Leave It Behind > Brian Bailey

Elephants in NYC II: Blessed Assurance

This evening's Republican Convention belonged to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the First Lady. I thought the evening went very well. Both speeches were designed to assure undecided voters all of kinds, particularly, women, immigrants, and those not passionately aligned with either political party.

The first night emphasized why this is a moment of history that deserves your political attention. You may not have considered voting for Bush, but once you understand the danger we are in, his leadership in these extraordinary times, and his determination to defend the country and defeat terrorism, you will give Bush and the convention a brief opportunity to win your vote. For these voters, it is a great thing that this message is being delivered by Giuliani instead of Ashcroft.

Night one leads directly into the second night. You've allowed yourself to at least consider voting for Bush, but you're still uncomfortable with the idea. You've heard so many persistent claims about the President and his party; the rush to war, the cowboy approach to the military, the relentless effort to serve and benefit the wealthy. Who is this man? Can he be trusted? Does he have a cavalier approach to matters of life and death? What do Republicans believe in and stand for? And how does that differ from Democrats?

The second night was meant to assure you that Bush is a safe and reasonable choice. Laura Bush attempted to answer the first three questions be painting a picture of a loving, caring man who agonized over the decision to go to war. Arnold addressed the last two by appealing to our patriotism. His speech allowed us to see America through the eyes of immigrants. He also gave a passionate view of what it means to be a Republican in clear, uncompromising language. I thought his speech was the best delivered of the convention so far. Why? He showed a unique ability (by being at once charming and forceful) to appeal to both the unconvinced and convinced.

The worst moment of the night? The speech by the Bush daughters. First, they came across as a bit rough and immature. They are 22-year old college graduates whose father is the President of the United States in what we are constantly told is a pivotal, dangerous time in history, and they happily admit to being uninterested in politics and world affairs. How can the president convince the country of the urgency of this moment and the critical role of politics if his own daughters are unsure?

Second, in their flippant comments about their out-of-touch grandmother, Barbara (including the line, "We love you, but you're just not hip") they reminded me way too much of the parking lot girls in Fried Green Tomatoes. If you recall, two over-dressed girls steal a parking space from the middle-aged Kathy Bates and then taunt her with "Face it, we're just younger and faster!"

Bates later drives into their car multiple times with glee and responds, "Face it girls, I'm older and have more insurance."

All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Apple's new G5 iMac. Price, power, and design. Unbelievable.

Elephants in NYC I: Mighty Morphin' Mavericks for Bush

Tonight was the first evening of the Republican National Convention in New York, featuring speeches by John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. As I watched both men speak, I wondered why there are so few truly powerful Republican orators. Any number of people can give terrific, moving speeches, and I thought both men did just that tonight, but I'm referring more to the captivating style that actually leads you from one place to another, in the style of a Clinton, Cuomo, or Reagan. The one person who comes to mind is Colin Powell, who is a fantastic speaker, but is strangely absent from the entire convention. Under normal circumstances, I would expect the party to highlight Powell in much the same way as the other moderates are being celebrated. He is not only not speaking in prime time, I don't believe he is even present.

I find it interesting that in the weeks leading up to the convention, we were told that the Republicans were placing McCain, Giuliani, Schwarzenegger, and Pataki in prime time to give the party a more moderate, kinder and gentler face. Instead, McCain and Giuliani, who both do indeed appeal to independents and some Democrats, spoke entirely on foreign policy and the war and terror, and emphasized leadership, resoluteness, and strength above all else. The language was dominated by military references and sports analogies. I found both speeches highly effective, and would not be surprised to learn that some undecided voters were persuaded, but they were certainly directed more at men than the proverbial soccer moms or moderate, recycling suburbanites.

Lastly, let me join those who believe the Giuliani was also using his moment to reintroduce himself to the Republican Party and put himself in a better position for a future race, statewide or nationally. There were two moments in the first 15 minutes that convinced me of that. First, when he talked about how he was not used to seeing so many Republicans in New York City and used the line, "I finally feel at home." What a great way to connect with a party he is often at odds with and say by inference, "I am one of you."

