The family Labor Day
cookout was on Sunday, so I was able to spend some quiet time on
Labor Day watching the national debt clock heading for $16 trillion.
The Republicans were displaying it during their convention, and now
I can follow it on my computer at usdebtclock.org. It’s like
monitoring your car odometer to see it hit 100,000 miles, except
it’s moving really fast. Hypnotic: glad I’m not driving.
The theme of the first
night of the Republican Convention was “We Built It,” combining
defiance of President Obama and Elizabeth Warren’s declarations that
“you didn’t build it” to hard-working American entrepreneurs, and
tribute to those small businessmen/women who did.
Republican governors,
whose states are leading the way to government overhaul, introduced
businessmen and women who started with nothing, took risks, worked
very hard, built their businesses and created jobs. New Jersey’s
Chris Christie, who has worked successfully with Democrats on budget
control, confidently led into Wednesday’s theme, “We can Change it”
-- referring to the status quo that I think most of us recognize
isn’t working.
My two favorite
speakers that second night: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky spoke for
the libertarian element of the party, reminding us that “we must
never trade our liberty for any fleeting promise of security,” and
“you, the individual, are the engine of America’s greatness.” Gov.
Susana Martinez of New Mexico, my first choice for vice president,
introduced Paul Ryan. Her best line referred to President Obama and
the $5 trillion he’s added to the debt: “If he can take credit for
building small business, he can take responsibility for building
THAT.”
Ryan was criticized for
not talking about his and Romney’s specific plan for change during
his speech; but as House Budget Committee chairman, he has the only
plan on the table – the Democrats haven’t passed a budget in three
years. His role at the convention was to be the traditional VP pit
bull, laying out the economic failures of the Obama administration;
you can find the worst on the debt clock site, which notes the
official 12½ million, actual 23 million unemployed Americans.
Though the lovely Ann
Romney had spoken about her husband the second night, the third
night featured heart-warming tributes from other people who know
him, have worked with him, and -- perhaps a surprise to many who
just tuned in -- were helped by him.
My partner Chip Ford
and I disagreed about Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech. He thought it
was terrific, I was disappointed. I’d already heard the personal
story he told and was hoping to hear his outline for dealing with
the America we saw starting to unravel in 2008.
Chip reminded me that
the candidate wasn’t talking to me, who knew him as governor and had
always liked him; Mitt was talking to undecided voters who had been
told that he was cold, mean, and anti-women. He had to address those
accusations and he did, with mention of the women in his cabinet as
governor and major speaking roles at the convention from strong,
successful women.
I know Chip is right;
but I think it’s a shame. The character attacks began here in
Massachusetts, with a corps of Republicans who had disliked him from
the beginning, why I don’t really know. There was resentment
concerning his choice of lieutenant governor, though I thought Kerry
Healey was perfect for the job, should have been elected governor in
2006, and is one of Romney’s best spokespersons for this
presidential campaign.
I understand the
opposition within the Republican Party to “RomneyCare,” but his
in-party opponents kept up their personal attacks, which were picked
up and repeated by his primary opponents and then of course the
Obama campaign. So instead of moving forward to address the issues
of the day, Mitt had to spend his prime-time speech proving he is a
good human being. I hope having heard the convention tributes, his
local enemies will now get aboard to save America.
The Obama campaign and
Democrats also attacked his record at Bain Capital, and from
somewhere came concerns about Mormons. Both entities fought back at
the convention; it was great to see them stand up for themselves and
for Mitt. Republicans also fought the fabricated accusation of
racism and dislike of immigrants, featuring very effective black and
Hispanic speakers. The television networks didn’t cover most of
those however; I’m grateful for C-Span, where I watched the entire
convention as it happened so can declare it a success with some
authority.
Next stop was the
Sunday morning talking-head shows, where the Democrats scrambled on
defense and damage control. Having lost their best arguments against
Romney, they now pivot their attack machine onto Paul Ryan,
obviously fearing that his youth and good-natured optimism may draw
both women and some of those young voters who are disillusioned by
Obama. The challenge for Republicans is to stay focused on the
economy instead of being distracted by the social issues that turn
off these two demographics.
The debt clock is
ticking: It hit $16 trillion on the first night of the Democrats’
Convention, during which I didn’t hear their plan to deal with it.
