Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman Speak at the RNC
There was a speaker on earlier that gave a speech via satellite to warm up the crowd for the keynote address by Fred Thompson and the night’s closing speech by Joe Lieberman. I think the guy’s name was George Bush or something, but his speech was really bad and he looked and sounded like a caged hyena, so nothing from him worth writing about.
Thompson’s role was to tell the story of John McCain, a REAL war hero, not some impostor like that pussy swift-boat riding Democrat that they dismissed with false attacks four years ago. Thompson made it clear that John McCain flew in flaming jets, got shot down, and was held prisoner in the Hanoi Hilton where he was beaten nearly to death. This heroic story was told to show how McCain has always put his country first and doesn’t take any shit from anybody, not even that dimwit that spoke before Thompson.
Things got weird for me when Thompson said almost the exact same thing about being a prisoner of war that Wesley Clark said a couple months ago: ”I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president,” and he was mercilessly beaten by the GOP.
Thompson said: “Now, being a POW certainly doesn’t qualify anyone to be President,” and nobody booed him! They accepted it as the truth.
I guess the truth is only acceptable when a Republican says it.
Thompson followed that with a statement about McCain’s character:
This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders: Strength. Courage. Humility. Wisdom. Duty. Honor.
What I want to know is how we’re supposed to reconcile those character traits with those of the man who released a campaign ad that likened Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears and declared at the end of the ad that he “approved of the message,” and told reporters the next day that he really liked that ad. Hey! Nobody’s perfect right? Even war-hero mavericks can be total dicks sometimes…
Joe Lieberman came on and delivered the speech that told me what this convention is really all about. He too talked of McCain’s great character, but he went further and talked about how John McCain doesn’t just talk about bringing people together, he has experience bringing people together to do what’s right for America. Lieberman’s point was that both guys running say they want to bridge gaps and get the parties to work together to solve the many problems our country faces, but Obama doesn’t have the experience, McCain does. So don’t waste your vote on talk, vote for the war hero that has experience. I am sure the speeches we hear in the next two days will further expand this idea.
What was really weird about Lieberman’s speech was this:
Let me contrast Barack Obama’s record to the record of the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who stood up to some of those same Democratic interest groups, worked with Republicans, and got some important things done, like welfare reform, free trade agreements, and a balanced budget.
(APPLAUSE)
That’s right. Applause. The Republicans applauded Bill Clinton’s accomplishments. I could not help but wonder how many of those that I saw clapping were on board to impeach him for lying about a blowjob.
Tomorrow we’ll hear from the gal that’s been getting all the attention for three days. I wonder if by then she will have been briefed on just what it is that a vice president does everyday.
Update: If you are looking for The Daily Show segment where Jon Stewart compares Fred Thompson to Foghorn Leghorn and Joe Lieberman to Droopy, go here.