Terry Cowgill

Courant Events

Thanks to commenter Carolyn McDonough for reminding me of something I had meant to write about but had neglected amid all the chaos of the conventions. If you read the Sunday Hartford Courant, take a look at the next-to-last page of today’s Commentary section. On that page, the Courant reprints excerpts from Connecticut-based blogs.

For the second time this month, this blog has been featured. This week’s snippet is from a post I did last week on Hillary’s speech and Obama’s liabilities coming out of the Democratic National Convention. A couple of weeks ago they excerpted a rather indignant post I did in reaction to an LAT piece on the skyrocketing cost of college textbooks.

I’m grateful to The Courant for including me (sorry, Denis) and you’re right, Carolyn, it’s nice to see a voice from the NWC up there. I wonder how What’s Going On Here? will play in Jewett City …

Will It Play In Peoria?

I know this ad (or something like it) would have limited effectiveness in a place like the Northwest Corner, but will it play in Ohio, Virginia or Florida — swing states with lots of families with ties to the military? I think so. What about you?

The Moose Hunter

Update 3 p.m. Friday 08.30.08: Palin’s workout regimen and diet are impressive. Evidently, she’s not into catch-and-release.

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My first reax yesterday when I heard McCain had selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was “What on earth was he thinking?” Now that the dust has settled and a mug of java has cleared my head this morning, I still think he loses more than he gains by this pick, but it’s not as bad as I thought.

From what I know of Palin, I like her a lot. She hunts moose, for one. She’s also a scrappy reformer who took on the corrupt Alaska Republican Party machine — a gravy train loaded with crooked pols like Ted Stevens and shameless pork like the $400 million Bridge to Nowhere. Would Obama challenge his own party’s establishment with such aggressiveness? I don’t think so.

Running on a clean government campaign, Palin challenged an incumbent Republican governor in a primary, slammed him and then went on the beat a Democrat, an ex-governor himself who outspent her, by 7.5 points. She’s pissed off a lot of important people off but still has great approval ratings. Those are genuine (if recent) accomplishments.

Trivia question: Whom did Barack Obama defeat for that Senate seat in 2004? Alan Keyes! Keyes is a brilliant guy, but he’s a certifiable nut-job and in that election he was a brazen carpetbagger who moved to Illinois only after the original GOP candidate pulled out in the wake of a sex scandal. Heck, I could have moved back to my old Chicago neighborhood, enrolled as a Democrat and trounced Keyes myself.

Continue reading The Moose Hunter…

Quite A Spectacle …

Breaking News: Noon  Friday 08/29/08: OMG, McCain is choosing Palin, who has been governor of Alaska for a year and a half. And before that, mayor of someplace called Wasilla. What is he thinking?

Update 8 a.m. Friday 08/29/08: Looks like Pawlenty is out and Romney is it? But there is lots of buzz centering on Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

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That’s what Obama’s speech was. But I hate to throw a little water on the gushing forth coming from the commentators this morning.

Make no mistake, amid the pageantry and fireworks surrounding Obama’s speech, it really was old fashioned political oratory delivered by a man who promises “a new kind of politics.” And I think that was precisely what was needed — a little meat spiced by some direct challenges to his opponent.

Some of it, however, seemed a little cheesed out (”This campaign isn’t about me; it’s about you!”). Please! No other Dem could possibly do what Obama did last night. So it really is about him. The DNC even built a temple for him.

I was moved by the sheer size of a crowd who had come to Invesco Field to hang on the every word of one politician. And the Dems have a huge advantage in this regard. The only way the GOP could get 75,000 people to show up for a McCain speech would be if they bribed them all with country club memberships. How will the Republicans respond?

The interesting thing will be to see what kind of bounce Obama gets out of this convention and whether McCain can steal some of his thunder with his veep announcement today. At this writing, it looks like either Pawlenty or Romney. I’d go with Romney since Pawlenty doesn’t really look ready for prime time. But that would make 11 houses between the prez and veep nominees. Not good?

That speech was a remarkable event in just about every way. But such events do not necessarily translate into victory. Most people (including Obama supporters) still do not know much about him. That still leaves a big opening for the Republicans to define Obama for the American people. Prepare for the storm, Sen. Obama. Hurricane Gustav is coming.

Bill’s Prologue, See You at the ‘Barackopolis’

Before I get to Bill, what is going on at Obama-leaning MSNBC? So many on-air spats. I think all those towering opinionated egos at the cable network are about to explode.

There are advantages to having blandies like Wolf Blitzer and David Gergen guide your coverage. At least they don’t fight like caged animals. It’ll be interesting to see how MSNBC handles the GOP convention next week with fire-breathing liberals like Keith Olberman anchoring.

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The Obama people are really concerned about the Ayers story. They’re writing nasty emails and calling for investigations of people who raise the issue. Keep your eye on this. I don’t think Obama can explain away his association with an unrepentant terrorist whose group tried to blow up the U.S. Capitol.

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I thought Bill did an excellent job last night at going after the Republicans. He made the best case against the Bush administration of any Democrat I’ve seen recently. He was less successful, however, at selling Obama. I think Clinton had to force himself to even say the words “Barack Obama is ready to be president.” But he did and he tried his darndest to sound like he meant it.

Aside: Ann Althouse imagined what Bill was thinking right after his speech: “And that’s how it’s done, you losers. Screw you for rejecting Hillary. Enjoy your doom, f*&$ers.” LOL …

That having been said, I am struck by the relative absence of attacks on the Republican record — not just from Bill but from all the speakers. How often have you heard the following words: Katrina, torture, Guantanamo, judges, the poor? I know the Obama people don’t want to sound too negative but this is ridiculous.

And I’ve barely heard anyone touting the fact that their party is nominating someone who could be the first African American president. Why the silence? What are they afraid of?

