To be honest with you, I was initially a bit surprised at the general reactions to McCain's concession speech that appeared in my web surfing this morning. I'm by no means a political analyst, but while watching his rhetoric last night, I thought that he delivered gracious words to his supporters, his family, and to President-elect, Barack Obama. Some of his statements did seem to carry suggestive undertones, but to be fair, beliefs are beliefs. Without strength in your personal beliefs or your party's beliefs, then you're not a viable candidate for the presidency. Sure, he might have made a few mistakes and probably should have said a few things differently, but at least he was consistent with the person he has been throughout his campaign. I guess.
He seemed sincere. It was a sincerity that was non-existent during all of the Presidential debates, and throughout the hundreds of other speeches that he has presented. Apparently this actually meant something to him. Perhaps, it was in part due to his body language.. a language entirely different from and more authentic & honest than the power of words can sometimes convey. He held eye contact, paused appropriately, & spoke [relatively] comfortably while remaining as relaxed as one possibly can in this situation. It'll undoubtedly be a speech to be scrutinized, dissected, and analyzed in years to come. Much like Obama's victory speech.
The reactions of the Republican party in Arizona are the words and actions that concern me. Booing at the mere mention of the President-elect's name either shows the true colors of this troubled party, or the immaturity & ignorance that plagues a good portion of our country. I'm not sure which is better. Or worse, for that matter. McCain handled the crowd's inconsiderate, untactful responses by imploring them to stop with his hands & his words, and by pausing until their insults were silenced.
Now, I'm not saying that I agree with everything he said or that I'm all of a sudden a McCain supporter, but in the end, I have some sympathy for the guy. It was a long, grueling race. A lot of blood, sweat, tears, money, time, & support went into this effort. But only one person can win.. and I'm glad it was Barack Obama.
6 comments:
I also thought it was a gracious speech by McCain. It was good to see him leave on an honorable note. I don't see 'tactless' in there, at all. I keep wondering if both candidates just fall asleep for a long time now! They must be exhausted.
What an exquisite night that was...I hope America placed the hopes and dreams of that moment in their hearts, and will pull it out when necessary from now on. Things do need to change, and we all need to contribute to make that happen. I always tell my class they are "I Can Kids." Maybe I'll have to show them 'yes we can.' :)
boozie i will send you the pics you asked for
I agree. I hope that people will still exude this enthusiasm and support once the new administration is in place. It's difficult to read because so many Obama supporters appeared to be from the younger generation, and who knows how many of them actually understood where he stood/stands on the issues.. and how many of them were just riding the wave, so to speak.
Thank you, Bacon. I will eagerly await them!
Well said boozette!
Thanks, Mer.
As I said, I'm not extremely well informed when it comes to politics, but I do try to remain as aware as I can.. timing is everything, so let's hope that our generation can back up its air!
It would have been a different story if he had stuck to his guns and been this guy throughout the race. I thought it was an extremely gracious speech...I haven't picked it up yet, but I hear there is an incredible special edition of Newsweek out now that followed both campaigns for the past year and only now were able to talk about it. Basically it's about how smooth the Obama campaign was run.
Anne
Fair enough. I look forward to reading this special edition of Newsweek. Thanks, Anne.
A friend of mine was actually one of Obama's primary speech writers - that being said, I have no doubt in mind that his campaign was smoothly run :).
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