Posted on 07/30/2004 3:58:17 AM PDT by johnny7
FOR REASONS he might like to explain, John Kerry last night raced through an acceptance speech that was way too long for a time slot he knew about for weeks.
Desperate to stay within the broadcast networks' paltry 60 minutes, Kerry stepped on his best thoughts and lines and blurred important proposals and distinctions, committing the sin of interfering with his own ability to communicate with an electorate eager to learn much more about President Bush's opponent. At a Democratic convention planned to showcase a candidate and his basic approach to two huge situations -- a bogged-down military adventure in Iraq and a fragile economy -- Kerry obscured his presentation in a blizzard of hard-to-follow verbiage dictated by the clock.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Absolutely! We need video replay!
Yes, well said.
To paraphrase Peter Jennings, "Some candidates do it better than others".
CA....
Hmmmmm. I wouldn't go so far as to describe it as "bad". It was a pedestrian effort, but his best to date.
It was the posing that I found irritating, beginning with the clownish salute and "reporting for duty"....pity he's been AWOL in the Senate for over a year now, isn't it?
I also noted somebody decided the best way to end Kerry's speech was to use the music of a European Rock Band (U2).
The last thing I would have allowed, given last night was all symbolism - not substance, would be to use anything non American.
The Democrats had their turn.....now its ours.
'Scuse me ma'am... don't want to insult the fine state of Texas and its righteous womenfolk. ;>)
The delivery was hurried...he stumbled over his words, he looked awkward and uncomfortable.
But it wasn't the visuals that made it bad. It was the content itself.
If I hadn't known that he had been working on it for 23 days, I would think he was reading his first draft. Ideas were introduced and dropped without development. His word choice was weak.
Keeping up with his thought pattern was like watching a pinball game. He was bouncing from topic to topic like a room full of 5 year olds.
If this was his best to date, oh my... The dems are in real trouble.
I fell asleep quickly after the speech started, but I was surprised by one thing. Kerry did not wear a pink tie.
I agree. A great speech has a theme, a premise, a middle and a conclusion. Every thought flows to support the theme and the premise the speaker wants to the audience to learn about. The middle marshals the facts and the evidence to support the premise. Then in the conclusion you sum everything you've said in a few, concise sentences. Somehow, all that got dropped in the Kerry speech. Its a real mess the way it finally transpired. As I said, I agree with Oliphant, Kerry blew it.
That was an FFL salute. That's why you're probably unfamiliar with it!
CA....
I was shocked to see Kerry going after the redneck vote last night. Fans of the Gomer Pyle show had to be impressed with the "reporting for duty" and the salute. Also, former Hee Haw watchers may recall a weekly segment where the Hee Haw regulars were in a cornfield and the announcer said something like "Hee Haw salutes Pig Pen, Arkansas" and the cast in unison says "SAA-LUTE."
I suspect that, as we speak, the Republicans are working that line into a commercial:
1. A year of missed votes in the Senate
2. Missing 38 of 49 public hearings during his tenure on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Etc.
What audience? He reached out to his base more than to swing voters and he showed an ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth. That's not demonstrating leadership to the country in my book.
"If you won't describe it as bad - then you are truly being generous...for it was bad. (my opinion)"
I'm basing it against his previous speeches. Using that "low bar" it was his best effort to date.
Don't get me wrong, Obama, Clinton (Bill) and even Kerry's kids delivered their speeches with more clarity than did the Candidate last night.
I suspect Kerry's desire to throw out as many topics as possible reflects his penchant for always having an "out" no matter the topic at hand. And of course, Kerry has no "solutions" to offer, so it comes as no surprise the thoughts were incomplete in my opinion.
The speech did paint a huge bullseye on Kerry's Senate Record, however. The lack of reference to it, and his votes, telegraphs exactly what he and his campaign fear the most, a recitation of his votes and position (all of which history demonstrates were wrong). I think thats what he was referring to when he ask the President to not go "negative".
To a liberal, citing their errors is "going negative".....LOL!
Swing voters needed to have confidence that he could lead the war on terror. His movie, speech, and comrades from Vietnam made him appear to be a very good commander and capable of leading our armed forces.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.