What did you make of the Republican convention?

[Bill Peckham]

It wasn't what I expected, I can't say I've spent a lot of time watching them in the past, but in general the big name speakers seemed scattered message-wise. I thought it would have a more coherent political strategy underlying it. Did it connect with you?

[Big E]

Honestly, the whole spectacle made me proud to be a Democrat.  I was kind of sad to see the official end of the Republican primary season, since it's been so entertaining!

[glitter]

I really enjoyed Ms. Condi Rice's speech, as well as Rubios, Eastwood, (even though I love him) was as bad as any of the Hollywood types- whatever party they support- I wish they would just stay out of it all!
Romney did fine- I think he was on target with the message of 'Its Businesses that make jobs- NOT government.'  I did not expect the Democrats to enjoy it, and the sneering is to be expected these days, I did not think the Republicans personally attacked the Dems- too bad you will not be able to say the same thing after the Democratic convention.

Honestly, the whole spectacle made me proud to be a Democrat.

What did the Republican do exactly? (You make it sound like they sacrificed live animals) but whatever- I saw people who cared about their families and communities the same as the democrats say they do-'All Republican this--- All Democrats that- its crap and just serves to weaken our country from within.

[Jean]

I was beginning to think I was the only Republican on IHD!!! I enjoyed what I got to see. Clint Eastwood, yeah, a little muddled, but, he is 82, give him a break. All the speakers were great and after seeing Obama 2016, I am glad I am voting for Romney.

[MooseMom]

Romney did fine- I think he was on target with the message of 'Its Businesses that make jobs- NOT government.' 

I personally don't need to know about a candidate's family life, and I don't really need to hear speeches from his/her spouse.  Mr. Romney has been compaigning for years, and if the American people STILL know so little about him that the RNC felt the need to "introduce" him yet again, then that makes me wonder if anyone is listening at all.

I don't know where people get the idea that President Obama is "anti business."  Mr. Obama did not become president, and I don't think anyone becomes president, so that they can gut businesses and assume the CEO's chair for the oil companies or auto companies or any other corporation.  The President of the United States has too many other duties and hasn't the time to run all of these companies that the Republicans claim Mr. Obama wants to take over.  That just doesn't make sense.  But I guess if they yell it loudly enough and often enough, gullible people will start to believe it.

My fear is that Mr. Romney, if elected, will indeed run the United States like a business.  That is what he has said he will do, and I believe him.  The prime goal of business is to make a profit.  That's a laudable goal.  The President WANTS businesses to be successful and to employ people because employed people contribute to the economy through their spending and through paying taxes.  Why anyone would think that any president wants more people to not have jobs and to rely on government handouts is way beyond me.  So, if the prime goal of a business is to make profits, will The USA Corporation spend money for, say, disaster relief in hurricane devasted states or areas that have been burned to the ground?  Will The USA Corporation spend money for dialysis?  How about for drought stricken farmers who have lost their entire crop?  Such expenditures do not bring profit.  Spending on education or pollution cleanups or new health innovations don't bring profits.  The southern states that are traditionally "red" get more money from the Federal Government than they contribute, so what will The USA Corporation do with those expeditures?  Do we get to fire Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana?

I did not expect the Democrats to enjoy it, and the sneering is to be expected these days, I did not think the Republicans personally attacked the Dems- too bad you will not be able to say the same thing after the Democratic convention.

Here is the transcript of Mike Huckabee's speech.  He is supposed to be a Christian man, but his attacks were pretty personal.  And he just perpetuates the meme that the Democratic party is "liberty limiting and anti-business", etc. 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/29/transcript-former-arkansas-gov-mike-huckabee-speech-at-rnc/

But to be fair, this is the kind of thing one will hear at any political convention, and I am sure we will hear the same type thing at the DNC.

I thought Ann Romney's speech was fine. 

Clint Eastwood's performance was disrespectful, although if a seasoned comedian had delivered the same performance, it actually might have been funny in the right venue.  But as it was and at a nationally televised event, given by a man who didn't give a good performance for whatever reason, I was actually quite shocked.

I don't think anyone would disagree that the Republicans have worked very hard to be as obstructive as possible.  I don't think any Republicans would disagree.  Even John Boener has been frustrated with the freshmen House Republicans; he has not been able to control them and has had his leadership constantly challenged by them.  We all know this.  And when the House Majority Leader openly states with great conviction that he will make it his top priority to make sure that this would be a one-term president, well, what are we to make of that?

If Mr. Romney is elected, will we have more of the same?  Will there be such bitterness that the Congressional Democrats will do the very same thing and obstruct everything Mr. Romney tries to do as President?  Congresspeople have long memories.  Down what kind of road has the freshman House Republicans started us?  Have they made us ungovernable as a people?

For Mr. Romney to put forth this idea that he so wanted Mr. Obama to be sucessful because he wanted America to be successful is a lie.  We've all heard about the meeting held by the "Young Guns" Republicans (one being Mr. Ryan) on the very evening of Mr. Obama's inauguration during which they laid out a strategy to bring down his administration.

http://www.politicalforum.com/current-events/245432-conservative-high-treason-started-night-obama-inauguration.html

Whether or not you consider this to be "high treason" or a perfectly reasonable reaction to the election of your party's opponent, it should disabuse anyone of the notion that there was ever any desire to see this president succeed, and for Mr. Romney to suggest such a thing in his speech made me think he was either a liar or incredibly naive and way outside of the Republican loop of power.

