A discussion of various thought on issues and subects that cross my mind. This can include: Politics, Economics, Race Relations, Stock Markets, Investing, Music, Poetry, Current Events and probably more. Comments, whether disenting or in agreement, are welcomed.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Senator John McCain at the Republican National Convention
Senator John McCain made the final speech of the Republican National Convention today. Now the speech was not the best oration you may have ever heard. Senator McCain is not known to be a good teleprompter speaker. He cannot compete with Senator Obama on this regard. But what he said was powerful.
A very good friend of mine heard the full speech and mentioned to me that
“It’s all over. Obama cannot compete with that. God, country, he’s done.”
That was the opinion of a Democrat.
Again it’s not because of the style of the way he said the words, but the content. McCain spoke of a respect for the nation, and the willingness to forgo any Party affiliation to enact the greatest good for the nation.
My friend also noted something else I missed in not only McCain’s speech, but those of Senator Obama’s as well.
“He [McCain] says she. When he speaks about the nation he says she. When Obama talks about the country he says ‘our country’ or ‘this country’. But McCain makes it personal, like it’s a being of its own.”
That kind of little difference is the key. It’s the even greater respect of the nation – born from knowing the difference of not having the freedoms and comforts most of us take for granted. It’s in the eyes of those listening as they are brought to tears. It’s in the honesty of his conviction that he believes his plans for the nation are not just politically good, but good for the individual citizens above all politics.
This was not a speech that was great. It didn’t set the room on fire like Gov. Sarah Palin. But it did make you take notice.
Now some will say that McCain did not speak about the economy. That’s polispeak trying to minimize what he did say about it. Some will say that he was just bashing Obama, and he did for 5 paragraphs out of 67. Some will say that he did not connect with the average American, yet he spent some 19 paragraphs speaking directly to that. And no one will take on the one subject that was constant throughout the entire RNC, that Senator John McCain was a Naval pilot that spent 5 ½ years as a P.O.W. and was tortured mercilessly – he had bled for this nation and it made him love America more.
But don’t take my word. Don’t be swayed by my friend the Democrat. Listen with open ears yourself and tell me that Senator McCain is not prepared, qualified, and deserving of being President.
Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Huckabee at the RNC
There were several speakers at the Republican National Convention last night besides Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin. Not all of them have received much attention, due entirely to the powerful speech of the VP.
But they deserve to be heard as much as was Senator Clinton, Former President Bill Clinton, and the other speakers at the DNC last week.
So I now present Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Huckabee
Governor Sarah Palin, Republican Vice Presidential candidate at the RNC and my thoughts
Over the last couple of days I was as curious as anyone about Governor Sarah Palin. I knew nothing of her, and I searched the internet and Youtube to find all I could about her. I have presented all that information previously, as accurately and quickly as one man can.
So yesterday I was upset that I would not be able to listen to the speech live, at home where I could take notes or write my comments. Instead I had to honor obligations I had previously made, and make preparations for my home and business. But I also had the chance to speak with several regular people about the Presidential election.
We discussed Senator McCain, and Senator Obama. We discussed the polispeak, promises and problems of each candidate. And we went over at length everything we knew about Gov. Palin, and what the major media was presenting about her.
Before I provide you her speech I want to recall that the main thing everyone, including the media was doing was comparing Gov. Palin to Senator Obama. It was at that moment that I understood something clearly.
If Gov. Palin made a solid speech, and if she can only be able to hold her own against Senator Biden, the Democratic candidates would not only lose but do so by 20 pts or more.
When a Vice Presidential candidate is drawing comparison, serious comparison, to a Presidential candidate the race is over. There has been no comparison of Biden to McCain. There won’t be. But Palin is compared to Obama, and earlier today she was winning. Even as the media was asking questions no male candidate has ever been asked (nor to most female politicians either). Even as the media and some cruel bloggers attacked the minor daughter of the Governor – making comparisons between that child and the grown wife of Obama who spoke on the campaign trail, and comparison to the grown daughter of Hillary Clinton who also was on the campaign trail.
