I began tonight after getting off duty, ( Duty NCO for a Leadership Course I was parachuted into at the last moment due to an urgent need to fill a sudden vacancy -- a vacancy that has led me to be about thousand miles from wife and pootie for a while ) with the idea of doing a post on my own blog as to who I thought would make the best choice for our nominees ticket mate. This I did. As an NCO at a premier school I have cable in my room and a kickass wireless signal so as I sat down to write I was watching CNN to get tonights results from what everyone has to admit has been a long strange road of a Primary battle.
And as I settled in with a well deserved cold beer to inflict my views on the world they cut to John McCains speech in New Orleons. Not what I expected. This was the Democratic Party's night. Yet there was Bonzo McChimpy trying to grab a little bit of spotlight, being the class act that he is. And why, of all places, he chose New Orleans, which is a living monument to the Republican Party's mendicous incompitance, which he most certainly shares, is beyond me. So I listened. And it was quickly apparent that this was an awful speech from an increasingly awful candidate.
I carried on, made my post and came here. Had another beer. Jumped into a couple of other threads and settled in for the night ( it really should be an early one because I've got to be up and taking my flock of wanna be NCO's for PT at 0510, but I am really stupid and likely will stay here longer than is good for me --- again! The worst of it is my Go@#%@#mned knees are killing me from yesterday! Oh well, no ever accused me of being the sharpest knife in the drawer. In fact I am about as bright as a Christmas Tree in July ) Bear with me here... I am getting to my point. I watched HRC's speech. I watched talking heads do what they do best. Then Obama came on. And here's my point.....
The contrast's. All through McCains speech I noticed the applause was tepid at best -- perhaps the loudest response was when he trumpeted the 'surge', for which he proudly took credit for. All in all, pretty low key. And if that was the best he could do on a night he should have been flipping burgers at the ranch, well, he's heading full bore for a stint in the hurt locker. Then Obama came on. But this is not so much about him as it is about the audience. Vibrant. Loud. Motivated. Inclusive. And more about the future than McCains vision of a past that did not include so many. An excitemnt in the air that was completly absent from McCains gathering of privilage. That man has not, in spite of what his backers say, unified his base. That is a serious problem. For him. But not for us. And soon I expect the MSM will pick up on this.
And here is the final contrast. I do not, for one minute, believe the Democratic Party faces the same problem. I think it is total nonesense that the Party will face a rift. Yes, there are some hurt feelings now. That is politics. I have been involved in quite a few campaigns in my life. Losing sucks. And it happens. And we get over it. much of the rift has been little more than both an MSM and blogosphere talking point -- fueled by the excitement of one hell of a good ride. There will be some pouting. There will be some whining. But, at the end of the day the stakes are too high, the issues too important, to cause 'disgruntled' Democrats to do anything but vote for the Party ticket. Give it time, because right now time is on our side. For once. And that may be the biggest contrast --- we have hope. They have fear. Hope gives courage. The courage to unite and win.
The biggest contrast of all.
And just as an aside --- I supported neither of the 'final two' when this process started. But I always knew I would support the nominee. Our nominee.