Monday, September 08, 2008

McCain's RNC Speech Violates the Geneva Convention

Hey Ryan,

After mulling over McCain's speech and watching some parts twice (yeah, give me two, Utah), I've come to realize two very tough truths:

1. I should be added to SOMEONE'S ticket for VP after subjecting myself to part so this speech twice. This should, at least, count as part of my political experience, because listening to this thing should mean as much as say...coaching little league or navigating the dicey political waters of the PTA.

In fact, I could be violating the Geneva Convention for treatment of POWs by doing this to myself. I better get a lawyer...and set up a military tribunal...and then not allow my own lawyer access to me to mount a defense...and then hold the trial for myself in secret...and then...oh, forget it.

2. I could not craft a deft, cute, smart, integrated, fully-synthesized rebuttal to McCain's blabbering. I'm just not that bright and, well, looking over that last sentence, I may have used up all of the interesting adjectives I know.

So, I'm just going to list some observations of his claims that will, hopefully, be buttressed with some facts and citations. I say "hopefully" because there were times when I just didn't know what he was talking about! And, apparently, the Almighty Base (they prefer this moniker be capitalized) didn't understand some of it, either. So, here we go:

-- It could have been my 1978 Sylvania console set, but I felt like the audience response to McCain was muted. And this feeling made me wonder how their faint cheers rang in Ol' Johnny's noggin. Was he thinking, "They love me...they really love me..." or was it something more like, "At least they didn't kick me. Wave, smile..."?

-- I love that he led off by thanking Bush for his leadership after 9/11! That's awesome! Gloss over the fact that you just thanked the worst President in U.S. history for his (ahem) "leadership" over the last eight years by invoking the worst avoidable, man-made tragedy in U.S. history.

But, you know what, Superfriends? There's a code here we need to crack! Maybe, in McCain's secret code, his gratitude for Bush the Junior's "leadership" REALLY means, "Thanks for creating the most divisive atmosphere possible in Washington during the past eight years and running our country into the ground in the eyes of its citizens and its allies all around the world so that I could run on a message of change while still peddling the same tired, destructive policies as you did." We did it! We cracked the code! Great job, Wonder Woman!

-- A very telling moment came when McCain praised Obama and Biden (much the same as they did at the DNC), and the crowd responded with applause that was weaker than Sarah Palin's knowledge of the Vice Presidency. I bet Johnny would have gotten a better response if he had announced that all their parking would be validated!

But, you know, in the delegates' defense, they're not accustomed to praising (or even, say, acknowledging the existence of) dissenting viewpoints or, for that matter, people who don't look like them. Nowhere did this show more tellingly than when an angry protester was forcibly removed from the floor to chants of "USA, USA, USA" from the assembled dittoheads. Yeah, USA! Who let that Russian in here?

What was is Albert Camus said about nationalism? Oh yeah, ""I love my country too much to be a nationalist." I'm down with him.

More to come...

Charles

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