I just watched Sarah Palin and Rudy Guiliani give their talks at the RNC. I was looking forward to Sarah’s speech most of all. Joe Biden’s balls are probably hurting in anticipation of Sic ‘em Sarah Barracuda ripping them off a month from now. My favorite part, however, was when Rudy nailed Barack on his voting record.

Since my senior year at UMass, I’ve been telling my students that the most important thing is to have an opinion. “Please, have an opinion,” I would repeat again, and again. So when Guliani called out Obama on his 124 “present” votes, emphasizing that the man couldn’t make the simple choice between yes and no, I had a moment of reckoning.

How is this man going to effect our already flailing education system? Ooohhhhhh boy would I love to just say “present” the next time Mr. Boss-man asks me for my opinion (Boss-man has such a crush on Obamarama). What the hell kind of example is that for kids these days, who are already growing up in a broken public education system where marking an answer as wrong in red ink is not allowed because it is psychologically damaging? Is voting yes or no such a big imposition that a new option, “present”, was needed? What bullshit. What’s next? Getting rid of letter grades in school, because it’s not politically correct to assign bulk values to unique individual snowflakes? Oops, we’re already doing just that.

I know he’s (Obama) not the only one to vote “present”, but as a presidential nominee, I expect more of a leader. Right or wrong, a leader is at the very least someone with an opinion. You cannot lead if you don’t have an opinion. Grrrrr

I was hoping to hear Sarah Palin talk at the RNC last night, but they say she’ll be speaking tonight. I was all set on turning off the TV when “Dubya” came up on the telescreen, and for some sick reason, I decided to listen to what he had to say. I strongly dislike hearing the man speak. Though some say he has gotten better, I still think he is a terrible speaker. Last night wasn’t all that bad UNTIL his comment about “the angry left”, which elicited a swift throw of the shoe at the TV (bullseye – got ‘im right on the kisser).

I know that I am prone to saying “leftists” and using the same tone as Dubya did in his comment. But I am not the president of the United States. And yes, I know it is the RNC, and the GOP needs to energize their base. Saying “angry left” did have the effect of energizing the crowd, but did he have to resort to the same old bullysome rhetoric? To whome is he trying to send a message? Terrorists?

I can see how one could like the democratic party to terrorists – with a wry sense of humor. Perhaps Bush’s message was intended to sound bullysome. Perhaps his speech was supposed sound like he was rallying troops for battle. I still think he could’ve taken hold of the crowd and his base with greater force had he worded things more eloquently.

I’m sure you’re all laughing at the fact that I could still, after 8 years of Bushisms, ask ‘why couldn’t he just word that statement in a better fashion?’ Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disappointed; this president has made it clear that he is not capable of, well, not acting like a bully. EVER. I’m also not saying that his antics don’t ever work: he did get Russia to pull out of Georgia. But come on! Maybe it’s just me, but I think there is a time and a place for using the good ‘ol boy speak. For example, when I have to convince (convince!) White Mike to come shooting because he’s being resistant, I tell him that he can either come to the range with me or “be a big, bleeding vagina and stay at home.” If it were my job to energize the GOP, however, I wouldn’t use wartime rhetoric to liken the democrats to terrorists and insinuate that to lean left is to favor terrorism. Bush has been singing that tune his entire presidency, and it hasn’t worked. Addressing the RNC in this situation, I would’ve made direct statements about the dangers of of the GOP being swayed toward the left, of just how potentially destructive it would be to not give support to the conservative side. How you talk to people makes a difference in what they actually hear or get in terms of the conveyed message.

I am not a republican. I am not a liberal. Though I think I’m registered as a democrat, I’m going to vote with the side that lets me keep my guns. I think that discouraging individuals from defending themselves is abhorrable. To me, this says that the individuals and groups who think that people shouldn’t be expected to do so, and furthermore would try to prevent people from obtaining guns for self defense, have no clue about what goes on in our society or any idea about the cultures that make up our society. As a young woman who is not prepared or ready to have children, it is hard for me to say that I am 100% pro-life for all that it is worth. BUT I think that forcing the “right to an abortion” into the constitution is a dangerous stretch because it goes against the principle of upholding the constitution itself. To me, that’s what a conservative does: Protect the constitution. I might not agree with conservatives all the time, but I do think that protecting the constitution is more important than my own personal feelings.