National Democrats
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.…
Read MoreTwelve 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreNo-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.
Read MoreBedrock 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…
Read MoreA 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…
Read MoreA 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…
Read MoreNon-Conventional View
A TAPster who is no fan of the party conventions offers this: “Two thoughts as we enter two tedious weeks of convention blather: “First, the hurricane harassing the Republican National Convention is further proof that Southern small-town wind-blown burgs like Tampa and Charlotte have no business hosting big-time conventions. What self-respecting convention city…
Read MoreChanging the Subject
Since he picked Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has been talking about: Medicaid cuts, budget cuts, taxes (his and ours), Bain Capital, Obamacare, abortion and, now, birth certificates. None of which address undecided voters’ number-one concern: jobs and the economy. There seems to be a simple message for Romney in this campaign: “The economy is…
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