| McCain the Patriot Tries to Grab Mantel of Change |
|
|
|
| by Carolyn Barta | Fri, Sep 5, 2008, 01:46 AM |
|
He separated himself both from President Bush and from his Democratic opponent. He was the patriot more than the pol -- the man who spent most of his life serving his country. And, knowing that change has been a powerful message for Obama, he cast himself as the one who would bring true change to Washington. In place of the soaring oratory of Obama, he gave his speech intensity by telling his personal story as a POW in Hanoi. “I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need,” he said. Rather, he is running because, he said, “My country saved me, and I cannot forget it.” McCain surprised listeners by putting some meat on the bones of his story as a POW, telling it in unusual detail. It was the story of his years in a prison camp that made the greatest impact. Dumped into a cell weighing barely 100 pounds, he couldn’t even feed himself. Two other Americans took care of him. He said, “I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else’s.” “I was never the same man again,” he said. “I wasn’t my own man. I was my country’s.” Part of the speech on the last night of the GOP convention was pedestrian. But he distinguished himself by emphasizing his service to the nation, issuing the call for reform – no matter that his party is the party now in power in the White House – and pledging to get rid of the partisan rancor in Washington. In a reference to the economy and kitchen table issues, he pledged to fight the big-spenders in Washington “who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, while you struggle to buy groceries, fill your gas tank and make your mortgage payment.” He also claimed Obama would raise taxes, which fact-checkers dispute. (see above story) But he said far less about Obama than Obama said about him last week in Denver. There were some notable lines, including one about his efforts toward bipartisanship in Washington. “I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.” McCain also tweaked his own party by saying, “We were elected to change Washington and Washington changed us.” But, the party of Lincoln and Roosevelt and Reagan (no mention of Bush) is “going to get back to basics,” he said. “We need to change almost everything government does,” he said, including “the way we train workers and the way we educate our children. We have to catch up to history and change the way we do business in Washington.” At the end, he called on the people to “fight with me…fight for what’s right for our country.” As the crowd almost drowned him out, he concluded his speech with an impassioned plea: ““Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America. Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.” In keeping with the patriotic, service theme of the night, a huge drop of red, white and blue balloons cascaded on delegates. McCain usually performs best in a town hall format but comes across as wooden in formal speeches delivered with the aid of a teleprompter. Thursday night, a runway was extended from the stage so he could stand at the lecturn in the midst of the delegates, which helped to give the speech a warmer feel, along with his delivery of his personal story. Early-on, it may have appeared flat. But the speech by the candidate not known for his oratorical ability picked up steam as he went along and turned out to be one of passion, purpose and sincerity that should reflect well on the GOP nominee.
Bookmark
Email This
Comments (10)
...
written by Boo , September 05, 2008 Sadly I had something come up and I missed this speech. Since then I've only seen sound bits and various comments from talking heads on CNN/Fox/etc. I have to wonder how long Obama is going to let McCain get away with his claims that Obama will raise taxes. Anyone who has read both candidates tax policy should be aware that this is blatantly misleading. Unless you are making over 250k a year you are going to be seeing a tax cut not a tax raise. Then again Obama is still up 7 points in the polls so I guess he is doing something right.
...
written by Grrr , September 05, 2008 The message was: we're happy as long as there is suffering & war accompanied with patriotic music. It's over. We are fatigued war & murder. Obama will win & that grotesque display last night is not the only reason.
...
written by Byron George , September 05, 2008 There must be some sick democrats this morning knowing that the White House is slipping from it's grasp. Any takers on a small wager. Biden will come up with some lame excuse to drop out of the vp race so BHO can choose Hillary. The American people are on to the leftist cause. The best the democrats can do is to call McCain another George W. Bush. It sounds good in their talking points but the American people are seeing the liberal democrats for what they are. The only way they can win an election is to try to smear Ms. Palin and McCain. It's not working. So sorry, maybe in 2012 you should nominate something more than a community organizer from Chicago. But wait, it will not matter then, Sarah Palin will be your 2012, 2016 president. Looks like a long dry stretch for the DNC.
...
written by RelicMM , September 05, 2008 I like your optimism Byron. With the scourge of the anti-life mentality and abortion our nation certainly doesn't deserve it, but maybe God will bless America and is giving the voters yet another chance after all with moral candidates.
...
written by Dallasite1 , September 05, 2008 Boo, That's simply not true. Obama wants to remove the cap on Social Security taxes. That means an additional 14% tax rate on the self employed. Oh, and the polls have them tied this morning.
...
written by HSH , September 05, 2008 Byron: Did you write this post in your sleep? Maybe transposing a vivid dream? How much would you like to wager on your silly theory about Biden/Clinton? I'll take it. As to Palin's effect, the first post-Palin poll is out. Go to ABC.com. Palin strengthened BOTH parties' bases, but that's it. As to the important independent middle, she gives him nothing. "VOTE IMPACT -- As noted, predisposed partisans on each side are more apt to react favorably to Palin and Biden. On Palin, conservatives by a 34-point margin say her addition to the ticket makes them more likely rather than less likely to support McCain; among Republicans it's a 37-point positive margin, and among white evangelicals, 32 points. These are all heavily pro-McCain groups in the first place, but these numbers may reflect an enthusiasm -- somewhat lacking in his campaign -- that could impact their turnout. At the same time, the story in the ideological center is different: Among moderates, Biden registers as a net 15-point positive for Obama. In the same group, Palin shows no effect on support for McCain."
...
written by Amy in Austin , September 05, 2008 www.pollster.com too all you uninformed dreamers out there. The last time I checked, the election was up to the STATES'ELECTORAL VOTES. Maybe you should donate some more money, BG. Although, I have a feeling, it's the poor end of the GOP, I'm talking too Write comment
|
|
John McCain needed to accomplish several tasks in his acceptance speech as Republican nominee Thursday night: Show that he's not a carbon copy of George Bush, wrest the mantel of change from opponent Barack Obama, highlight his experience to be commander-in-chief and connect with the American public in a teleprompter-delivered speech. McCain could well say, "Mission Accomplished." 
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
