# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/41 "2008-09-05T15:18:21Z")
Damn that was bad. Lots of creepy smiles and a disjointed speech. And what is with the USA! USA! USA! crap? Maybe I have been out of the country too long, but such uber-blind patriotism feels like the Nazis or Communists were having a rally. I sincerely hope he loses this election. The country is more screwed up now that ever before due to the actions of his party. I see him as solving everything with military power… 'cause if you haven’t been a POW, you’re not qualified for anything. I admire and respect his service in Vietnam, but that doesn’t make him a good candidate for president. I am voting for Obama (D) rather then the nightmare scenario of McCain (OMG). - OMG: Oil, Military, God ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/42 "2008-09-05T15:25:12Z")
I guess I have a different take on it. I’ve seen my share of motivational speakers over the years. Some of them are pretty good, some not. But all of them seem to catch fire when they talk about their personal stories. Palin spoke well, but it seemed to me she was reading words someone else wrote for her. She could have just as easily done a speech extolling the joys of her Bose Wave Radio or Select Comfort mattress. And I could just as easily see Mitt Romney reading the same speech. Compare that to Obama. He’s not just a great orator, but he appears to me to be expressing his own ideas and emotions. I can not imagine anyone else in the world reading an Obama speech credibly. McCain, bless his heart, is a lousy speechifier. OTOH I have no doubt that what he said came from his heart. Now I didn’t care for a lot of what he said, but I have no doubt I was listening to genuine McCain, opposed to a packaged Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/43 "2008-09-05T15:29:26Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I think the worst part was all the run up and the hype leading up to the Big Speech™. After the darkened hall with the voice over leading up to the speech, I was damn near expecting a laser-light show. The wide view of a tiny McCain walking out alone onto a huge stage was a bit underwhelming. I don’t blame McCain for that but the whole productions value of the event seemed rushed and amatuerish with little thought put to a lot of things (such as McCain appearing to be before a green screen or blue screen for much of the speech due to the tight shots). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/44 "2008-09-05T15:34:29Z")
I can sum up McCain’s speech with one letter… Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/45 "2008-09-05T15:47:55Z")
Is being shot down in an airplane and being taken prisoner half a century ago a well that never runs dry? Hell if they would have told me I could go home, I would have decided I could help my fellow prisoners more at home. It was a stupid decision. He is running a campaign that is run by lobbyists. I wonder if they resent him berating the very people who run his campaign ? Perhaps they are practical and see great profits and power if he wins. He is not a reformer. He just says he is. Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. Just think what happens to oil and the economy if they do. Think the economy is running down the toilet now. Plugging the Hormuz straight. Cutting the oil supply . That would be just peachy. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/46 "2008-09-05T19:11:02Z")
The crowd shots even showed people in the audience sitting there stone faced during the speech and at one point had a delegate in the background yawning. If the people at the convention are not getting inspired by him, he has no chance. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/47 "2008-09-05T19:35:59Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > 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. Or did someone see it on the West Wing and decide it was a good idea? [blog discussion](http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/mccains_speech_backdrop_was_us.php) [direct link to video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faTovfkLayI&eurl=http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/mccains_speech_backdrop_was_us.php) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/48 "2008-09-06T00:13:51Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > But then, IMHO, oratory skills are really just superficial skills for a president, so I try to look beyond the delivery. Except when the president is Ronald Reagan, and then he becomes the Great Communicator. There you go again. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/49 "2008-09-06T00:29:38Z")
[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aq2VGWWcGVpc&refer=home](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aq2VGWWcGVpc&refer=home) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/50 "2008-09-06T00:50:35Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aq2VGWWcGVpc&refer=home](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aq2VGWWcGVpc&refer=home) Neilsen people, maybe. But overall? Not a chance. Add in the people who watched Obama on PBS, on streaming video, etc. (stuff about which the Republicans haven’t a clue) and I’ll bet Obama wins handily. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/51 "2008-09-06T01:25:18Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aq2VGWWcGVpc&refer=home](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aq2VGWWcGVpc&refer=home) So, if Obama is “The One”, does that make McCain “The Leftover”? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/52 "2008-09-06T01:36:25Z")
