Political convention speeches can be inspiring, thrilling, firing up enthusiasm while providing a vision for the future.
Or they can be a mush of bashing the opposition, pandering to the base, and vague talking points. Everyone knew which kind Mitt would deliver. Seldom (if ever, in the era of television anyway) has the bar been set so low on a major party Presidential nominee's acceptance speech.
Perhaps that's why Mitt has gotten a pass on most of the empty pieces of verbal cotton candy he spun last night. But I'm surprised this little turd hasn't gotten some attention:
"All the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers."
Really, Mitt? Really?
Thanks to "Obamacare", children with pre-existing condition can get health insurance. You think getting medical treatment, perhaps meaning the difference between life and death, doesn't matter? Well, actually, he doesn't, since he's vowed to repeal it on day one. Replace that pediatric oncologist with a hug and a prayer.
Nine out of ten children in poor families receive food stamps. That's more than 15 million children. Thanks to food stamps, the number of extremely poor children was cut in half last year. But Romney, who swears he wants to help your family, has a running mate whose fame comes from a budget that would savage SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs that are literally life and death issues for millions of Americans.
That's all before we even consider the macro issues: coal plants spewing mercury in to the air, coal fraking poisoning our water supply, the Keystone XL tar oil pipeline's potential to poison the aquifer that feeds our nation.
Will hugs make up for the birth defects caused by poisons in the water? Will it heal the lung disease caused by polluted air? Will mom and dad's loving heart substitute for food when that child is hungry?
That line went beyond pandering. It goes to the very heart of the dangerous naivete of many conservative voters: that its somehow their family versus the government, that somehow faith and local community can provide all of the things we need and the federal government is nothing but an instrusive parasite.
This needs to be confronted head on. Keep an eye on that meme.