Live Bloggin' as I Watch the Repubs' Convention...

I'm watching tonight's Republican Convention and trying out writing thoughts as I watch here...

Governor Huckabee is talking now. He says Obama's trip over to Europe wasn't worth it, as though the world's opinion of and collaboration with the U.S. doesn't matter. Cheap shot at how Palin supposedly got more votes running for a mayor's spot in Alaska than Biden got running for president--I can't see how that's actually true.

Now he's talking about McCain's time as a POW in Vietnam. It's a heroic period for McCain, and certainly shows some of his character; but, my problem with it is that many people have good and heroic stories, but that doesn't justify them as our next president in the way many seem to make it out to be.

I can't see that it's relevant that VP nominee Sarah Palin's intro includes explaining that she was a beauty queen winner...

They're talking now about her personal qualities, all which sound valid (and which Repubs often appeal to voters the most on, sometimes at the cost of actually balancing this with the issues though)...This lack of an issue-based focus among Republicans was shown recently with this recent comment by McCain's campaign manager: "This election is not about issues...this election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

The speaker (Hawaii governor) leading up to Palin's speech just used the (over-used) comment that Obama gives good speeches, as though that's a negative...

Same speaker just made a valid point that Palin has executive experience and that Obama and Biden don't, though McCain doesn't either to my knowledge. It's a fair argument that Palin brings something in the way of managing a big budget that they don't, however they deal with massive sums of money in Congress in some very similar ways...

It must be nice for them to be able to call McCain a "maverick" no matter whether he actually has held that up over the last few years (he really has not of recent).

Uh oh, here comes 'ol Rudy G. (Giuliani that is), former NY mayor, he's a real cracker-jack, will likely try and swing for the head with some comments based on what I've heard before...here he goes with the fear factor, talking about how we need to watch out for our safety...they really did just tell this story (with Huckabee above) of McCain's POW experience--I have no problem with the story, it's powerful, but they told it last night and earlier tonight, they just don't have to tell it again and again...now he's poking fun at Obama--literally, poking fun, saying it's a "problem" that he was a community organizer...wow, it really stokes the crowd though, this emotionalism...

Now he brings up the "least experienced candidate" comment, saying Obama's the least experienced in a 100 years--perhaps he thinks Lincoln, who had basically identical credentials to Obama, shouldn't have been in there...I can't believe Giuliani has the gall to bring up experience with someone like Sarah Palin as VP candidate--when Palin has at least the same, but I think measurably less experience then Obama; and it is a simple reality that McCain has had melanoma cancer a number of times and Palin may really have to take his place at one point...

And couldn't be the Republicans this time without Rudy here bringing up drilling offshore for oil--because that will really motivate us all towards healthy approaches to energy...and geez, I should've known that Rudy, who primarily campaigned for the Rep. nomination this year on his experience as NY mayor during 9/11, would bring the fear factor on in full strength, saying "Democrats are in a state of denial" about the real problems of terrorism--what a factually baseless statement.

Now Giuliani's talking up some cheap shots about changes in position for Obama--the most credible argument would be to walk through the points and consider what Barack said on those changes. Geez, this is pathetic though, really, it's an endless attack on Obama, and says so little about what McCain has to offer...

The crowd looks like it'd cheer on anything Giuliani here has to say; it's really unnerving and makes it seem as though the crowd would cheer on the same type of pathetic cut-downs (for lack of a more mature term for the pettiness of it) if it were a little kid getting pushed around on a playground or something--it's like Obama said in his acceptance speech last week, "making a big election about small things." I think I'll do another one of these posts to start over with Palin's speech above...

Update: Josh, a college buddy of mine who commented below, had a great comment on his blog about Giuliani's speech: "honestly, i don't think that i have seen as many disgruntled, angry white people in one room together as i have tonight watching the former mayor of NYC Rudy Guliani's speech tonight at the republican national convention. i mean seriously. they made fun of obama being a community organizer...they literally stopped and laughed at him. it sure is something to laugh at, you know, a young black guy trying to make a difference in his neighborhood and city. they showed the faces of young white men my age who scowled with what seemed like hatred in response to Guliani's cadences. where does the anger come from? honestly, i felt like i had a little vomit in my mouth each time Guliani smiled and used terms like "energy exploration" to describe the continued vain dependence on oil through drilling in alaska and wildlife areas rather than "exploring" renewable energy. or take when Guliani emphasized McCain's willingness to go to the ends of the earth to eradicate any enemy of the US with military power, and then pointing to Palin's religion as a sign of God's affiliation with the republican party."

