As I sit inside, occasionally, resting from all the incessant sunshine of the Sunshine State, I am enjoying watching the sport that is on the 52 inch TV. Deadline Day transfers, as already discussed. US Open Tennis (Andy Murray doing well - though with Nadal next, oh well). And the Republican Party Convention. Here are the nominees for President and Vice-President, John McCain, who has nothing to do with oven chips, and Sarah Palin, who has never made a documentary about travelling around the world for the BBC.
To let the cat out of the bag (and that's my sister's cat Sammy, letting himself out of a Calvin Klein bag) my sister is a big Hilary Clinton supporter. Of course, that is now meaningless. No Hilary choices anymore. It's Barack Obama for the Democrats - and just ask Aled how exciting that is.
Though it seems that Sarah Palin, the anti-Hilary, the conservative pro-Gun, anti-abortion, "evangelical" candidate (how I hate that term being used in a political context) is genuinely acceptable to many pro-Hilary women just because she is -
A woman.
Honestly.
And having watched her last night giving her Convention speech, Aled you are not going to like this: I think that the McCain/Palin ticket is very electable. Not because I like their policies, but because they know their electorate. And they have the tone of things just right.
In the church, the problem with Liberals is this: they think they know best. "If only you were as clever as I am or could see things as well as I do, you'd agree with me" is how they leave everyone else feeling, and they alienate people constantly because of it, whther they have valid points or not. It's the same in politics. The Democrats are Liberals who leave a lot of people feeling that they have just been told that Obama knows best and will give it to you whether you like it or not. Whether you want it or not.
McCain has 7 homes in 3 time zones - this is because his wife is fabulously wealthy. Obama grew up with his mother looking after him on income support. Yet because of the "liberal knows best" attitude, Obama is the one who is portrayed as "elitist", and it sticks!
I'm a foreigner here. What do I know?
I know what I saw on TV last night as Sarah Palin took to the floor, and what I hear people around me saying. And that TV commentators are in some disarray following a performance that stunned most people, whether they liked her or hated her.
I saw a politician speak in the way they do on the West Wing, and you never - never - get to see that in the real world. But this wasn't an actor, it was for real. I saw great sport, and the fun and games really begin.
4 comments:
The problem with American politics, as far as I can see it, is this (please excuse me whilst I put on my political commentator hat, and talk about things in a way that I am totally underqualified so to do):
Both parties are arguing the same thing. Both parties are in favour of rights: the republicans backing individual rights of property-ownership and trade. The democrats backing individual rights of lifestyle choice and welfare.
Americans have the unfortunate position of having to chose between conservative and liberal. Often neither of these are favourable, and they have no real democratic social party to pick up the slack. rant over.
Oh and for the record I'm backing Barack.
Yeah, I always feel that as a foreigner and not fully understanding what is going on, I need to be careful about sweeping statements about the system of another country (as opposed to sweeping statements about Liberals/whatever, which are fair game anywhere).
So I'm not backing anyone. I never do publicly - part of being non-party political which I think is an essential with the job.
But if I were a betting man, I would have to remind my compratriots that Americans look for different things in their leaders than we do. And John McCain may just have got that balance pretty darned spot on.
Elections in one's own country are a participation event; in someone else's they are a spectator sport, and if you haven't seen Sarah Palin's speech then YouTube "Sarah Palin RNC Acceptance Speech" to enjoy the ride.
And no, to be honest - I don't know if it were my country, I would be enjoying it half as much. Except - this is so much better a contest than four years ago.
It's my country, and right now I'm not enjoying it, because I agree with you that the War Party-- oops, I mean the Republican Party-- have got themselves what looks (today, at least) like a pretty electable ticket.
I also agree with you that Lefties (I include myself) invariably come across sounding priggish and humorless as we instruct the rest of the world to take its vitamins and wash behind its ears. But why?
I mean, there are a lot of preachers on the right, and yet they don't always sound as preach-y!
O the preachers on the right sound scary. But the ones that avoid sounding like preachers go for "folksy" and folksy fails to communicate over here - it comes across as incompetent. That's what our (ahem) Liberal media don't get.
In the States however, Folksy sells big time. Reagan knew that. George W tried for the same vibe. McCain actually has it, I think ("I am my country's" - it's a great line) and the Democrats just see how important all this election thing is and therefore don't get how to reach a place where they get do the important stuff.
Jed Bartlett - he does folksy. The only Democrat I know that does. No - scratch that, total guff. Bill Clinton had it too. Jimmy Carter in spades - though maybe he was folksy, rather than he did folksy.
Not so much Obama. Not Hilary. Not Biden...
McCain & Palin - oh yes. And, as an uninformed foreign observer, I wonder if that gives them a powerful boost. Of course, issues might carry some weight too. But that the "War Party" can still sell victory in Iraq and have people believe them - I tell you, such a leader is unheard of east of the Atlantic.
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