Country First
John McCain, George Bush and related Republicans get their propers for truncating their National Convention rituals as Hurricane Gustav threatened the gulf coast, particularly New Orleans, so hard hit during Katrina.
http://blogs.uptownlife.net/sonyarose/
Country First
John McCain, George Bush and related Republicans get their propers for truncating their National Convention rituals as Hurricane Gustav threatened the gulf coast, particularly New Orleans, so hard hit during Katrina.
Their support of the coalesced efforts of LA governor Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and FEMA may have saved thousands of lives. Together with MS, Al and TX officials, nearly 2 million folks were safely evacuated over the weekend. (To date, seven hurricane-related deaths have been reported in LA, in comparison to the bloodbath of ‘05.)
And with official RNC business beginning just yesterday at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, the vibe of the Convention was effectively and appropriately subdued, focusing clearly on real issues like energy and the economy. President George Bush spoke via satellite for a few moments to delegates and convention goers, offering a mere generic endorsement of the presumptive. This was, of course, fine with McCain reps as they don’t want their candidate too closely identified with the tyranny of the Bush legacy.
And before I nodded off following endless video tributes to former presidents (I write with all due respect), Law & Order actor and former TN Senator Fred Thompson got some fireworks going. He had a certain energy, and brought the crowd to their feet, as he took jabs at Barack Obama. "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," the actor said.
Then Senator Joe Lieberman, a former Dem-turned-Independent-now-endorsing-McCain, spoke delicately on moving beyond partisan politics. Lieberman did seem to believe in a McCain administration, although at times it seems the respected Senator doesn’t know what he believes. The CT pol did his best imitation of a Republican when he stated "I’m here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward...I’m here because John McCain’s whole life testifies to a great truth: being a Democrat or a Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American."
Of course, one of the more infinitely interesting moves the McCain camp made over Labor Day Weekend was selecting Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Sarah Palin? OK, there’s troopergate, where she allegedly fired a staffer for not firing an ex brother-in-law state trooper who was allegedly threatening members of her family. And her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is unmarried and pregnant (though word is she has plans to marry her baby’s daddy). Good old Christian ethics at play here...
Palin is a curious choice at a time when Obama and his VP Joe Biden are beating the Republican presumptive in the polls and their approval ratings are going through the roof. However, Palin, 44, is obviously a move by McCain’s camp to appeal to women voters still left bereft following Hillary Clinton’s presidential loss. And after all, Palin is a reformer and "spunky" the Republican camp claims. Well, that’s something. Spunky.