What? McCain's Speech Also Outdraws Obama's

What?

When I saw Allah's post, I thought he was covering the old, old news (so old even I already got to it) that Palin had actually outdrawn Obama.

That the New Hotness, with all the media attention (good, bad, and very, very ugly) swirling around her, I figured, sure, I get that.

But Old and Busted McCain also out-drawing The One?

Good news? The public isn't just interested in the McCain/Palin ticket out of tabloidish curiosity.

Bad news? McCain's speech, while ending quite well, was, to be charitable, mediocre. Unless it played well with squishy, dumb-ass "undecided voters," which is possible, but we'll have to wait for the polling on that.

Mitigating the bad news: No one expected a soaring speech from McCain, and no one, therefore, was greatly disappointed. However, everyone was told to expect an epiphanous orgasm from The One, and what he delivered was a servicable speech that was neither convincing nor fresh on the policy side nor inspiring and soaring on the thematic or biographical side. He said it would be "workmanike," and for once, that wasn't spin. It was a bland speech.

Note well that while liberals lost their shit after Palin spoke, conservatives greeted Obama's with a collective meh. It wasn't awful and we didn't claim it was. But none of us were exactly shaking in our boots, thinking Oh shit, we have our work cut out for us now! It didn't inspire us -- we didn't expect it to, of course -- but it also didn't frighten us.

Our reaction: Relief. The emperor has no clothes -- or, to be fair, he has clothes. They're just not particularly great clothes, and we have little fears that all the kids will be wearing them this season.

Advantage: McCain.

posted by Ace at 05:34 PM

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