John Kerry said, "Why don't you ask Osama Bin Laden if he's better off now than he was 4 years ago?"
Bill Clinton said a lot of things, and he sounded like he knew what he was talking about, because he can use numbers without putting people to sleep--and he can slyly put in front of people the chutzpa of Paul Ryan, who attacks President Obama for cutting "to the dollar" the same amount Paul Ryan had cut from Medicare.
But most of all, the President himself finally swung into high gear and said, "They want your vote, but they don't want to you to know their plan. And that's because all they have to offer is the same prescription they've have for the last thirty years:
'Have a surplus? Try a tax cut.'
'Deficit too high? Try another.'
'Feel a cold coming on? Take two taxes cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning.'"
These are the lines we can use around the water cooler the next morning with our co-workers, who are quoting Rush Limbaugh.
"If you reject the notion this nation's promise is reserved for the few, your voices must be heard in this election."
"If you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election."
I also like the phrase, "Trickle down tax cut pixie dust."
So, okay, now we've got a gun toting leader who knows what it takes to play the game.
NPR this morning was all about the potential political effect of the disappointing unemployment numbers which came out after the President's speech. You would think the speech was not news, only the jobs report. But the President, speaking here in Portsmouth, put today's report in perspective. When he took office, 800,000 jobs were being lost every month. Today we have a report of 95,000 jobs being added in a month, and that's supposed to be devastating news.
One wonders what they are thinking at NPR, or if they are thinking at all. Probably, they are simply wimping out, afraid the Republicans will be angry at them and try to cut their funding again, as if by showing fear, NPR can tame the bully.
But President Obama is doing better now, in the late rounds. For the first half of the fight, he was simply covering up and taking punches. Now, he's starting to bounce off the ropes and throw a few combinations.
Agreed! The number one qualification for being a political pundit is the extreme pleasure derived from the sound of your own voice. As for NPR, you're right-why does one job report trump coverage of the President's speech. Over all I thought the convention was great,roaring! The speeches were relevant, the stories moving and thankfully the Obamas didn't make out a la the Gores.( Arguably the single most awkward moment ever televised.)I just hope it impressed more than the choir. At least the Democrats seem pumped up for a fight..
ReplyDeleteMaud
Singing in the choir and to the choir can lift spirits.
ReplyDeleteThere was a comment in The Newsroom about the compunction to be "fair and balanced" when one side is simply bald face lying--you don't have to say, "Well, we must report this as if it is true, to be fair."
--Mad Dog
Also, did you notice that even prior to the President's speech several reporters mentioned the effect the jobs report would have,good or bad,on the bounce the President would get? They must plan out their reporting schedule days or more in advance and then stick to it--virtually creating the "news" before it occurs.
ReplyDeleteSomething about putting a face on TV or a voice on the radio seems to enhance authority and intelligence, but in person most of the broadcast journalists I've met, are not very smart. They can sometimes be kept in line by their producers, but even that fails. They are interested in a story, but not an idea. For a while, Gwen Ifel and Robert MacNeil could ask uncomfortable questions in a civil way and you saw the possibility for real journalism. Not now. Mara Liasson is particularly pernicious--she can edit a story in a way which presents only the most damaging clips for Obama and which makes Palin or Ryan or Romney sound snappy. Not a bad trick.
ReplyDelete