Brace yourself for next week

This Democratic National convention has been very exciting and powerful. We've had one great speech after another and heard some very exciting plans for the future. I think we have absolutely first rate candidates and a wonderful platform.

But I want to warn you- I've seen some posters say things like 'What in the world will the Republicans find to talk about next week?" Brace yourself: They will have plenty of horrible things to say.

Four years ago, the Democrats held a similar convention; upbeat, positive and filled with exciting plans. The Republicans met and with absolutely not a single accomplishment to point to as a reason to re-elect the worst president to hold office in my lifetime, they instead fell on the democratic nominee with everything they had. Suddenly, he was a spoiled millionaire who had done the minimum to fulfill his commitment to his country and lied about his past- and they did it without a trace of shame- or recognition that those charges actually fit their own candidate, not Kerry.

And with the active and open support of the conservative media in this country, they smeared Kerry relentlessly and won reelection for their own failed president.

So be prepared- they will have four nights of attacks and will say anything to hang on to power.

Absolutely. But they will not stop trying to drive a wedge. Look at the conservative media today, still flipping over rocks to find angry PUMAs to interview. Look at Fox's coverage of the Clintons' speeches, parsing each word to find anti-Obama undertones. I guarantee the Republicans will have a speaker who claims to be a Hillary supporter who has flipped to McCain.

And- no offense to Papa and other Republican friends- it doesn't need to be remotely true.

Oh, of course not!

But do I kind of get the feeling that possibly--possibly--the majority of America is taking their media propaganda blowhards with a bigger grain of salt than they were 4-8 years ago?

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I'm talking to more and more people who are eschewing the major news networks for CSPAN.

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And, to further your point, Reg, these same people make the assumption that all Muslims are terrorists. The fact that people (like the PUMAs) imply that being "registered as a Muslim" is the same as "registered as a terrorist" is what infuriates me the most.

Oh and I know that PUMA refers to the zealot Clinton supporters, but what does the acronym stand for?

Honestly, I think they're as marginal as Fred Phelps and are given disproportionate attention by the conflict-addicted media.

I'm not going to trouble my beautiful mind, as Barbara Bush once put it, with thoughts of any Pumas other than this one:



and these:

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They really need to go back to the way it used to be, when the next biggest vote-getter was automatically the V.P. candidate. It's the will of the people, not just somebody else's choice.

Updated On: 8/28/08 at 12:34 PM

Yeah, I got this feeling McCain might pick Hutchinson last week. I thought it was a crazy idea and now it's the talk. Who knows?

Next week will be more vile and disgusting than 04. One can hope that it will unify us even more, but it's clear the GOP are desperate to keep the Clinton/Obama divide going as long as they can, so I agree that there will be at least one PUMA speaker. There will be so much mud, you'll think it's a tractor pull. (Granted, from just seeing the delegates, you'd think it was a tractor pull as well).

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"They really need to go back to the way it used to be, when the next biggest vote-getter in the primary was automatically the V.P. candidate. It's the will of the people, not just somebody else's choice."

What? What are you talking about? That has NEVER been the method for selecting a VP nominee.

I gues Joe wasn't paying attention during his American History classes!

That's how the Constitution spelled out the process, and it is how the Vice President was chosen, until it was changed due to the party system that developed. We actually had a President and Vice President from both parties, because of the vote count. But, today, it could be applied to each party. It's the way it should be. The will of the people.

It will not be Hutchison.

1) She's already scheduled to speak at the convention on energy policy, and I doubt they'd have her speak and then have to turn around and give an acceptance speech.
2) She wants to be governor of Texas.
3) She's more closely tied to Bush than even Condoleeza Rice would have been.
4) She's an idiot incapable of independent thought. (well, lol, I guess that wouldn't disqualify her from that spot)

Pawlenty. Bank on it.

Updated On: 8/28/08 at 01:12 PM

Here, you can bone up before the quiz. I don't usually cite Wikipedia, but in this one case they seem to be fairly accurate how the process works. I guess no one wants to vandalize the VP page.
Wikipedia