Written by: Beck

Senator Dole is speaking now. I was never a huge fan of her, but then, that's largely because I see her as an enemy of high speed limits. The accent is kind of annoying too.

Tonight's theme is "Compassion of the American People," which I can't help but imagine translates to, "A bunch of boring pontification." It's a necessary part of politics--I wouldn't expect to see anything any different--still, it hardly makes for rousing stuff.

Updates to follow if Dole says anything worth commenting on.

Update: "Marriage between a man and a woman isn't something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend." Followed by a pro-elderly and a pro-unborn message. After which she repeated her, "...but it is something Republicans will defend" line. I guess someone was bound to bring these points up, but I can't imagine it will play all that well. I suppose today is the day the Republicans appeal to their base. And I'd certainly rather this message be delivered by a non-threatening, harmless personage like Dole rather than, for instance, Pat Buchanan.

The "...Republicans will defend," hookline doesn't do it for me either. It's a bit of a contortion of a phrase, and doesn't roll off the tongue. Plus, her delivery is far too reminiscent of a 2nd grade teacher reading Curious George to her students.

Update: I've heard a lot of criticism from liberals about the Republicans not giving a genuine representation of their party at this convention (e.g. Andrew Sullivan). Their complaint is that the biggest headliners--McCain, Giuliani, and Schwartzenegger--are moderates, but the party's platform is much more conservative. Two things: first of all, Dole just laid out every single piece of social conservatism in the platform. It's there, for all the world to see now. I suspect will be hearing plenty more of that tonight as well. Second, the entire DNC was about being pro-war, and no one will seriously convince me that the Democratic Party base is a gung-ho, pro-war, political party. The half-million people (or 120,000 depending on who you talk to) marching in New York on Sunday demonstrated that amply.