I've had some time to think about President Bush's acceptance speech last night - which has already faded in importance on one of the biggest news days of the year, sliding to a coverage slot well after Clinton, Russia, and Frances. I think it vindicates one of my earlier observations: that the despite the rhetoric, the Republican victories, and the conventional wisdom, this country grows more liberal, at least in terms of big chunks of time. In this case, as Andrew Sullivan points out, the President proposed four more years based on a potential trillion dollars in new government programs. Hey folks, Buchanan is right; this ain't a conservative regime.
But what really jumps out to me in considering Bush's speech is that he failed to close the deal. The first two days of the Republican convention were a political grand slam - liberal Republicans talking tough plays well. Day three - the descent into the Depths of Zell - brought that big momentum to a grinding halt. That left Bush, introduced by a pale, almost sheer George Pataki, to do a fairly lame community theater-in-the-round stump speech that had dozens of promises and no real verve. Frankly, he didn't seem particularly confident. And that's a huge missed opportunity. John Kerry was on the ropes and the situation had guys like me on the ledge. Sure, there will be a good-sized bounce for BC04. But Bush didn't put him away. So I don't think there will be a knockout now in the middle rounds - can Kerry win a split decision? Chervokas has a worthy game plan....
UPDATE: I also thought it was hilarious that the syrupy pre-speech video on George Bush "the man" attempted to close the deal with the fact that GWB threw from the rubber in the 2001 World Series ceremonial opening. Steven Johnson also laughed out loud. Sermon on the mound, indeed.
