A Lackluster Finish

A few minutes into John McCain's speech last night, the assembled Republicans began chanting "USA! USA!" in a wave of enthusiasm. McCain wait perhaps a moment longer than was comfortable to calm them down, and went along with his speech. Within a couple sentences, the crowd was at it again. Keeping his cool, McCain stretched out his hands and quieted the audience. Seconds later, a troublemaker in the crowd started chanting "USA! USA!" Security promptly threw the man out, but not before the 15,000 delegates, alternates, and guests were, once again, chanting over McCain's speech. This time, McCain put his hands on his waist, looked down, and glowered.

McCain is not a born orator, as he himself notes. His speech last night did nothing to burnish his reputation. For the most part, McCain's talk was flat, simply a list of reasons why you should vote for him. He summoned little spirit, even when he threw red meat to the conservative crowd. Apparently, McCain had been aiming for a "town-hall" feel in this speech. He was not speaking to a town hall, though, but rather a television audience of tens of millions. He simply could not hold my attention.

The contrast with Sarah Palin's speech the night before was immense. Palin, a talented orator, kept me throughout--even though she spent most of her time bashing the man I plan to vote for. The difference between the two speeches is all the worse for McCain for the expectations the media built up for him--"Will he be able to top his VP's speech?" The answer was no.

That said, the speech did contain one very stirring part, about his time in Vietnam. McCain presented the story as a transformative experience--he went in as a selfish, independent young man, and emerged as "my country's man." McCain fleshed out several parts of his Vietnam story that, prior to now, have not been a major part of his narrative, such as his refusal of an offer of early release. I encourage you to check out the story if you did not hear the speech (this is a link to an NPR transcript; the Vietnam story occurs in the second half).

Well, this should be my last blog post. Thank all of you for reading, and thanks to Eileen Faust and the Pottstown Mercury for giving me the chance to share my experiences. Now I have to go--forget John McCain and Sarah Palin, because class starts in an hour!