The commentators are so unbelievably stupid, more IQ was on display during Olympic coverage. Some idiot just remarked how amazing it is to see Santorum at Romney's convention after they were such "bitter opponents" in the primary campaign. I take it this "political analyst" has never covered one of these things before, or even seen one?
Dear god, you are actually watching the convention? I couldn't put myself through that sort of torture.
I have no idea why they still do this shit. It's August. We know the story, the candidates, and the propaganda. 4 days of this? Is there any benefit to this enormous cost?
For some strange reason MSNBC decided to cut away from all speeches by Minorities at the convention while having their hosts say how racist the GOP is.... It was kind of a call back when MSNBC cropped images of a guy holding a gun at a Townhall meeting to hide the fact he was Black so the host could go on about how racist and violent the Tea Party was.
Yes. The parties get huge corporate donations to put on the conventions. So, basically, they're there to suck up big bucks from the megacorps, while broadcasting tortureporn to the rest of us. Of course, its not all fun and games. Black CNN reporter pelted by peanut throwing whacko at GOP convention.
Eh, TPM is about as partisan as you can possibly be. I never trust anything they say without a mainstream source.
As if Jar-Jar, Jake Lloyd, and a cast of wooden human characters with shit dialogue weren't bad enough. Damn you, TPM!!!!
The conventions are all a big circle jerk. All sizzle and no steak. I watch Christie's speech--it was okay. Ann Romney--I'm falling asleep.
Because conventions don't matter. They aren't how people determine their vote any more. Have you read this or any of the other convention threads? They no longer mean anything to the voters. Obama won't get a bounce either. This has been the pattern for at least 4 elections in a row, maybe more.
If it wasn't for the internet, the conventions would be one of those things that I don't even realize is happening, because my television never lands on those channels. You know, like baseball.
I'm not sure anybody knows what you're talking about. It certainly seems that you don't. The 2004 DNC went through the motions of nominating the man who had already secured the nomination. It produced no bounce, it was a complete waste, as are all modern era political conventions.
Then you have a very short memory. The 2004 DNC was not about Kerry, who was uninteresting, boring, unexciting, and already had the nomination locked up. It was about the young state senator Barack Obama of Illinois who made such a wonderful speech that people started saying he was presidential material when he didn't have any experience at all in national politics. If you have forgotten that already, then you are not a very trustworthy source of political analysis. I'm definitely getting over the hill, but I still remember it very well. By the next day, he was suddenly the rising star in the Democratic party.
Gul was saying that the convention does not matter to the race in question. There's an argument to be made that, like in the case of Obama's speech, they help establish future stars. Certainly, Obama's speech (and presumably Christie's this year) would be factors in their future political success. However, both would be a drop in the bucket compared to all the work that they do before and after the speech. Obama still wasn't a household name when 2008 came around. He still was a longshot to get the nomination. It was the fact that he outraised his Democratic opponents, outdebated them, outhustled them and outthought them that won him the nomination, not his 2004 speech. It seems to me that the best argument for that speech mattering significantly was that it gave him initial positive press and that it gave him the arrogance/self-confidence to think that he could run for president. But I'd say he was going to get positive press anyway (whether you would attribute that to his own charisma, his race, his platform, the liiiiiiiiiiiiberal media, or whatever). And I'm sure that he would have been plenty arrogant/self-confident regardless of whether he had a chance to do that speech or not. I would also add for every Obama whose speech gets him labeled a future star and who then lives up to that label, there are probably at least two or three who then flame out.
I got home late last night and turned it on. Gov. Kasich of Ohio was on and claimed credit for the impact that the Auto bailouts had on unemployment in Ohio. I decided then that it wasn't worth watching.
I'd rather rip my heart right out of my ribcage with my bare hands and then throw it on the floor and stomp on it 'till I die.
