As we head into Bush-mania, here are some collected thoughts on the strategic insanity of Zell Miller:
From Joe Scarborough on MSNBC:
We could be looking at, God forbid, a Grey Davis strategy.
From Jeffrey Dubner at Tapped:
CNN, ANDERSON COOPER 360°, 6:40 P.M.: Paul Begala explains Zell Miller's speech: At a meeting of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy -- at which Begala, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Streisand, and the rest of the usual suspects were present (according to Begala) -- it was decided that the Democrats needed a secret weapon. That brave soldier, willing to sell his reputation for the greater good, was the noble junior senator from Georgia. Two words: deep cover.
From Bill Schneider of CNN via The Cunctator:
SCHNEIDER: This is a very angry convention. It's a very belligerent convention. I mean, I've covered 16 conventions. Now Jeff said, in the past, you had speeches like this. I've never heard such an angry speech. Democrats will call it...
BROWN: Do you think this was angrier than the Buchanan speech?
SCHNEIDER: In a way, yes, I do. I do because it was basically accusing the Democrats -- there were some breathtaking accusations. Look at this."
Petey's take:
Day 3 was a horrible miscalculation for the Republicans. They've lost cable TV heading into Bush's speech. And they've opened up a huge vulnerability for Kerry to attack.
Now I understand the motives behind Rove's base strategy. I loved the political artistry of having the podium be a cross with plausible deniability, for example.
But they went over the line with Zell. And coming on the back of the SBVT, it finally crystalized the over-aggressiveness of the whole Bush campaign for the conventional wisdom.
Now I'm not sure this issue will persist. Bush's speech will shift the focus, (unless Bush's speech is also horribly askew, which I seriously doubt). And Kerry's attack and the hurricane will shift the focus further. But it still was a horrible miscalculation, and there will be repercussions.