The second moment came when he told the story of turning to his police commissioner soon after September 11th and saying, "Thank God George Bush is our President." This line shows loyalty to and respect for the president, but it also connects well with social conservatives who would not expect that sort of rhetoric from Giuliani.

Overall, a very well done night that, unfortunately, was largely unseen by most of the country. Each evening only increases in importance from here forward.

Free Google Photo Tool

Here's something I managed to miss, the photo management and editing tool Picasa is now part of Google and, suddenly free! This software has received rave reviews over the last year. If you use a PC and wish there was an alternative to Apple's iPhoto, this may be what you're looking for.

Outliners by Numbers

Over the past year, I've been greatly enjoying the monthly web publication About This Particular Macintosh. The magazine (well, e-zine) is very well done and filled with interesting articles, how-to's, and product reviews. The writing is friendly, personal, and enthusiastic.

The highlight of recent issues has been an ongoing series by Ted Goranson on outlining and mind mapping software, aptly titled About This Particular Outliner. Now, I fully admit my personal obsession with this category of software. I have downloaded and experimented with nearly every major title on both the PC and Macintosh, searching for the perfect notetaking, knowledge management, brainstorming tool. What Ted has done is pull together more data, more experimentation, and more screenshots than you could possibly imagine. In September, ATPO is going to publish an in-depth look at Tinderbox, one of the most unique, challenging, and powerful programs available on the Macintosh.

Even if you have no interest in the software, you'll find yourself wishing there was someone like Ted writing about your favorites piece of technology.

Watching George

At long last, I have finally watched Journeys with George, a documentary on the 2000 presidential campaign from the view of the press pool. The reporter and now filemaker is Alexandra Pelosi, the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Minority Leader in the House. The movie is over two years old, but somewhat hard to track down as it was only released on DVD this year and until then, only aired on HBO. Also, most local Blockbusters have unceremoniously removed any documentaries from their shelves.

The movie was fantastic and well worth the wait. As we are now deep into an entirely new presidential campaign, and on the eve of the Republican Convention, this is a particularly good time to revisit the last election. No matter how much you follow presidential politics, you will learn a great deal from this. The focus of the movie is how different the personal and the political can be. Pelosi and Bush could not be more different politically, but they develop a great relationship during the campaign. It is clear that they are both very fond of each other, despite those differences. The challenge in politics is to disagree with a person's ideas and views without questioning their patriotism or motives. I have yet to see hate accomplish much of anything.

Unfortunately, though you find yourself liking and sympathizing with nearly all of the reporters as well as the president, the political process itself fails to inspire confidence or enthusiasm. It is always a bit off-putting to see pre-made "handmade" signs waiting for pickup at an event, so the crowd can pretend to be more authentic and passionate than it is. It is also unpleasant to see various people and locations used as props for political purposes, whether they want to be or not. And lastly is the obsessive desire to deliver one message, one speech, again and again and again, with the ultimate goal being nothing greater than to have a mistake-free day.

Does any of this change the fact that big differences exist between the candidates and much is at stake in the election (then and now)? Not at all. But it is hard to believe that the modern presidential campaign is the best way to resolve these questions. I would love to see more respect for the voters and the opposition.

The one missing element from the movie was a brief comparison with the Gore plane. Each press corp is so intimately tied to the candidate they are following, and so dominated by an internal culture, that it would have been interesting to see the two groups compared.

Highly recommended!

Firefox Plug-in

For Firefox browser users, don't miss IE View, a handy plug-in that adds a View page in IE link within your browser. This is great for testing pages and accessing sites that are particularly IE-centric.

Convention Blogs, Round 2

The Wall Street Journal posts questionnaires with the bloggers who will be covering the Republican Convention next week. A great read and an equally great source of sites to explore. [via Scripting News]

Why Blog?

The only reason to publish a weblog, imho, is if you have a passion for something and want to make sure people hear what you have to say about it.

> Dave Winer on Scripting News

Politics 1.0

Political Wire provides a great summary of the new computer game, The Political Machine, including links to three different reviews. This sounds like way too much fun for any political geek to resist!