A Veritable Cornucopia of Useless Information

One of the things that I pride myself on (and those of you who know my reading habits are all too aware of this) is being an informed citizen. To further that cause, I’ve been taking in as much news as I possibly can during this election season; this week, the main attraction is the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Note: I’m registered as a Republican, and my voting record is decidedly independent. (Take that, Google ad scans!)

Tonight’s speeches by the Clintons provided a reminder why they were and remain a powerful political force: both are talented speakers/motivators (Bill in particular), and both have enough experience in the public eye to instictively strike the most effective manner and tone, not just for the crowd, but for the wider public audience. Both knew when to make fun of themselves and when to drive their message home. I would have preferred a more positive overall tone (in those sections of their speeches, they were very effective), and dropping some of the numerous negative references to the Bush administration. Oh well, that’s what you have to do to rally the faithful; all in all, it was an very good cheerleading effort. It’ll be interesting to see how well Kerry and Edwards fare with their own speeches, and of course, how the Republicans will react both now and in New York in September.

I’ll return to this topic off and on between now and November; hopefully, I’ll be able to offer some halfway useful obervations in that time.