The Mavrick

I'm glad someone posted a picture of this. I saw it go by and jotted it down as a funny thing.

Sort of like the guy with the sign calling people "morans."

McCain's Speech

My friends, we have had our anticlimactic moment at the Republican convention. Unfortunately it had to come with the nominee.

Stumbling, bumbling, getting tongue-tied, beset with teleprompter mishaps, derailed by protesters, working around supporters chanting "USA," looking very uneasy, John McCain survived his speech.

Just like President Bush kept looking at his watch at the Olympics, so I glanced at the clock a few times, wishing he might speed it up a bit. All in all, to be nice about it, he looked like a nice old fellow and came across in a more or less pleasant way. He presented ideals -- whether sincere or not, he probably was for the most part.

There were some inspiring moments, but then plenty of moments that dragged by.

He never mentioned George W. Bush by name and only referenced him once, in being grateful for "the president" leading the nation after 9/11, the worst American disaster ever, happening on his neglectful watch, he being asleep at the switch. McCain was critical of the Republicans for having gone to change Washington but Washington changed them. He included the Democrats in some of this, too, so it wasn't entirely confessional. Significantly, he himself wasn't among the offenders, having for his part fought corruption and big spending.

He had some nice things to say about war, that he hates war, and that he wants to build the foundations for "a stable and enduring peace." To which we might shout, "BALONEY!" He hasn't shown any penchant for ending war; instead he's been nothing but a hawk.

Of course he went in depth on his POW experiences. This was touching. Whether all of it was true or not, he still knows how to hit the sentimental chords. He didn't present himself as perfect in that, but as broken, and as being brought back to self-respect by the counsel of others. He even said he "thought about" taking the Vietnamese up on their offer of sending him home, but then rejected it. (It made me wonder why, if the Vietnamese wanted him to leave, why didn't they just put him in a car, drive him to the border and drop him off? I hadn't thought of it before, but why would he have a choice whether he'd stay or not. I mean that as a serious question. When prisoners of war are being held, do they really have the final say-so over whether they stay or go?) Anyway, he stayed, and survived.

Some of McCain's big applause lines were anemic, yet helped along by an encouraging audience. The big finale, his shouting out the last several lines as the crowd went wild, would have been better if he weren't reading them off a teleprompter. That last little bit ought to come from the gut and not just mechanically reading it. At that point I would've suggested, be a maverick, and go for it, wing the last little bit! After all, the worst thing that could ever possibly happen to him (POW) has already happened. Be brave in summation!

McCain to Heal Partisan Rancor

Summarizing a piece from his speech tonight:

CNN: McCain promises to work across the aisle to solve problems, saying he has a record of doing so and his opponent does not.

"I have that record and the scars to prove it. Sen. Obama does not," he says as he also condemns "partisan rancor."

McCain condemns "partisan rancor" and promises to work across the aisle to solve problems. If he condemns partisan rancor, he sure isn't showing it in his own behavior. The guy's as bad as they come.

Why, O, why would anyone believe he'd do that after the election if he doesn't even attempt it now?

Football Tonight

Here's hoping for a really LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGG game.

NFL Opener Has McCain Campaign Leery of Delay-of-Game Penalty

We need an officials' replay of every single play. Or such things as a 40 yard pass caught on a 3rd and 5, and needing to measure to make sure it's a 1st down!

Putrid

The Republicans and their candidates are putrid.

Even with the sound turned down you can tell their party is about nothing but empty sound and fury, mockery and insult. They're trying to bull their way over the hopes of ordinary Americans again, to bring us four more years of sleazy government.

It's very revealing when mockery is all they have. They have no positive agenda for the common good. They really, actually are putting forth an agenda of more of the same. It is literally true, if you liked the Bush years, then you'll love what they have in mind for the next four years.

It's a sickening feeling to realize this is all they have, and then they mask it by never mentioning Bush. That has to tell you something. They know America is fed up with what they gave us all these years, but they're so morally and ideologically bankrupt that they have nothing else to offer. So paint lipstick on the pig and send it out for another round of votes!

This is not government with the country's best interests in mind.

Republicans Hate Community Organizers

Palin: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

"Actual responsibilities."

The Obama campaign (by email) put this in some context:

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

This is an unbelievable statement (and theme) from the Republicans. Remember, they've always claimed they're the party of individual responsibility, self-sufficiency, limited government. But what Palin is saying is, if you're not in government then you don't "have actual responsibilities."

Wouldn't Martin Luther King, Jr., qualify as a community organizer? Or as the email from the Obama campaign says, anyone who helped organize the women's suffrage movement and thousands of other causes that helped us all make progress?

This is a slap against ordinary Americans who get out and do things for their community and nation.

Yes! We Now Know Sarah Palin Can Read!

I watched enough of her speech to convince me of this much, when it comes to words on a teleprompter, Sarah knows how to read.

Now we need to take it one step farther. Will she be able to wing it when it's not written out for her? I watched it up till midway through the "Our opponent is the scum of the earth" section, then decided I'd seen enough. What will she come up with when the audience is not a lot of cheering dittoheads?

