This blog also posted on The Charlotte Observer’s DNC blog site. One hundred and eighty years ago, back in 1832, the first Democratic Convention was an enclave of white men – today the Democratic Convention is an enlightened convocation with a Women’s Caucus, a Black Caucus, a Hispanic Caucus, an Ethnic Caucus, a Native…
Read MoreThere’s not much doubt there’s a lot of half-truthin’ and even some outright lyin’ going on in the Presidential campaign but the ‘Fact-Checkers’ who’ve proclaimed themselves the ‘truth-tellers’ in this election are starting to look a little blowsy themselves. Last Wednesday night Paul Ryan said Obama “funneled $716 billion out of Medicare.” ‘Not…
Read MoreI wonder if Paul Ryan claimed in Greenville today that he once ran a four-minute mile? It wouldn’t surprise me, given his tenuous grip on the truth. If political lying was an Olympic event, Ryan would get the gold. And that’s saying a lot this year. Fresh off his fact-challenged convention speech (see “GOP…
Read MoreMitt was Mitt, Clint was crazy, and Paul Ryan did the most to damage himself of any speaker at the Republican convention. Let’s review the main players. Romney had a good line: “I want to help your family.” But he didn’t shed the label Obama’s ads have stuck on him: Rich, stiff and out…
Read MoreIn 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.…
Read MoreIt’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…
Read MoreMost 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreA 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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