I love you America

When I fist saw Sara Palin I thought she was Tina Fey.

Much Ado About...

Ah, it's that glorious time of the year again. Convention season. What a blissful political time. The party spirit abounded as Barrack Obama and Joe Biden passed the rhetorical gravy. McCain and Sara Palin welcomed with warm arms the protest carolers into their home.

But seriously, what is all this fuss at the conventions about?

Are they really that important?

That depends on what you want from them.
If you're looking for substance and policies... don't waste your time. However, who said that's what presidential politics was about anyway? The Conventions did exactly what they were supposed to. The audience, and at home viewers, really knew nothing they hadn't known before about either candidate, no new policy announcements were made, no new attacks were made. However, everyone (Democrats and Republicans alike) went home with a feeling of, "Wow what a party."

That's it. That's the point. Like a televangelist, a motivational speaker, or a tele-motivational-
pyramid scheme-ist the conventions are much ado but not much said. Excite the crowd with rhetoric, throw in a few balloons, some confetti and wham you have a successful party convention.

This year the conventions were full of surprises. The Dems started the conventions off with a bang in Denver. Bill Clinton gave a rousing speech that was way outside of what he had originally been asked to speak on. He and Obama had exchanged a few words during the primaries that many people felt were unforgivable. Bill however, gave a passionate and seemingly sincere speech to Barrack Obama's qualities as a man, as well as to his capability as a potential president.

The Republicans, however, waisted no time in stealing the spotlight. As soon as the curtain closed on the Democratic Convention McCain let off a doozie when he chose Sara Palin(R) the Governor of Alaska (and a woman) to be his running mate for the national election. More excitement followed as Joe Lieberman (a former Democrat and VP candidate in 2000) took the podium at the GOP Convention and spoke in McCain and Sara Palin's favor. Maybe even more surprising was his praise of the Clinton's and the surprisingly moderate reaction that their names invoked of the conservative crowd.

In the end, however, it has been the much ado at the Republican Convention that has spurred them on to close the gap in the most recent polls. So, while we may say that the conventions are nothing more than a publicity stunt...

if you're a Republican, it might mean a lot more.