Thursday, September 02, 2004
More praise of 'Giving them Zell" UPDATED
Peter Robinson has this to say:
UPDATE: Pejman has a very nice critique of tonights speeches and their implications for the future of the campaign.
On the other hand, Andrew Sullivan is not very happy with Zell Miller's red meat. He says that the 'anger' in Miller's speech in contrast with Obama's 'inclusive' message is a turning point in the history of the Republican Party. Well, maybe as much of a turning point as Dean's Scream or the insanity of Michael Moore. Except that at least Zell was in the tradition of fiery political oratory of the past, and full of great zingers. Zell is much better at speaking and stinging than other, anti-republican democrats have been.
Another UPDATE: Robert Tagorda has thoughts and a roundup on both Zell and Cheney, both worth reading.
A third UPDATE: Political Animal thinks that the Republicans went to far, that they "roared too loudly" and that it'll hurt them with swing voters. We'll see, but I think that because Zell's speech was so well delivered and well-written that it'll either have no effect or more likely hurt the image of Kerry in the minds of swing voters, thus either discouraging them from voting at all or voting Bush, which for Republicans is good because Bush is ahead in the polls right now.
Last UPDATE: I couldn't resist quoting Mr. Dreher from NRO's Corner:
Zell Miller? What a speech. Genuine emotion is rare enough in politics, but anger? Righteous anger? Zell Miller stands in a line that runs all the way back to Jeremiah — but of which we see almost nothing in today’s Oprahfied context. And once again, the contrast with the Democratic convention could hardly have proven any sharper: Whereas the Democrats suppressed any display of anger in Boston, in the Republicans, the milquetoasts of American politics, went right ahead and cut loose in New York, cheering Miller with gorgeous abandon. And take a look at Miller’s text. Political prose just don’t get any hotter — or more memorable — than this:
[I]t is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.
No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country if he doesn't believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home.
But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution.
I suppose I’d have to grant that at least Dick Cheney did his job, conveying a sobriety and maturity that contrast with the boyishness and, well, lightness of John Edwards. But Zell Miller? Mine eyes have seen the glory.
UPDATE: Pejman has a very nice critique of tonights speeches and their implications for the future of the campaign.
On the other hand, Andrew Sullivan is not very happy with Zell Miller's red meat. He says that the 'anger' in Miller's speech in contrast with Obama's 'inclusive' message is a turning point in the history of the Republican Party. Well, maybe as much of a turning point as Dean's Scream or the insanity of Michael Moore. Except that at least Zell was in the tradition of fiery political oratory of the past, and full of great zingers. Zell is much better at speaking and stinging than other, anti-republican democrats have been.
Another UPDATE: Robert Tagorda has thoughts and a roundup on both Zell and Cheney, both worth reading.
A third UPDATE: Political Animal thinks that the Republicans went to far, that they "roared too loudly" and that it'll hurt them with swing voters. We'll see, but I think that because Zell's speech was so well delivered and well-written that it'll either have no effect or more likely hurt the image of Kerry in the minds of swing voters, thus either discouraging them from voting at all or voting Bush, which for Republicans is good because Bush is ahead in the polls right now.
Last UPDATE: I couldn't resist quoting Mr. Dreher from NRO's Corner:
For the record, I don't think there will be a more compelling speech given this fall on Bush's behalf than the one Zell Miller delivered last night. He would surely resent the comparison, but Zell blitzkrieged Kerry like Sherman did Atlanta. I kept thinking last night: this is like listening to my dad in 1979, when the rage and contempt we Southerners felt toward Jimmy Carter for his weakness, which brought on national humiliation, drove so many Democrats to the Reagan camp. If you ask me, I think Zell just dug up the stinking corpse of the effete Carter presidency, and rubbed it all over John Kerry. On the national security issue, and to a lesser extent the God thing, Zell reminded Reagan Democrats why they became GOP voters in the first place. If the Republicans are smart, they'd turn Zell loose this fall in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other battleground states where there were a lot of Reagan Democrats a generation ago.
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