Posted on 09/05/2004 1:36:00 PM PDT by Cableguy
When I was in the political polling business, my boss, Peter Hart, used to say, "He who frames the issues tends to determine the outcome of the election." In his Thursday night speech at the Republican National Convention, George W. Bush framed the issues in a magisterial address that sent him a long way toward winning the general election and that sent him some smaller distance toward effective governance in a second term.
[snip to the end]
But the wind may be at his back. For months, old media have been shaping the news in ways designed to hurt Bush's chances. Yet old media could not squelch the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth story, and Bush now has the megaphone of the presidency in his hand. True, many people are still seething with hatred of Bush: You could see them in the streets of New York. But consider last week's Florida primaries to pick Senate candidates: More Republicans turned out than in the Democratic primary, even though they're outnumbered by registered Democrats. Enthusiasm for George W. Bush ("you know where I stand") may be greater than for John Kerry ("I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it"). I gave the Democrats a B, a good grade, for their convention. I give the Republicans an A.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
Without reading the whole article, I can't offer an opinion as to the quality of the analysis. But, for my money, Barone is the sharpest political analyst in the business. His "Almanac of American Politics" is magisterial.
I always enjoy reading Barone and am thrilled when he is on TV..
The real hero of the convention is Mike Bloomberg. He expertly balanced the contentious agendas of the people and groups in nyc with few people getting hurt. He took a lot of harsh criticism from all sides and didn't flinch. A lot of people talk tough, but Bloomberg IS tough.
I always enjoy reading Barone and am thrilled when he is on TV..I gave the convention an A+!!
Barone is excellent, very intelligent and erudite, always makes a cogent analysis, but "thrilled".....come on....(g)
Hey..with the quality of most of today's punditry?!..You bet..I stand by "thrilled"!
The ugly face of the Democratic Party- from anarchists to communists to pseudo-informed pawns- did their level best to upstage the Convention and failed...Bloomberg deserves much of the credit for keeping the lid on the maniacs.
Bloomberg seems like a political orphan at times. I think he's underappreciated by both Republicans and Democrats. He seems to respect the rights of extremists of both the right and left. I hope the guy can finally get some rest.
Hey! He used that word "magisterial" first! :)
I like to see the phrase "old media" used in the old media...
Barone is the sharpest political analyst in the business....
Add in Larry Sabato and you know what's really happening.
I do too, but I think it should be capitalized to signify its place in the American lexicon.
Nam Vet
"The ugly face of the Democratic Party- from anarchists to communists to pseudo-informed pawns- did their level best to upstage the Convention and failed..."
I believew such demonstrations help the demonstrators' opponents--us.
Kerry may look pretty mainstream, normal. But if his supporters look unruly, unwashed it makes him look the worse, for the nature of his supporters.
With 24 hour news, I say let them demonstrate, scream, wave signs, curse, urinate/defacate in public.
Brings us votes, from otherwise non-idealogical people, that don't want to "be associated" with such conduct and people.
HOW ABOUT NYPD!! A LITTLE CREDIT DESERVED THERE!!
Priceless
I did have the benefit of meeting him in person and telling him something he did not know. He appeared at a Manhattan Institute event shortly after 911. He talked about Flight 93 and mentioned the crew that took over the plane as being "reminiscent of a World War II movie" with a gay, a Jew, a jock, etc. He mentioned that all they needed was an evangelical Christian.
I had the joy of alerting him to the story of Todd Beamer who was, in fact, an Evangelical Christian.
Yeah, the cops were amazingly even-tempered about the demonstrations. I was a bit worried after one of them got beat up that they would lose their cool and a riot might break out. They remained disciplined and professional. The cops here understand politics.
LOL. He didn't man a single barricade, check any credentials or tussle with obnoxious protestors. I'm sure he went home every night too, unlike me. After 8 days of 12-13 hour shifts on my feet and sleeping in the nasty accomodations in my precinct I'm glad its over.
And while Bloomberg and the bloated city bureaucracy can find money for every social engineering program under the sun, he refuses to offer us a decent salary. The President is just lucky that we don't associate him with the mayor.
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