The Convention – The Last Night

In the end the Republican Convention came down to two lines: Clint Eastwood saying, “When somebody doesn’t do the job, you gotta let ‘em go.”   And Mitt Romney saying, “Obama wants to save the planet – I want to help your family.”   All the rest – the political rhetoric – was window dressing.…

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Twelve Minutes

It’s odd: Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio didn’t fret the liberal pundits much at all but in twelve minutes Clint Eastwood sent them into orbit. After Eastwood’s speech Andrea Mitchell at NBC looked so shocked it seemed she was about to have a stroke.   Twitter and the e-world exploded with…

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The Convention – Chris Christie

Most of the politicians at the Republican Convention stood up talked about what ails America: Too much government. Too much spending. Too much debt.   Except Chris Christie.   Instead of what’s wrong, Christie talked about why it’s wrong.   He began with a story of his Sicilian mother, who’d been raised by her own…

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The Convention – Ann Romney

The first night of the convention the Romney campaign set out to ‘humanize’ Mitt and after living with Mitt Romney for thirty years Ann Romney surely knew his virtues but by the same measure also knew his warts – which created a conundrum for Romney’s campaign staff.   I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of…

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No-Show in Charlotte

A friend asked if I’m going to the convention next week. No way. I’ve been to two national conventions – one in New York and one in San Francisco. And I’ve been to Charlotte.   I’m staying home like any sensible person and watching it on TV.

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Closet Centrists

They may be the Republican nominees, but Mitt Romney and Pat McCrory seem out of tune with the party in Tampa. That party loves the hard-edged, right-wing rhetoric of Paul Ryan and – before his bellyflop Tuesday night – Chris Christie.   The conventioneers celebrate Romney, but their hearts don’t seem to be in it.…

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Bedrock to Quicksand

One minute you’re standing on solid ground and the next the trap door springs open and you’re falling through mid-air.   Last week, the New York Times reported Republican political consultants made a startling discovery: They discovered swing voters have a stubborn affinity for Barack Obama and President Obama’s economic failure is not enough to elect…

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What Do They See?

Political junkies like me and you pay attention to what convention speakers say. We get into the issues, the rhetoric, the charges, claims and counterclaims. But that’s not what matters.   Voters watch conventions for what they say about the candidates and the party. They watch it like just another TV show, and they look…

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Storm Signals

Isaac busted up the Republican convention schedule. It’s competing for TV coverage. Therein lies another danger to the GOP: Is it good to bash government when a lot of people may need government help?   One story said the federal government spent $10 billion building levees to protect New Orleans. Did Governor Bobby Jindal reject…

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A Bigger Swamp…

Unless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…

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