so, um, still no response on the dean (non-) speech? hmm.

There’s have been quite a few things about the convention that I haven’t commented on. Dean’s speech (like 90% of what I’ve seen) was pretty weak.

why are you saying its unjustly being criticised for its overscripting?

Because it’s a show and everyone knows it. Of course it’s scripted. Considering they get four days every four years to do this thing, they’d be fools not to plan it out meticulously. Would you rather the convention be like the old days when the power to pick the candidate lied not in the hands of voters, but in the hands of party bosses? Sure, it would be less scripted, but at the expense of being less democratic as well.

thats just a weak way of saying its a sham. there is varying degrees of dissent on a variety of issues all over that floor that are being suppressed.

Those issues were discussed at length throughout the primary season. The whole point of a convention is for the Democrats to come up with a unified, coherent message. Since Kucinich lost, he has two options : 1) rock the boat and piss off his party by bringing up arguments that he’s already lost or 2) toe the party line and help get his supporters enthusiatic about the nominee. Kucinich may be to the far left of most of his party, but he’s smart enough to know when to project party unity. He’ll have plenty of time to fight again after John Kerry gets elected.

The Party is not preventing dissenting voices from being heard, rather it has carefully and quite deliberately chosen to put forth a unified front, hence preventing the Sludge Machine from the Repugs from being effective this week. Once the lineup of speakers was leaked to the media, the hatemongers started foaming at the mouth. They expected to be able to go after Teddy, Dean, Gore and Clinton for ‘Bush-bashing’. However, they have had no ammunition to attack with since the bashing has been limited. The big stories they leaked this week: 1. Bunny-suit Kerry (woop-a-dee-doo - As Greg has shown, not like there isn’t a plethora of great pics of Fearless Leader). 2. Teresa saying “shove it!” (I guess that a woman telling a reporter off without profanity is taboo, but that really puts the whole “Fuck-off” line from Cheney into perspective, difference being of course that Mrs. Kerry is not an elected official, and telling a reporter to shove it is not akin to dishonorable conduct on the Senate Floor; regardless of whether or not it is in session. 3. Kerry’s War footage/’reenactments’….This has already been proven as false and misleading (and perpetuated endlessly by SLUDGEREPORT and FAUXNEWS). Unlike Bush who allegedly falsified his service records and apparently DID go AWOL according research done and linked to another blogger site.

So as you can see for yourself, the Bushies are out of ammo and are shooting blanks. His approval rating is in freefall (no gains since basically right after 9/11, only steady decline). The IRS said today that incomes for most people are down (not CEO’s though - up 15%). Iraq is still a dead zone. Iran and North Korea are building nukes (real WMD’s). And though we are ’safer now than before 9/11′, the administration says there is a 75-90% chance that al Quada will strike us before November. Fear only works for so long, as Greg has pointed out in the past. If you don’t believe me about the blanks, check out O’Wrongly’s interview with Michael Moore and the piece that got She-Devil Ann Coulter booted from USAToday. (do a Google search).

Accentuating the positive is a great way to lure the swing voters and ‘undecideds’ to our side….now the President (the incumbant), the man with one of the highest approval ratings ever in 9/01 must be on the defensive (which he is not good at), and he must be that way up through the debates (which you know he can’t win as long as Kerry plays it smart and doesn’t pull a Gore). Now Kerry can run the positive campaign he wants to and he can leave the mudslinging to the Republicans…..they will come off looking like dirt and they will lose the Election. Hope is not only on the way, it is here!

why are you saying its unjustly being criticised for its overscripting? unless the same criticisms are hurled at what will surely be a scripted republican convention, there is nothing unjust about it. with the exception of rev al, this has been predictable right down to the songs in between speakers.

what is unfair is that its being called overly scripted, but thats just a weak way of saying its a sham. there is varying degrees of dissent on a variety of issues all over that floor that are being suppressed. they shouldnt say the speaches are “scripted” they should say “steilized.” like deans weak garbage. or kucinich’s. even the republicans in 2000 let colin speak, knowing hed say something about affirmative action.