John McCain did an excellent job Thursday night at the Republican National Convention. His speech was wise without being ideological, strong without being inflated. He spoke both in the language of ideals and policy and of change alongside Washington experience.
John McCain did an excellent job....That is not to say the speech was not without failings.That is not to say the speech was not without failings. It did not reconcile the inherent struggle of his candidacy: how do you appeal to the Republican base while distancing yourself from the “Washington as usual” policies and practices made infamous by the Republican-controlled government? The speech also did not change his image or make him seem any different than what people expected – any younger or hipper or sexier – but it did solidify the image he’s going for: that of a dedicated servant who puts “country first.”
A saccharine and dramatized introduction painted McCain as a war hero and faded out to reveal McCain on stage like a septuagenarian rock star to the low bass rumble and recitation of a poem containing the phrase “when you’ve lived in a box….” This was the wrong image to begin with because it was not the image his speech would go for. It set the wrong tone that his speech would later have to reclaim (and did).
That massive jumbo-tron on the convention floor was by far the worst part of the pageantry. As McCain started talking, the screen behind him became a solid, plain green. Hasn’t that colored background already been proven to be a terrible idea? We get a wide angle and as it turns out, the full shot is of the grass in front of a house. Not the White House. Maybe one of McCain’s seven?
“McCain Votes Against Vets.”Soon, camera men became distracted from McCain by a protester holding up a sign, “McCain Votes Against Vets.” His shirt said he's a veteran – though his confidence in enemy territory may have been enough. He’s right: in 2005, McCain voted against an amendment “to increase veterans’ medical care by $2.8 billion in 2006.” That’s no help to the image of a man who puts great value on the sacrifice of serving your country – but only if people care enough about fact checking to research it.
The speech and cameras soon turn to McCain’s mom, Roberta: she looks simultaneously old and vibrant. More so than her son, on both counts. It’s good to know McCain has good genes, especially if you’re worried about his evangelical running mate being a heartbeat away from the presidency.
McCain praised Obama: “Much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, and that’s an association that means more to me than any other.” Yet McCain did not let that prevent him from slicing into Obama later by saying, “I have the record, and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.” I would have enjoyed an entire speech that avoided any explicit attacks – that would have truly been country first and pettiness second in the spirit of the supposed association that unites the two candidates. It’s too bad McCain didn’t stay above it (though, of course, Obama did not, either, in his Convention speech – “John McCain doesn't get it”.
McCain stated clearly to the American people that he intends to “stand on your side and not in your way,” to let Americans “fight for your future”. The message was clear: times aren’t so tough that people need governmental help; the fundamentals of our economy are strong, remember? This message does not jive with his later declaration: “I will reach out my hand to everyone to help this country get moving again.” But this is the kind of inconsistency, previously mentioned, inherent to his candidacy – a “maverick” can only sometimes oppose the standard conservative line of small government.
[A] “maverick” cannot but sometimes oppose the standard conservative line.He then promised to veto big pork barrel legislation and punish its proponents. “I will make them famous and you will know their names.” That declaration was chilling and forceful; it reminded me of the McCain of 2000. I suddenly remember for a moment that that man would make a superb president. He still spoke as the man he was: “I don’t work for myself. I work for you.” I wish that was completely true, but sometimes even the guy who wrote campaign finance law just goes and violates his own personal finance rules (take, for example, his penchant for corporate jets).
Appropriately, he followed that by addressing his party’s newfound reputation for corruption: “We lost the trust of the American people when some republicans gave in to the temptation of corruption…when we valued our power over their principles. We’re going to change that.” An inspiring concept, but will it really be enough to counteract the longstanding union between the Republican Party and Big Business? If so, McCain’s campaign would undeniably be taking a page from Obama’s, which has refused to accept contributions from PACs or federal lobbyists.
Eventually, the speech transitioned to a nuts-and-bolts description of McCain’s extensive (and at times, inspired) policy ideas. This was the kind of thing I was hoping for from Obama but felt the Democratic candidate fell just short of. McCain promised judicial constraint, lower taxes and spending, privatized health care – check. But there was also a detailed plan for increasing job training in community colleges and monetary incentives for laid-off or temporary workers to seek that training; there was a doubled child tax exemption to increase families’ disposable incomes, and a commitment to move children out of failing schools. That last one was a thorough (yet silent) indictment of Bush’s famous No Child Left Behind policy – broken schools cannot be fixed, so they must be abandoned. Bold yet clear.
I suddenly remember for a moment that [the McCain of 2000] would make a superb president.His energy policy declarations were what we all expected: invest in renewable sources, hybrids, biofuels, clean coal, and nuclear – plus, drill, drill, drill. His declaration of stopping $700 billion in foreign aid “to countries that don’t like us very much” was somewhat shocking – but the Christian Right is totally in favor of foreign aid, so I’m eager to see if he sticks with this commitment.
His ideas of the dangers in the world are terrorism, Iran, and Russia. A formidable list, but unconvincing when followed by the easy statement, “I hate war; it’s terrible beyond imagination.” One of the biggest proponents of the Iraq Troop Surge didn’t strike me as the guy to forge a diplomatic peace with forces that will “strike us again, if they can” or are “corrupt with power” – especially given the emphasis on his war background. Either way, I don’t think McCain will win the World Peace tiara.
McCain ends powerfully on falling “in love with my country while in the prison of a different one.”The hour-plus speech ended with a heartfelt discussion of how being a prisoner of war changed his life. His story struck me as more powerful than George W. Bush’s description of his born-again religious conversion, because McCain’s ended pointedly on falling “in love with my country while in the prison of a different one.” The story convincingly painted him as a man who loves his country and will do what he thinks is best for it. It is a freeing notion, which forces people to vote against him only if they disagree on what policies and ideas are best for the country and for no other reason. Or at least, it betrays the prejudices of people who still do otherwise. I think the same is true of Obama’s genuineness. I hope both candidates will prove me right by not attacking each others’ genuineness. Because if voters must stick to the issues, then candidates must do so doubly.
“Nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself,” he concluded, and I believe him. Indeed, I am even slightly inspired. The tears in convention attendees’ eyes might have been genuine. “Fight with me! Fight with me!...Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight,” he ended.
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