August 30, 2004

Bravo John and Rudy

Night 1 featured GOP moderates Sen. John McCain and Rudy Guiliani. Both delivered scathing attacks on Bush's opponents. McCain defended the Islamist War in general and the Iraq War in particular. While plodding through his civil remarks and fighting with the audience over applause lines, he got all the delegates in a froth when he said these words:

Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe, my friends, who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace, when in fact -- when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children inside their walls.

Rudy was really good in the way he made it clear how Sen. Kerry waffles and flip-flops on issues. It was red meat to the delegates but it was full of substance that should be emmulated by champions of the President across the country. The attacks on Kerry made up for the occasional rambling.

Note in both speeches no mention of the questions behind Kerry's war service or his anti-war activism.

Here's some reaction I found in the blogosphere:

• Jay Reding calls Rudy Guiliani "one of the best politicians in this country, and a great orator to boot."

• John Hillen notes an interesting comparison Rudy made in his speech.

• David Adesnik doesn't think much of John McCain as a speaker.

• Roger Simon:
  

  John Kerry should take speech-making lessons from John McCain. And if McCain is busy, he should try Giuliani.

  
  OUCH!

• Josh Chafetz thinks "the Kelis song 'Milkshake' would make an excellent campaign anthem." "Damn right, it's better than yours."

• Oliver Willis is sore that the GOP had a good night.