MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
What a huge blunder this is going to turn out to be for Barack.
The Barackopolis
- Thread starter MonsterMark
- Start date
August 28, 2008
Peg Noonan
Denver
In the time-honored tradition of the notebook dump, some thoughts and observations on the Democratic convention so far:
* * *
The general thinking among thinking journalists, as opposed to journalists who merely follow the journalistic line of the day, is that the change of venue Thursday night to Invesco Field, and the huge, open air Obama acceptance speech is…one of the biggest and possibly craziest gambles of this or any other presidential campaign of the modern era. Everyone can define what can go wrong, and no one can quite define what "great move" would look like. It has every possibility of looking like a Nuremberg rally; it has too many variables to guarantee a good tv picture; the set, the Athenian columns, looks hokey; big crowds can get in the way of subtle oratory. My own added thought is that speeches are delicate; they're words in the air, and when you've got a ceiling the words can sort of go up to that ceiling and come back down again. But words said into an open air stadium…can just get lost in echoes, and misheard phrases. People working the technical end of the event are talking about poor coordination, unclear planning, and a Democratic National Committee that just doesn't seem capable of decisive and sophisticated thinking. So: this all does seem very much a gamble. At a Time magazine event Wednesday afternoon, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe suggested the power of the stadium event is in this: it's meant to be a metaphor for the openness and inclusiveness that has marked the Obama campaign. Open stadium, 60,000 people – "we're opening this up to average Americans." We'll see. In my experience when political professionals start talking metaphors there's usually good reason to get nervous. (Questions: how many of the 60,000 will be Coloradans? Are a lot of the tickets going to out of staters? Are they paying for tickets? Is the Mile High event actually a fundraiser? What's the top ticket going for?)
***
Peg Noonan
Denver
In the time-honored tradition of the notebook dump, some thoughts and observations on the Democratic convention so far:
* * *
The general thinking among thinking journalists, as opposed to journalists who merely follow the journalistic line of the day, is that the change of venue Thursday night to Invesco Field, and the huge, open air Obama acceptance speech is…one of the biggest and possibly craziest gambles of this or any other presidential campaign of the modern era. Everyone can define what can go wrong, and no one can quite define what "great move" would look like. It has every possibility of looking like a Nuremberg rally; it has too many variables to guarantee a good tv picture; the set, the Athenian columns, looks hokey; big crowds can get in the way of subtle oratory. My own added thought is that speeches are delicate; they're words in the air, and when you've got a ceiling the words can sort of go up to that ceiling and come back down again. But words said into an open air stadium…can just get lost in echoes, and misheard phrases. People working the technical end of the event are talking about poor coordination, unclear planning, and a Democratic National Committee that just doesn't seem capable of decisive and sophisticated thinking. So: this all does seem very much a gamble. At a Time magazine event Wednesday afternoon, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe suggested the power of the stadium event is in this: it's meant to be a metaphor for the openness and inclusiveness that has marked the Obama campaign. Open stadium, 60,000 people – "we're opening this up to average Americans." We'll see. In my experience when political professionals start talking metaphors there's usually good reason to get nervous. (Questions: how many of the 60,000 will be Coloradans? Are a lot of the tickets going to out of staters? Are they paying for tickets? Is the Mile High event actually a fundraiser? What's the top ticket going for?)
***
fossten
Dedicated LVC Member
Acts 12:
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
Its gonna get real ugly. Look for Obama to drop 2 more points after this fiasco.
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
I feel the Republicans don't stand a chance against the JOEBAMA monolith. I'm scared.
fossten
Dedicated LVC Member
Apparently, Barackopolis was brought to us by Britney Spears' designers.
TheDude
Dedicated LVC Member
What is this nonsense "Barackopolis" supposed to be?
fossten
Dedicated LVC Member
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
Don't you know the Lincoln Memorial is curved just like a Greek Temple? Get with it Fossten.
Notice how the cameras never gave a full view close up? The Obama people must have held hostages in the production trailers.
Notice how the cameras never gave a full view close up? The Obama people must have held hostages in the production trailers.
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
Here's a good place for Deville and Marcus to catch up with some friends....
http://www.peoplespresscollective.org/
http://www.peoplespresscollective.org/
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
Herman Munster (Olberman) blew another fuse tonight after the AP reported this....
