Let's Talk Sense...
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Wednesday, August 9, 2000 Volume XXV, No. 20
Roswell, New Mexico
In this issue:
Report From Philadelphia, part 2
Chris Matthews
George Stephanopoulos
Republicans for "Choice"
The Parties
The Demonstrations
Colin Powell (He's just readin' it, folks)
REPORT FROM PHILADELPHIA
The people of Philadelphia went out of their way to make us feel
welcome. It wasn't just the 15,000 volunteers (they were absolutely
tremendous) but everyday people on the street who would stop and
try to help people, and were uniformly polite and enthusiastic about
the convention. They even worried about the demonstrations. A couple
of people walking by as we observed a march, asked what we thought
of the city, and went on to assure us that "these people (the
demonstrators) aren't from Philly."
Rod's Interview with Chris Matthews
OKAY, so it's not exactly like I am a reporter going and getting
an "interview," but while in Philadelphia, if I saw a
celebrity or prominent political leader I admire, I sometimes asked
to get a picture with him or her. No one ever refused or even seemed
bothered by the request. Chris Matthews was no exception.
I met up with him at an isolated and lightly used service elevator.
There were two other guys with him for the elevator. As one of them
was taking the picture, I asked, "So who's going to win."
"Gore," he said, without hesitating.
"Really," I said, somewhat surprised.
"Look," he shot back in his Philadelphia-bred machinegun-like
cadence, "I'm not saying that's what I want to see happen,
but you asked me what I thought and I'm telling you."
"Why is Gore going to win?" I asked.
"Cause this is going to be the dirtiest, meanest, most negative
campaign in history, you have never seen anything like it. Bush
doesn't know what he's in for. Gore is going to beat his brains
in on abortion, on the environment, on women's issues, on his record
in Texas, on education, on everything he can. He will stop at nothing
and he'll do or say whatever he needs to win. I'm just tellin' ya."
"Oh," I said, "thanks."
"You're welcome, no problem," he said.
That was late Monday night.
George Stephanopoulos
Celebrity journalists were everywhere. The place was packed--a fire
marshal's nightmare. The aisles were filled with people squeezing
past each other, so you were constantly literally rubbing elbows
with these people you see on TV all the time. Peter Jennings was
the only "anchor" I saw come to the floor, and he was
there all the time---heavily made up.
At an elevator again, on Monday night, George Stephanopoulos is
the last one to back in, and is left standing right in front of
me. So I tell him what Chris Matthews said and he said, "Well,
I'm kind of leaning that way myself, I guess I just couldn't be
quite as sure as Chris is about it. I mean, I think we have a long
way to go. I do believe it's going to be close, and it's going to
be a tough campaign." I didn't ask him any more questions.
(He's very short, maybe 5' 4" or so. Matthews appeared to be
about 6' 2" and probably 220 or so.)
Later, the night of the Cheney speech, the exact same scenario occurred
with Stephanopoulos on the same elevator. So I asked him, "What
did you think of the speech?"
"Okay, I guess, a little harsh, maybe, but I'm not sure, I
just spent the last 20 minutes arguing with Ted Koppel and Peter
Jennings about their impression of how it will play out in the heartland.
I don't think it will play that well, and they both thought it would
be well-received."
I wasn't so surprised that Koppel might be willing to say that,
but frankly I was shocked that Jennings might say anything even
remotely "supportive." I didn't ask any more questions.
End of celebrity interview number three.
Republicans for "Choice"
In the late afternoon of the Thursday before the convention, I got
a call at home from a nice lady who said she was with Republicans
for Choice and that she was calling from Philadelphia. She asked
me very politely if I would be willing to "join other Republicans
in the New Mexico delegation" in signing a petition that would
ask for a roll call vote on the convention floor. The roll call
would be on a proposal to appoint a
committee to meet for the purpose of drafting "more inclusive
language on the 'choice plank' in our platform."
"We need language which appeals to a broader population in
America and has a more moderate tone, and therefore helps more voters
be inclined to support our party," she said. After amplifying
her argument a little more as I listened, she concluded by asking,
"Can we count on your signature, Senator Adair?"
"No ma'am," I said quietly.
"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. "Well, I am disappointed,
but I hope you have a great convention."
"Thank you, you've been very sweet," I said, using my
most inclusive, moderate and appealing tone.
* * * *
FAST forward to the convention.
Republicans for Choice were working the delegation throughout the
day Monday, trying to get enough signatures from six delegations
to bring about their roll call vote.
But well-organized RNC workers (or was it Bush campaign people---or
at a national convention is there really any difference at all)
were everywhere, monitoring the situation.
As soon as they would hear that a delegate or two somewhere had
signed the petition, they would be right on top of the situation,
talking to that delegate, providing a legal document which nullified
his or her signature if they chose to do so. Many did.
Republicans for Choice failed to get a vote. The threshold for signatures
was very low, something like only 10 or 11 signatures from only
six states. Still, they failed. Everybody wanted a smooth convention.