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Word on the street is Obama will focus on the economy tonight in an effort to connect with ordinary people. I can’t get over the fact that the DNC has set up a stage at Invesco Field with a Potemkin Village set resembling an amalgam of different important-looking architectural styles. The McCain campaign calls it Obama’s Temple. Tune in. It’ll be historic.

Where Are The Thugs?

Reading Terrence McCarthy’s Web Town Observer the other day, I found myself in agreement with his wistful words about conventions past. We have plenty of pundits in the booths but where are the reporters on the floor? Perhaps there are very few because there’s little real news to be reported down there.

I’ll take Terrence’s longing for conventions past a little further. Roaming reporters in some cases created their own news. Remember veteran NBC newsman John Chancellor at the 1964 Republican National Convention at the Cow Palace in San Francisco?

Chancellor refused to give up his spot on the floor to some Goldwater supporters and was arrested. As he was being hauled away, he famously shouted, “I’ve been promised bail, ladies and gentlemen, by my office. This is John Chancellor, somewhere in custody.”

My favorite was the spectacle of Dan Rather being punched and manhandled on the floor of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I was living only a few miles away at the time, not far from the riots. I love Walter Cronkite’s blunt observation: “I think we’ve got a bunch of thugs here, Dan.”

Hillary - No PDA

Tomorrow I promise I’ll take a break from blogging about the hideous convention, but meanwhile … If you missed Hillary’s speech last night, click on the frame above. Given her agenda, I thought she did a terrific job.

As has become evident by now, Hillary wanted to be president in the worst way and, along with her ex-president husband, resented the young interloper who derailed her coronation. But when the numbers did not add up she eventually became a realist and gave up on 2008.

I think she and Bill sincerely believe (as do I) that Obama will ultimately be a tough sell to the American people. Off the podium and off the teleprompter he has a difficult time connecting with most people. And I think it has far less to do with his race than it does with his unusual background.

Born in Hawaii, educated in Indonesia and in the U.S. Ivies, Obama has spent the last 20 years immersed in the bizarre stew of politics, academia and extreme patronage of Chicago’s South Side. Compared to Toledo or even Northwest Connecticut, it is a very liberal environment (I lived there from 1968-69) and is full of brilliant people but also has more than its share of nut-job extremists (Rev. Wright, Father Pfleger, Bill Ayers).

In a word, Hyde Park is not really like most of the rest of America, not even like the neighborhoods of some our other large cities. And if you live in a place long enough, you start to resemble your environment. The Clintons are nothing if not stupid smart. They recognize it could pose a huge problem for Obama in a year when a Dem should win the general election in a landslide. And yet Obama is virtually dead even with the pro-war McCain in the polls.

Hillary’s task last night was to give Obama enough of a full-throated endorsement that no one could accuse her of giving a wink and nod to her supporters to jump ship and go with McCain or stay home on Nov. 4. Her words needed to be supportive while leaving the door open for 2012 if Obama loses. I think she succeeded in a big way. To paraphrase Pat Buchanan today on Morning Joe, “She endorsed him but did not embrace him.”

Still the One

A few thoughts on the first night of the Democratic National Convention:

I didn’t catch all the coverage but the lead-off speech of the night was courtesy of Nancy Pelosi. For a “speaker” of the House, she is a pretty poor speaker.

Then the convention welcomed Jimmy Carter. I don’t know if he wound up speaking or not but he and Rosalyn walked around the dais greeting everyone in sight. I guess the convention organizers were trying to show some respect for the elder statesman, but is this really what the DNC wants to do? Remind us the Carter years? By almost any objective measure, he was a lousy president. Worse, perhaps, than GWB.

Then what was surely the high point of the night: Teddy Kennedy roused himself from his chemo-induced lethargy and delivered what I thought was a courageous speech that touched on several of his pet issues, most notably health care. Teddy was a relatively early supporter of Obama and he is one of the lions of the Senate.

But after the speech, as Teddy was ambling around trying to shake everyone’s hand, why did they have to play that cheesed out version of Orleans’ “Still The One?” The original would have been especially appropriate since it was sung by Orleans founding member John Hall, who was elected to the House of Representatives in the Democratic midterm sweep of 2006. Hall, BTW, lives in Dover Plains.

I faded before Michelle Obama’s speech but saw excerpts this morning. The Obama campaign’s handlers had obviously gotten to her. I’ve blogged about some of her speeches before. She typically paints a very depressing picture of an America where no one knows anyone else, no one can find a decent paying job and everyone (except for Republicans) wants to slit their wrists. Only a government led by her husband can save our souls, yadayada.

The short of it is I actually prefer the unplugged version of Michelle. It’s kind of fun to see what depths of darkness she will find in America whenever she opens her mouth. Last night’s was a safe but boring speech. Cute, though, at the end when she trotted out her two little girls to talk to daddy on the big-screen monitor.

Tomorrow night it’s Bill Clinton. Will he give a full-throated endorsement of Obama? Don’t bet on it. I’m sure there will be some qualifiers. He and Hill just can’t get over it …

A High IQ?

Now I’m not so sure, Jake. Here’s another gem from Smokin’ Joe. He’s basically making up stuff about his life as he attacks the questioner. I’m sure the Repubs hope he will do more of the same in the next several weeks.

H/T to Althouse.

Ready Set …

I guess the McCain campaign was ready. I know candidates say things during the heat of the campaign that they later say they really didn’t mean. And I’m sure that will be Biden’s response when he’s asked about his comment that Obama isn’t ready to be president.

Or he will say he’s changed his mind about both Obama and McCain. Still, it’s a pretty effective ad, no? The grey eminence was chosen for his wisdom and he thinks his running mate isn’t ready.