Apparently, people are raving about these speeches, so I read the transcripts. Both are political grandstanding. Neither mentions any specific policies.
Basic summary:
We must determine our own destiny!
Freedom!
USA! USA!
Anyway, here they are, in case anyone is interested.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/29/transcript-condoleezza-rice-speech-at-rnc/
I thought it was interesting that Christie mentioned “shared sacrafice” - doesn’t really sound too republican. Didn’t watch Condi’s speech but Ryan’s was pretty good (complete bs) but good politically.
All are good speakers, and very good at motivating the crowd (or mob, depending on how you look at it). The more I watch Paul Ryan, the more I think they made the right choice strategically. That guy is really charismatic, especially compared to Romney.
Reading the transcript certainly does not have the same effect as watching the speech. Once you actually go through what they said, you can see that they didn’t actually say anything important. Of course, the issues are besides the point - the convention is a cheerleading session for the Republican party, so I suppose this sort of non-specific rhetoric is to be expected.
While I was listening to Condi’s speech about the American Exceptionalism and the need for us to bring freedom to every corner of the earth through military action; I couldn’t help but think is it 2004 or 2012?
Condi’s speech was an attempt at trying to preserve what’s left of her legacy.
I think this has been the first campaign in several decades where foreign policy has not been a factor. Friedman argues it’s because Obama did a good job in that respect. Who knows, we might be in Iran if Mccain was President.
BTW, Ryan is refreshing, but I’m not sure that it’s a good idea to have the vice president more charismatic than the President. Both Clinton and Reagan chose people with no personalities.