John McCain gave a good speech on Thursday night. That's high praise considering his delivery often bordered on monotone and the speech hit a speed bump with a listless recitation of what feel like obligatory Republican bullet points:
In the end though, I thought Senator McCain made a better case for change than Senator Obama. What's more, he did it in a way that sounded more like a plea than a performance. It may have lacked flourish, but he made up for it in authenticity.
Removed from the immediate aftermath of the speech, two things have stuck with me. The first is the way in which he openly criticized the Republican Party.
It's about time someone put some blame at the feet of Congress. The last time government had a decent fiscal standing was when the Republicans took control of Congress after the 1994 midterm elections. Bill Clinton was in the White House. Between the parties, they managed to balance the budget and come up with some good bipartisan compromises. But that only lasted two years before things turned nasty as a result of Bill Clinton's philandering. The Democrats found themselves defending lies and gross impropriety. The Republicans got drunk on the idea of throwing a Democrat out of the White House.
Things should have gotten better when President Bush came to office, but the Republicans in Congress passed bloated budgets and the president signed them into law. When an opportunity presented itself to bring financial stability to social security or reform immigration policy, Republicans in Congress were unwilling to take a stand. All the while, the Democrats in the House demonized the president and Democrats in the Senate took advantage of its rules to block anything they could. Now the Democrats control the Senate, but nothing has changed. Both parties should be ashamed for wasting this country's time and trust.
The second thing that has stuck with me from Senator McCain's speech is his biography. I knew the basics, but he told his own story in a way that defies anyone to say that he doesn't love his country as deeply as anyone can. It was a conversion story.
By focusing so much on himself, John McCain took a play right out of the Barack Obama play book. He made himself the message and stayed away from most of the issues. But he did something else that Senator Obama failed to do. Where Obama called on his supporters to rally around him as the answer to America's problems, Senator McCain called on Americans to serve each other.
- Lower taxes
- Strong defense
- A culture of life
- Judges who don't legislate from the bench
- Family values
In the end though, I thought Senator McCain made a better case for change than Senator Obama. What's more, he did it in a way that sounded more like a plea than a performance. It may have lacked flourish, but he made up for it in authenticity.
Removed from the immediate aftermath of the speech, two things have stuck with me. The first is the way in which he openly criticized the Republican Party.
"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost -- we lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties -- and Senator Obama -- passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust when we valued our power over our principles."That is the moment when I started paying attention and heard the John McCain I've been waiting for. The John McCain who is willing to tell it like it is and take on corruption wherever he finds it. I suspect most people who have read or heard that part of the speech see it as a criticism of the Bush Administration. It works as such, but I think it is much more a condemnation of Congress in general and the Republicans there in particular.
It's about time someone put some blame at the feet of Congress. The last time government had a decent fiscal standing was when the Republicans took control of Congress after the 1994 midterm elections. Bill Clinton was in the White House. Between the parties, they managed to balance the budget and come up with some good bipartisan compromises. But that only lasted two years before things turned nasty as a result of Bill Clinton's philandering. The Democrats found themselves defending lies and gross impropriety. The Republicans got drunk on the idea of throwing a Democrat out of the White House.
Things should have gotten better when President Bush came to office, but the Republicans in Congress passed bloated budgets and the president signed them into law. When an opportunity presented itself to bring financial stability to social security or reform immigration policy, Republicans in Congress were unwilling to take a stand. All the while, the Democrats in the House demonized the president and Democrats in the Senate took advantage of its rules to block anything they could. Now the Democrats control the Senate, but nothing has changed. Both parties should be ashamed for wasting this country's time and trust.
The second thing that has stuck with me from Senator McCain's speech is his biography. I knew the basics, but he told his own story in a way that defies anyone to say that he doesn't love his country as deeply as anyone can. It was a conversion story.
"I was never the same again; I wasn't my own man anymore; I was my country's. I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. "What an antidote to egotism. How can anyone question that he is not sincerely on a mission to do what is best for the United States? People can question his policies or his methods, but they can't question his intentions. This is the area where Senator McCain has the biggest advantage over Senator Obama. Senator McCain has a proven history of putting his country before himself.
By focusing so much on himself, John McCain took a play right out of the Barack Obama play book. He made himself the message and stayed away from most of the issues. But he did something else that Senator Obama failed to do. Where Obama called on his supporters to rally around him as the answer to America's problems, Senator McCain called on Americans to serve each other.
"My friends, if you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist... Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an -- an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier, because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself."As for the issues and policies either candidate will inact in order to "fight" for me, that's what the debates are for. The convention speeches were about the candidates, not the issues. Issues will just have to wait for later.
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