Joe Klein's take on McCain's convention speech hits the mark by focusing on the disconnect between McCain's rhetoric and the reality of his record and the Republican record.
... he figures that the only way the country will elect a Republican after eight years of scandal and stupidity is to promise a completely different Republican party.
. . .
But there was little in this speech that indicated that he had any idea how to do that besides relying on his fierce sense of righteousness. And the Republican Party is what it is: an overwhelmingly Caucasian group of people — 93% of the delegates were white — who cheer more vociferously for tax cuts than they do for country.
This is the kind of reality check that the "traditional media" needs to deliver far more often, instead of just regurgitating today's GOP message without pointing out that it contradicts yesterday's GOP message.
(More after the jump.)
Oh, and speaking of the contradictions between today's message and yesterday's message... Klein has that one covered as well.
Given the admitted failure of his party, he didn't present anything more than his own integrity as an action plan. And given the anger and vitriol of his campaign — given the scurrilous, sarcastic speeches he allowed to be delivered on Wednesday night; given the embarrassing antics and media conspiracies spouted by his staff — McCain's reputation for integrity has been badly damaged.
. . .
He is the standard-bearer of a failed ideology — ironically, a belief in 'me first' before country — and tonight the leap between what McCain really cares about, and what his party really believes, proved too great a chasm for an old warrior to bridge.
Contrast that with Klein's analysis of Senator Obama's acceptance speech one week earlier:
It was the perfect speech for a skeptical nation. In some ways, the heart of it was near the end, when Obama directly confronted a country that has lost faith in government — and an opposing party that preys on that cynicism....
... Barack Obama laid down an important marker at Invesco Field — and he may have convinced more than a few white working-class skeptics to give him a closer look when the debates roll around. He stood there not as an orator, but as a plausible chief executive.
The Obama campaign needs to drive home this contrast in the next week, pointing out that while McCain succeeded in capturing the news cycle with his Palin stunt, he failed to make a credible case for his campaign.