As a note to readers, I have to say that Josh and I are in a bit of a different place in terms of our worldviews, but we've got so much in common at the same time; the fact that we were both offended on an ethical level at various qualities of Giuliani's speech shows, in my view, that people coming from somewhat different perspectives can still connect on areas related to ethics, humanity in general, etc. (as you and I happened to talk about last weekend Josh).

From the Horse's Mouth: Obama's Acceptance Speech

Below is a great speech worth watching from Thursday night when Obama officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president. Here's a few lines that especially stood out to me, with the video of the full speech below:

"[L]et us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag...

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things...

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future."



Go here to see a whole pile of other speeches from the Democrats' convention (e.g., Al Gore, Virginia governor Tim Kaine, Bill Clinton, etc.).

Hillary's Clearest Voice--But Why?

I can only imagine the speech Hillary shared tonight coming from a deep reflection on the reality before our country--honestly. I didn't hear her speak with that degree of clarity throughout the primary season, though perhaps I missed some of the occasions where she did. Nevertheless, she seemed much more at ease and at the same time full of conviction as she spoke tonight; I almost just went to sleep instead of listening because I was quite frankly bothered by some of the ways she handled the primary season, and expecting a pat speech that I'd rather sleep through. So either she's an unreal actor or she was deeply moved by considering the depth of importance behind this race--I think it was the latter.

I'll look to paste the video in here when it becomes available, so take a listen if you didn't hear it yet--not to just hear some difference in her speech though, but because of the education and the encouragement she actually provides on the absolutely critical issues before us: lack of affordable health care, devastating conditions for the poor (and increasingly, the middle-class), unhealthy foreign policy, and so on.

As a last reflection on the speech though, I suppose it's most moving because it, as I noted above, does seem to have been Hillary's clearest moment this election cycle; maybe that indicates how important everything is...that is, if she was able to actually change the nastiness that at times characterized her campaign, perhaps it was because she realized how we may be reaching a tipping point where the damage to our country and our people, the rest of the world and so forth, is becoming irreversible--perhaps she's more clearly realizing the actual consequences that are behind the already cliche-sounding phrases about McCain continuing Bush's policies. That's my view after hearing the speech at least, that she may simply have taken the time to reflect on the treacherous waters that she would be culpable for helping propel us into if she did not fight hard in the opposite direction. Hopefully the damage that she did do (in my honest opinion) can begin to be outweighed by speeches such as this, though unfortunately actions have consequences, and we will see.

Above photo credit: Wall Street Journal.

Update: Here's the link to a video of Hillary's speech.

Michelle Obama, Rounding Out the Candidate

So the Democratic Convention is going on through Friday of this week, with Barack accepting the official nomination for president with his speech on Thursday night. But let this be a sign of the man--he did not have this leader or that in the Democratic party or otherwise as the keynote speaker last night--the first night of the Convention; rather, he had his wife, Michelle Obama, in the top spot. And let me just say here--good choice. She rocked the party. But more than that, she spoke with a richness of values that just seeped through the video and hit me good (yes, good).

Take a look yourself and I think you may see the reflection of Barack in her, and her in Barack, in the way I did; as she herself says in the speech, both of them were raised with values that informed their outlooks and individual entrances into public service. So, I think that while we have a great man in Barack alone, we have a richer, fuller consideration than that, for Michelle clearly brings so much to the table in terms of her strength, mind, humanity, and so forth (in addition, they both of course have two little girls and the related understanding of families that affords). I actually am including three videos below: the intro video they showed of Michelle's mother telling the story of her daughter and their family; the in-person introduction that followed by her brother, Craig Robinson; and Michelle's own speech (I'll have to add a few other videos of Michelle in some later updates to this post, but you can also watch and read more about her here, on Obama's website). And oh, while I'm thinking about it, earlier in the night they showed a great tribute video to Sen. Ted Kennedy, highlighting things like his relationship with JFK and Robert Kennedy, after which Kennedy gave a stirring speech on how much new hope (yes, hope) Obama imbues him with--and remember, Kennedy has been in Congress for over forty years.