The Republicans were more united than anytime in the past 16 years,
if not longer. Regardless of what they thought, Republicans for
Choice were trying to rain on the parade.
The Parties
A national convention has something on the order of 500 parties
and receptions. Most are exclusively for specific state delegations,
but there are probably 150 or 200 which send out invitations and
the all important "credentials." Those are the "cards
on shoelaces" hanging around everyone's neck at a convention.
You had to have them to get to delegate seating, or alternate seating,
or guest seating, just to get into the building. (Security was tight
by the way. All cameras and cell phones were thoroughly examined,
and much tighter individual scrutiny was given than anything at
any airport.)
You had to have credentials (an invitation hanging around your neck)
to get to the good parties----like the Henry Bonilla party at the
Hard Rock Cafe. Dana and I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe. Obligatory
photo of course with Congressman Bonilla.
The best food party was at the Reading Terminal, a great food and
vegetable market. It was not exclusive as the New Mexico, Wyoming,
Idaho, and Hawaii delegations were all there. The Philadelphia special,
the
cheese steak from an Italian place in the market was the best food
of the week. I asked how the typical Philadelphian does it and the
owner said, with the basic cheese steak, the meat and the cheese
in a bun, and typical you add cheese whiz, and these peppers over
here and a little ketchup. The Cheese Whiz didn't sound good, but
I followed instructions to the letter. It was superb.
The Demonstrations
The ones I saw were largely comical. (We were not that close to
any which resulted in the more than 350 arrests during the week.)
The demonstrators were dressed in all manner of attire, many attempting
to spoof some aspect of the convention, the campaign or the "special
interest groups" they found offensive.
Clearly most of the people in each parade I saw were for Gore (the
rest were for Nader), and the causes they embraced were all part
of the Democrat agenda. But they were peaceful and orderly in our
area.
One group, separated out and actually ran into me as I was coming
back from downtown. It was about 20-25 young people dressed in tuxedos,
top hats and evening gowns. They were "Billionaires for Bush
and Gore." The women had fake greenbacks stuffed in their bosoms
and the men lit cigars with wads
of "cash." They were funny.
Colin Powell (He's just readin' it, folks)
Colin Powell's speech was well-received by all who matter. Those
who matter are the great muddled-middle and the media. As a matter
of fact Colin Powell's speech was well-received by us committed
conservatives too. We liked it because we knew it was going over
big with the groups mentioned above. We didn't worry about numerous
inconsistencies. We are the only people who even caught them----and
we are voting for Bush no matter what the retired general says.
His appearance was great theatre and that's what it needed to be.
Don't get me wrong. I believe General Powell is the best qualified
individual in my lifetime to be Secretary of State. You have to
go back to General George Marshall to find someone better qualified,
and that would
take you back 51 years! (I am just 46, despite appearances---I have
had a difficult and challenging life, you know Central American
jungles and all that stuff.)
Yes, top generals ( four-star or five-star) are vastly more qualified
than any number of professional cookie pushers you could line up.
And if he is appointed I am confident he will be successful.
However, a couple of throwaway lines he had were not exactly on
target. The lines about affirmative action were completely off-base.
No minorities have gained the opportunity for an entire education
from quota-based systems, as he implied. What some minorities have
gotten is, for example, a chance to attend the University of California
at Berkeley instead of say, California at Santa Cruz, or some other
place in the Cal system. Some kids have gotten into Harvard when
they would otherwise have gone to
perhaps Boston College. That sort of thing.
More egregious though, and George Bush is to blame for this because
of his throwaway appeasement line at the NAACP convention last month,
is Powell's line impugning Republicans on civil rights and race.
Parroting Bush's line, he said, "We are the party of Abraham
Lincoln, even though we may not have always lived up to it."
For just a moment, I wished for an opportunity to say, "Really,
when did we not live up to it, general." In that event he would,
I swear, have the blankest look on his face. He would have absolutely
no answer. He is just reading the script, and those kinds of remarks
are the kind we have allowed to pass for years. In fact, we are
the party of civil rights and I can go on for a whole column about
how our record stacks up.
No he wouldn't be able to answer at all. That particular line was
pabulum for the masses.... and for the media, who are closer to
the masses than they can ever realize. It was a throwaway for show,
delivered by a man who is a logistician, and tactically, operationally
and strategically trained soldier of the highest order. He'll be
a great secretary of state, but there's no reason to hang on his
every word when he waxes eloquent about domestic issues. He doesn't
need to, and in reality, he shouldn't try.
Keeping the faith.
In the next issue:
Joe Lieberman
The media are making a big deal out of nothing
Absolutely nobody votes on religious affiliation anymore
Al Gore
Lieberman does NOT restore whatever to the
"Oval Office" He's the VICE-presidential candidate
(everyone's rhetoric has him replacing Clinton, he
is replacing GORE!)
And much, much more.....