tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22020163.post2508597537837370102..comments2023-10-24T07:28:50.297-04:00Comments on Thinking on the Margin: McCain's Acceptance SpeechBrian Hollarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09365101283657395331noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22020163.post-89429334722721020732008-09-05T20:42:00.000-04:002008-09-05T20:42:00.000-04:00The speech was indeed rather mediocre.But in the s...The speech was indeed rather mediocre.<BR/><BR/>But in the speech at least I saw glimpses of the previous John McCain...the one with honor, the one without so much vitriol, the one with some class. <BR/><BR/>I cannot believe how McCain has changed in his quest for the White House. Worse, he has hired the same political assassins of the Rove team, the one that actually was used to destroy him in 2000.<BR/><BR/>It's like watching the character of Anakin Skywalker turn into Darth Vader.<BR/><BR/>It was ironic hearing him talk about bipartisanship after allowing speaker after speaker in the convention to trash Obama, and not just his policies, but his character and motivations.<BR/><BR/>This Republican party is not the party of Reagan. Reagan's most memorable ad was "Morning in America"...an entirely positive one. Reagan's most famous negative ad was the "Bear in the Woods" ad which was so very subtle, and in no way attacked the character of his opponent.<BR/><BR/>Reagan would not have recognized this Republican party or approved. For instance, Reagan never would have mocked the idea of being a community organizer for instance. Reagan never would have run the negative ads that McCain has run. He never stooped so low.<BR/><BR/>I agree with Andrew Sullivan: this version of the Republican party needs to be burnt to the ground to allow it to rebuild and give it new life. The Rove philosophy of dividing people needs to be crushed and repudiated at the ballot box.<BR/><BR/>As for Palin, it's a smart short term political move for galvanizing the far right conservative base, but it's also a very polarizing choice and that's not what this country needs at this point.thinkinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06024721812573340354noreply@blogger.com