Lando 
Posted on 07/30/2004 8:08:43 AM PDT by No Surrender Monkey
The major American political conventions have become like the party conferences of the conservative Tory and liberal Labour parties in England. The point is to showcase the party's reigning and rising stars. There's some arguing and maneuvering in the background but it's in smoke-free green rooms, and it's not between politicians but media consultants, and it's over things like whether the spermatozoa-esque pictures of John Kerry crawling in a dust free space suit should be a) laughed off, or b) responded to with dark suggestions of leaks by NASA operatives. They went with plan b, and a fluke became a story. Sometimes candidates must think like the king in Shakespeare: "First thing, let's kill all the consultants."
Unlike most Americans I have been watching it all on TV. I am enjoying it because I love politics and speeches. Some observations. So far, a lot of the speeches have seemed to be an expression of the Democratic Party's persistent problem, which is that it can't seem to decide on a message. The speeches have been about everything--health care, technology, minimum wage--but a speech about everything is a speech about nothing. You have to decide.
Some of the speeches had a stale, canned and fulsome quality. Ted Kennedy seemed ponderous and heavy. With his new round glasses he looks like old pictures of his father if his father had grown corpulent. He brought out old chestnuts, quoted JFK, tried mightily to rouse. "John Kerry offers hope, not fear." "An economy that works for everyone." "That's the kind of America we'll have with John Kerry in the White House." He has outlived his rhetorical age. It was the speech of someone desperate to move you. Speeches like this never do.
When Barack Obama began his speech everyone watching thought: A star is born. Talk about famous overnight. His Bill Cosby-esque line--"the slander that a black youth with a book is acting white"--was right for the times, which is to say in line with common wisdom, and when he spoke of blue states where "we worship an awesome God," he was not just hitting a note but using the authentic language of American evangelism. When you first see him he is a plain man of irregular features and jug ears. But when he begins to speak his features blend into harmony and handsomeness. This kind of thing only happens if you have magic. At one point the C-Span cameras went to an unhappy looking Jesse Jackson in the stands. He looked like he was thinking, "I don't remember passing a torch." But it was passed.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Peggy is fantastic. I haven't read an article of hers yet that I didn't like. She has an excellent way with words!
I agree.
Peggy is a national treasure.
Did you not see the piece she wrote while vacationing in merry old England? It showed a far different side of her--confused.
Lando
ping
The political blindness of the Kerry team is continually amazing to me.
Would it have been that hard for Kerry to laugh at that picture and say something like "Yeah, that does look a bit silly, doesn't it?" If he had done that, the story would not have been a story.
But to accuse an agency (of several thousand VOTERS, hello?) of "leaks" and malfeasance, and concoct all sorts of (transparent) lies about it - that's just stupid.
And if he thinks all that stops when he's (gulp) President, he's incredibly stupid. Does he think that Putin, or Chiraq, or Arafat won't play politics?
I must have missed that one! If you have a link for it I'll read it.
Type Peggy Noonan: Warren G. Kerry in the search engine, or just Peggy Noonan and click on the Warren G. Kerry article. (Sorry, I'm clueless when it comes to posting links.)
Favorite line of the article, when Ben Affleck remarks that you have to "evervate the base"!
I almost snorted coffee!!!
And that's exactly what they said about Julian Bond at the 1968 convention in Chicago. Look where he is today.
When he is qued to speak his appointed lines that his handlers have concocted, few if any can remain awake long enough to enjoy the ending line.
Osama Obama is an unreconstructed Marxist. I'm sorry Peggy did no homework but allowed herself to be lulled by the oratory from the man.
Agreed. Kerry could have done a "leading edge science and technology isn't always pretty" statement, followed by a few sentences on how he and all Americans can be proud of the advanced work and effort being done by our country. He could have even added some reference such as "... John Kennedy's vision of American achievement in space lives on and I am committed to seeing that that vision continues." He could have gained some political mileage with such a statement.
Fortunately Kerry's vanity carried the upper hand! Opportunity lost...
I almost snorted coffee!!!
LOL here too, it’s a keeper.
"John Kerry offers hope, not fear."
And so I say to you my fellow Americans,
the only thing we have to fear is john kerry himself.
Noonan seems oblivious. I remember Noonan columns that made you want to stand up and march.
Check out Michael Novak's latest at http://www.nationalreview.com/novak/novak200407300829.asp
Particularly this: "In accepting the nomination of his party Thursday night, John Kerry could not quite bring himself to give both the president and the volunteer military who performed so well some credit for this great and significant advance for human liberty. The theme of liberty in the Muslim world belongs to George Bush. It was he who named liberty the only real alternative to terrorism."
Such an observation proves Novak is a deadly sharpshooter. Noonan used to be that good. Now she often misses the barn entirely.
(Which basically says that when you've lived too long, it doesn't matter if you're in Paris, you're still in the boonies.)
Speak for yourself, gm.
Peggy remains an insightful observer of human foible and eloquent voice of political expression.
Note: she had nothing to say about Kerry's address because it was past her deadline.
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