WP/Shales: George Bush, No Fastball From the Mound

[kskiska]

It's doubtful that four more years in office would turn George W. Bush into a great speechmaker, but that he's improving was evident last night when he stood on a circular stage meant to suggest a pitcher's mound and made his case for a second term to near-deafening cheers at the Republican National Convention in New York.

Bush still has problems maintaining poise. Twice, when cheers from the crowd were interrupted by jeers from a protester -- each of whom was quickly hustled out of the hall by security guards and police -- Bush looked flustered, even frightened, though he did keep reading from the prompting devices encircling him. Ronald Reagan in the same situation would have responded with a quip and dismissed the protesters with a tolerant smile. Bush clung carefully to his text, his eyes darting anxiously around the hall.

(snip)

Bob Schieffer of CBS News had the guts to tell anchor Dan Rather that the speech "just quite frankly was too long" and that many of the supposedly bold proposals Bush was making had a very familiar ring to them. But Chris Matthews, hoppin' happy in his anchor seat over on cable's MSNBC, chose to see the speech as an unqualified smash and, continuing the baseball motif, said of Bush, "I'm sure he knows he's hit a home run tonight."

Not really. It came off more like "The State of the Union, Part 2," a sequel, heavy on repetition, to a speech Bush already gave this year. He did exude confidence and bravado most of the time, however, and his energy level seemed high. Virtually conceding that he has a reputation for humorlessness -- and implicitly retracting his assertion, made at a carefully controlled news conference, that he couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong as president -- Bush did a good job with a few self-deprecating gibes that preceded the speech's emotional ending.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57987-2004Sep3.html

[Richardo]

1. I don't get the last part...

"Then again, the Democrats' post-convention antics, poor use of TV and Kerry's ill-advised photo ops give the impression that the Democrats are so determined to lose that nobody can stop them -- no matter what and no matter who. "

I get the anti-Democratic nay-saying - I'm used to that. But what 'ill-advised photo ops' is he referring to? :shrug:

[hadrons]

2. 'ill-advised photo ops'

[Richardo]

3. Oh brother - is he still on *that*?

:eyes: I think America has moved on. I don't even see that from the Publicans anymore.