Kerry DoughertyTropical Storm Hanna, twirling around town as I write this, was just a gentle breeze compared with the great gusts of hot air created by partisan windbags during the last fortnight.
Frankly, it's refreshing. This spirited little cyclone was the first unscripted event on TV since delegates descended on Denver.
Because, when you strip away the signs, the speeches and the slogans, when you look beyond the flags and the funny hats at these week long infomercials, the national political conventions are nothing more than TV productions cooked up by political philistines to telegraph subliminal messages.
For instance, Democrats want you to think their convention was about change. It wasn't.
And Republicans want you to think their convention was about putting country first. Not really.
The subtle message of Denver was "Barack Obama Loves America."
And the real theme in St. Paul was "John McCain Isn't George Bush."
Americans will vote only for a candidate they believe is patriotic. The Democratic extravaganza was a slick exercise to allay any fears of the Obamas.
It's also true that America will not vote to give the Bush camp four more years to get it right. So the party set out to convince voters that John McCain is a different kind of Republican.
And Hurricane Gustav was a gift. It rained on the opening night and blew the president and Dick Cheney offstage.
The danger in political conventions is in forgetting these are television shows. From the speakers (and those not allowed to speak) to the signs permitted in the room, these are scripted events with no risky ad-libbing.
Delegates are mere extras, dutifully waving whatever goofy sign is handed to them and rabidly cheering every time their state is mentioned.
(Incidentally, how do perfectly normal people, who hear the word "Virginia" hundreds of times a day without reacting, turn into raving lunatics when someone utters the V-word at a convention? Weird.)
Here's an example of the lengths political parties will go to in order to seduce viewers.
Perhaps you've noticed those hand-lettered signs that folks in the cheap seats wave. You know, the colorful "Vets uE0A4 Obama" and "Hispanics uE0A4 McCain" poster boards. Ever wondered how they smuggle these things in, when the doors to the conventions are thick with security and all sorts of contraband are strictly forbidden?
On the final night of the Republican convention, when I spied campaign workers handing out these faux-amateur signs, it hit me: Somewhere in the bowels of the convention centers are armies of artistically impaired volunteers with tempera paints.
They mass-produce silly signs that the TV cameras will caress to show unwitting viewers this is a spontaneous love fest.
It's enough to make you long for an impromptu storm.
Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net
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Nope, no bias here
The Democratic extravaganza was a slick exercise to allay any fears of the Obamas.
It's also true that America will not vote to give the Bush camp four more years to get it right. So the party set out to convince voters that John McCain is a different kind of Republican.
How peculiar that the party that knows how to manage perception better than any group since the lat 1930s doesn't get any inflammatory descriptors.
Sending you to either convention was a joke.
Trophy vice?
Let me preface my comment by stating I am not McCain supporter. If anyone in this election is a trophy, It is Obama! The democrats parade him around like he is the second coming of christ. Yet, there is no substance behind the facade. This is evident anytime he speaks his own mind. I have yet to hear anyone voting for the republican candidates because Palin is good looking woman. I have heard many people say they will vote for Obama because he is "black". Sad very sad!
Sarah Palin is the right choice
When I constantly hear from the left that John McCain made a foolish mistake, it makes it all the more clear that Sarah Palin was absolutely the perfect choice. The left are going bonkers over her. They try to dig up some phenomenal scandal and all they can sensationalize is that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant.
Thanks for the truth Kerry
Speaking of the truth, how about 60 minutes last night? I told you it wasn't all about the "surge". What's the point though, you only hear what you want to hear.
Ya know MGM, I saw that too...
When the tiny Palin was grooming her baby brother, I turned to my wife and said "you know, these anti-feminazis want to know how Palin can be a VP and take care of her family at the same time, that little girl just answered. With the help of her freaking family!"
I'm about to be a dad of twin girls, and I actually took offense at the claims that her children will suffer if she holds office for 4+ years. As a father I would like to think that I could step up and lead the family while my wife leads the free world.
Palin/Rice in 2012! (Yeah Condie could kick some butt in the VP seat!)
Oil slick and the Trophy Vice
How sad it is to see that America has degenerated to a tabloid country. Fast food with no nutritional substance and a Vice president pick that resonates like a "life time movie". No substance at all in picking a trophy vice president for McCain. The is one of the most shameful exploits in US history. Troops coming home in body bags, escalating war in Afghanistan, a falling economy and McCain and the republicans throw yet another irresponsible decision smack in the face of the American people. Totally disgraceful!
Political Pep rallies
Let's face it Kerry: today's political conventions are nothing more than overdone political pep rallies. All the important decisions have already been made before the conventions start. They are nothing more than an archaic hold over from a time when decisions were actually made at the conventions. They should be done away with completely since they are funded by special interest groups who are out to purchase as much influence as they can.
Original infomercials
Political conventions are the original infomercials. We already know what they're selling and who will be nominated, so the only purpose is to get a couple days of advertisement on TV. Maybe Billy Mays should host one.
it must not take much for some to vote mccain
Especially if licking a cowlick turn you own. I have to admit, that was the only thing of substance coming from that convention, but we have to remember it's a convention, and not reality. Conventions are about hype and nothing more. My dog's bigger than your dog, kind of event. I want to hear about the economy, health care, Iraq, energy, and I want to hear Palin being asked the hard and fast questions, which McCain will protect her from as long a possible. When I hear "family values" I could puke!
Conventions
Who made Kerry a political pundit? NOBODY! Stick to writing about this area and I may read it. There are sufficient political yellow-dogs out there, now.
Newsflash!
Kerry, If anyone took these conventions seriously do you think you would be sent to report on them? You are here for the fluff.
Yes, a great family unit
And family values are exactly what everyone looks to in a president in order to run the country, just as Nixon had a great family unit down to his dog checkers, Palin in her dresses that sometimes make her look like Elvira going to the prom, and McCain with his family values of using women like sex toys thru his first marriage and a wife that's not only drug dependent, she's a former inside trader. Oh, wait, strike that last one. McCain apparently DOES have the kind of family values necessary to be president.
Well, at least . . .
I can be sure that it was spontaneous when little Piper Palin licked her hand, then smoothed her baby brother's cowlick. I can hear her family now, "Honey, we only do that in private, not on national TV . . ." What a great, spontaneous moment that made me really like her family as a unit. Cheers, MGM
My Personal Wish List.
1) If McCain wins: All of the Far-Left NutJobs move to either Canada, France, or Northern California.
2) If Obama wins: All of the Far-Right FruitCakes move to either Germany, Argentina, or Texas.
3) If Nader wins: Everyone moves to Mars.