Paul Ryan's speech was just as I expected it to be, full of half-truths and misinformation, so much so that even Fox commentators were surprised.  This man has been a Washington insider for years, but we want "less government" and we want to kick out "the politicians"?  Really?

I'm not sure much can be learned from conventions.  I look forward to the debates.  I truly am eager to know what Mr. Romney's plans are regarding Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan.  I am particularly eager to know what he is going to do about defense spending.  Paul Ryan's budget cuts government spending across the board but increases defense spending.  Is this wise?  I suspect that the reasoning behind this is that much of this defense spending goes to contractors whose headquarters are in states that support this or that candidate.  It makes me believe that while we are happy for taxpayers' money to go to these defense corporations, we are not quite so happy to spend our money on educating our children or keeping our water and food safe.  We seem to be happy to invest in American corporations but not in the American people.  But perhaps that is what being a "businessman" is all about.

John McCain has called for deeper US involvement and support for the Syrian rebels.  Do we really want to send troops to yet another Middle Eastern Muslim country that is swiftly deteriorating?  Just who are the rebels, anyway, and why do they deserve our support?  Assad is a tyrant and he is brutal, but are we sure that the rebels will be any different?  What does Mr. Romney think?  Will he guide us into yet another war?  Does anyone have any information about his stance on this issue?

I want to know how Mr. Romney's business experience will guide him through the morass of foreign policy, foreign aid (which, again, brings no profit) and financial threats from the Eurozone.  Will he be able to innoculate our businesses, both large and small, from the fallout of a possible Greek and Spanish exit from the Euro?  How will he be able to do that?  Will he tell us?

[Bill Peckham]

I think their convention in a lot of ways made the Republicans look weak. Like they know they're on a loosing track. Their theme "We built it" was pressed forward against one straw man after another.  It struck me as a weak way to set up the next 2 months. At the same time if the Dems have as their theme "We care about the very poor" it would be a sign of weakness on their part. If all the Dems have to talk about is how you can misconstrue what Romney said once, that'll be a sign of weakness. I think they have a lot more to talk about.

I am sure we'll hear about magic vaginas but mostly I hope the Democrats talk about the legislation that has been voted on by the Republican Congress and what the impact would be of their legislation being signed into law. That's who we are choosing - the person who will decide what legislation gets signed and what legislation gets vetoed. That's the job we're filling. If all the Democrats do is take a page from the Republican convention, and focus on what they imagine to be the motivations of Republicans that will be a sign of weakness and I'll get worried.

As for Clint ... I join many others in the hope that the Democrats match the Republican's surreal genus and have William Shatner on to "sing" Rocket Man.

[Rerun]

I'm not the man you think I am at all .... Oh no no no......

   

[Gerald Lively]

15% of Republicans in Ohio think Mitt Romney should get credit for killing Osama bin Laden.
 
“Public Policy Polling's new Ohio poll asked, among other questions: "Who do you think deserves more credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden: Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?" Now, that's a very odd question, in that you would be hard pressed to come up with a scenario in which Mitt Romney had anything to do with the Osama bin Laden raid at all—much less more to do with it than the actual president that gave the go-ahead.”
 

[YLGuy]

15% of Republicans in Ohio think Mitt Romney should get credit for killing Osama bin Laden.
 
“Public Policy Polling's new Ohio poll asked, among other questions: "Who do you think deserves more credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden: Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?" Now, that's a very odd question, in that you would be hard pressed to come up with a scenario in which Mitt Romney had anything to do with the Osama bin Laden raid at all—much less more to do with it than the actual president that gave the go-ahead.”

 

[Gerald Lively]

Some thoughts by Conservative Republicans:

"This is a gimme election, or at least it should be," said conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham on Monday. "If you can't beat Barack Obama with this record, then shut down the party. Shut it down. Start new, with new people."

"But the wished-for ideological battle has not fully materialized. With shaky poll numbers, the conservative thinking goes, let's at the very least go down with a fight. Invoking the specter of failed Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard warned this week, "It's not enough to float like a butterfly. You have to sting like a bee. No sting, no victory."

"Columnist George Will, appearing on Ingraham's show, returned to an earlier theme -- that Romney simply isn't a born conservative. "Mitt Romney does not have the feeling, the visceral, philosophically sound feeling for what's wrong with the progressive movem e nt in this country," Will said. “He's a good man, a good fellow. He'd be a much better president than the one we've got. But he doesn't -- what I've said before about him is conservatism is a second language for him. And he is still learning it. And it's hard to learn this thing in the midst of a high-stakes presidential campaign."

"He may as well be Elmer Fudd as far as we're concerned," Limbaugh said. "We're voting aga i nst Obama. I don't care who they put on the ticket, we're voting against Obama. That has not changed, and there are more people now than in 2010 who are gonna vote against Obama."