Analysis: Democrats hit Bush to nick McCain
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) -- A two-headed creature is stalking the Democratic convention, getting kicked and pummeled at every turn. "Bush-McCain" is not a political ticket, but a hyphenated target that Democrats have invented from necessity.
It's much easier, they've found, to ridicule an unpopular president who stayed stateside during the Vietnam War than it is to criticize a former prisoner of war seen by many as a likable maverick. By morphing the two, they can smack one and hurt the other.
That's how Barack Obama's allies are going at Republican John McCain this week, linking him so relentlessly to President Bush that you'd think Bush is the GOP nominee this fall.
In one of several slashing speeches Tuesday, Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel said "McCain" three times, "Bush-McCain" three times and "Bush" 10 times. His best zingers were aimed more at the president than McCain.
"George Bush has put the middle class in a hole," he said, "and John McCain has a plan to keep digging that hole with George Bush's shovel." Noting that Bush inherited a budget surplus that turned into a deficit, he said: "Mr. President, we will be forever in your debt. ... You would think the one thing President Bush was good at was inheriting things."
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., told the convention crowd that McCain "calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time. That's not a maverick, that's a sidekick."
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland used a baseball analogy about job losses. Bush "came into office on third base, and then he stole second," he said. "And John McCain cheered him every step of the way."
For weeks, Democrats have cast Obama as an agent of change, and McCain as a continuation of Bush's policies. In Denver this week, they've streamlined and amplified the claim into a nearly ceaseless soundtrack.
It comes as some Democrats, especially commentators linked to former President Clinton, are urging the convention planners to hit McCain harder. The Obama camp has opted for a middle ground: assail the unpopular president and nick McCain by proxy, avoiding the backlash that could result from frontally assaulting a 71-year-old former POW.
"You have to be careful about attacking McCain" because of his life story, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tuesday.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley also urged caution. "I think America is sick and tired of everybody being negative," he said.
But Democrats cannot let four days of televised attention pass without undercutting McCain as they build up Obama. Their strategy rests on a vital linchpin: Voters must believe that McCain will continue Bush's policies on the economy, Iraq, domestic surveillance and other issues, which have proven unpopular with millions.
They cite a Congressional Quarterly study that found that McCain voted with Bush 90 percent of the time on legislation on which the president had a clear position, from 2001 to the present. In 2007, he voted with Bush 95 percent of the time.
McCain has tried to blunt the message, seldom appearing with Bush these days, suggesting the president mishandled Russian leader Vladimir Putin and noting how he bucked the GOP establishment on matters such as campaign finance.
"We're worse off than we were four years ago," says a McCain TV ad, a stark criticism of the administration.
Still, six in 10 adults think McCain will follow Bush's policies, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll in late June. Democratic insiders are doing everything they can this week to drive that percentage higher.
"You can't expect change from a senator who voted in lockstep with President Bush 95 percent of the time," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told the Denver crowd Tuesday where red signs said "McCain: more of the same," and blue signs said, "Obama: change we need."
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said the only thing McCain will recycle "is the same failed Bush approach to energy policy."
The night's most important speaker, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, delivered one of the sharpest jabs. "It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities," she said. "Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."
---
EDITOR'S NOTE - Charles Babington covers politics for The Associated Press
Analysis: Democrats hit Bush to nick McCain
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) -- A two-headed creature is stalking the Democratic convention, getting kicked and pummeled at every turn. "Bush-McCain" is not a political ticket, but a hyphenated target that Democrats have invented from necessity.
It's much easier, they've found, to ridicule an unpopular president who stayed stateside during the Vietnam War than it is to criticize a former prisoner of war seen by many as a likable maverick. By morphing the two, they can smack one and hurt the other.
That's how Barack Obama's allies are going at Republican John McCain this week, linking him so relentlessly to President Bush that you'd think Bush is the GOP nominee this fall.
In one of several slashing speeches Tuesday, Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel said "McCain" three times, "Bush-McCain" three times and "Bush" 10 times. His best zingers were aimed more at the president than McCain.
"George Bush has put the middle class in a hole," he said, "and John McCain has a plan to keep digging that hole with George Bush's shovel." Noting that Bush inherited a budget surplus that turned into a deficit, he said: "Mr. President, we will be forever in your debt. ... You would think the one thing President Bush was good at was inheriting things."