Those were the thoughts I had in mind as I sat up tonight, listening to the replay of the speech by Governor Sarah Palin in full, ending at 3am and then writing this post.
With that said I know present you with the speech, and I ask you this. Can you have any doubt why she was picked for Vice President? Can you believe in a vote for McCain – Palin?
I’ll give my answer below, and invite you to tell me your thoughts as well.
As I’ve said long ago I am a Black Puerto Rican Republican. But more than that I am an American. And I am proud to have been a supporter of Senator John McCain. And having heard this speech I can say that I understand why Governor Sarah Palin was picked for Vice President. I am proud to say that I believe in the McCain – Palin ticket.
I, as President of M V Consulting, Inc and only for myself and my corporation, endorse and will vote for Senator McCain and Governor Sarah Palin as the next President and Vice President of America.
Senator Joe Lieberman speech at Republican National Convention
Another important speech last night was from Senator Joe Lieberman. Senator Lieberman may be the first Democrat to speak at a Republican National Convention.
Sen. Lieberman is officially recorded as an Independent, because in his last re-election the Democrats threw him under the bus and he had to run on his own against a candidate they put up against him. Since that time, if not quite some time before, Democrats have been in various forms of dislike towards him. But they need him to maintain the majority they hold in the Senate.
Of course Senator Lieberman engendered no great joy from Democrats from the speech he made. Instead of going straight down the Party line, instead of racing along with the far-left liberal policies advocated at the DNC, Lieberman – the 2000 VP pick of Al Gore – asked all Americans to vote for the person that was best for President. And his opinion is that Obama is not that man.
So many Senator Hillary Clinton supporters, Democratic delegates, and the Independent Senator of Connecticut have all endorsed McCain. A former Democratic Vice President, the current Democratic Vice Presidential pick, and the main competitor in the Primaries to Senator Obama have all said the same thing to the nation (before they polispoke their way to complete reversals based on political gain).
But don’t take my words, listen to Senator Lieberman – who knows what it takes to get elected.
I thought it was a great speech. One of the most important things about it was the fact that unlike similar speeches by Democrats he did not really attack Senator Obama. He got in a few jibes, and they were accurate and well placed, but overall he focused on Senator John McCain.
Fred Thompson was focused on the character and experience of Senator John McCain. Without trying to make a comparison one could not help but see it. And with no disrespect to Obama, McCain towers over his Democratic rival.
Fred Thompson said,
“It's pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, "Who is this man?" and "Can we trust this man with the presidency?"
Well even Democrats have stated unequivocably that they trust McCain as President. Senator Obama’s own VP pick stated that clearly and without hesitation. His polispeak since rings hollow and Democrats know it.
Senator McCain is a war hero. We all know that. But Democrats seem to want to forget that McCain is the most bi-partisan candidate in this election. It was noted all night, by Thompson and then later by Lieberman (the Democratic VP pick in 2000 for Al Gore) that the difference is doing versus speaking.
But Thompson was not without strong attacks.
“They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the "other" side of the bucket! That's their idea of tax reform.”
Colorful and accurate when you consider that it was Senator Obama himself that noted he would ensure tax cuts for
“95% of those who RECEIVE A PAYCHECK” [Emphasis is my own]
Only those willfully wanting to believe that statement cannot see the connection of business owners, the price of their goods, and the hours and employment individuals receive. Tax one side of the equation and the response hits the other. A basic law of nature and physics, unless you are a Democrat.
To be fair Thompson did focus intently on the history of McCain. There is no question that in the past 18 months the voting record of McCain and President Bush have been similar. But most seem to miss the fact that it has mostly been President Bush moving towards Senator McCain’s view than vice versa.
Fred Thompson went on to say
“History-making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for president. Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history-making, Democrat-controlled Congress. History-making because it's the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation's history.”
Now to be fair, in the past there may have been Senators that have run for President that have been more liberal in their voting records than Senator Obama. I’m willing to give Obama the benefit of doubt on this. Though he has been easily found to be the most liberal Senator currently.
