the citizen-viewer

I’m late to night 3, watching Rudy now. He’s grinning his way through attacks on Obama as inexperienced. He’s pumping up McCain but seems more concerned about boosting Palin. Rudy reminds me of some wise guy kid who knows he’s full of it but keeps throwing out a taunt just to get a rise out of the other kid. Expect any minute to have him accuse Obama of cutting the cheese.

The audience loves it because it speaks to their political id.

Rudy encourages the chants. USA USA, now “Drill baby drill”!! Oh, the humanity. Drilling for babies, ummm, don’t go there.

Rudy’s theme now is that there’s a false dichotomy between change and stasis. Hence the drilling b.s. But now the biggie, the war on terrah! Will he do it? Come on Rudy, 9/11 9/11. Dems were afraid of “Islamic terrorism” and now calls them wussies. It’s the GOP mantra, Dems weak, we strong, big, tough.

There it was the “terror attacks of 2001”, but he has obviously been told not to say “nine eleven” poor Rudy, it’s his signature line. Like telling the Fonz he can’t say “ayyy!”
[They did put the New York skyline behind him. Imagine the debate they had over whether to use an older photo with the WTC in it. Maybe in mid-collapse. —cv]

Don’t give up on Iraq. Dems as anti-American defeatists. Go Rudy, more war! McCain was right on Iraq. Yeah, wrap your remaining hairs around Iraq. Defending the surge.

Accusing Obama of flip-flopping, more glass houses for the McCain team.

Cindy smiling at Rudy’s classy zingers. She must have a cache of Don Rickles videos at home.

McCain as Mr. Integrity-wiseman-tough guy. Georgia. Obama is somehow not thoroughly pro-Georgian and therefore pro-terrorist, at least I suspect that’s where it’s headed.

Rudy is getting deep in the weeds on Obama’s Georgia policy, and he’s losing the audience. Can’t help but think of W. coming around on a time-line for withdrawal in Iraq, which has been the Dem line and Obama’s all along.

The goal with Rudy’s slams on Obama is the schoolyard bully tactic. Who cares if it’s true? It’s the fact that they can yell taunts that empower their candidate.

Now he’s really slinging it on Palin’s experience. It’s true because we say so. I remember a piece run by the Daily Show in 2004 on Bush’s need for words to overcome truth.

He got ‘em on their feet with faking it that Obama has called Palin a hick, he’s an elitist. Did Rudy mention anything about his own life? He’s doing good on ringing the culture war bells. This may work in a context free world. Can they cow the media into stifling further reporting on Palin?

I think the positive side of Rudy’s appeal isn’t selling beyond the hall—that is, who’s really excited about these two running the country?

Rudy bashing the patriarchy. Is this the Daily Show? They have a great Rudy impersonator. Also, no Dems and no one near Obama has said word one on Palin’s family, so it’s caricature.

Rudy bombed on the stump, but he was a hit at the 2004 convention. I hate the guy, but it may work.

And now the main event: Sarah Palin.

What an ovation. Much of it from those taking the over on the “will she quit before speaking” betting line. Panning the audience we can see plenty of people who would strangle their chauffeurs if they pulled over in Wasilla, Alaska.

She accepts the nomination, and another group of over bettors gets hyped.

So far so teleprompter. Really though what’s going to happen? It will undoubtedly be read clearly and have some good lines in it.

Her theme, they counted Big John out, like me. We’ll come from behind. Hey, are you admitting you’re behind? Cool.

Showing off soldier son. I don’t think Biden did this, but others did it for him, so OK.

Ye gods. Leave the kids alone why dontcha!? Some backlash mojo is hoped for, I suspect by pretending that Democrats hate families.

Starting only with “I’m a great mom” runs counter to the Obama-has-no-public gravitas of Rudy et al’s attack.

Ok, delegates pretend they have ridden snowmobiles. Todd’s still the one. Let’s hope he doesn’t want to secede from the Union.

Gotta give it to Palin, her spunky snarl is a winner. Gosh darn it.

