Reprise needed.
As Howlin indicated on another thread, Rocky is my new hero!
HEADS UP . . .
C-Span2 will re-broadcast the GWB and Rocky show at 10:44 PM EDT followed immediately by a brief 'solo' press conference by Rocky:
http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule.csp
MUST VIEW VIDEO . . .
First Rocky, then 11 year old Jonathan -- President Bush is inspiring a whole new (and diverse) generation of Republicans!
http://wcco.com/politics/local_story_235101511.html [Make sure you view the video!!]
MUST READ . . .
Ohiowfan and other DOSErs who have had the privelege of hearing the President speak 'live' will understand the following reaction to such an experience by John H (Powerline):
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
I had the opportunity this afternoon to be part of a relatively small group who heard President Bush talk, extemporaneously, for around forty minutes. It was an absolutely riveting experience. It was the best I've ever seen him. Not only that; it may have been the best I've ever seen any politician. If I summarized what he said, it would all sound familiar: the difficult times we live in; the threat from Islamic fascism--the phrase drew an enthusiastic round of applause--the universal yearning for freedom; the need to confront evil now, with all the tools at our disposal, so that our children and grandchildren can live in a better and safer world. As he often does, the President structured his comments loosely around a tour of the Oval Office. But the digressions and interpolations were priceless.
The conventional wisdom is that Bush is not a very good speaker. But up close, he is a great communicator, in a way that, in my opinion, Ronald Reagan was not. He was by turns instructive, persuasive, and funny. His persona is very much that of the big brother. Above all, he was impassioned. I have never seen a politician speak so evidently from the heart, about big issues--freedom, most of all.
I've sometimes worried about how President Bush can withstand the Washington snake pit and deal with a daily barrage of hate from the ignorant left that, in my opinion, dwarfs in both volume and injustice the abuse directed against any prior President. (No one accused Lincoln of planning the attack on Fort Sumter.) Not to worry. He is, of course, miles above his mean-spirited liberal critics. More than that, he clearly derives real joy from the opportunity to serve as President and to participate in the great pageant of American history. And he sees himself as anything but a lame duck, which is why he is stumping for Republican candidates around the country.
IT WAS, IN SHORT, THE MOST INSPIRING FORTY MINUTES I'VE EXPERIENCED IN POLITICS.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/015081.php
If you missed the following classic from Podhoretz when it was posted the first time, you've got a second chance -- opinionjournal.com reprinted the entire GRADUATE SEMINAR QUALITY commentary today:
IS THE BUSH DOCTRINE DEAD?
The president's critics are wrong. That includes the neocons.
BY NORMAN PODHORETZ
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110008830
Opinionjournal.com also published an excellent commentary by our brilliant ambassador to Iraq:
THE BATTLE OF BAGHDAD
Rampant insecurity--and a detailed plan to combat it.
BY ZALMAY KHALILZAD
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008834
And finally:
POLLS INDICATE POTENTIAL SHIFT IN '06 PLAYING FIELD
The weekend after the Lamont win and the foiled airline terror plot I suggested that "last week was the first solid week for Republicans in some time. " Those two events were followed by last Thursday's ruling, by a Jimmy Carter-appointed judge in favor of the ACLU, against the Bush administration's NSA wiretapping program aimed at intercepting al-Qaeda communications from overseas.
In the first batch of polls (CNN, USA Today/Gallup, NYT/CBS, Rasmussen) taken after all three of these events, the RealClearPolitics Poll Average for President Bush's Job Approval has risen to 40.8%, while the RCP Generic Average has closed to single digits, Democrats +8.5%. This shouldn't be misconstrued as evidence that everything is great for the GOP heading into the fall elections, but it is the first time in almost six months both RCP Averages have crossed these respective levels (Bush over 40% and the Generic deficit less than 10%). This is significant, and it's not a coincidence that it comes on the back of these three high profile news events.
You can read the entire article at
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/blog/2006/08/polls_indicate_potential_shift.html