Video of Michelle's mother telling Michelle's story



Video of Michelle's brother introducing her



Video of Michelle's speech



Update: That didn't take long, here's another speech from Obama's website that I happened to have already heard a few weeks ago; it's Michelle speaking at the "Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council":

Woe is McCain: Economically Out of Touch

For a while I've wanted to start a set of posts looking at McCain and his various stances on issues, his character traits, etc., and thought this issue would be a good starting point; look for any other coming posts with the title "Woe is McCain" if you're interested in reading more.

Apparently McCain, when recently asked how many houses he and his wife own, said, "I think — I'll have my staff get to you...It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you." You can actually hear the recorded question and answer at the top of this brief overview of the issue. I'm not really sure what to say here, as this would be funny if it weren't so far removed from any reality I could imagine.

I waited to post this though because none of the news I was seeing was making it clear whether the McCains actually lived in most of the houses or rented some out. I still couldn't find a definitive answer in looking around, but he and his wife clearly live in at least four, though it looks like they own twice that many; at least two of those eight are used by their children. Here's a list of the properties (from here): "Those real estate holdings include a Sedona ranch with three dwellings, worth $1.1 million; a Phoenix condominium suite that had originally been two units, worth $4.7 million; an $847,800 three-bedroom high-rise condo in Arlington; an oceanfront condo in La Jolla, Calif.; a half-million-dollar loft in Phoenix purchased for their daughter Meghan; another Phoenix condo, worth $830,000; and two beachfront condos in Coronado, Calif, one of which is valued at $2.7 million...Cindy McCain told Vogue magazine the family needed the second condo because the first was getting too crowded as their family grew." (See pictures and read another fairly biting description of the high-dollar homes here).

That said though, perhaps it would be easy for McCain to lose track (honestly). However, it still relates to a larger problem, I believe. First, there is the simple fact that he and his wife live in at least four big-money homes across the country--in a world where many are in need, I do have to say that seems excessive, though it's of course his choice. Secondly, McCain actually said recently that it was those making $5 million or more that he considers "rich." He mentioned this at a "faith forum" last weekend. Obama was there too and was asked the same question--he considered those making $250,000 or more to be rich (which is a lot closer to what I'd estimate). Third, McCain recently said the "fundamentals of our economy are strong." If you're not sure about the state of the economy, watch this tough video from Bill Moyers on the individual stories of some average Americans who have been hit hard by the current economic situation. Lastly, none of this even gets into his tax policies, such as the tax cuts of the current Administration that McCain says he plans to make permanent (even though he previously could not "in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate")--I'll have to write more on that topic, but I'll just say that I know a well-off Republican who literally said that he didn't need the annual $80,000 he was getting back because of Bush's tax cuts. Maybe, just maybe, that money could stay in the government pot and pay down some of our $9 trillion deficit, allow full health insurance coverage of all children, provide increases in the National Institute of Health (NIH) budget for cancer research, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum.

Add up the above points on McCain and you get an individual bouncing around the country between four expensive homes, who thinks the rich are those making over $5 million, feels the economy is fundamentally strong, and is all for skimping Americans by maintaining what I believe are unethical tax cuts. So what? So that's not the person I want in the White House deciding what amount of taxes are fair for various income brackets, whether to spend money on programs that create new jobs, whether to make health insurance affordable for the 47 million who don't have it, and so on. I'll have to write more on some of the economic issues related to this if I have a chance, but suffice to say right now that, given McCain's economic position and related perspective, I don't think he can relate to most Americans enough to make this country work as it could for most Americans.

