John McCain: Analysis

What can you say about John McCain.  He has an absolutely amazing personal story. Absolutely EVERYBODY (probably including most leftist Democrats) trusts him to be Commander in Chief.

Howewver, he is not a great speech maker.  So what is an appropriate response to that.  We are not electing a President to read a teleprompter well, or even to compose (with the help of speechwriters) a good speech. I think most of the American people understand that, and I don't think it hurts McCain much that he delivers a pretty pedetrian speech--except for the truly rousing end, and the description of his prisoner of war experience.

Being as objective as possible, I think the speech tonight gave enough people a reason to vote for McCain.  In a lot of ways, it was an effective speech.  It is just not one that will make a lasting impression, like that of Sarah Palin.

That said, this speech would never have induced me to vote for McCain.  So what.  Thre is NO speech that McCain could give that would cause me to vote for him.  He has insulted me (as a conservative, rather than me personally) too many times. As with Obama, I believe in looking at McCain's record, and not what he says (which is not to say that what he says is different from his record, if you understnand correctly what he is saying). 

This is the way people SHOULD look at Obama.  His ever changing WORDS--sounding good even when they contradict what he said yesterday, or two months ago, in terms of his prepared speeches.  Those eloquent prepared speeches often contradict directly Obama's record, or his less well prepared moments (like those comments in San Francisco).  I don't pay much attention to a single word Obama says in prepared speeches, and I don't think anyone should.  The speeches matter only to the extent they wither persuade with reason or build on a record.  Obama's do neither.  However, that is true of most politicians.  The reason that Sarah Palin's speech was so effective was that the speech seemed to accurately reflect HER, and to effectively convey arguments.  Obama's speeches do not do that, and neither do McCain's.

That, of course, is the problem.  I am voting for McCain only becausee of HER.  If not for her, it is almost impossible that I would vote for McCain.  McCain's choice of Palin both made me think better of him AND gave me a reason to be enthusiastic about voting for McCain.  It was effectively impossible for McCain to make a speech that would impress me.  I know him (not personally, of course) too well.

I don't think McCain was helped much by his team tonight.  The "warm up" speeches were lackluster, at best.  Tom Ridge's speech emphasized how good he choice of Palin really was.  Lindsay Graham is a taste I have never acquired.  Cindy McCain was fine, but it was fairly obvious tis was not something she did often (giving a speech).  There just was nobody to rev up the excitement, like Rudy Giuliani did for Sarah Palin.  Unlike Obama, McCain needed help.  He did not really get it.

Still, I think the Republican convention was very successful. McCain really accomplished what he had to do:  give a reason for people to vote for McCain the MAN.  He never waws going to get them to vote for him on his domestic policy positions (especially as articulated in a speech).  It is in that sense that the speech was effective enough.

Plain provided the excitement.  The mainstream media helped by their truly evil personal attacks on Palin.  (See the multiple entries in this blog over the last week).).  Indeed, the speeches of Giuliani, Thmpson, and   (yes) Lieberman were all exremely good, in their own way.  The convention gave people more than enough reason to vote Republican, if they were at all inclined to do so.  I would be surprised if the race were not about even right now.  The Republicans could probably count on not much better. The convention set the stage for the 60 day race against Obama, and a star was born.

To the end, the mainstream media maintained their bias.   They are still invested in DESTROYING Palin, but realize they have to manufacture/find something else to do it.

So tonight the mainstream media focus was all on the ECONOMY, and the theory that McCain failed to make a case for himself on the economy, which is the REAL issue in the campaign. 

No, it isn't.  That is BIAS speaking.  For example, the mainstream media focused on the 340 pont Dow loss in the stock market today.  In doing that, they effectively LIED (no new thing).  There is nothing important about that kind of one day loss in the stock market.  I KNOW.  I am an experienced stock market investor, and frequent stock trader (on a virual daily basis).  For this entire YEAR, the stock market has been trading in a RANGE. Every time it has moved to the bottom of that range (although that bottom has moved SLIGHTLY down over the year), it has JUMPED.  In other words we have had MULTIPLE drops of 200 to 300 points, and MULTIPLE rises of 200 to 300 points. We did NOT go to a new year low in the stock market today--still a significant amount above the low, as a matter of fact.  However, we ARE approaching the area near the bottom of the range, where the market has BOUNCED upward on NUMEROUS occasions this year. 

The LAST thing McCain needed to do was buy into the DOOM and GLOOM that the economy is in a CRISIS. It is not.  It is slow, but not rally bad (3.3% GROWTH in the second quarter, and no sign of a recession in sight).  If there is one thing McCain should know, it is NEVER to fight a war on the enemy's turf.  I would say that McCain went to far on buying into the DOOM and GLOOM as it was.  But that is McCain, and he had to avoid the charge of "not caring". However, to give a speech that suggested that the economy is TERRIBLE would have ben SUICIDE for McCain.

That is because the conomy is the MAIN issue in the campaign only if McCain LETS it be.  Contrary to what the condescending media things, people are perfectly aware that the economy goes up and down.  They worry more tabout the economy being RUINED by government than they believe that government can MAKE the conomy always be good.  Now it is true that Obama is saying that he will have the Federal Government "take care of" all of us. But McCain is NEVER gong to get the votes of people who vote on the basis of who will promise MORE BIG GOVERNMENT.  That means shifting the focus of he race from what government can do for you.  If you concede that almost EVERYONE is hurting (untrue), and that government has to take care of all of those hurting people, McCain is going to lose.  If people realize that Obama is DANGEROUS to both a not bad economy AND to the security of this country, then McCain can WIN.

In short, the mainstream media wants McCain to be a DEMOCRAT. He cannot win on that ground, and they are not helping him by suggeting he can.  They don't even want to help him.  Yes, McCain MIGHT win by talking abuot "bipartisan", but the MEDIA idea of "bipartisan" is to ADOPT the full Democrat philosophy.  McCain can never windoing that against a REAL Democrat (who knows what McCain is). He would merely lose the "base" he has just regained (with Palin) if he tried.

I can assure you I am right on all of this.  The economy is NOT "in crisis".  Yes, there are SEVERE dsiruptions in housing and financial institutions (credit), but the overall economy is not bad.  It does McCain no good to go with the total doom and gloom.  Nor does it do McCain any good to go totally to the leftist side. He can't win that way.

McCain CAN win with the strategy outlined in his speech, and by the whole REpublican Convention.  He may NOT win, but he CAN. 

All in all, a good convention  For conservatives, of course, it was good for Sarah Palin alone--whether McCain wins or loses.