I'm Not Trying to Start a War Here But...

Here are a few excerpts from the media's reaction to last night's GOP convention that reciprocated my thoughts as well:
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Palin's Speech:

1. She joked that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is …lipstick. Clearly, in the next few weeks, she will play the role of a pit bull with lipstick. My sense is that she will very likely connect with blue collar America but may be much less successful in suburban America.

2. Her personal story is also one that will relate well to people. She has a quality of seeming like the girl next door.

3. She showed a lot of confidence in addressing energy toward the end of the speech, which gave her more substantive depth.

Now let us be clear: there will be tons of Democrats and others who will disagree with her and will take sharp exception with her views. Her jabs at Barack Obama and the Democrats were surprisingly personal at times. And she will face tough questioning ahead from the press. After all, there are still some serious questions about what kind of president she might be. We are going to have a rough and tumble race down the home stretch.


Giuliani's Speech:

This speech is about mockery – and I wonder whether that’s appealing to voters. I really think this tone is going to turn a lot of voters off – it’s ugly, it’s bitter, it’s nasty. There is a bullying tone to this speech, and to Romney’s speech, and I just don’t think it works.

Even less appealing: “When they gave up on Iraq, they gave up on America”? Now that’s insulting.

What they’re doing is re-running the 2004 campaign, which the Republicans won on the issue of terrorism. He’s saying the war on terror should be the supreme issue – but for most voters it’s the economy.

The left wing and Hollywood celebrities are the true stars of the evening, prompting another chant of “USA!” from the crowd.

How did “USA” become a term of defiance and division? It sounds ugly, like they’re saying: “We’re real Americans – and you’re not.”

Giuliani, like Romney, relishes the attack. His language is stinging. The crowd keeps chanting “zero” – as in the talking point that Obama has no executive experience, and has never run anything. Except his own campaign. Obama beat the Clintons, and the inevitable candidacy – that’s not nothing.

Romney's Speech:

What's happened to Mitt Romney? He was a pretty strong campaigner, but at the convention he fell into self-parody.

A guy from Massachusetts who's worth $500 million, whose father was the president of American Motors, the governor of Michigan and a cabinet secretary — he's criticizing the "Eastern elite"?

Who is he kidding? Again and again he spat out the word "liberal." I was waiting for him to attack the pro-choice, pro-gay-rights, pro-universal health care liberal governor of Massachusetts — Mitt Romney.

I suppose Mitt has decided to rise above principle.

Huckabee's Speech:

Mike Huckabee’s is the first speech so far that really seems to understand the voters’ point of view.

People are hurting economically, and looking for real change. And he’s a good man to deliver that message — Republicans always do best with candidates not born to wealth and privilege, like Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan.

Huckabee also hits the right notes for this crowd: To these delegates, Europe = socialism.

A good line from Huckabee, if it’s true: Sarah Palin got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden did for President of the United States. Then again, he was only an active candidate in one state – a caucus state, Iowa. And he’s a sitting senator, who drew many times that number of votes in his last statewide election.

There was a touch of authentic populism there in Huckabee’s speech – but I’m still waiting to hear talk about what they’re going to do about the economy. That’s what voters want to hear.

And Finally the conclusion...

Here’s what Republicans got out of the evening:

1: They proved that Palin’s no pushover. They clearly established that.

2: They established a tough, even bullying tone to this night of the convention which bordered on the ugly, mocking their opponents.

3: Speakers gave strong testimony to McCain’s character.

Here’s what they didn’t accomplish: An answer to what they will do to solve this country’s economic problems. Without that, they’re not going to get anywhere.

And now it rests with McCain.
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Again it seems the Republicans are insulting anyone who's not 100% Republican and also missing the major issue that we are all facing right now: The bad economy. All I want to hear is how they plan on helping America create more jobs and boost the economy, but I'm just not getting any answers...(And drilling for oil and creating more Nuclear plants with no place to dispose of the nuclear waste is not the answer in my mind)

But I want everyone to know I value your opinion as long as you back it up. I want to learn everything about each candidate so I can make the right choice come November 4th. If you have information I'm missing here or just not getting please feel free to comment.

In the mean time: Can't we all just get along?
Time For Some Campaigning