Shelving George
Topic: Republican Politics|I understand Senator Joseph Lieberman is a strong ally of John McCain. I get that. But it was extremely disingenuous for Joseph Lieberman to also praise McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin. There could not be two politicians farther from the ideological spectrum than Lieberman and Palin. Republicans should see it as a farce.
Another interesting indication of the rudderless nature of the GOP these days is tonight’s convention schedule. George Bush, the leader of the party, spoke by satellite to the hall prior to the big networks joining the coverage. It is the equivalent of those Simpson’s episodes where they put Bart in the basement when key school dignitaries are visiting the school. To ensure there is no connection between George Bush and John McCain, as soon as Bush finished speaking they quickly went to a tribute video to Ronald Reagan before continuing with Fred Thompson. And then who was the keynote speaker? A Democrat (well Independent technically) who came out and spoke to the Republicans after Thompson threw out his red meat to the party faithful. Lieberman quelled any momentum for the night. At one point he even praised President Clinton’s bipartisanship while in office and what did the hall do… they applauded. After that it seemed like they were under some kind of spell. Sure, Lieberman gave his reasons for supporting McCain but the energy had vanished from the convention. It almost was like it was an analogy to the Republican support for McCain; polite and subdued.
In many ways the campaign of John McCain has taken on a life of its own. The talk these days is not about McCain but about his choice of running mate. Their strategy has been to make the race about Obama but by choosing Palin, McCain has taken the focus off of his game plan and put it squarely on and about her. In the process he has taken the experience card and returned it to the deck. Tomorrow will be interesting. There are those in the GOP who are completely electrified at his VP choice. Will Wednesday overshadow the purpose of the convention, to highlight the presidential selection? After all, people vote for the person at the top of ticket not the pretty Hillary surrogate who no one really knows.
