Contrast

The republican convention is still ongoing but I have to quickly comment on the differences between the party conventions. Please note that I am NOT a republican. I'm registered "unaffiliated" and have never voted a "party line."

The democratic convention was a week of nothing but bad mouthing the competition. The message seemed to be "Vote for us because things really suck now!" I wasn't inspired in the least. In fact, I was turned off completely. After watching a week of speeches I still don't what the candidate's objectives are or how he expects to accomplish them. All I got out of it is that they HOPE a lot will happen. Give me a break.

Additionally, doesn't anyone realize that the party rules were changed to avoid elite "embarrassment?" The role call, the actual purpose of the convention (remember, the convention is where the candidate is officially nominated) was skipped. This because some party elite (who shall remain nameless) would be embarrassed if the individual state delegations got to speak? What kind of crap is that?

That seems to be the dems approach to everything these days; lets change the rules so that it suits us. Never mind that the country is watching. Never mind that the convention has rules that have been followed for over a century. One of the "elite" might be embarrassed so we can't possibly follow the rules.

I've actually enjoyed watching the republican convention, at least to this point - its not over yet. Linda Lingle gave a great speach. Rudy Giuliani was fantastic. Both of them made their points. And, while they had negative things to say about the competition (as is expected), it wasn't couched in "hate." Humour was the approach.

Even Sarah Palin was a pleasure to listen to. She may have gone on a little long, but her message was positive.

Jeez, I can't believe I'm saying positive things about the republicans.

Finally, the role call was entertaining. It's fun to hear the state delegations cast their votes. They never just give the vote count, a short speech is always given. Of course, some of them are ridiculous, but some of them are quite funny.