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September 03, 2008
Sarah's Night
Well, night three of the Republican National Convention is a wrap. We didn't see all of it (just Rudy and Palin), but a few thoughts on them:
Rudy. "America's Mayor" stuck to what he's good at -- attacking. Rudy knows how to deliver stinging blows; you will recall that he is less good at receiving them, but that didn't matter tonight. He humorously mocked Obama from start to finish, which was gobbled up by the rabid delegate audience. The persistent cackle after lines tipped Rudy just a touch toward the crazy old man caricature, in our view, but who knows how others saw it.
Giuliani also repeated the essential talking points about McCain's biography and commitment to public service. But in the end, we waited for Rudy's uncontrollable self-obsession to shine through, and he did not disappoint. Yes, instead of being a team player and staying on schedule to benefit the evening's actual headliner, the ever-operatic Giuliani fell in love all over again with his own dulcit tones, eschewed his supporting role and gave us the uncut version of his lengthy aria. The result? Rudy went over time, forcing the skipping of a planned introductory video on Palin, and sending her remarks past their desired start and finish time.
No matter the situation, you can always count on Rudy Giuliani to put America's Mayor first. We are downright wistful about what material he would have given us, had he been the GOP nominee.
Palin. She delivered her speech well. Despite a tendency at times to read her lines like a learning child sounding them out one at a time, Palin is a good public speaker. We were struck by the often attacking nature of her remarks, many of them also mocking of Obama. She effectively presented herself and her family as everyday Americans. She also tried, less effectively in our judgment, to sell the GOP ticket as a reform effort. (Note to Sarah and her speechwriters: railing against Washington elites gets a bit tricky when your presidential nominee is a 30-year creature of the place.)
Interesting to us in the speech, and frankly in the entire convention so far, was the overall absence of policy. Do the Republicans realize that there is a recession going on, or that people don't have health insurance? You wouldn't know it by watching their convention. In fact, looking at the delegate crowd, lustily cheering red meat social conservative rhetoric, leaves one feeling as if he's watching some kind of alternate universe. This disconnect underscores for us the GOP's central political challenge in the near (and perhaps longer) term -- the Republican Party base simply isn't in sync with the larger public.
John McCain has a big hurdle tomorrow night. He must begin to show he understands the real economic pain Americans are feeling, and that he has a concrete plan to improve things. And the standard Republican playbook of tax cuts, shrinking government, etc., isn't going to get it done. Another small piece of advice -- the whole free trade schtick we keep hearing probably doesn't play so well in economically devastated industrial states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Just a thought.
Posted by houtopia at September 3, 2008 10:28 PM
Comments
Do the Republicans realize that there is a recession going on...?
No they don't, but that is because there isn't one going on. The classical definition of a recession is contraction of gross domestic product for two or more consecutive quarters, and so far this has not occurred. The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales," which also is not the case.
Bottom line: slower growth does not a recession make.
Posted by: Joe White at September 4, 2008 08:21 AM
Tell that to the millions of folks who have lost their jobs, their homes, their retirement savings, or who don't have health insurance.
Sure, you can parse the technical definition of a recession, and there has been considerable debate about whether or not we've actually been in one, but you can't fool folks about their economic situation, especially now that credit isn't nearly as available to people as it has been.
I have heard virtually no mention of the economic hurt going on in this country at the GOP convention. Wonder why? If I were them, I wouldn't want to talk about it either.
Posted by: houtopia at September 4, 2008 08:27 AM
"Always say what you mean, or you will never mean what you say."
-Peter O'Toole's character in The Last Emperor
I was not arguing whether or not people are experiencing hardship: there will be those who do not prosper, boom or bust. Neither was I arguing for or against policies of particular party: there is plenty for me to dislike in both major party platforms. Rather, I was simply stating a fact: by all the measures we have available and commonly-accepted definitions, we are not in a recession. This is not to say that we might not enter one, but that so far this year we have not been in one.
BTW, I made a similar observation to the Financial Times earlier this year.
Posted by: Joe White at September 4, 2008 10:26 AM