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I haven’t formed any strong new opinions on the last night of, or the residual impressions from, the 2012 Republican Conventions since I stopped blogging about it at around midnight (the live-blog is here; the wrap-up post here). I didn’t tune in to Mitt Romney’s warmup acts until relatively late, and so missed what many have considered very impressive testimony to the Mittster’s character, particularly from church friends. I wasn’t as fired up about Marco Rubio’s performance as some, in part because I’ve heard him do better when he had a deeper script. I’m sorry I missed Newt ‘n’ Callista’s team effort, which sounds like it could have been from an awards ceremony at a high school pageant. As I’ve said elsewhere, the balloon drop was pretty awesome.
But as for the central event of the evening, I dunno: WaPo’s Chris Cillizza thought it got the job done. A fair number of folks thought the “self-humanizing” parts of the speech were effective. Nobody much bought the claim that his hurried repetition of his “5-part jobs plan”—a standard Romney campaign chesnut which is a jumble of policy preferences and goals all incongruously combined with a K-12 education voucher proposal that no one talks about—constituted any sort of presentation of an agenda. And his attacks on Obama, which were well delivered and received (in the hall at least), were pretty much lines he’s been delivering since the early days of the primary campaign, when they were most definitely not aimed at a general election audience.
I’m with Greg Sargent in feeling the speech was very uneven—indeed, it sounded like it was lashed together by a team of speechwriters, massaged by another team of pollsters, and then rehearsed maybe one time too often in front of still another team of media consultants.
But aside from the speech itself (and probably my favorite thing about it is that it was too slow to unfold and focused on too many divergent tasks to include very many lies), the bigger question is how it capped the convention, and what overall impression was left with viewers. I’ve sent a piece in to the New Republic on that subject which may appear today; my basic take is that the GOP never quite decided what it wanted to do over the course of the three days. Day One presented the Party of Tough Choices; Day Two the mendacious party focused on Saving Mom’s Medicare from the Scary Black Man; and Day Three was a too-conspicuous renovation project on the nominee’s threadbare “character” credentials. The two most consistent things were that (1) hardly anyone presented any positive policy ideas, and (2) the efforts to suppress anything off-message (e.g., references to the social issues many if not most of the delegates care about far more than the economy, or the Revolt of the Paulites) worked only superficially, and at the expense of genuine enthusiasm.
So it’s entirely appropriate that the climactic moment of the convention, and the thing the whole show will probably be most remembered for, was the moment when the cameras came on for last night’s Prime Time Network Broadcast , and there stood Clint Eastwood, soaking up many precious minutes with a meandering, semi-solipsistic rap that devolved into a debate with an imaginary Barack Obama and relied for its punch on implied obscenities.
I really thought the Daddy Party would do better, and after Ryan’s incredibly dishonest but effective speech on Wednesday, I thought they were doing better. We’ll soon know more when the polls and focus group reports come out.
What did you think?
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Ronald on August 31, 2012 9:16 AM:
How could they do better than Clint and the Empty Chair act?
Besides, anything of substance to be discussed has already been taken off the table by Romney- we can't talk about: Bain, abortion, how tax cuts will be paid for, tax returns, womens issues, etc. etc.
The whole convention seems to be a wash. I'm sure the RNC is happy that there were, at least, no moments of total fail.
Oh wait...there was the Ryan speech that was full of lies.
And yeah, the Clint thing was pretty bad and all.
OK. Only a few moments of total fail.
And Romney-bot didn't fall on his face, which is about as much as anybody could expect.
Meh. This won't bump the polls at all, which, from a political science standpoint has to be significant.
And now they've handed momentum to the Democrats...and we've seen what the Obama campaign can do when it has an opportunity like this...
gregor on August 31, 2012 9:16 AM:
From the look of the audience it seemed as if the residents of a few subdivisions in the gated suburbs of Minneapolis decided to take a vacation in Tampa. You can see that kind of America only in country clubs and exclusive golf courses.
An inclusive party indeed.
Joan on August 31, 2012 9:18 AM:
Could not bear to watch it, but I have heard that there is an empty chair with gazillions of followers!
jonh on August 31, 2012 9:24 AM:
I went for a walk yesterday and was listening to old
Woody Guthrie Library of Congress recordings. What
line came up almost immediately? :
The bankers and the preachers nailed him to a cross
And they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
JR on August 31, 2012 9:27 AM:
You're spot-on in Mitt's speech being over-rehearsed. I'd add that the problem isn't just that Romney 2012 tries to please to many people; more like, once outside the Ward or the country club, they don't know their audience, period. My favorite example from the convention is Ann Romney telling a group GOP Hispanic women that they have to get past their biases.
Kathryn on August 31, 2012 9:31 AM:
Under no circumstances should Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post be given credibility. He is an amiable dunce who is featured, for some reason, every day on Andrea Mitchell Show. He smiles a lot and gives the GOP the benefit of the doubt regardless of the enormity of lies, even gave Ryan a pass on contents of his speech.
