The Conventions

[Amskeptic]

How did they strike you?
Colin

[Westy78]

Didn't watch any of them. Tired of the whole system. Different puppets, same puppeteer.

[BellePlaine]

Like watching tens of thousands of people with no grip on reality.

The only mention of war in Tampa was during Eastwood’s goofy speech. And Obama said that he’d end the war in Afghanistan by 2014 (Romney agrees to that timeline as well) and use the war savings to pay down the debt and nation build, i.e. borrow more money to spend at home. But we are borrowing money to fund the war so essentially ending the war will not bring down the deficit.

I think that neither candidate is genuine. They preach democracy but both parties bow to special interests, big banks, and the industrial military complex. I think that the system is too broken to fix. I give you the lack of media coverage to any third party, or otherwise non-mainstream, candidate as proof. The RNC changed its rules during the GOP convention to shut out other voices. It’s just so disenfranchising. We are either going to elect vanilla or French vanilla and the parties are going to always keep it that way and apparently that’s ok with most everyone.

[yondermtn]

Predictable

[dtrumbo]

Not completely specific to the conventions, but my friends on the right are constantly referencing Ronald Reagan. O.k. I'll admit, when I was younger I liked him. The first time I could vote I voted for him. He made me feel safe from the Russians. Didn't know enough to realize all the rest of it. Not really my point. My point is the R's are always referring to him and the good ol' days while completely (and perhaps rightfully so) ignoring not one, but both Bush's. The elder is aging and perhaps can't campaign as he might like to. The younger must be tied up and gagged in a closet somewhere to keep from embarrassing himself and the party more than he already has. The D's only have to go back one president to remember the good ol' days as Bill Clinton did more to fire up the base than perhaps even the candidate.

For me, this is just proof that the R's still deserve four more years in the penalty box for Bush 43 while they long for another Ronald Reagan. As they say, you can wish in one hand and crap in the other.

[airkooledchris]

I liked Slick Willie's speech. If im going to be lied to, I want the best in the business and Billy's the best there is.

[Amskeptic]

It appears that the Itinerant Air-Cooled Free Speech Flock is bruised by the messy parade of politics.

I did find the Republican Convention to be weirdly shiny, mired in homilies. Paul Ryan was rightly taken to task by all major networks and fact-checkers for five out-and-out lies, and he is still promoting them.

I did find the Democratic Convention to be enthusiastic. Being soft in the head or something, I found Michelle Obama to be smart, gorgeous, and authentic. Bill Clinton offered 48 minutes of a damn good spelled-out argument. Obama made two very compelling points.
One was that it takes time to repair an economy from the depths we skidded into. It does!
I get annoyed by those who sneer that Obama had his chance. As Bill Clinton said, "the Republicans made a HUGE mess, now they claim that Obama didn't clean it up fast enough and therefore they should be put back in power?"
The other was that this election is about a choice, a choice of where do we want to go as a nation.

There IS a choice here. It is not just tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. It is easy to turn away and blow it all off. It is difficult to analyze both platforms and to determine which platform *more closely* meets your values and the values you would like to see our country represent.
Colin

[Bleyseng]

Well said Colin and echo's my take on the 2 conventions. I agree with Bill as it's not time to turn the reins back to the folks who made the mess and want to use those same policys to fix the mess. It does make sense to me!

I really have a hard time listening to the TV ads as they seem to be who can tell the biggest lies and get away with it. I am back to downloading tv shows from the internet sans the ads.

[yondermtn]

[ruckman101]

Never has the lesser of two evils been clearer in my book. Enjoyed Clinton's speech. Obama came off a bit flat. That's about all I watched. No cable TV up here, no broadcast signals, no dish, all our content is coming over our DSL connection through an Apple TV box. The Wall Street Journal Live carried it, but I didn't figure that out until just before Clinton spoke.


neal

[Sylvester]

Bill Clinton offered 48 minutes of a damn good spelled-out argument. Obama made two very compelling points.
One was that it takes time to repair an economy from the depths we skidded into. It does!
I get annoyed by those who sneer that Obama had his chance. As Bill Clinton said, "the Republicans made a HUGE mess, now they claim that Obama didn't clean it up fast enough and therefore they should be put back in power?"

I agree here with you Colin, but is there an easy list I can get about fact of the Republicans vs Democrats on the issues?

[Velokid1]

It is difficult to analyze both platforms and to determine which platform *more closely* meets your values and the values you would like to see our country represent.
Colin

I agree with you on all points, except this one. One of the most puzzling things for me during this election cycle is how on earth anyone could still be undecided. The differences between Romney and Obama couldn't be more pronounced. How can anyone who is interested and paying any attention still feel like, "I don't know... I'm not quite sure how I feel yet. I'd like to hear a little more about where these two candidates' values and policies diverge from one another before I make my decision."

It's not like you're choosing between a red Subaru and a gold Subaru; it's more like choosing between a pick-up truck and a sports car. I can't imagine not knowing which one you prefer.

Romney is going off the rails entirely. I hope that voters are seeing that for what it is and then I also hope that the Obama campaign doesn't do anything (or have anything happen to them) that causes them to do the same.

As for the conventions, the Republican convention had almost zero substance and a whole lot of ethereal concepts (freedom! liberty!) and ad hom attacks. The Democratic convention surprised me in that I found it erased a good bit of the cynicism I have developed for the Democratic Party over the past several years. I found myself quite convinced that they represent balance and reason, in contrast to the GOP's extremism, immaturity and insincerity.

[hambone]

And when Obama gets re-elected, won't it just be 4 more years of the same? Inside deals rule. Wars and the filthy rich.
Can a political party change this? We have what the people want. Or maybe they're just to numb or apathetic to do anything.

Our nation must come first, not a political party with something to gain. Until that changes, this country will suck suck suck.

[Velokid1]

I disagree that the next four will be just like the last four. Much will be the same; that's unavoidable. The huge changes some of us want take time an to expect them to happen in 10 years is naive; expecting them from one President's 4-8 year term is childish. And to expect anything constructive to happen in 4 years is insanity and demonstrates a complete detachment from reality.

DEstruction happens very quickly, as we saw with Bush. Building something takes much longer and requires far more effort and skill. Just like a VW... Tearing one apart, my 10 yr old could do it. But putting it back together, especially if we want the damn thing to be roadworthy, c'mon... Let's have some patience and be willing to put in some hard work.

But also, expecting it to not look or sound like a VW when you finish... Silly.

[Amskeptic]

Or maybe they're just to numb or apathetic to do anything.

We. We are the ones to change the mess. I want not only Obama to win so he can have a hopefully more peaceful and productive go at his thoughtful policy prescriptions, but I want a huge repudiation of the money-changers who are attempting to buy the election.
Colin