Night One of the GOP Convention

This commentary on GOP Convention speeches from last night comes from Chuck Muth at Muth’s Truths.  Pretty good commentary in my view.

A tough balancing act faced Republicans with how to handle President Bush. Not the most popular guy in America today, or even in his own party. But the man is the sitting incumbent president. You couldn’t “dis” him and not have him speak at all, much as some may have liked. But giving him a relatively short speaking role via satellite seemed to strike the right balance. Republicans certainly treated Bush tonight better than Democrats have treated Carter for many, many years…and to this day.

* President Bush did throw a little red meat out there, telling the GOP faithful – as well as the rest of the nation watching on TV – that if his captors at the “Hanoi Hilton” couldn’t break John McCain’s resolve, the “angry left” sure won’t. Ya hear that, Michael Moore?

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The Art of the Deal

No, not the autobiography by Donald Trump. Haggling is an age old art-form. It has been described as polite arguing. The trick in haggling is for the seller to learn just how desperate the buyer is and the trick for the buyer is to determine just how much the seller wants to make money.

A starving man may sell his soul for a crust of bread, but a starving man with a crust of bread might not want to sell it at all. A baker wants to sell his bread when it is fresh so that people will know what kind of artisan he is but if he can’t sell it quickly, he can still sell it the next day at a reduced rate enough to cover his time and expense. But if he can’t sell it the third day, he must toss it out, toast it for croutons, or crumble it for bird feed and lose money.

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Obama is Right On Cue

For a year now conservatives have complained that Barack Obama speaks well but never really says anything.  The complaint has been voiced loud and often that Obama supporters have nothing but feel good rhetoric to point to.  Indeed, when asked what Obama has done or said that they support, virtually none of them can point to anything except "change" and feelings.  It certainly cannot be denied that Obama has been a master at inspiring people.

Of course Obama has a record, albeit a thin one, that can and has been examined.  And every conservative that’s taken the trouble to look has come away with the same thing.  Obama is a liberal.  Not just a run of the mill liberal but the most liberal member of the Senate with dangerous ideas.

It has, from time to time, been predicted that Obama could not maintain his feel good advantage.  As the campaign advanced his true beliefs would inevitably come out and he’d pay the price.  Ultimately Obama would be forced actually start saying things and taking real stands and as that happens Obama would be revealed for the liberal elitist he really is.

Right on cue Senator Obama has been obliging the prognosticators on the right.  Every time he opens his mouth and says what he actually believes, there is hell to pay.

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