DETROIT -- The Republicans will peddle fear and fiscal folly, and largely ignore the last eight years at their convention this week in a desperate effort to counter the hope, reality and truths the Democrats presented at their convention. The contrasts will continue throughout the campaign.
Sen. Barack Obama made his case before a remarkable audience -- 80,000 people at a football stadium and 40 million people watching on television -- and the Democratic candidate set the tone for what will be an increasingly bruising campaign.
"America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country that this," Obama said, reminding us of President George W. Bush's failed policies and the legacy of misery he leaves a suffering nation.
Obama recited the bleak reality of the Republican curse on working families: "More Americans are out of work, and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes, and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay and tuition that's beyond your reach."
Are you better off than you were eight years ago? An overwhelming majority of the America people will quickly answer no. A handful -- certainly the wealthiest 1 percent -- will say yes. This is not an argument for class warfare, but rather an explanation of Bush's tax codes that are based on the creation of debt to finance tax cuts for the rich, sticking working people with the bill.
The Republicans are running scare ads about Obama raising your taxes, and all this week we will hear a chorus of mealy-mouthed speakers in Minnesota repeating incessantly the mantra that "we won't raise your taxes" as they deplete the U.S. Treasury, robbing from the poor and giving to the rich.
It's really laughable that the people who brought us the greatest growth in government debt in U.S. history and a fiscal train wreck on the way can lecture the American people about how Republican tax policies assure prosperity.
Obama argued that Sen. John McCain -- who opposed Bush's tax cuts for the rich before the Republican maverick became a Bushevik gelding -- has now "subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy -- give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is you're on your own."
Obama was direct, detailed and convincing. The Republicans are left with childish jealousy, trying to diminish Obama as simply a fine speaker, ignoring the fact that his words enlighten and inspire millions.
Obama will not flinch from Republican slurs casting him as weak on national security because he opposed the disastrous war in Iraq and wants a timetable for withdrawal of troops, a position the Iraqi and U.S. governments now support.
"We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country," Obama said in his acceptance speech.
The Republican keynoter, former New York City mayor and failed presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, is sure to play the save-us-from-terrorists card. Giuliani is a one-trick dog whose sentences -- as Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate -- memorably described as "a noun, a verb and 9/11."
Rudy and the Republicans will attempt to use the threat of terrorism and images of 9/11 to justify their continuation in the White House and will brag about their relentless assault on the Bill of Rights and fundamental liberties under the veil of "keeping America safe."
While the Republicans foster fear and peddle tricks, one skilled politician nailed their record of failure like no other. Bill Clinton was at his best in Denver as he framed the case for Obama.
Clinton pointed to a troubled nation on two fundamental fronts: "The American dream is under siege at home, and America's leadership in the world has been weakened. Middle-class and low-income Americans are hurting, with incomes declining, job losses, poverty and inequality rising, mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing, health care coverage disappearing, and a very big spike in the cost of food, utilities and gasoline."
It's been a difficult year for Clinton, and whatever resentment he still feels about his wife falling short in her quest for the White House, he stood up for Obama and his own political legacy. He brought direction and eloquence to the Democrats with his ringing words, "People the world over have been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."
Sen. Hillary Clinton rose above the chattering classes and Republicans urging a deep rift in the Democratic Party and the defection of Clinton supporters to McCain after the long, painful struggle for the nomination.
Hillary would have none of that and urged her faithful to support Obama. "Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly," she told the convention, "and bring our troops home -- a first step in repairing our alliances around the world."
She linked the past and the future: "And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalize our economy, defend working people in America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this. As, I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again."
Sen. Ted Kennedy brought his wisdom and great physical courage to the Democrats. Fighting brain cancer and suffering from a painful and debilitating bout of kidney stones, Kennedy left a hospital room to remind the party what it should stand for. The liberal lion underscored "the cause of my life -- new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American -- north, south east and west, young and old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege."
Michelle Obama charmed the convention. "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart did a superb job ridiculing the pundits who said Michelle Obama somehow had to prove her patriotism. Stewart sneered, "She must prove she loves America, as opposed to Republicans who everyone knows love America. They just hate half the people living in it."
Get ready for a week of humorless Republicans telling us to be afraid. The refreshingly candid headline on Detroit News editorial-page editor Nolan Finley's Sunday column says it all: "GOP's hopes rest on scaring voters."
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Sept. 2 2008 |