dy156

He must have been pretty fired up. On Hardball after the speeches, he and Matthews really got into it. I think part of it was a bad mic or something, but Chris Matthews was trying to make a point about how lots of elected official in the legislative branch cast votes either for or against packaged legislation for a variety of reasons, and isn't it just as unfair to criticize Kerry for voting against military spending as it is for liberals to say republicans are trying to starve poor children when the vote for cuts in education spending or for welfare reforms or something.

I don't think Miller heard him correctly, cause he said something along the lines of: (paraphrased)
"I never said anything about starving children! How dare you accuse me of something like that, why, you'd better be glad you're so far away, otherwise I'd come over there and whoop your ass!"

It was hilarious. However, I think it was bad that he looked like such a grumpy old nut, because anyone who saw that interview would be likely to discount some of the valid points he made in his speech as just coming from an angry old man that has lost it.

Overall, though I was disappointed in Cheney's speech, it was a very effective, though by no means pretty night for the Republicans. I wonder whether the Republicans were trying to fire up their base, or get undecideds and Kerry supporters to start questioning him. I think it was probably a night that did both for those who watched it. I bet some people that saw those speeches will start to wonder about Kerry, and I bet the Republican base will be really fired up. In this era of division, with razor thin margins, firing up your base might be more important.

(pet peeve confession: those on both sides who care about politics but don't watch the other side's convention! I watch both of them, but many republicans didn't watch any of the Democratic convention, and I expect that the converse is true.)