By the way, speaking of the audience, I didn't see the lady with the purple Band-Aid. But I believe I did see two black guys, so there was some diversity in the hall. Just to carry on a bit about the audience, I watched most of Rudy's speech with the sound turned down. It looked like he was delighting the audience to no end. Which when it comes to this crowd can only mean mockery. They're not actually coming up with promises and plans to do anything positive for the economy or America's place in the world. But they do know how to cut a mean insult.

I was struck by the big New York video in the back when Rudy was speaking. I was wondering if the Republicans were leaving America better off than when they took over in 2001. And then I noticed two big buildings missing from the picture. But, you know, everyone's entitled to a few "oopsies" when it comes to tending their pet goat's needs first. Audience chant, everyone: "Pet Goat First! Pet Goat First! Pet Goat First!" It's not really the Republicans' fault that they were asleep at the switch on 9/11. Afterall, Bill Clinton was seriously keeping track of the terrorists. And since everything he did was wrong, the Republicans had no choice but to look the other way. So it's Clinton's fault. Anyway, Rudy got to be a big hero for simply showing up and doing the job they paid him to do. So it all worked out.

Are Republicans a chromosome-deprived people? I mean that. Check the vents at the funny farm, because I think I saw a few walk-offs.

Anyway, getting back to Gov. Palin? Doesn't she have a weird habit of scrinching her face up when she's making a point? It reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld, the Yada Yada Yada girl, who scrinches her face sort of like that when she's talking about shoplifting. It's kind of cute. Her little daughter was cute, putting spit on her hand and smoothing out Trig's hair. I saw that and thought, There goes a few votes. It was genuinely cute.

The whole thing, though, politically, wasn't so great. Naturally they mischaracterized Obama to no end. She repeated her lie about the bridge to nowhere, the "No thanks" line. Great story, if only it were true! D'oh!

And no one addressed the biggest elephant in the room, the failure of George W. Bush. In fact, she didn't mention President Bush, the president of their party, who could do no wrong for all those years. That's weird. If we put up with eight years of failure from the Republicans -- answer me this -- why should we trust them for another four? That's the stumbling block of stumbling blocks. These people are incompetent and corrupt. They need to be sent packing, back to Crawford, back to Alaska, back to Arizona. And with that, over and out.

Mitt

Mitt Romney has "always been proud of America."

Sure, he hates over half the population of the country, Democrats, but he's always been proud of America. Whatever America really is without its citizens, whom he hates.

All Eyes on Palin

The Republican convention is abuzz, excited, and completely geared up for a great speech tonight by Gov. Sarah Palin.

They, like the rest of the nation and world, are hoping that Palin will be able to stand before a friendly audience and read a speech that someone else wrote. Several questions will be answered tonight, but none is bigger than this, "Can she read?"

If she is able to read the speech -- having practiced it throughout the day, having gone over and over it -- this will prove once and for all that she is able to read a speech.

Now, what about the speech? What thoughts of the speech writer will resonate with the country? That we will have to wait to see. The speech writer, furnishing the very words that Palin will read, no doubt will provide some inspiring moments for the folks gathered.

So How's The Convention Going?

I'm usually watching the whole thing, gavel to gavel, as much as I can. But I haven't seen a minute of it yet. The internet is on fire with all the Palin/McCain scandals, and who can take their eyes off that?!

Assuming it's on -- which I don't know -- I suppose they have a lot of inspiring things going on, you know, as to why this halfwit John McCain should be president. Probably such things as his great judgment and what a maverick he is. Oops, scratch that. The guy couldn't rub two coherent thoughts together if they were Super Glued to his gloves. So much for judgment. And as for being a maverick, you don't pick Sarah Palin as your running mate if you're not afraid of someone. Like James Dobson. Must not color outside the lines in the Ayatollah's coloring book!

I've got to think that the hits at Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, and Huffington Post are through the roof. They're busy celebrating the McCain debacle. And thanks to McCain's great vetting process -- which I heard was to pray and flip a coin -- the hits at National Enquirer and TMZ are probably blazing hot too! About the only guy in the Republican party who's happy has to be Larry Craig, since everyone's forgotten about his memorial stall at the airport. He's sitting on the toilet somewhere, saying, "That was a close call."

What might they be doing at the convention? Just guessing, probably some very stuffy business. Maybe a faux patriotic demonstration. Up on the stage, some blowhards maybe carrying on as though the Republican party had any foundation left. Slogans and flags are cheap, of course. But you better use those 50-star flags now while they're any good, since Palin wants Alaska to secede from the Union. Then we'll be down to 49. It'll be good for the flag industry. Maybe that's the kind of jobs the Republicans want to create in America -- or maybe they'll outsource the work to Alaska.

It's been a great week! The Democratic convention, on the other hand was boring, being a model of sanity and stability. Heckuva job, Johnny!

Republicans Party Hardy During Hurricane

You've got Hookers and Blow, lobbyists, lavish parties, pig roasts. The Republican "party" goes on, even while they hid behind the mask of caring about the troubles of Hurricane Gustav.

Republican Convention: "Angry Man Yells At Cloud"

The Republicans have a real opportunity with Gustav bearing down on the Gulf coast. It's reported that John McCain may be giving his speech directly from the hurricane path.

This gives them the perfect convention theme, "Angry Man Yells at Cloud." He'll be right there on the scene where all the clouds live, and, for all of us, he can give them a piece of our mind!