McCain’s Speech & His Sense of Gratitude
Perhaps, I shouldn’t have talked to anyone before I reached my own conclusions about the speech. I have to say I liked it, though not nearly as much as I liked Sarah Palin’s last night. Still, it moved me more than I had expected it to.
Was it the speech, a week of constant blogging or the sadness in realizing today was the last day of a convention where I met and befriended many people whom I had only previously known as pixels on a screen which caused me to pause, sit back (or stand up) as the case may be and focus on the speech and not considering how to formulate a verbal reaction to it.
I watched, I listened, I was moved. I was not wowed as I had been last night, leaving on Cloud Nine, floating out of the Xcel Center, so dazed I headed in the wrong direction at one freeway interchange. Then, I was full of energy, exuberant, ecstatic almost.
Tonight, I was more subdued. It was a much different speech, a much different leader delivering it.
Sarah Palin’s was clearly the best speech of the convention. This was only one of the best, better certainly than Barack Obama’s last week, not as good as Fred Thompson’s or Rudy Giuliani’s this week.
Perhaps, that’s because there was less excitement about this speech. People tuned into Palin’s speech, curious about her because of the stories circulating in the media about that good woman. Americans wanted to see who she was. Not just that, as blogger Josh Trevino put it, “we know McCain, and there is no anticipation of the new” (via Instapundit).
As I left my spot on the rafters and descended to join my friends at the Pajamas TV booth, something struck me about the speech. It may be significant. Or it may mean nothing at all. I was struck by what I will call his “framing device.” He began and ended the speech with acknowledgement, expressions of gratitude.
At the beginning, he acknowledged his rivals for the Republican nomination and expressed his gratitude to the president and his family. He concluded by acknowledging his fellow POW Bob Craner, telling us how that good man “saved” him.
Maybe I read too much into this, but it says a lot of a man that he frames this speech by acknowledging how much he owes to others, showing how grateful he is for their love, their inspiration, their support, their compassion. He knows, more, he recognizes what he owes to others. For no one who has achieved any measure of success in any given endeavor could have accomplished anything without the support of others.
Devoting so much time in a speech of this significance suggests a certain humility, something we don’t see in many politicians, particularly this election cycle.
No, John McCain didn’t wow us. And maybe he didn’t need to. When I spoke with Powerline’s John Hinderaker after the speech, he thought the conversational style might be more effective that something which had us stomping our feet and pumping our fists. “This,” he said “was not a speech that was pitched to political sophisticates at all. It was aimed at the middle.” (After finishing this post, I read his post on the speech. Highly recommended.)
I think he’s onto something. We who write about such things immediately ask will such a speech work. But, we don’t really know. We can only pretend to speak for the great majority of Americans watching on their televisions across our great nation. But, they follow politics as do we. They don’t think about appealing to this or that interest groups or the composition of particular sentences.
Peter Robinson seemed to agree with John’s assessment, calling it “not an address. It was a talk.:
Tonight McCain used simple, declarative sentences. He made no attempt to achieve high effects. He was himself. Nobody will ever include this speech in an anthology of great American addresses, but it was an accomplished work, a work of political maturity.
That sounds about right.
Yuval Levin said it was a pretty good speech in a very good week. I agree.
So, I leave you with this question? What does it say about a man who begins and ends what some have defined as the most important speech of his career with gratitude for the individuals who have helped shape, if not save, his life?
I think it shows a man ready to lead. But that could just be my partisanship talking. Or be a reflection of the admiration I have gained for John McCain is the course of this campaign.
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Thursday afternoon Rudy Giuliani was interviewed on Fox and used language strikingly similar to yours to describe McCain. He said that any time he does something for Senator McCain, whether it’s making a speech or just mentioning him in an interview, he gets a thank you call. Considering what a busy man McCain is, that says something about how much he genuinely values the people in his life.
I don’t agree with McCain on all the issues, but he’s got the qualities of a leader who inspires people to follow through his humility, graciousness, and willingness to acknowledge the work of those around him. Now if only he can get it right on illegal immigration.
Comment by Jenn Q. Public — September 5, 2008 @ 5:11 am - September 5, 2008
John McCain’s speech was ok. Nothing electrifying or groundbreaking. If he was going to produce such a tepid swing at Democrats he might have done better to forgo that altogether and give an extended pep-talk about how badass America is. That’s what I was kind of expecting, not sure why.
