Conventional Wisdom

Time for the long awaited convention post!!

Lets start with the first day. Now I do not know if I am just paranoid, or seeing things that are not there, or what. But here is what I saw on the TV.

Bored looking people. Whenever the cameras zoomed in on people in the crowd, they were talking or looking up or otherwise looking uninterested in what was going on. Some even looked angry.

During the Michelle Obama speech, the crowd shots were even more interesting. The people in the crowd that they zoomed in on that looked like they were paying attention were mostly black. The white people that the cameras picked to zoom on were not paying attention.

The crowd microphone was also turned way down. So when speakers would pause it sounded like they were pausing for a dozen or so people clapping.

And this was MSNBC.

And then the next day, when Hillary made her speech, another interesting thing happened. The crowd microphone was turned way up. So when she gets on stage you can hear the cheering and yelling - as if the whole place really supported her.

You know, that whole "party not united" thing again. That bullshit about people that voted for Hillary supporting McCain now. Whenever her name was mentioned, they would show wide shots of the crowd, and the crowd microphone was turned up.

So who could be behind all this? The unspoken message was clear. To me, it seemed like someone was controlling various factors to send their own message.

Oh yea, I should also mention now that the floor coverage is done with a pool. One network gets to cover the floor, and all other networks get to use the feed. This makes sense because it prevents everyone from having their own camera crew in place. You only need one camera crew. I am sure that most (if not all) major events do this.

This year, Fox is the pool crew for the Democratic Convention.

Now I am probably just paranoid. People like to make a big deal out of everything. But due to all the outright false shit I have heard on Fox, and given that they were picked from the pool of networks (I think it was their turn or something - who gets to cover the pool rotates), I just do not know. It is very possible that the pool footage that all networks had to use was manipulated.

And I am sure that I am not the only one writing about this. I heard it briefly on the radio, when I was listening to the AM radio waiting for the traffic report. Typically I use 940 AM for the traffic reports. 940 AM is a 50,000 watt station and I usually get the best signal on that station. 940 is the Air America station here. 610 is the right wing radio outlet here. 610 is a lower power station with a pretty good signal, but sometimes I get more static there. So for news and traffic reports I use 940, and as soon as I get the traffic report I switch back to satellite radio.

AM signals generally suck. Unless you want to count lightning strikes.

And then there is the CNN coverage. Larry King has decided to have a panel of Republicans to give commentary about the Democrat Convention. Which is fine really, as next week the opposite will happen. Also, Larry King wants to get ratings. After hours and hours of Democratic Convention madness, people on the other side will want to hear shit they want to hear. So they can tune into Larry King and listen to the Republican Panel. It all works out.

But when I heard them on the first day, it was just too much. Are people really buying that shit? I guess so. Here is what I heard.

The Michelle Obama speech was "plain and ordinary". That Ben Stein asshole was saying that she did not really say anything at all. Of course a wife is supposed to love her husband and children, and so on.

Well what did he expect to hear? A policy speech? Can you imagine what the ass would have said then? Remember how the right ripped into Hillary for not being the typical "let me decorate the White House and I will be happy" first lady? How dare she not just shut up and stand in the background, like a good first lady should.

Also, I think the point of her speech was that her life is a lot like the life of everyone else. Her family was not rich or privileged. Her father had to work hard to support the family. It was not easy, but they managed.

You know, like everyone else. Imagine that.

But the commentators just boiled it down to "plain and boring. No substance". Holy shit.

Anyhow I do not know why I even watch this shit really. It IS boring. It is just a pep rally. I do not think anyone will decide who to vote for based on a convention.

And I do not know why I listen to the opposition commentary. Right now the big talk is all about the Obama speech at the football stadium. How the stage looks like a "Greek temple" and if Obama wants to play up the common man thing he should not be at a stadium on a stage that looks like a grand temple.

Uhhhhhh.....so he is supposed to accept the nomination in a bar while playing darts?

PLEASE.....MAKE IT ALL END ALREADY!!!!!!!

I am so glad I have satellite radio. I can drive around and not have to hear any of this crap. And as for the TV, I have some DVDs to watch. And there is always Cartoon Network.

The Republican Convention is next week. And you know what? It will be the same. A giant pep rally. A bunch of people will get up and talk without saying much. Ill watch it, but not the whole thing. I am not a glutton for punishment. Ill listen to a few speeches, much like I did for this convention.

But I will avoid the discussion panels. If this is possible.