All Said and Done
September 4th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Tonight was John McCain’s star turn. This was his chance to show he could pull off some fancy stagecraft too. In fact, the stage itself had been broken down and reconstructed just for tonight’s speech to include a catwalk outlined in neon blue. When the time came, the lights dimmed. Then — like the intro to an old-school Chicago Bulls game — spotlights started roving the darkened arena. A booming voice spoke admirably of McCain. When the candidate entered stage left, all lights went out except one, bathing him in a bright halo.
This was McCain’s show.
However, the crowd — still buzzing from Sarah Palin’s speech last night — responded to McCain’s address with a bit of disappointment. The delegates were unquestioningly energized by a few key phrases such as “security,” “culture of life” and “school choice.” But the senator from Arizona got distinctly less appreciation — crickets, even — for his repeated acknowledgment of, and reaching out to, Democrats, independents and others outside the base. At times, it seemed as if McCain wasn’t speaking to the delegates at all, and they knew it.
The same thing happened when McCain expressed his respect for Obama, and when he stated his desire for peace. The tepid, obligatory applause that greeted him was reminiscent of an opera or a jazz show. The muted reaction was a stark contrast to the rest of the convention. Were these the same people who just last night beat their chests over Palin’s divisive tough talk and heartily whooped in response to Rudy Giuliani’s war cries?
Yet many delegates, when asked about McCain, stuck to their talking points: McCain is great, McCain is good. In a bit of a concession, one delegate from Houston said, “Even things I disagree with, I know where he’s coming from.”
As much as Palin’s speech last night sought to appease the right-wing base, McCain’s address was aimed squarely at independent voters watching on television.
McCain acknowledged more than once the struggles of working families. “Their lives should matter to the people they elect to office and they matter to me,” he said. He thanked undecided voters for their consideration. He said he would fill his administration with members of both parties. McCain sought to portray himself as a different kind of Republican, one less bound to partisanship and ideology — the anti-Bush. He stopped short of criticizing the Bush administration directly, however, except for his repeated references to “change.” He clearly tried to disown much of the record his party has compiled the past eight years.
The speech may not have wowed the delegates, but, lockstep as they are, it might not matter. What matters is how viewers around the country receive his words: as a sincere invitation to join him, or as shallow hucksterism at the 11th hour?
September 7th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Sarah is definitely heating things up!