Re: Trump Watch
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2020 6:22 am
In a change of subject, what are people thinking about the conventions; what comparisons are you making? I was surprised first of all by my interest in these events. I recollect the conventional conventions of the past as shambolic affairs full of bloviating speakers and somewhat manufactured drama. I guess I've responded to the neat packaging of the 2020 events--three hours of tightly scheduled segments and you're done. In between, interesting panelists (PBS, in my case) give their reactions. I mean, when has Bill Clinton ever spoken for just five minutes?
The odds seemed against the Republicans to pull off anything as effective as the Democrats' show. But I think they might have done it in their very different way, largely through the force of personality of the president. The Rs have no participation from either past or current party elders--no Bush or Romney, no McConnell or Graham. One pundit asked whether that was going to signal a party failure, or was it going to formalize a new, independent direction for the party, epitomized by Donald Trump, Jr.?
The most interesting strategy so far has been to highlight a softer Donald Trump, Sr. He has played the genial host to several groups, and he's good at it. The attacking has been left to others. His better half, Melania, came off as much less confrontational than her past counterpart, Michelle Obama. When her hubby speaks, will he also try to shine the light rather than paint dark pictures? That approach really hasn't worked for him before, as he has difficulty not reverting to character afterwards.
This convention cries out for fact-checking, with several speakers claiming that Biden favors defunding the police, that he will raise taxes on 80% of Americans, and that Trump created the greatest economy in American history. Nikki Haley told us that Trump led us back to prosperity once, so he can do it again after we conquer the virus. The virus is, of course, the elephant in the room for this Republican convention.
The odds seemed against the Republicans to pull off anything as effective as the Democrats' show. But I think they might have done it in their very different way, largely through the force of personality of the president. The Rs have no participation from either past or current party elders--no Bush or Romney, no McConnell or Graham. One pundit asked whether that was going to signal a party failure, or was it going to formalize a new, independent direction for the party, epitomized by Donald Trump, Jr.?
The most interesting strategy so far has been to highlight a softer Donald Trump, Sr. He has played the genial host to several groups, and he's good at it. The attacking has been left to others. His better half, Melania, came off as much less confrontational than her past counterpart, Michelle Obama. When her hubby speaks, will he also try to shine the light rather than paint dark pictures? That approach really hasn't worked for him before, as he has difficulty not reverting to character afterwards.
This convention cries out for fact-checking, with several speakers claiming that Biden favors defunding the police, that he will raise taxes on 80% of Americans, and that Trump created the greatest economy in American history. Nikki Haley told us that Trump led us back to prosperity once, so he can do it again after we conquer the virus. The virus is, of course, the elephant in the room for this Republican convention.