I just saw a blurb on the T.V. mentioning the convention now underway in Phili. This is nothing more than an autoshow version of polished politicians reading prepared speeches to a seemingly dim bunch of delegates.
All I can ask is: Why?
And mention the fact that these delegates and politicos are getting royal treatment from every major company with a bill pending in congress and I’ll really get going. I mean, private jets flying politico’s to and from lavish dinners and lavish digs and I think we have a major debate going on here!
(This is a not a rant so much as an opening for a debate. I think)
I actually remember when these were “nominating” conventions. There were always the front-runners, of course, but I recall seeing some intereting manuvering back in the old days of black & white TV coverage.
Many states would nominate their favorite son, then shift their votes to the final party choice.
This year it’s even more of a political infomercia than in the past few elections. What a shame.
It has been a loooooooong time since the conventions happened with the conclusion in doubt. Blame the move from caucuses to primaries.
But it has gotten really bad. George Bush is the only official nomination at the convention. They didn’t even go through the motions in nominating McCain or any of the people that one just a few delegates. I know that all of those candidates have endorsed Bush and released their delegates, but it would still be nice to have one final dog an pony show.
But if they allowed Keyes and McCain and Forbes to officially be nominated then they would have to let them speak at the convention, and that ain’t gonna happen.
Of course it won’t be any different for the Dems. And the only reason third party conventions are more exciting (to the participants, not viewers) is that they can’t afford to figure out everything ahead of time.
OB: Right. I didn’t mean to show a preference. Both the Republicans and Democrats seem equally as bad. The Republican convention only happens to be starting now.
This well produced, slick, informercial borders on the embarrassing. But watching the Democrats get on board will be equally as painfull as well.
What I want to see is Dan Rather get shoved around some. Too bad I wasn’t around then to remeber it. Instead, I I get is an MTV version.
Yes. The conventions are a relic of an earlier era. About the only way they could mean anything now is if the primaries failed to give a candidate a clear majority. Unlikely, given the way primaries are now conducted. And in that rare instance, a party could probably settle things through an online process these days.
When was the last time there was an undecided choice coming into the convention? Or, better yet, a brokered convention?
Of course, if you look at your history, the famous “smoke filled room” decision at a seriously deadlocked convention was Warren G. Harding. What a wonderful choice THAT was …
Dave Barry, my hero and a man who happens to also be a candidate (how about that for a SDMB thread?) says that the choice between Gore or Bush is essentially the same as the choice between ointment or suppository. I don’t want to start thinking too seriously about this. It’s the worst set of choices that I can remember, by far. Bush - the pinhead, conservative, rich, not very smart, playboy son of an ex pres - vs. Gore, a man who seems to have not one clearly reasoned position of his own - aside from the fact that he thinks it’s a bad thing to pollute the environment. Duh. He’s not wooden - he’s plastic. He states statements. He doesn’t think. Ah, don’t get me going.
Instead, IIRC, we have a couple states decide who’s going to be the nominee. The other contenders drop out long before the majority of us can understand their positions and vote accordingly.
This one does serve a purpose… it goes to show that the allegedly liberal media actually foist off the pap from one group of twits as easily as the other, with little critical thinking involved - just which thesaurus to use and re-phrase the press handouts to avoid any obvious plagiarism.
I checked it out for a minute. But when the camera panned to a bunch of balding, overweight forty-something delegates boogying down to music after the speeches, I had to turn it off. And I do mean “boogying” because they clearly haven’t learned a new dance move since Saturday Night Fever.
It was sooooo embarrassing.
I generally vote Republican, but I can’t stand people who are partyites. You know the type: If it’s a Republican-created idea, it’s automatically good and holy; If it’s a Democratic-created idea, it sucks. Ted Kennedy can do no wrong because, well because he’s a KENNEDY.
If Bush would have nominated Lizzy Dole to be veep, he’d have had my vote. Now I’m in a quandry. I can’t stand either guy because they lack character.