Update: To give credit where credit is due, I just read this New York Times article that mentions, among other things, some of the charitable giving in which the McCains have been involved. While I still hold to the above points, I really have problems with the common approach in politics of overstating the case and leaving out complimentary points about one's opposition. The article seems to present a balanced picture of the overall scope of the McCains' wealth; here's an excerpt:

"[T]he Hensley family wealth, from its rough-and-tumble origins to prominence in Arizona’s corporate world, is also the fortune that propelled John McCain into national politics. A clearer picture of that fortune emerges from a review of public records and interviews with employees, business associates, friends and relatives.

Hensley & Company has grown from a tiny operation in the 1950s to the dominant beer wholesaler in Arizona and the third-largest Budweiser distributor in the country, with more than $300 million in annual sales. It plays a leading role in corporate Phoenix — Andy McCain, the senator’s stepson from his first marriage and a top executive of the beer company, is now president of the city’s Chamber of Commerce — and is a forceful presence in state politics on the issues that matter to it.

But by all accounts, Mrs. McCain is far from a forceful presence at the company, where she is chairwoman.

She crisscrosses the country on the company jet, keeps an accountant on the company payroll to mind her personal finances, drives a company Lexus with “MS BUD” plates and says she oversees the company’s “strategic planning and corporate vision.” Yet she almost never shows up in the office, is deemed an absentee owner [which is a technical not derogatory term] by Anheuser-Busch and has left scarcely a mark on the company, present and former executives say.

Mrs. McCain has spent far more time as a volunteer on behalf of needy children. She is a board member of CARE and Operation Smile, which provides cleft-palate surgery for impoverished children; when she visited Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh 17 years ago, she brought a baby girl back for the surgery and then adopted her...While all of the family's real estate is held by Mrs. McCain, the John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation is funded by Mr. McCain. From 2001 to 2006, its donations averaged about $260,000 a year. In addition to big donations to children's causes, mine clearing and Parkinson's research, the United States Naval Academy received $420,000 to run an ethics conference in the senator's name; the Brophy school has received more than $250,000; Christ Lutheran, which Bridget and Jim attended, more than $100,000."

Update 2: In September, McCain continued to say that the "fundamentals of our economy our strong," despite the enormous collapses of banks, mortgage lenders and others. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC provided a good overview on all of it, bringing in the perspective of the Obama camp as well:

Biden Ain't Bad

Obama's now-VP running mate, Senator Joe Biden, is a cool cat--here's a couple short videos on him, which I'll add to as I run across others (you can also watch Biden and Obama live at their first rally together this afternoon at 3pm EST; Obama's site will have a live video feed of it). But I love how frank Biden is, as especially comes across in the two brief videos below. The first is in response to Bush's claims that Democrats (and by implication, Obama) would be appeasing various enemies by meeting with them (Bush actually even compared it to the idea of meeting with Hitler). The second one is from the floor of the U.S. Senate in March 2007, and has Biden speaking with biting honesty about the negligent way the Iraq war has been handled; the video actually starts with Senator McCain finishing speaking, and you'll hear Biden later address him (when he refers to the Senator from Arizona). Here's a key couple lines of Biden's from the second video:

"Our troops don't lose wars, bad policy, bad leadership leaves wars. They [the GOP] should have the courage to stand up and tell the Administration they have had a god-awful policy, they have put our troops in a position that in fact has made it virtually impossible for them to succeed at the outset. They deserve a policy, they deserve a plan--there is no plan! We went to war with too few troops, we went to war unnecessarily, we went to war with these men and women ill-equipped, they're coming home ill-served. It's about time we have the courage to stand up, and say to the President, 'Mr. President, you have not only put us in harm's way, you have harmed us. You have no policy Mr. President.' I'm so tired of hearing on this floor about courage--have the courage to tell the Administration, 'Stop this ridiculous policy you have.' "

Here's the two videos:

Woe is McCain Series

Part 1 - Woe is McCain: Economically Out of Touch

Part 2 - Woe is McCain: Country Second (on Sex Ed, etc.)

Part 3 - Woe is McCain: Impulsive Decision Maker

Part 4 - Woe is McCain: Bad Temper, Bad Foreign Policy