Thompson also stated that Obama is the most inexperienced. Again I have not checked the entire Democratic past. But the fact that he has had 3 ½ years in the Senate, of which about 2 have been used to run for President, speaks for itself. Still credit should be given to his time in the Illinios Senate. Though in comparison to McCain, or even Vice Presidential candidate Biden he is weak in that argument.
As for the Democrat-led Congress, well I’ve already stated how ineffective they have been. Their quest to look good on news video clips dominated their time, and the historic lowest-approval ratings, and consistent lower (by about 10 points) ratings than the unpopular President Bush says more than any other argument.
John McCain is hardly the perfect Presidential candidate. He is even less perfect a Republican. And neither of these qualities is bad, especially when compared to a candidate that is even less perfect a candidate and more radically aligned with the furthest portion of his Party.
Some have criticized Fred Thompson’s speech at the RNC for not stating clearly that Senator McCain is not President Bush. I have to believe only the most myopic or the most blindly far-left cannot note the difference.
The differences between the 2 men has been noted in Primaries, policy decisions, and support from other politicians. Even just listening to the 2 men speak makes it apparent. But I do not fault the Democrats for their attempt to polispeak an illusory connection to a Senator that mere 2 years ago was the “Democrats Republican” and lauded by their Party.
Fred Thompson spoke at the Republican National Convention about the past, the experience, honor, and character of John McCain. Whether or not anyone likes or agrees with these things there is no dispute that they are facts. I cannot give a more detailed critique of something that is steeped in fact and avoided conjecture.
Fred Thompson at the Republican National Convention
It’s funny that last week, within minutes of the speeches of the various speakers at the Democratic National Convention Youtube was filled with video. Today after Fred Thompson and Senator Lieberman made their opening speeches at the Republican National Convention you can’t find anything but information about protestors, most trying to sway a viewer to believe they were unjustly treated by police.
So much for a fair and unbiased medium. But I do expect that eventually video will be available, and when it is I will present it.
Until then I will rely on the transcripts of the speeches. (as provided by NPR)
Fred Thompson:
**I finally found the video to this speech, so I am adding it now. So now you can see how he presented the words below.**
Tonight our thoughts are still with our friends and fellow citizens in the Gulf Coast area, and our thanks go to those who have worked so hard to keep them safe. There can be no more important work than this.
But what we are doing at this convention is also important to our country.
We are going to nominate the next president and vice president of the United States of America.
We do so while taking a different view of our country than that of the other party. Listening to them you'd think that we were in the middle of a great depression; that we are down, disrespected and incapable of prevailing against challenges facing us. We know that we have challenges ... always have, always will.
But we also know that we live in the freest, strongest, most generous and prosperous nation in the history of the world, and we are thankful.
Speaking of the vice presidential nominee, what a breath of fresh air Gov. Sarah Palin is.
She is from a small town, with small-town values, but that's not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family.
Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the union — and won — over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week.
Let's be clear ... the selection of Gov. Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment.
Sound like anyone else we know?
She has run a municipality and she has run a state.
And I can say without fear of contradiction that she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field-dress a moose ... with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.
She and John McCain are not going to care how much the alligators get irritated when they get to Washington, they're going to drain that swamp.
But tonight, I'd like to talk to you about the remarkable story of John McCain. It's a story about character. John McCain's character has been tested like no other presidential candidate in the history of this nation. He comes from a military family whose service to our country goes back to the Revolutionary War.
The tradition continues.
As I speak, John and Cindy McCain have one son who's just finished his first tour in Iraq.
Another son is putting "country first" and is attending the Naval Academy. We have a number of McCains in the audience tonight.
Also here tonight is John's 96-year-old mother, Roberta. All I've got to say is that if Roberta McCain had been the McCain captured by the North Vietnamese, they would have surrendered.
Now, John's father was a bit of a rebel, too.
In his first two semesters at the Naval Academy, he managed to earn 333 demerits. Unfortunately, John later saw that as a record to be beaten. A rebellious mother and a rebellious father — I guess you can see where this is going.