T2 on August 31, 2012 9:32 AM:
"Ryan’s incredibly dishonest but effective speech " well that about sums up the whole situation.
This event was marked by people lying straight to our face, knowingly lying, and asking us to vote for them based on those lies. The entire News Media spent the day yesterday trying to call them Liars without having to use the word - a spectacle in and of itself. Yet it is all called "effective" and "good enough" because to just come out and call the Republican Party the "biggest bunch of crooks and liars" ever to run for national office would not be "balanced". John Kerry, you had it right 8 years ago, and you are still right.
Blue Girl on August 31, 2012 9:33 AM:
I was struck by the fact that he warmongered ar Iran AND at Russia, but didn't even mention our forces still fighting and dying in Afghanistan. Nor did the word "veteran" cross his lips.
c u n d gulag on August 31, 2012 10:00 AM:
Why not an empty chair, when their candidate is an empty suit?
Clint - 'The Mystery Guest!'
Jayzoos H. Keerist in a full-body cast, THAT was painful to watch.
And what was with Clint's hair?
All of the hairdressers were busy carefully molding Mitt's famous black & gray coiffure – using cultivated French bee's wax to keep it in place, and adrenal fluid drawn from poor adolescent Greek boys, for that youthful sheen?
Or was it left that way on purpose by Clint, in his role as a Director, letting the hair be symbolic of his speech?
Old, gray, and not going in any particular direction.
Uhm… and btw Clint, before you rail against the President being a lawyer, guess who ALSO has a Law Degree?
Willard "Mitt" Romney!
YES!
YOUR pick to replace that 'other' lawyer.
Clint – did you not know that, forget it, or throw that knowledge away, along with your dignity?
It's just that sfter graduating with that law degree, Mitt chose to be the only form of life lower than being a Corporate Attorney –a vulture capitalist.
"I WANT MY CLINT EASTWOOD BACK!"
guachi on August 31, 2012 10:00 AM:
I thought the speech was terrible.
It was disjointed and content free. The five point plan was a mess. He all but said the bombing of Iran would begin during his Inauguration.
If Obama and the Democrats don't crush this out of the park tomorrow, I'll be surprised.
J on August 31, 2012 10:14 AM:
One big take is that Republicans, knowing R-money is a wooden, distant, awkward, vacant, stiff candidate----used convention time last night to make him seem *human*
...but.... Romney still comes across as unlikeable, brutish and cruel-- once again playing the birther card implying the country "needs an American."
So he implies the president is not an American.
After this convention, it is obvious that President Obama prevails. And I loved that he tweeted out a picure of himself occupying a chair!
One other take away is that all the money spent on that convention and they allow Clint Eastwood to take the prime time when most viewers are said to generally tune in.
Makes you think they aren't so good at business afterall in the Romney campaign
(snark)
mmm on August 31, 2012 10:23 AM:
I'm predicting that the Dem Convention is going to be like a rock concert, and that President Obama is going to get a big bump in the polls by the end of next week. The disrespect shown for the office of the Presidency is sickening.
SteveT on August 31, 2012 10:24 AM:
J said:
Romney still comes across as unlikeable, brutish and cruel-- once again playing the birther card implying the country "needs an American."
I hope the Democrats turn this on its head --
A "REAL AMERICAN" doesn't keep his money in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
Diane Rodriguez on August 31, 2012 10:24 AM:
Agree with Kathryn's take on Cilliza. He's one of those centrist types who tries mightily to not offend anyone with his folksy little lisp. Credibility as a political analyst-not so much.
Couldn't bring myself to watch the festivities. Choosing to watch people I abhor lie is too much for my delicate psyche. To Pierce and Kilgore, a hearty thank-you.
stormskies on August 31, 2012 10:27 AM:
The fact that Brain Williams, Luke Russert, Wolf Blizter, and the rest of these corporate creeps were suddenly seen running to the local 7/11 to change their now overfull DEPENDS speaks for itself in terms of what Romney, Eastwood, and the whole lying convention came across.
zandru on August 31, 2012 10:36 AM:
More On Eastwood
Right on, Mr. Gulag! First, he calls for a president who is "not a lawyer" -- whoops! -- and then he says it's about time we had a president who was "a businessman". Must'a been asleep throughout the Junior Bush years, eh? Lucky Clint.
But when Eastwood roared out "We OWN this country!", that really tied it together. Yes, he and those Republican delegates and their billionaire enablers do "own" a lion's share of the wealth of this country. Although it doesn't seem wise to flaunt it in the faces of the rest of us 99.99% who, they hope, are watching...
davidp on August 31, 2012 10:40 AM:
Flaccid. Romney proves again that he lacks the basic political skills of expression, communication, identification. If he wins this it will be thanks to money and vote suppression.
tom on August 31, 2012 10:50 AM:
If they were going to do that kind of thing, they really needed to find a chair that sounded more like the President.
