serious. See also Obsidian Wings.

Also, the GOP platform calls for a complete ban on embryonic stem cell research. This is even more right-wing than the 2004 platform, which simply supported the Bush policy not to fund embryonic stem cell research.

What are the Republicans going to talk about at their convention? They sure as hell don’t want the American people to know what’s in the platform. It’s going to be nothing but smears of Obama; no substance at all.

Finally — see Billmon.

Biden Speaks

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What did y’all think? I think he did the job.

Update: Here’s the nominee. I thought it was bad luck for the nominee to show up in the convention hall before his nomination speech.

Rah! Rah! Rah!

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I missed Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s speech last night, and it’s great. Send this video to anyone you know who’s even thinking of voting for McCain.

Money line: “We simply can’t drill our way to energy independence. If you drilled everywhere, if you drilled in all of John McCain’s backyards, even the ones he doesn’t know he has, that single proposition is a dry well.”

Toothpaste and Tubes

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I don’t know how much of this is news media hype, and how much of it is real, but we’re still hearing stories about disguntled Hillary supporters who don’t like Obama. Eli Saslow of the Washington Post interviewed some Clinton delegates after the Senator’s speech last night who said they still would not vote for or support Obama. One said she would vote for McCain in November. Another wore a button that said “Obamination Scares the Hell Out of Me.”

Every now and then a pundit will say that Obama ought to be doing more to win over these voters. He needn’t waste his time; if Senator Clinton’s speech last night didn’t do it, nothing will. These people are, as they say, stuck on stupid.

Saslow writes,

Clinton said Tuesday night that it is Obama’s convention. But many of her supporters came here exclusively to honor her. One group traveled from New York and built an impromptu museum commemorating Clinton’s historic campaign. Another lighted thousands of candles in a park to symbolize her widespread support.

On Tuesday morning, hundreds of loyalists formed a 200-yard parade and marched through downtown. They shouted into loudspeakers and beat drums, creating a cacophony that echoed across the blocks. As they began marching, some of the supporters chanted, “We want a roll call.” Many of them wore their opinions on T-shirts: Country Over Party. Damn, We Wish You Were President. Still Making History. Democrats Left Behind.

At the front of the parade route, one banner summarized their message: Hillary. Who Else?

And they call Obama supporters naive cult followers.

So what’s happening with the Hillary worshipers? I’m not sure if it qualifies as a cult of personality, but it’s obvious that the actual, flesh-and-blood Hillary Clinton is irrelevant to this group. They are infatuated with a projection of Hillary Clinton they’ve created in their own minds, and this projection has little to do with the real woman.

That’s why they’re not listening to the real woman; they’re listening to the play-pretend Hillary who lives in their heads. And since the play-pretend Hillary was created out of their own egos and personal grievances, they aren’t likely to let go of her for a long, long time. If ever. And there’s nothing that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or God Almighty can say to these people that will change their minds.

BTW, for those of you who missed it, here is Senator Clinton’s speech:

See also No More Mr. Nice Blog.

Random Thoughts

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Michelle Obama’s speech last night is being nearly universally praised as a smashing success. Even some righties admit it. The only exception I’ve found so far is Byron York, who creates an appearance of inconsistency through creative quoting. Well, that’s what they pay him to do.

The Right keeps trying to spin Michelle Obama into Angela Davis ca. 1970. I’ve thought all along that if the American public could just get an unfiltered look at her, most of them would like her just fine. Especially compared to the genuinely disturbing Cindy McCain.

Spouse speeches at these conventions usually are fairly forgettable. I’ve been trying to remember some from the past. The only presidential candidate wife whose convention appearance I remember is Pat Nixon in 1972, for some reason. And I don’t remember if she actually spoke. I just remember that when she appeared on the stage she got huge applause, which I took to be in sympathy. Wow, Pat, you put up with that creep. How do you do it?

I also remember one veep spouse speech — Marilyn Quayle, 1972 1992. She was so hateful, so arrogant, so smug, she was nearly unbearable. I remember the reactions of co-workers, mostly women, the next day — usually a finger down the throat, to suggest gagging. I think that she and Pat Buchanan’s declaration of culture war helped Bill Clinton win the election.

Michael Tomasky thinks Michelle Obama should have been schmaltzier. He also said that last night wasn’t nearly negative enough. I want to see John McBush thoroughly skewered the remainder of the convention, but I don’t necessarily think it was a mistake to keep the first night positive and uplifting, especially since it was Kennedy night.

With all the sturm und drang over the Clintons, it was such a delight to forget them and remember the Kennedys. Back in the Kennedy era, Democrats were Democrats, dammit. No triangulation; no wussy DLC accommodations to the Right. Now there’s just Ted, and his time is almost up. I love the symbolism of Caroline and Ted passing the torch to Obama.

So, Day 1 was about This is who we are. This is our vision. The rest of the convention needs to be, Now, let’s go kick some right-wing ass.

Convention, Day 1

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I’m watching the convention on MSNBC. At one point, MSNBC cut to the beginning of Nancy Pelosi’s speech, and there was no sound. So I flipped to CNN — no Nancy Pelosi; CNN was on a commercial break. I turned to Faux (briefly) — Nancy was in a corner of the screen, and the bobbleheads were talking over her. Finally I went back to MSNBC. The audio link was fixed, and they showed the speech without interruption.

From what I can see through the television screen, stories about Clintonistas causing chaos at the convention are highly exaggerated. The loud die-hards out on the streets in their tin foil hats are not serious about politics; they are trying to draw attention to themselves. Chuck Todd made a good point when he said they were the Dem equivalent of Ron Paul supporters. There will be unity in the hall.

There is speculation that Senator Kennedy will address the convention. If he can do it, that would be amazing.

Update: Well, there he is. This could be really important for the party.

Update 2: I’m listening to Michelle Obama’s speech. She’s very good.

More update — this was a very good speech, well delivered. And she looks gorgeous. Oh, and there are the little girls.

Keith Olbermann is saying “case closed.” Wait until the reaction from the Right. They’ll find something to pick apart so they can hate her.

BTW, Little Lulu is reporting that there are riots going on outside the hall. She’s got a streaming video of the “riot,” which consists of people meandering around. Somebody buy the girl a dictionary.

Do we want to review what went on in New York City during the 2004 GOP convention, Michelle?

The GOP Glass Ceiling

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The GOP talking point du jour is about the Dems’ problem with women voters. Since Senator Hillary Clinton was not chosen to be on the ticket, the Dems have imposed a “glass ceiling,” they say. The usual tools on the Right and the Hillary Bitter Enders have picked up this ball and are running with it.

So let’s look at some numbers.

Eight women currently are governors of states.

Dem women governors: 5
GOP women governors: 3

I count 72 women in the House of Representatives

Dem women representatives: 52
GOP women representatives: 20

There are 16 women senators:

Dem women senators: 11
GOP women senators: 5

Numbers that lopsided are not a coincidence. And here are some more:

Number of GOP women who were serious contenders for the 2008 nomination: 0
Number of Dem women who were serious contenders for the 2008 nomination: 1

Number of GOP women who have been Speaker of the House: 0
Number of Dem women who have been speaker of the House: 1

Number of women the GOP has ever nominated to a presidential ticket: 0
Number of women the Dems have ever nominated to a presidential ticket: 1

Even as the McCain campaign sorts through its selection of rich white men for the veep spot, it has put out an ad asking why Clinton was “passed over” and showing clips of her smearing Obama during the Endless Primary. I’m sure the Hillary Bitter Enders will embrace the ad as more proof that Hillary should have been chosen the nominee.

BTW, current polls show Obama beating McCain among women voters by 12 percentage points.