In high school and the Naval Academy, he earned a reputation as a troublemaker. But as John points out, he wasn't just a troublemaker. He was the leader of the troublemakers. Although loaded with demerits like his father, John was principled even in rebellion. He never violated the honor code.
However, in flight school in Pensacola, he did drive a Corvette and date a girl who worked in a bar as an exotic dancer under the name of Marie, the Flame of Florida.
And the reason I'm telling you these things, is that, apparently, this mixture of rebellion and honor helped John McCain survive the next chapter of his life:
John McCain was preparing to take off from the USS Forrestal for his sixth mission over Vietnam, when a missile from another plane accidentally fired and hit his plane. The flight deck burst into a fireball of jet fuel. John's flight suit caught fire. He was hit by shrapnel. It was a scene of horrible human devastation.
Men sacrificed their lives to save others that day. One kid, who John couldn't identify because he was burned beyond recognition, called out to John to ask if a certain pilot was OK.
John replied that, yes, he was.
The young sailor said, "Thank God"... and then he died. These are the kind of men John McCain served with. These are the men and women John McCain knows and understands and loves.
If you want to know who John McCain is, if you want to know what John McCain values, look to the men and women who wear America's uniform today. The fire on the Forrestal burned for two days. Twenty planes were destroyed; 134 sailors died.
John himself barely dodged death in the inferno and could've returned to the States with his ship.
Instead, he volunteered for combat on another carrier that was undermanned from losing so many pilots. Stepping up, putting his "country first."
Three months later John McCain was a prisoner of war.
On Oct. 26, 1967, on his 23rd mission over North Vietnam, a surface-to-air missile slammed into John's A-4 Skyhawk jet, blowing it out of the sky.
When John ejected, part of the plane hit him — breaking his right knee, his left arm, his right arm in three places. An angry mob got to him, after he landed. A rifle butt broke his shoulder. A bayonet pierced his ankle and his groin.
They took him to the Hanoi Hilton, where he lapsed in and out of consciousness for days. He was offered medical care for his injuries if he would give up military information in return.
John McCain said "No."
After days of neglect, covered in grime, lying in his own waste in a filthy room, a doctor attempted to set John's right arm without success ... and without anesthesia. His other broken bones and injuries were not treated. John developed a high fever, dysentery. He weighed barely a hundred pounds.
Expecting him to die, his captors placed him in a cell with two other POWs who also expected him to die.
But with their help, John McCain fought on. He persevered. So then they put him in solitary confinement for over two years. Isolation, incredible heat beating on a tin roof. A light bulb in his cell burning 24 hours a day. Boarded-up cell windows blocking any breath of fresh air. The oppressive heat causing boils the size of baseballs under his arms. The outside world limited to what he could see through a crack in a door.
We hear a lot of talk about hope. John McCain knows about hope. That's all he had to survive on. For propaganda purposes, his captors offered to let him go home.
John McCain refused. He refused to leave ahead of men who'd been there longer. He refused to abandon his conscience and his honor, even for his freedom. He refused, even though his captors warned him, "It will be very bad for you."
They were right. It was.
The guards cracked ribs, broke teeth off at the gums. They cinched a rope around his arms and painfully drew his shoulders back. Over four days, every two to three hours, the beatings resumed. During one especially fierce beating, he fell, again breaking his arm. John was beaten for communicating with other prisoners. He was beaten for not communicating with so-called peace delegations. He was beaten for not giving information during interrogations. When his captors wanted the names of other pilots in his squadron, John gave them the names of the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers.
Whenever John was returned to his cell — walking if he could, dragged if he couldn't — as he passed his fellow POWs, he would call out to them. He'd smile ... and give them a thumbs up. For 5 1/2 years this went on. John McCain's bones may have been broken, but his spirit never was.
Now, being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be president. But it does reveal character.
This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders. Strength. Courage. Humility. Wisdom. Duty. Honor.
It's pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, "Who is this man?" and "Can we trust this man with the presidency?"