MaxB on August 31, 2012 11:12 AM:
I think Clint Eastwood is a Dem mole.
Andy Olsen on August 31, 2012 11:21 AM:
Romney continued to conceal his plans from the American public. You have to wonder if he thinks we even deserve to know he would do.
meady on August 31, 2012 12:44 PM:
I thought the convention was interesting if unconvincing even to true believers. I, like many couldn't watch all of it. I sat through Ryan's speech sort of transfixed by polished appearance and overall lack of substance. He really was Palin, but male. I actually thought that Condelezza Rice and Suzanna Martinez were very good. I would listen to them beyond the convention. Was I convinced by what was said? No, but they were credible vessels. Also, I'm pretty sure Condi is glad no one will know how she votes. She may have spoken at the convention, but nothing she said was in line with the Republican platform and culture (except the voucher nonsense). Interesting how repub folks are touting her speech. They didn't hear a word of it, they saw a black, articulate woman speaking and overlayed their views upon her as if to say "see we have someone like Michelle Obama too". Most of Martinez's speech was similar. Neither woman was reflecting Republican values, though Martinez did adopt a rather attack dog posture at the end of the speech. But I really saw that as gratuitous. I would say she is probably the biggest winner at the convention. It was the first time I saw her and I was impressed. Nothing else about that convention moved me at all. Mitt still comes across as an awkward, entitled man who thinks he's earned the right to be president because he's rich and white and sees himself as reasonable and a good manager. The consumate American...Bah.
All in all, I think it was a big miss, but I don't know that next week will be better. Certainly it will be more positive and probably more polished, but I fear America is getting saturated and fatigued with politics. Smoothe and choreographed runs the risk of seeming "plastic", unrealistic, and manufactured. We have entered an era where competancy is begining to look unbelievable and that is what is truly sad...
mr.peabody on August 31, 2012 12:57 PM:
Romney is really a horrible politician, not just on policy, but in presentation. You could see last night that he was trying really, really hard to connect with the crowd, but it's just not in him. The crowd shots told the story-They didn't care about what he said. But he's NOT Obama, and that's enough.
And poor Clint-what a mess. He never was that good at comedy.
J on August 31, 2012 12:59 PM:
Has anyone questioned Romney about his 'aborted fetus disposal business'?
J on August 31, 2012 1:12 PM:
There are two J's posting!!
I am the J from 10:24 a.m. post, not the one above at 12:59
....irony, capcha says 'territory"
June on August 31, 2012 1:13 PM:
There's simply no way for me to give Romney any kudos for his speech. He remarks to the nation were serially dishonest, played to bigotry, lacked accountability, and were just all-around mediocre. And the "deer-in-the-headlights/snake-oil-salesman" expression didn't help either. "D-" in my book. Not even an E for Effort. I pray God we finally put the Romney/Ryan disgrace of a campaign to rest in November with a final mark of "FAIL."
bdop4 on August 31, 2012 1:24 PM:
My favorite RNC moment: Sam Bee's expose of republican cognitive dissonance when delegates defend Mitt Romney's "freedom to choose" to disagree with their no exceptions platform, while oblivious to the irony that they are denying women the same freedom of choice concerning the use of their own bodies.
Authoritarian cognition (or lack thereof) is truly a sight to behold.
Kenneth Almquist on August 31, 2012 4:56 PM:
I tuned in just as Rubio was saying,
So much for "we built it."
bos'n on August 31, 2012 6:19 PM:
I am astonished that Paul Ryan could be considered an effective speaker by any standard. I saw a clip of his speech and was very distracted by his high, thin, nasal voice, his huge ears, low forehead, and rather prominent nose. With his widow's peak he looks like the unfortunate result of ill considered in-breeding. He did, however, present his mendacious remarks in a clear and easy to understand way, which probably hit its mark among his intended audience. I find it unbelievable that anyone can call him good looking. What is slightly scary about him is that he bears a faint resemblance to LBJ, who as we know, was a master politician. It would be ironic if Ryan is the instrument of the dismantling of LBJ's legacy.
bos'n on August 31, 2012 6:32 PM:
I am astonished that Paul Ryan could be considered and effective speaker by any standard. I saw a clip of his speech, and found myself distracted by his thin, high, nasal voice, his huge ears, his low forehead, his rather prominent nose, and his ill-fitting jacket. With his pronounced widow’s peak, he looks like the unfortunate result of some misguided in-breeding. It amazes me when anyone pronounces him good looking. He did, however, present his mendacities in a clear and easy to understand manner, and probably hit his mark with his intended audience. What I do find slightly scary about him is his faint resemblance to LBJ, who we know was a master politician. It would be ironic if Ryan is the instrument for dismantling LBJ’s legacy.