# John McCain's Speech...... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 5, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122 "2008-09-05T03:36:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/21 "2008-09-05T08:20:54Z")
Just watched the rebroadcast of it on CNN. Wow. That was pretty bad. McCain’s delivery was as wooden as ever. His smirking was odd and often at odds with his words. And the overall presentation was poor, poor, poor. You’d think the RNC would have realized that a monochromatic background only makes McCain look more boring after [his awful speech back in June the night Obama secured the Democratic nomination](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7RuX4pQPLY&feature=related). And the crowd’s response didn’t help much, either. It was tepid throughout much of it–especially whenever McCain expressed a bipartisan perspective–and most of the applause was of an automatic nature. The only sincerely enthusiastic moments seemed to be when he praised Palin and when he attacked public schools. Oh, and when they thought he was drawing to a close, and began prematurely cheering–and thus drowning out the last couple of paragraphs. I couldn’t hear much of his closing remarks except “Fight with me! Fight with me!”–which, out of context, sounded like a dare instead of an invitation. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/22 "2008-09-05T09:45:40Z")
I only watched a few minutes. That fake smile that he would throw in every now and then was really strange. Did anyone count how many times he said “my friends”? I watched a little Hardball commentary afterwards, and they were still gushing over Sarah Palin. I guess she was a big hit with the pundits. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/23 "2008-09-05T10:24:13Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > He seems far more real the ‘The One’, and because of that far more effective. ‘The One’ is a good speaker, sometimes waxing eloquent but he does not come across as real. But from the excerpts I’ve seen, it’s **McCain** who’s selling himself as “The One.” It’s all about _his_ character, _his_ integrity, _his_ service to country, and of course did you know that he suffered for five and a half years as a POW? Obama’s a hell of a speaker, and he’s drawing a lot of adulation, but to the best of my ability to tell, he hasn’t tried to make this _about him_. McCain clearly has. It’s what he’s selling. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/24 "2008-09-05T10:36:36Z")
I tried to avoid it, but flipped to it out of curiousity for a minute. Would you believe that he was talking about his POW days when I did so? What are the odds? Wonder how many Republicans think the ticket is upside-down? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/25 "2008-09-05T11:22:04Z")
My 2 cents: I thought the first part was boring as shit. Weird smiles, basic stump speech, polite applause. And the green background was awful. He did not give an inspiring performance at all - except at the end. I think when he spoke of his war time it was and is important - it’s part of who he is and it shaped his character. But we really don’t need to hear it 1000 times from now to Nov exploited to the hilt. As **davidw** said, they needed Reagan and they got Dole. Frankly, I would have liked very much to hear McCain give his GOP acceptance speech in 2000. THAT would have been a much different story. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/26 "2008-09-05T11:32:59Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > I stayed awake during the whole speech. Actually, I thought that Senator McCain delivered a fine speech. He is not a great public speaker but he comes across as real. Of course I am a bit biased, you see, for I am voting for Senator McCain and Governor Palin. > > Senator McCain spoke from the heart and I believed him. He seems far more real the ‘The One’, and because of that far more effective. ‘The One’ is a good speaker, sometimes waxing eloquent but he does not come across as real. > > ## Oh, I’m quite aware I am in the minority (on this board). > > No, I’ve never liked Kool Aid. > Nobama 08 > Sarah Barracuda for Veep. What do you mean by the real one? He even contradicted himself when he picked a Bush clone to be his VP. Remember Bush was head of a big state as Govenor as well. We are now suffering the results of his so called experience which Bush seems to think is his calling from God!!! Monavis ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/27 "2008-09-05T11:53:18Z")
I thought it was as good as could be expected. He’s not a great speaker, but he comes across as genuine. In a way, his lack of polish plays up that aspect of his personality. It worked for me on a number of levels. McCain has been someone who has worked across the aisle on substantial legislation, to his own detriment within his party. Obama’s claims along these lines ring absolutely hollow, so that is a good contrast. McCain _is_ perceived as “the Maverick,” so much so that he was NOT the darling of his party or the base, a fact that many on this board seem to have forgotten, but America will not. The Maverick label will stick, whether or not it gets him elected. He is a fiscal conservative, a stark contrast to the incumbent. I think the agent of change label worked, I think people will accept it in middle America, no matter how much it rolls eyes on this board. Some of the talking points regurgitated on this board and in this thread are not only overstated or misleading, the are irrelevancies to most voters. It hit the points it needed to–McCain is substantial, to Obama’s polished lack of experience; he has been tested in the fire; his character, a man who has taken real political risk (his position on the surge); he is a small government, fiscal conservative; he rejects the big-government bullshit of the Dems. All the points he needed to make. That’s all–I had no expectation he was going to bring down the house with his oratory skills. Obama has that contest won. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/28 "2008-09-05T11:55:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > CNN has posted [excerpts and the full transcript.](http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/04/sot.rnc.mccain.stand.fight.cnn) Of course it’ll all be on YouTube within a couple of hours. > > One quote: “Nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.” Unless it’s as community organizer of course; those we know from Guiuliani and Palin are just lame, a dichotomy which I’m hoping Obama will note (the GOP smirking at which is especially galling after he’s been called an elitist so many times). > > He frequently said “Fight with me! Fight with me!” but it didn’t appear anybody took him up on the challenge. A pity, because I’m guessing several could have whipped his butt. We community organizers working for the Obama campaign are pleased as punch that Palin and Giuliana belittled the entire profession. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/29 "2008-09-05T12:00:16Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I tried to avoid it, but flipped to it out of curiousity for a minute. Would you believe that he was talking about his POW days when I did so? What are the odds? Wonder how many Republicans think the ticket is upside-down? Bingo. That’s precisely it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/30 "2008-09-05T12:03:25Z")