Can we discuss the fact that Cindy McCain, bless her heart, was the most boring speaker of the night? Her winding story went on and on without saying much, like Grandpa Simpson talking about the days of yore.
Comment by DoDoGuRu — September 5, 2008 @ 8:09 am - September 5, 2008
As a speech, I might give it a B, maybe lower. But choosing a President based upon speech delivery is silly; the election in November isn’t a Toastmasters edition of American Idol. I don’t want to be foolishly optimistic, given that I am a staunch Republican and can’t judge these things completely objectively, but I think what conservatives and moderates, Republicans and independents saw was a speech by a man they will be excited to vote for. With Gov. Palin on the ticket, Sen. McCain has done something few thought could be done: solidify the base while appealing to moderates. They will continue to try to paint the McCain/Palin ticket as extreme and out-of-touch, but I for one don’t think it’s going to work.
Comment by cme — September 5, 2008 @ 8:23 am - September 5, 2008
I want some more of the John McCain I saw at Rick Warren’s question and answer period. Did you know that Sarah Palin’s teleprompter died, and she completed her speech by memory. I wish the media would have reported that a little more. I do think we have a chance in November to elect McCain -Palin.
Comment by Tom In Dallas — September 5, 2008 @ 8:37 am - September 5, 2008
The Speech…
If a candidate’s ability to belt out a speech is your overriding criterion for earning your vote, John McCain would not be your man. Barack Obama clearly is superior. Actually, of the speeches given at the two conventions, Michelle Obama was better …
Trackback by what if? — September 5, 2008 @ 10:07 am - September 5, 2008
Tom, people were talking about that in the convention, the teleprompter dying.
Had it happened to Obama, the world would have noticed.
When it happens to Palin, the MSM focuses on the Obama talking point that Matthew Scully who wrote speeches for W penned the speech. Yeah, he wrote the first draft, but she added her own touches, ad-libbing the best line, you know the one about lipstick.
Comment by GayPatriotWest — September 5, 2008 @ 10:57 am - September 5, 2008
And as if Obama and Biden don’t have speechwriters? Heck, their speechwriters even plagiarize other politicians’ speeches! (Obama - Cuomo; Biden - Neil Kinnock)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 5, 2008 @ 11:26 am - September 5, 2008
My $.02. There is something about McCain that is a little tough for me to get behind. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but here are a few attempts. The guy is a major, serious hero; I’m not (so, lack of identification). Notwithstanding his heroism: his insights, ideas and plans are often mediocre - he’s no Reagan. When he’s right, he’s very right - but when he’s wrong (as on McCain-Feingold and some other things), he’s very wrong. Agreeing with him somehow isn’t satisfying. Palin has, and Reagan had, a gift for making it fun to agree with them; when they say things I agree with, my mood is uplifted. When McCain says something I agree with, I feel less inspired; it’s tempered with the knowledge both that I never can measure up to him (and wouldn’t want to), and that he will be ham-fisted in implementing his high aspirations, possibly giving them a form that is totally wrong (like, again, McCain-Feingold).
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 5, 2008 @ 11:44 am - September 5, 2008
And unless I missed something, not one word bashing gays or even civil unions/marriage from McCain or Palin….
With Palin perhaps the GOP 2008 campaign can forgoe the culture war on gays and gay marriage and concentrate on attracting the moderates and the seculars to the McCain-Palin ticket. No one pays attention to the Party Platform anyway.
Comment by Ted B. (Charging Rhino) — September 5, 2008 @ 1:19 pm - September 5, 2008
I liked McCain speech, but then I have always liked McCain and his appeal as a fighter/solider/warrior. I think it was a nice tactic to appeal to service and to appeal to sacrifice, something that Democrats like to talk about but never really go through on. I guess I watched it and saw a man who probably has the best of intentions in wanting to become the president. He loves his country and wants to make her even greater than she is now. He does it by speaking about how as individuals we can make her better, its not government who makes America great but her people.
I liked the part about Standing Up in the end, to stand up against what seems like the inevitable Obama election. It reminded me of Hillary’s later speeches when she finally adopted the fighter’s mantle and did much better with that.
Comment by Darkeyedresolve — September 5, 2008 @ 1:27 pm - September 5, 2008
We have begun to hear the label “populist” tossed about. Careful, hoss, there is not clear line between championing the underdog and “workers of the world unite.”
