"Screw every Democrat whose last name isn't Clinton" moment:
Wrong, ass Rahm!
Kerry's acceptance address was widely compared by media pundits to the progressive-era speeches of President Theodore Roosevelt, who advocated the social welfare programs characteristic of American liberalism, but also supported strengthening American military power and nationalistic patriotism. The speech, analysts added, attempted to portray the Democratic Party as masculine, even macho — much like the Republicans have historically presented themselves. Kerry stressed his qualities as a warrior and his ability to wage war when needed, a need to expand and modernize the armed forces, and a need to increase the size of special forces divisions. Alluding to the Bush administration's having fired Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki for demanding a peacekeeping plan before going to war in Iraq, Kerry also stressed the need to heed the counsel of generals.
Media analysts also characterized Kerry's speech as closer in style to a sitting president's State of the Union Address than those historically given by candidates at nominating conventions. Kerry listed specific proposals for programs and legislation, and offered a way to pay for them. He promised to train 40,000 new active duty troops, to quickly implement all the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, to cut the national deficit in half within four years, to cut middle class taxes while repealing the Bush administration's tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 per year, to stop privatization of Social Security, and to embrace science over religious dogma, especially with regards to stem cell research, which the Bush administration has constrained. He issued a promise to improve homeland security measures and quality of living: "We shouldn't be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America." Although Kerry clarified the broad tenets of the Democratic platform, some liberals criticized the party's evasion of abortion rights and gay rights, while others found Kerry's plans too vague. On the whole, however, the address was well-received, and pundits found that Kerry's forceful delivery had made the normally dour candidate more appealing.
http://www.answers.com/topic/2004-democratic-national-conventionThe pundits on Kerry: He nailed it
The same mainstream talking heads who trashed Gore give Kerry strong notices, and even right-wingers hold their tongues.
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By Eric Boehlert
July 29, 2004 | If Sen. John Kerry's acceptance speech were the opening night of a Broadway production, it would be doing robust box office business Friday morning. The same talking heads who seemed openly skeptical of the Democratic presidential nominee for much of this week gave his speech strongly positive notices.
On a scale of 1 to 10, ABC's George Stephanopoulos gave Kerry's speech an 8 "as written," and a "7.5 as delivered."
"Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer said Kerry had "done about as well as he could do to set the stage for what's ahead."
NBC's Tim Russert credited Kerry for opening himself up during the address. "He gave more of himself than I've ever seen before." He added that Democratic delegates "have seen a candidate who's willing to take the battle to George Bush. Democrats heard what they needed to hear; it's on, full charge ahead."
Time magazine's Joe Klein told CNN Kerry "nailed it" and that he'd "never seen the man speak so well."
Meanwhile, Newsweek's Howard Fineman, appearing on MSNBC, said Kerry "has established the point he's a fighter, a war hero and a real guy. Now it's up to Bush to tear him down."
Some observers might suggest all those pundits have Democratic leanings to begin with, so their praise doesn't mean much. But they were precisely the type of commentators who routinely ridiculed Al Gore's campaign throughout the 2000 race, so the shift is worth noting.
The post-speech analysis got off to a comical start on CNN, when the news channel inadvertently broadcast frantic comments from a Democratic producer in a rage that more balloons were not dropping from the ceiling of the Fleet Center: ""More balloons! We need all of them coming down! All balloons! Balloons? What's happening, balloons? There's not enough coming down. All balloons! Where the hell -- there's nothing falling! What the fuck are you guys doing up there?"
No word yet if any FCC action will be taken against CNN.
Over at MSNBC, Republican pollster Frank Luntz conducted a focus group of 24 voters and found four who voted for Bush in 2000 and, after seeing Kerry, said they would vote for the Democrat in the fall. Luntz suggested Kerry would not see as big a post-convention bounce as Gore did in 2000, and thanks to the convention's relentless focus on military toughness, insisted that "national security is now a positive for this Democratic candidate." (Over on CNN, Washington Post reporter Terry Neal mentioned that a Zogby poll taken right before Kerry's speech indicated Kerry had already picked up a five-point bounce from the week's activities.)
Conservative pundits were notably restrained in critiquing Kerry's address. MSNBC host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough critiqued Kerry's style, saying his speech had the "best text" of the week, but not the best presentation. Scarborough suggested Kerry stepped on too many of his applause lines: "If John Kerry had delivered that 'Mission Accomplished' line and stepped away from the microphone the crowd would still be cheering. He blew through the best applause lines in a way Bill Clinton never would have."
The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes weakly told Fox News viewers that Kerry's "salute wasn't very good." The magazine's editor, Bill Kristol, conceded that Kerry "gave a good speech," adding that it was a "bold and interesting" move to try to "retake patriotism for Democrats."
Some of the right's hesitation to trash Kerry's speech may have stemmed from the fact that immediately following Gore's 2000 convention speech, many conservatives denounced it as a failure. Robert Novak labeled the speech "a flop" and erroneously predicted Gore would come out of the convention facing a six-point deficit in the polls. And the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan wrote, "Al Gore's acceptance speech was a rhetorical failure and, in my view, a strategic blunder of significant proportions."
The conservative pundits ended up with egg on their faces, as the public deemed it a hit and Gore enjoyed a robust and sustained post-convention bounce in the polls.
Kerry's right-wing critics may be holding their tongues, not wanting to pan what could turn out to be another Democratic hit.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/07/29/pundits For Immediate Release:
Friday, July 30, 2004
HRC: SENATOR JOHN KERRY'S MESSAGE OF UNITY INSPIRES HOPE
WASHINGTON — Human Rights Campaign President Cheryl Jacques made the following statement lauding Sen. John Kerry’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention:
“Last night, Senator Kerry used his primetime spotlight to urge our leaders to ‘never misuse for political purposes the most precious document in American history, the Constitution of the United States.’ Senator Kerry called for ‘building unity in the American family, not angry division.’ He called for honoring the ‘nation’s diversity.’
“Senator John Kerry and Senator John Edwards are leaders who will unite the country, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. Americans are hungry for hope and Senator Kerry served a feast last night. He knows the value of bringing communities together. And he recognizes that we, too, are family.
“We want a leader who will stand up and fight everyday for hard-working, tax-paying Americans, including GLBT Americans. Senator Kerry last night proved once again he is that man.”
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=21915&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm
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