So the people on the McCain/Palin shitlist are: Community organizers Teachers Russia Washington People without scars ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/31 "2008-09-05T12:06:55Z")
I drifted in and out of the room during the speech, so I missed about half of it, but this morning I have started hearing rumors that there might have been a screwup on the backdrop screen he had. Did he speak with a large building behind him at one point? I’m trying to verify that it might have been Walter Reed — Middle School. [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php) It’s too early in the morning for my brain to process this. Can they be that stupid? _Can they?_ This is a major political party here. Who is doing the tech stuff? McCain himself? ::wanders off for coffee:: ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/32 "2008-09-05T13:27:44Z")
I’m listening to it now and just had to share this. Cindy said some nice things about me tonight, but in truth, she is more my inspiration than I am hers,…the cunt. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/33 "2008-09-05T13:33:36Z")
> [@Tabithina](#): > > I drifted in and out of the room during the speech, so I missed about half of it, but this morning I have started hearing rumors that there might have been a screwup on the backdrop screen he had. Did he speak with a large building behind him at one point? I’m trying to verify that it might have been Walter Reed — Middle School. > > [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php) > > It’s too early in the morning for my brain to process this. Can they be that stupid? _Can they?_ This is a major political party here. Who is doing the tech stuff? McCain himself? > > ::wanders off for coffee:: You beat me to it! The only explanation I can think of is that they mistook Walter Reed Middle School for Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I don’t understand how. Did someone in McCain’s campaign go to middle school in North Hollywood California? At this point, I’m presuming it’s another McCain Campaign Fuckup TM ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/34 "2008-09-05T13:54:36Z")
they were showing heroic scenes of the united states of america behind him and others when they were speaking. the green was grass, a large amount of grass. a meadow scene. the blue was some sort of big sky shot. i remember a rocky coast, and a few building shots. the shot was too tight to handle it. they should have just gone with a waving flag backround. so the big blocks of colour would break up. very surprizing, 'cause they are usually very good at production. andrea mitchell getting stuck in ballons was very, very, entertaining. gol’ i miss tim russert. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/35 "2008-09-05T14:16:07Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I’m listening to it now and just had to share this. > Cindy said some nice things about me tonight, but in truth, she is more my inspiration than I am hers,…the cunt. I’ve been wondering about the whole ‘Cindy getting up and speaking thing’. Obviously, it’s different when it’s a politically involved spouse like a Dole or a Clinton, but is it typical for the candidate’s spouse to get up there and talk at a convention? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/36 "2008-09-05T14:42:40Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > Actually, I thought that Senator McCain delivered a fine speech. He is not a great public speaker but he comes across as real. I thought so as well. I think some of the woodeness that people speak of is a result of not being really able to move his arms and shoulders much due to his war injuries. You can especially see this when he tries to give a ‘thumbs up’. He can’t hardly get his arms to horizontal. As a result, his shoulders/neck/torso always seem uptight. I had fairly low expectations for his speech. This was actually the first one of his that I watched. Based on what I’ve heard, I was expecting something along the lines of GWB, but it was a competant, good speech. But then, IMHO, oratory skills are really just superficial skills for a president, so I try to look beyond the delivery. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/37 "2008-09-05T14:53:22Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > So the people on the McCain/Palin shitlist are: > > Community organizers > Teachers > Russia > Washington > People without scars Don’t forget librarians! ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/38 "2008-09-05T14:59:15Z")
I just caught a few highlights on CNN. I cannot fathom how anybody could use the words “real”, “from the heart”, or “sincere” to describe that speech. The words themselves weren’t bad, but the delivery was worse than a Junior High production of “Romeo and Juliet”. He maxed out my “insincerity meter” faster than any used car salesman ever could. In all honesty, he really creeped me out. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/39 "2008-09-05T15:13:12Z")
Wait a minute. John McCain was a POW? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/40 "2008-09-05T15:17:58Z")
I think the worst part was all the run up and the hype leading up to the Big Speech™. I don’t know about the rest of you but it was like biting tin foil, even if I was only listening with half an ear. Plus, I know this will sound bad, but, well, McCain looked really REALLY old! I mean the contrast between him and Obama (or him and Palin) is beyond striking. The only one who looks like he belongs with McCain is Biden. I didn’t catch Fox’s coverage (was watching on CNN)…wonder how they were spinning this speech? Anyone know? -XT [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122.md?page=3)