We certainly have economic realities (and always will) that need attention and a certain amount of government management. I would suggest: illegal immigration, portable health insurance, retraining for employment, weak public schools, broken retirement (Social Security and pension fund protection) and medicare/medicaid systems, energy policy, and rethinking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
These issues will require government intervention and a certain amount of increased police power. But, conservatism does not preclude government from basic regulation that allows the “invisible hand” at work in capitalism to be more efficient and predictable.
I am enthusiastic to the max over Sarahcudda-the-Artic-fox and her “get it fixed” dedication. I sincerely hope that McCain and Sarahcudda will confront the self-centered ways of Democrat and Republican members of Congress alike. Let the chips fall where they may.
Comment by heliotrope — September 5, 2008 @ 2:23 pm - September 5, 2008
heliotrope, good points. I think of it as follows.
The purpose of government is to protect life, liberty and property, with equality-before-the-law for all. That’s legitimate government intervention. With government doing that, force and fraud are not part of anyone’s normal, everyday life; they are exceptions to be punished. In such an environment, everyone can flourish. The little guy does well in the booming economy. The little guy can start a business if he wants to, and is willing to work at it. That’s the kind of pro-little-guy politics we need.
Alternatively, there is illegitimate government intervention, where government becomes a violator of life, liberty or property. That’s the various forms of tyranny, including socialism. The perpetrators always justify it in the name of the little guy, but everyone is dragged down - *especially* the little guy. That’s the kind of pro-little-guy politics we do not need.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 5, 2008 @ 2:56 pm - September 5, 2008
I left this comment on another blog.
I am not quite so old as Johnny Mac, but close enough that I know what kind of man he is. I grew up around men like him, in the hilly countryside of the Ohio River Valley. My father, who served in WW2 and Korea, my grandfathers who served in WW1, our neighbor down the road who lost his leg in the European Theater, and I could go on, but I won’t. But it wasn’t the military service that made these men; they served because they shared the same kind of character John McCain has, and has always had.
I have usually kept my mouth shut on the blogosphere when people foamed at the mouth about McCain. A few times, I spoke up, but few listened. They didn’t want to hear. I think now, people are starting to listen.
You may not always agree with him. God knows, I don’t. But men of John McCain’s caliber are sadly rare these days. No elected official deserves as much respect and admiration as McCain. Yes, he’s grumpy (I consider that a feature, not a bug), he’s stubborn and hard headed, and he’s hot tempered. He’s also courageous, honorable, honest (sometimes to a fault), plainspoken and straightforward (see that last one), and highly principled. He’s an old fashioned man who lives for God and country. He hates corruption; McCain-Feingold came directly from his disgust with himself over Keating 5.
And make no mistake. If McCain’s principles are challenged, he will stand his ground and not give an inch, even if you happen to call yourself his “base.” He never has pandered, and he never will. Remember the slobbering and howling about illegal immigration? Shockingly, these people actually expected McCain to lick their boots. Oh, ye fools.
The liberals are fond of talking about role models, and they choose domestic terrorists and street thugs. Who is a better role model for our sons than John McCain, who has given his life to serve his country? If your son said, “I want to be like John McCain when I grow up,” would your heart swell with pride, or would you try to get him to want to be more like someone else because his politics jived more closely with your own?
There were candidates whose stances I preferred, but when it was obvious that McCain would be the nominee I breathed a sigh of relief. John McCain’s sense of duty and his principles have guided him, and will continue to do so if he wins the election.
Understand that I am ecstatic about Sarah Palin. I love her. But also understand that I’m proudly voting for the ticket, and I have no desire to flip the two around. Palin is the future of the party. McCain has already ushered it in, and will continue. McCain has more than earned our trust to elect him Commander-in-Chief. John McCain will always do what he believes is the right thing, and watch out if you try to get in his way.
That goes a long way with me. There is no man I would rather have in charge of our nation’s security than John McCain.
Comment by rightwingprof — September 5, 2008 @ 3:18 pm - September 5, 2008
One important comment was made by McCain that EVERYONE is overlooking.
He stated that he would VETO any bill with earmarks and then “call out the person” putting the earmark in the bill.
This is HUGE. The offending person would have to stand up in front of the world and account for the pork.
Constituents and others would see WHY the bill is being held up and a DO NOTHING Congress would have to do or get off the pot!
Psych 101–If you think you won’t get caught you will cheat.
Uh, not anyone in this stream of course
Jeb
Comment by Jeb — September 5, 2008 @ 4:03 pm - September 5, 2008
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