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., told the convention crowd that McCain "calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time. That's not a maverick, that's a sidekick."
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland used a baseball analogy about job losses. Bush "came into office on third base, and then he stole second," he said. "And John McCain cheered him every step of the way."
For weeks, Democrats have cast Obama as an agent of change, and McCain as a continuation of Bush's policies. In Denver this week, they've streamlined and amplified the claim into a nearly ceaseless soundtrack.
It comes as some Democrats, especially commentators linked to former President Clinton, are urging the convention planners to hit McCain harder. The Obama camp has opted for a middle ground: assail the unpopular president and nick McCain by proxy, avoiding the backlash that could result from frontally assaulting a 71-year-old former POW.
"You have to be careful about attacking McCain" because of his life story, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tuesday.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley also urged caution. "I think America is sick and tired of everybody being negative," he said.
But Democrats cannot let four days of televised attention pass without undercutting McCain as they build up Obama. Their strategy rests on a vital linchpin: Voters must believe that McCain will continue Bush's policies on the economy, Iraq, domestic surveillance and other issues, which have proven unpopular with millions.
They cite a Congressional Quarterly study that found that McCain voted with Bush 90 percent of the time on legislation on which the president had a clear position, from 2001 to the present. In 2007, he voted with Bush 95 percent of the time.
McCain has tried to blunt the message, seldom appearing with Bush these days, suggesting the president mishandled Russian leader Vladimir Putin and noting how he bucked the GOP establishment on matters such as campaign finance.
"We're worse off than we were four years ago," says a McCain TV ad, a stark criticism of the administration.
Still, six in 10 adults think McCain will follow Bush's policies, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll in late June. Democratic insiders are doing everything they can this week to drive that percentage higher.
"You can't expect change from a senator who voted in lockstep with President Bush 95 percent of the time," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told the Denver crowd Tuesday where red signs said "McCain: more of the same," and blue signs said, "Obama: change we need."
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said the only thing McCain will recycle "is the same failed Bush approach to energy policy."
The night's most important speaker, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, delivered one of the sharpest jabs. "It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities," she said. "Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."
---
EDITOR'S NOTE - Charles Babington covers politics for The Associated Press
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
Barack's speech...
Thoughts,
I thought Baracks best line was... "I am my brother's keeper".
Jeezuss Brack, give your half-brother a buck-a-month so he can double his income!
Thoughts,
I thought Baracks best line was... "I am my brother's keeper".
Jeezuss Brack, give your half-brother a buck-a-month so he can double his income!
TheDude
Dedicated LVC Member
Oh that, making a stink over that, seriously?
Hahahaaaaa... some people are REALLY reaching into the deepest depths of their asses to pull this cr@p out.
2004 GOP Convention, the Repubs/Cons hero and savior George W. Bush had pillars VERY much like those behind him (bigger actually) and an even more ornate podium on which to strut about on. No problem with that though, odd.
TheDude
Dedicated LVC Member
You have to admit, it worked post 9/11 pre-Iraq when Bush and Co linked Saddam with Bin Laden via assertion.
Anyhow, watched part of Obama's speech, is it true that McCain has a track record of siding with Bush's policies 90% of the time?
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
So Obama copies Bush and Reagan's speeches and the DNC copies Bush's set. I got it. I like the originality. Out of the box thinkers, eh?
TheDude
Dedicated LVC Member
So now the problem with the pillars is that Obama copied Bush 2oo4 and it's not an issue of grand-standing? Right.
MonsterMark
Dedicated LVC Member
Nope.
The problem is perception. The perception of Obama is of an arrogant savior. His backdrop confirmed that perception. For Bush, he was already President, not a 1/3 term senator wannabe.
Huge difference, but not one that you would see. It's OK. The rest of us saw it for what it was. Mt. "O"lympus. All hail the Messiah.
TheDude
Dedicated LVC Member
It sounds like you're saying Bush is excused from parading about like an "arrogant savior" since he is President. Which is hysterical.
Oh well, maybe Obama's back-drop was just "above his pay grade". Would it have been alright if he just had a gigantic U.S. flag behind him?
fossten
Dedicated LVC Member
There may be a lot of names to call Bush, but "arrogant" isn't one of them. If you are trying to conflate Bush's behavior with Obama's, you're in serious denial.