I don’t think he made up any words during his speech. That puts him one step ahead of W. Go John! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/53 "2008-09-06T02:40:32Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > \*\*Teh ‘One’ is so pwned \*\* I’ll bet there were more Democrats watching McCain’s speech than Republicans watching Obama’s. That hardly translates into pwnage. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/54 "2008-09-06T05:54:30Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > So, if Obama is “The One”, does that make McCain “The Leftover”? > > -Joe On the other hand, if ‘Teh One’ loses, does it make him ‘Teh None’? ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/55 "2008-09-06T06:46:55Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > 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. **Far more real when it comes to integrity, honor or personality?** 1. **Integrity** … he cheated on his ex-wife, and insults and abuses his current wife in public. He was party to quite a bit of flim/flam as a sitting Senator that defrauded many in the Savings and Loans debacle. 2. **Honor** … By his own addmission, he muddled through the military ranks at the bottom of his class because it was not a cause important enough for him then, and if he was not the son of a high ranking officer in the military, he would have been dishonourably dismissed. 3. **Personality** … Feels quite entitled, abrasive and disrespectful of fellow members of congress and citizens alike. **There is no doubt that a man with John McCain’s past and record, should not hold the office of POTUS.** **CHANGE** is a word recently discovered by John McCain, because it is politically neccessary at this time. He has always been an opportunist. I’ll ask you one question though… if Obama had the record of John McCain as an African-American male, do you suppose he would be a free man(_not in prison_), the nominee of his party and asking America to give him 4 years to try to fix a mess he has had a 25 year hand in making? I’ll clue you in on a thought that has occured to me should John McSame go on to win this election. I believe he will regret the day he chose Sarah Palin for veep. I’m betting that she pulls a mutiny from within his administration and tosses his 72 year old wrinkled up behind out of the White House before his first term is over. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/56 "2008-09-06T07:09:28Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > Senator McCain spoke from the heart and I believed him. > > (snip) > > * * * > > No, I’ve never liked Kool Aid. > Nobama 08 > Sarah Barracuda for Veep. Which part of his speech did you believe? He made it a point to say several times in several different ways that he was not going to resort to the partisan smearjob attacks that have come to characterize elections now-a-days. He said this the day after his own speechwriters wrote just such a partisan smearjob attack speech for your Sarah Barracuda. He gave his speech after Huckabee and particularly Romney and Giuliani gave even more partisan smearjob attack speeches. Not to sound like an Obama soundbyte, but which is it - is McCain different in the way he conducts himself and his campaign or is he full of it? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/57 "2008-09-06T08:34:42Z")
> [@](#): > > **Merijeek** : is it typical for the candidate’s spouse to get up there and talk at a convention? I don’t remember when that started, but these conventions aren’t the first. Kerry’s wife spoke at the Democratic Convention in 2004 just as Gore’s wife did in 2000. I feel sure that Laura Bush addressed the RNCs in those years. I don’t remember if Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush did so. I didn’t see Cindy McCain’s speech. Was it mostly an introduction? How did she do? > [@](#): > > **rocking chair** : gol’ i miss tim russert. Aye. I would would give away my Irish penny to see Tim Russert interview Sarah Palin. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/58 "2008-09-06T11:50:36Z")
> [@PhiloVance](#): > > Teh ‘One’ is so pwned I hate to say this, but you’re talking about your own guy. I just finished reading through the [transcript of McCain’s speech](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94302894). It’s wall-to-wall “believe in me, and I’ll solve your problems.” An excerpt: > [@John McCain](#): > > These are tough times for many of you. You’re worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that’s just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future. > > And I’ve found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. She has executive experience and a real record of accomplishment. She’s tackled tough problems like energy independence and corruption. She’s balanced a budget, cut taxes and taken on the special interests. She’s reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and independents to serve in her administration. She’s the mother of five children. She’s helped run a small business, worked with her hands and knows what it’s like to worry about mortgage payments and health care and the cost of gasoline and groceries. > > She knows where she comes from and she knows who she works for. She stands up for what’s right, and she doesn’t let anyone tell her to sit down. I’m very proud to have introduced our next vice president to the country. But I can’t wait until I introduce her to Washington. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: Change is coming. > > I’m not in the habit of breaking promises to my country and neither is Gov. Palin. And when we tell you we’re going to change Washington, and stop leaving our country’s problems for some unluckier generation to fix, you can count on it. We’ve got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience, judgment and backbone to keep our word to you. > > You know, I’ve been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it’s meant as a compliment and sometimes it’s not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you. > > I’ve fought corruption, and it didn’t matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust and had to be held accountable. I’ve fought big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, while you struggle to buy groceries, fill your gas tank and make your mortgage payment. I’ve fought to get million-dollar checks out of our elections. I’ve fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes. I fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses. He says these are rough economic times for many Americans, but what’s his solution? “Here’s biographic notes on Gov. Palin and me. You can trust us to help you.” After a couple of paragraphs about Iraq, he resumes: > [@John Mccain](#): > > I don’t mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I’ve had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test. > > I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market. Bill got a temporary job after he was out of work for seven months. Sue works three jobs to help pay the bills. > > I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Jake works on a loading dock, coaches Little League, and raises money for the mentally and physically disabled. Toni is a schoolteacher, working toward her master’s degree. They have two sons; the youngest, Luke, has been diagnosed with autism. Their lives should matter to the people they elect to office. They matter to me. > > I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, who died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to remains safe from its enemies. > > I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Sen. Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles. > > We’re going to change that. We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics. > > We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendants arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We’re all God’s children and we’re all Americans. > > We believe in low taxes, spending discipline and open markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk takers and letting people keep the fruits of their labor. > > We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don’t legislate from the bench. We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods and communities. > > We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity and initiative of Americans. Government that doesn’t make your choices for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for yourself. > > I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it. > > My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor. Shorter McCain: “I’m on your side, but if you want specifics about how I’m going to try to help you, forget it.” To be fair, he finally, in the next paragraph after that quote, gives one concrete proposal: doubling the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000. McCain’s running as Teh One. That’s all he’s got. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/59 "2008-09-06T13:45:40Z")
I didn’t watch the speech, but I’ve seen some excerpts. It looks to me as if it were the picture the dictionary shows when you look up the term “empty rhetoric.” All he was talking about was “Fight, fight, fight!” As far as I can tell, he never said a word about what he was planning to fight for or how. He spoke of a persona that he chose to kill about four years ago, when he apparently decided his future in the Republican party was more important than his maverick image (or that his maverick image could survive the facts). He spoke of an act of heroism that took place forty years ago. He spoke repeatedly of Change without mentioning a single thing that his administration would do differently from the current administration. What’s not to like? ---
**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 6, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122/60 "2008-09-06T14:08:15Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > I didn’t watch the speech, but I’ve seen some excerpts. It looks to me as if it were the picture the dictionary shows when you look up the term “empty rhetoric.” All he was talking about was “Fight, fight, fight!” As far as I can tell, he never said a word about what he was planning to fight for or how. I liked [the quote](http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=135272) I heard from him on Friday, when he was appearing on “McCain Street USA” with Palin. > [@](#): > > “We’re going to go across the small towns of America and we’re going to give them hope, we’re going to give them confidence, and we will bring about change in Washington, D.C.,” McCain said to cheers. I’ve got a great big bag of hope for you! This has to be about the worst pivot I’ve ever seen in a campaign. To go from mocking the rhetoric of “change” as empty to spouting it more often and with extreme irony, along with things like “we’re going to give them hope”, is transparent and pathetic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122.md?page=4)