...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Friday, September 03, 2004
      ( 9:01 AM )
 
Response

Well, there's not much to say about Bush's speech last night - I guess it was pretty much what was expected. But I felt really discouraged after it because I felt deflated by seeing so many thousands of people drawn in by his lies and misleading. All those things he promised were fake ideas wrapped up in bright colors. Especially that thing about comp time to allow for family time - that was code for "we don't want to pay you money for your overtime anymore!" And what was that bit in the beginning about more women "have" to work outside the home? Even some of the women delegates looked confused: "Did he mean that we should be home all the time, even if we don't want to?"

More on the speech and reaction to what Bush said over at Kos, including some fact checking by AP (hint: they found some of what Bush said lacking in fact).

Anyway, my waiting was rewarded last night when MSNBC went live to a Kerry/Edwards Rally, and then I switched to CSPAN (because of course MSNBC didn't air the whole thing). Edwards' and Kerry's responses to the GOP Convention of Falshood and Bitterness was right on.

For three days in New York, instead of talking about jobs and the economy, we heard anger and insults from the Republicans. And I'll tell you why. It's because they can't talk about the real issues facing Americans. They can't talk about their record because it's a record of failure.

We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican convention. For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as commander in chief. Well, here's my answer. I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq.

The vice president even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.

Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without healthcare makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi Royal Family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America.

Just what you've been waiting for.

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