I enjoy politics, I really do.
But these past two weeks of back-to-back political party conventions have taken their toll. I hope they never run back-to-back again. My blood pressure runs too high listening to the pundits and politicians spew their spin, half-truths and lies. And, for the record, I dont think either major political party has a monopoly in that area. It occurred during both the Democratic and Republican conventions.
Because my alarm goes off daily at 3-something in the morning, I havent been getting much sleep the past two weeks. Ive stayed up every night to watch the speeches and reactions. I can't help myself. Most of the time, its been approaching 11 p.m. before Ive tried to nod off.
I figure its practice for the Cubs being in the World Series next month.
You can stop laughing now.
Anyway, I thought Id share some of my random thoughts from the conventions. Feel free to share yours.
Keith Olbermann is a coward, and Im disappointed in him. I really enjoy watching his Countdown show on MSNBC. But he dropped a few spots on my list by not going to St. Paul for the Republican convention after being in Denver for the Democrats the previous week. Weak.
My favorite commentator is MSNBCs Chris Matthews. His exchanges with Pat Buchanan are something to behold. I also enjoy listening to David Gergen on CNN, who is about as fair and as intelligent as they come.
I could do without ever hearing the phrase red meat again. Almost makes me not want to eat steak ever again. Almost.
Ill be interested to see how many television viewers tuned in to watch John McCains acceptance speech last night. I didnt find it particularly interesting, inspiring or effective. Certainly not as effective as Sarah Palins speech was the night before. In the ratings sweepstakes (based on preliminary Nielsen numbers, not the numbers including Web streams and other media that are much more difficult to track) so far, its:
1. Barack Obama: 38 million viewers
2. Sarah Palin: 37 million
3. Hillary Clinton: 26 million
4. Joe Biden and Bill Clinton: 24 million
5. Michelle Obama: 22.3 million
6. President Bush and Joe Lieberman: 21.5 million.
Id be surprised if 38 million people watched McCains speech Thursday night, but you never know. Does it matter? Probably not. But in 2004, for comparison, 27.5 million people watched George W. Bushs acceptance speech and 24.4 million watched John Kerrys. We know who won. Well see.
I think Republicans better get Sarah Palin out before reporters to answer some questions sooner rather than later. If they dont, people will wonder even more whether shes able to handle that kind of scrutiny and pressure.
Im pretty fed up with hearing the Republicans complain about coverage of Sarah Palin from the major media. Their beef should be with the bloggers and e-mailers on the Internet. From what I have seen, the reporters at the major networks and cable news outlets have not been unfair or inappropriate. Palin is running for vice president of the United States. It is the medias responsibility and the public relies on it to ask questions about her qualifications and investigate rumors. It is not unfair to Palin.
I agree that the questions of whether Palin could juggle motherhood and the vice presidents job are ridiculous and, yes, sexist. Frankly, thats none of business and its irrelevant to the post she is seeking.
I was amazed at how many Republicans who were endorsing Palin this week had never met her.
And I think Joe Biden has his work cut out for him in the vice presidential debate against her.
Those are some of my entirely random thoughts swirling in my head in this post-convention haze. What were your impressions from the two conventions and the campaign ahead?
But these past two weeks of back-to-back political party conventions have taken their toll. I hope they never run back-to-back again. My blood pressure runs too high listening to the pundits and politicians spew their spin, half-truths and lies. And, for the record, I dont think either major political party has a monopoly in that area. It occurred during both the Democratic and Republican conventions.
Because my alarm goes off daily at 3-something in the morning, I havent been getting much sleep the past two weeks. Ive stayed up every night to watch the speeches and reactions. I can't help myself. Most of the time, its been approaching 11 p.m. before Ive tried to nod off.
I figure its practice for the Cubs being in the World Series next month.
You can stop laughing now.
Anyway, I thought Id share some of my random thoughts from the conventions. Feel free to share yours.
Keith Olbermann is a coward, and Im disappointed in him. I really enjoy watching his Countdown show on MSNBC. But he dropped a few spots on my list by not going to St. Paul for the Republican convention after being in Denver for the Democrats the previous week. Weak.
My favorite commentator is MSNBCs Chris Matthews. His exchanges with Pat Buchanan are something to behold. I also enjoy listening to David Gergen on CNN, who is about as fair and as intelligent as they come.
I could do without ever hearing the phrase red meat again. Almost makes me not want to eat steak ever again. Almost.
Ill be interested to see how many television viewers tuned in to watch John McCains acceptance speech last night. I didnt find it particularly interesting, inspiring or effective. Certainly not as effective as Sarah Palins speech was the night before. In the ratings sweepstakes (based on preliminary Nielsen numbers, not the numbers including Web streams and other media that are much more difficult to track) so far, its:
1. Barack Obama: 38 million viewers
2. Sarah Palin: 37 million
3. Hillary Clinton: 26 million
4. Joe Biden and Bill Clinton: 24 million
5. Michelle Obama: 22.3 million
6. President Bush and Joe Lieberman: 21.5 million.
Id be surprised if 38 million people watched McCains speech Thursday night, but you never know. Does it matter? Probably not. But in 2004, for comparison, 27.5 million people watched George W. Bushs acceptance speech and 24.4 million watched John Kerrys. We know who won. Well see.
I think Republicans better get Sarah Palin out before reporters to answer some questions sooner rather than later. If they dont, people will wonder even more whether shes able to handle that kind of scrutiny and pressure.
Im pretty fed up with hearing the Republicans complain about coverage of Sarah Palin from the major media. Their beef should be with the bloggers and e-mailers on the Internet. From what I have seen, the reporters at the major networks and cable news outlets have not been unfair or inappropriate. Palin is running for vice president of the United States. It is the medias responsibility and the public relies on it to ask questions about her qualifications and investigate rumors. It is not unfair to Palin.
I agree that the questions of whether Palin could juggle motherhood and the vice presidents job are ridiculous and, yes, sexist. Frankly, thats none of business and its irrelevant to the post she is seeking.
I was amazed at how many Republicans who were endorsing Palin this week had never met her.
And I think Joe Biden has his work cut out for him in the vice presidential debate against her.
Those are some of my entirely random thoughts swirling in my head in this post-convention haze. What were your impressions from the two conventions and the campaign ahead?
