GOP Convention: A Few Thoughts

I wasn't going to write about the party conventions since there is already so much coverage. That said, however, I am going to write a brief post about the GOP convention so far.

I think a lot of the speeches were, frankly, excellent. And mind you, I am not generally a fan of American political speeches. They are generally overwritten, overwrought, and overloud. Our politicians have lost the ability to give interesting speeches or to engage in non-scripted debate. There are a few exceptions: Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich, and Allen West are names of living politicians that come to my mind first as those still possessed of the gift of the gab. There are others, of course, but in general it is a lost art. Oh, yes, there's one more, Ted Cruz--more on that to follow.

I thought that VP candidate, Indiana governor Mike Spence gave an excellent address: modest, self-deprecating, folksy, in a genuine way not in a Hillary way, witty, and well-delievered. He provided some sharp analysis of the current mess we are in and, I think, made a good case for voting Trump and not Hillary. This seemed a superb introduction for most of America to Pence. Mission accomplished.

Other speakers of note were Sheriff Clarke, Patricia Smith, the Trump boys, and Newt Gingrich who had the tough job of following Ted Cruz's speech. I thought that Chris Christie's speech was great, and would have made a good Diplomad post, but, in the end, I don't know if it didn't come off as a bit over the top and am not sure how it played with the undecided. But, it's the speech I would have delivered had I been invited to speak . . .

OK, Ted Cruz. I have long admired Ted Cruz and thought that he would eventually have a good shot at being president. He is extremely smart, well-read, articulate, a fierce debater, and a genuinely great orator. His July 20 address to the GOP convention was a very fine piece of writing and delivery. I have no doubt that he wrote it himself. He had some stirring passages about protecting freedom, and the cost that some pay to protect our freedoms. He had some excellent swipes at the power-mad Obama-Clinton school of thought. It, however, was an exercise in extreme narcissism and self promotion that will, I think, prove as fatal to him as the defective torpedo that the USS Tang fired on its fifth and last war patrol in the Pacific. I don't know what target exactly the Cruz missile sought to hit, but I think it circled back and got him.

At a minimum, it was, indeed, a classless act, as the RNC labelled it. In that address, of course, Cruz declined to endorse Trump for president. It seems that Trump had read the speech ahead of time, but decided to let Cruz deliver it. That is either an act of great generosity by Trump, giving the lie to those who see him as an authoritarian bully, or a decision to follow the dictate attributed to Napoleon, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."

That is all for now.

Please note that none of this post was lifted from any speech by Michelle Obama.