He has been to Iraq eight times since 2003. He went seeking truth, not publicity. When he travels abroad, he prefers quietly speaking to the troops amidst the heat and hardship of their daily lives. And the same character that marked John McCain's military career has also marked his political career. This man John McCain is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular.
At a point when the war in Iraq was going badly and the public lost confidence, John stood up and called for more troops. And now we are winning.
Ronald Reagan was John McCain's hero. And President Reagan admired John tremendously.
But when the president proposed putting U.S. troops in Beirut, John McCain, a freshman congressman, stood up and cast a vote against his hero because he thought the deployment was a mistake.
My friends ... that is character you can believe in.
For years, members of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, have gouged the taxpayer with secret earmark spending.
Well, he has never sought an earmark.
I've experienced John's character firsthand. In 1993, when I was thinking of running for the Senate, I went to John for advice. He convinced me I could help make a difference for our country. I won that election, and with Republican control of Congress, we reformed welfare. We balanced the budget. And we began rebuilding our military.
What I remember most about those years is sitting next to John on the Senate floor as he led battle after battle to change the acrimonious, pork-barreling, self-serving ways of Washington.
The Senate has always had more than its share of smooth talkers.
And big talkers.
It still has.
But while others were talking reform, John McCain led the effort to make reform happen — always pressing, always moving for what he believed was right and necessary to restore the people's faith in their government.
Confronting when necessary, reaching across the aisle when possible, John personified why we came to Washington in the first place.
It didn't always set too well with some of his colleagues.
Some of those fights were losing efforts.
Some were not.
But a man who never quits is never defeated.
Because John McCain stood up, our country is better off.
The respect he is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship.
There has been no time in our nation's history, since we first pledged allegiance to the American flag, when the character, judgment and leadership of our president was more important.
Terrorists, rogue nations developing nuclear weapons, an increasingly belligerent Russia.
Intensifying competition from China.
Spending at home that threatens to bankrupt future generations. For decades an expanding government ... increasingly wasteful and too often incompetent.
To deal with these challenges the Democrats present a history-making nominee for president.
History-making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for president. Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history-making, Democrat-controlled Congress. History-making because it's the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation's history.
Together, they would take on these urgent challenges with protectionism, higher taxes and an even bigger bureaucracy. And a Supreme Court that could be lost to liberalism for a generation. This is not reform. And it's certainly not change. It is basically the same old stuff they've been peddling for years. America needs a president who understands the nature of the world we live in. A president who feels no need to apologize for the United States of America.
We need a president who understands that you don't make citizens prosperous by making Washington richer, and you don't lift an economic downturn by imposing one of the largest tax increases in American history.
Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they are not going to tax your family.
No, they're just going to tax "businesses"! So unless you buy something from a "business," like groceries or clothes or gasoline ... or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small "business," don't worry ... it's not going to affect you.
They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the "other" side of the bucket! That's their idea of tax reform.
My friends, we need a leader who stands on principle. We need a president, and vice president, who will take the federal bureaucracy by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shaking. And we need a president who doesn't think that the protection of the unborn or a newly born baby is above his pay grade. The man who will be that president is John McCain.
In the days ahead at this convention, you will hear much more about what John will do as president — what he will do on the economy, on energy, on health care, the environment. It is not my role tonight to explain that vision. My role is to help remind you of the man behind the vision. Because tonight our country is calling to all of us to step up, stand up, and put "country first" with John McCain.
Tonight we are being called upon to do what is right for our country. Tonight we are being called upon to stand up for a strong military ... a mature foreign policy ... a free and growing economy and for the values that bind us together and keep our nation free. Tonight, we are being called upon to step up and stand up with John just as he has stood up for our country.
Our country is calling. John McCain cannot raise his arms above his shoulders. He cannot salute the flag of the country for which he sacrificed so much. Tonight, as we begin this convention week, yes, we stand with him.
And we salute him. We salute his character and his courage. His spirit of independence, and his drive for reform. His vision to bring security and peace in our time, and continued prosperity for America and all her citizens.
For our own good and our children's, let us celebrate that vision, that belief, that faith so we can keep America the greatest country the world has ever seen.