Then I found this:

Because I've been noticing something in the air, something about the body language, something about the chaos surrounding Mitt's campaign. . .Because njhoo's current Rec List diary, spurred me from silence to expression. . . Because I woke up this AM and found myself thinking, "Romney doesn't want to be president," I will say this.

What I will say is just a personal response to a general feeling I have about the man. Poor man. And that is this: He is terrified of the possibility of being elected.

I mean, look at him. He appears nervous, stiff, ill at ease no matter what the public venue. He looks like a man searching for a way out of windowless room. Listen to him. He makes endless gaffs. Are they really gaffs? Or are they honest remarks that somehow escape his efforts to suppress them? He gives every impression that he wants to utter that one unconscionable thing that will bring out the hook that blessedly yanks him off the boards.
Romney looks to me like a man who doesn't want to do this any more, who knows, deep in his being, that he doesn't qualify for an appearance on the world stage as president of the United States.

Just look at him. It's hard not to feel a pang of sympathy.
....................................

Of course this is politics and one persons reading of body language is another persons sign of strength.  And this are two months left before the election.  If the GOP convention is a sign, they are going to lose big time.

Okay, all you GOPers, lay it on me!

[YLGuy]

They say that one of his strengths is debating.  I am very interested in seeing how the debates go down. I will be watching his body language.

[Willis]

Because I've been noticing something in the air, something about the body language, something about the chaos surrounding Mitt's campaign. . .Because njhoo's current Rec List diary, spurred me from silence to expression. . . Because I woke up this AM and found myself thinking, "Romney doesn't want to be president," I will say this.

What I will say is just a personal response to a general feeling I have about the man. Poor man. And that is this: He is terrified of the possibility of being elected.

I mean, look at him. He appears nervous, stiff, ill at ease no matter what the public venue. He looks like a man searching for a way out of windowless room. Listen to him. He makes endless gaffs. Are they really gaffs? Or are they honest remarks that somehow escape his efforts to suppress them? He gives every impression that he wants to utter that one unconscionable thing that will bring out the hook that blessedly yanks him off the boards.

Perhaps he is the one candidate who actually sees the trouble America and the entire world is in. Seems to me that any rational human being faced with the task of being President of the United States SHOULD be searching for a way out. Is it too hard to believe that the man is truly seeking to lead this country and willing to take that weight on his shoulders out of a sense of responsibility and not for personal gain or motive? Sometimes people are at the right place at the right time--yet most are not willing to take that last extra step. Even Jesus sweat blood over the task he was facing in his last days.

It's the smiling, naricisstic "no worries" politicians that befuddle me. Consider VP Biden's comments yesterday that the 9/11 memorial services were a "bittersweet moment for all Americans." "Bittersweet"?! Does he know the definition of that word? I doubt it. And before anyone else says it...I will include George W. Bush in that befuddling category as well. I don't think I'm the only person who doesn't care whether our President is "likable" ... I just want someone competent who I can respect.

 

[Jean]

Me too Willis.

[Frances42]

I really enjoyed Ms. Condi Rice's speech, as well as Rubios, Eastwood, (even though I love him) was as bad as any of the Hollywood types- whatever party they support- I wish they would just stay out of it all!
Romney did fine- I think he was on target with the message of 'Its Businesses that make jobs- NOT government.'  I did not expect the Democrats to enjoy it, and the sneering is to be expected these days, I did not think the Republicans personally attacked the Dems- too bad you will not be able to say the same thing after the Democratic convention.

Honestly, the whole spectacle made me proud to be a Democrat.

What did the Republican do exactly? (You make it sound like they sacrificed live animals) but whatever- I saw people who cared about their families and communities the same as the democrats say they do-'All Republican this--- All Democrats that- its crap and just serves to weaken our country from within.

[Gerald Lively]

I don’t think Romney and Ryan are the answer America needs.  Ultimately my opinion has more to do with the issues these two stand for rather than the personality or body language they exhibit.

I would never vote for a candidate who opposes abortion, is opposed to contraceptives, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  Nor would I vote for anyone who says we out to return to the economic policies of George W. Bush.  GWB very nearly ruined the US by bringing the economy to its knees.  Then there are the House Republicans who have stood in the way of any Democratic effort to work our way out of this recession. 

There is absolutely no social or economic redeeming value in the Republican idea of a limited Federal system of government, managing the economy, or protecting the well-being of American citizens. 

If that isn’t good enough, ask yourself why anyone would support a candidate whose party claims the President is a Muslim, is un-American, was born in Kenya.  I have read where some Republicans think Obama is setting up the US for a take-over by the UN.

No, I can’t support the GOP or their candidate and neither would you unless you think a bedroom police force is a good idea (read Santorum) or you believe in the anti-intellectual mutterings that come from the conservative side of America, such as a woman cannot get pregnant from rape or that abortions cause cancer.

My hope is that Obama beats the Republican candidate so badly that the GOP will have to re-organize; then perhaps we may see some old fashioned conservative intellectuals who have a genuine interest in Americans and less in the politics of the moment.

gl