Nobody watches hockey.

On to her route from PTA to mayor’s office. They are elitists, and organize communities and and they smell and they suck, and…

Oh yeah what the hell did you do in Wasilla? Please mention the $20 million in federal pork. That’s twice in two speeches for the “bittergate” remark of Obama. Can they gin up the elitism celebrity line for more life? They need to.

Pivot to media hate. Is that Erin Moran from Happy Days in the audience? She’s here in honor of jumping the shark with the Palin pick. I’d love to see Bob Schieffer storm the stage. The audience is pumped that she doesn’t suck out loud.

Waiting for some reason to vote for these clowns, imagining I’m a swing voter now. Challenge the status quo and serve the common good. Bush has taken offense.

Is she governor of S. Dakota? Picture of Mt.Rushmore behind her.
[At first they had the Liberty Bell behind her. Is there nothing in Alaska she thinks is worth a photo? —cv]

More up is down, Palin the reformer. Good work on ditching the jet. Did you know Cindy owns her own?

This has echoes of Nixon’s Checkers speech in that “I’m just a plain smalltown gal who doesn’t need luxury.”

Hasn’t dished to the fundies except for dog-whistle remarks on her special needs child.

Whoops, brought the bridge story back. She was for it, kept the money too. That’s fair game.
[Mystery: They earmarked the bridge into the fed budget, got the money for it, and then just decided on their own to spend it on something else? We gave them money for a bridge to nowhere and we want it! —cv]

Be nice to the oil lobbyists. The are paying for this convention. Diminished applause on that one.

Ok, this is good, good for Palin that is. She is going through what she did as Gov, absolutely essential to fight the credibility problem, even if she’s distorting her record.

Seems a bit lost in some of the applause/pause moments. Clearly learning about Venezuela as she reads these lines.

The fact that drilling won’t help doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.

American sources of resources. Energy independence.

Back to slagging Obama. He’s so goddamn popular. I better lie about him authoring no legislation. He hates winning, except when he’s winning. Yeah, Styrofoam columns and props.
[The c-v could have sworn she said “Styrofoam brie columns.” Yum.]

Please ignore jumbotron. Really folks, Palin says, it’s an old fashioned party battle between good and evil. Loads of bs on what Obama has said. Classy debut, and she’s getting slathered over by the crowd because she’s shown she’s a good hater.

Here she’s on the evils of taxation after raising her own work taxing oil co’s in Alaska (Rudy was just prattling on about the viciousness of taxing the rich).

A spankie on change for career and career for change. Its wearing thin. She needs to wrap it up because what started out as cute is now seeming canned.

Palin and the crowd remind me of the GOP’s image as people huddled around a Norman Rockwell picture pretending to be in it.

Palin’s lost her interest in the speech and now reading the lines off without a flow.

Zing on Reid as being wimpy. We’re the bullies, you’re the victims. Vote for the bullies or you’ll be a victim.

Haven’t heard much about Hillary yet. Have they given up on the PUMAs?

More on McCain as our Rambo. Colbert made the point in 2004 that Republicans are for the troops unless one of them is on the other side (see swiftboating).

Must stay on the attack, praising McCain bores the audience. Republicans are going to vote for their nominee but they will only get fired up about voting against the other team. The POW thing is falling flat. Boosted it with Tom Moe, an inmate with McCain. Still Republicans are not really stoked on McCain as the chief. The dude has not played by the Bush rules and win or lose it is Bush’s party.

TGIFinished.

She did well. Will not get booted from the ticket and might have stopped the bleeding long enough to get to the train back to Alaska where Palin will not have to be interviewed.

Of course, that’s if the expectation was that she would not be able to read her lines. If this is really about making undecideds feel OK about voting for McCain I don’t think it matters much. The women who are against Obama would have found a reason anyway.

The downside is that Palin remains the story for a whole week. They got their licks in on Obama but the coverage will remain on Palin not Obama. The news has to be on their attack.

Tomorrow night McCain will need to do something headline-sleazy to grab attention. The world waits with anticipation.