Media reaction to Sen. John McCain's Republican nomination acceptance speech was generally positive, although it did not elicit the praise devoted to convention addresses by Gov. Sarah Palin or Sen. Barack Obama. Most analysts thought the second half of McCain's speech, in which he recounted his POW experience and called the country to "service" of "a cause greater than ourselves," were particularly effective. Those analysts thought those passages may help turn the campaign conversation away from Obama's top issues and toward themes like character and experience, which may favor McCain. On ABC, Charlie Gibson said, "The words that he used at the end I thought were strong, and they sort of got lost in the crowd applause: 'Stand up for each other, for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America. 'Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans. And we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.'" On NBC, Ann Curry said, "During the speech all around me there were people of all ages, men, women, older, younger, weeping. Lots of tears during John McCain's speech, especially when he spoke about his experiences as a prisoner of war." On Fox News, Brit Hume said the second half of the speech "suddenly turned very personal and very different. He told his story of his experience as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam in a way that perhaps he had not told it in a forum of anything this size before."
On ABC, George Stephanopoulos said, "Basically what you saw tonight was...McCain and his campaign saying fundamentally: This race is about the character and the qualifications of the two candidates. Barack Obama is saying it is fundamentally about...the desire of the country for change." In an analysis piece, USA Today says, "It's almost as if the two contenders are running in different races. Democrats calculate that the presidential election will turn on bread-and-butter issues. To judge by their speeches at the convention, Republicans are convinced it will be defined by questions of character and trust."
The AP reports, "Unlike Obama's speech a week ago," McCain "offered no soaring oratory until his speech-ending summons to fight for the country's future. And he seemed to receive a milder audience response than Palin had a night earlier, as well." But "his own measured style left the hall in cheers, and as is his habit in campaign stops around the country, he stepped off the stage to plunge into the crowd after his speech." In a similar piece, the San Francisco Chronicle says McCain signaled he "intends to cast himself as the anti-rock star of this race," and "painted himself as the authentic post-partisan, the proven leader who can rise above political warfare and deliver the change that his rival...promises." The Chicago Tribune says the address "was much like the candidate: calm but forceful and blunt."
Call For "Change," End To "Rancor" In Washington Noted Another big theme in the coverage us McCain's call for bipartisanship and "change." Typical of much of the reporting, the Wall Street Journal this morning says McCain pledged "to rise above Washington's acrimony as president and strike a new tone by reaching across partisan divides." The Minneapolis Star Tribune says, "After a week of warmup acts in which some of the biggest applause went to those speakers throwing the hardest jabs at the other side," McCain "sounded a more harmonious theme while drawing clear contrasts with his Democratic opponent." The New York Times headlines its story "McCain Vows To End 'Partisan Rancor,' Seizing Theme Of Change From Rival," and says "McCain firmly signaled that he intended to seize the mantle of change Mr. Obama claimed in his own unlikely bid for his party's nomination." On its front page, the Los Angeles Times says McCain "pledged to invite Democrats as well as independents into his administration, distancing himself from the approach of Bush, who typically counted on fellow Republicans to turn his policies into law." This morning, the Dallas Morning News notes reports McCain "deployed the term 'change' 10 times," but he "left out 'conservative' altogether â a sure sign that his target audience Thursday night was the moderates and independents expected to tip the race in battlegrounds like Ohio and Michigan." It also "showed he's confident that with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at his side â a darling of the right â the GOP base he'd long squabbled with is firmly in his camp." On CBS, Bob Schieffer said, "I think if he can convince people that he really can form a unity government, that he really can get Washington to sort of working again, I think he has a good chance to win this election."
McCain also sought to portray himself as a reformer. Bloomberg News notes McCain "cast himself as a resolute fighter against waste and corruption, even within his own party. ... For the lawmakers who seek the special spending projects known as earmarks, McCain said, 'I will make them famous, and you will know their names.'" The Politico says McCain "recast himself as a seasoned soldier ready to fight the entrenched interests of Washington on behalf of the average American." The Washington Post reports, "'Reform' became the watchword of the Republican National Convention, the noun, verb and adjective that McCain and his surrogates have tried to attach to the candidate, his running mate and his policy proposals."
However, in a front-page story in the New York Times, titled "The Party In Power, Running As If It Weren't," says that as "McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president, he and his supporters sounded the call of insurgents seeking to topple the establishment, even though their party heads the establishment." The Times adds, "This was, of course, part Mr. McCain's nature and part political calculation," but "as a matter of history, it is easier to run as the opposition party if you actually are the opposition party."
Some commentary is also taking issue with the fact that McCain didn't take positions particularly at odds with those in his GOP base. The Los Angeles Times, for example, editorializes that the speech was "notable also for what it omitted. Where was the robust defense of comprehensive immigration reform, perhaps the most dramatic example of McCain's ability to work with Democrats and infuriate Republican conservatives? Where was a specific blueprint for reform to prevent future collapses in the home mortgage market? Where was the full-throated renunciation of the torture of suspected terrorists that distinguishes McCain from the morally myopic policies of the Bush administration?" Adds the Times, "It is peculiar, and depressing, that a candidate who emphasizes his role as a maverick would de-emphasize examples of his independence that might discomfit the conservative true believers in his audience."
Media reports and analyses this morning continue to offer positive portrayals of Gov. Sarah Palin's convention speech, with some suggesting her introduction into the race may prove a significant boon for the McCain camp. McClatchy reports, "The Republicans emerge from their national convention with a new star -- and it isn't their presidential nominee. ... It's even possible that he may slip into her shadow. Either way, [Sen. John] McCain appeared confident sharing the starring role as he claimed the nomination Thursday." The Washington Post says on its front page that with the boost from Palin, "McCain and Barack Obama will begin the final 60 days of their general-election campaign with a political climate still more favorable for Democrats but with Republicans newly united and confident that they can compete for the undecided voters who still harbor doubts about both presidential nominees." The Politico says, "Just as Barack Obama's 2004 convention speech transformed his career, Palin's speech has the potential to transform the dynamic of this race."
Conservative Media Falling For Palin The Washington Post reports that a "new narrative" about the race is emerging from right-leaning media personalities, "who had been downright skeptical of...McCain and his unorthodox brand of Republicanism, are ecstatic about Palin -- all the more so because her nomination helps them strafe their favorite target." The Post adds, "From the titans of talk -- Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham -- to conservative hosts who loom large in their local markets, the cheering for Palin has been nearly unanimous."
Palin Ratings Rivaled Obama's Also out today are reports that Palin's speech drew nearly as many viewer's as Obama's. ABC World News reported, "We can't forget about last night. We learned there was enormous curiosity about Sarah Palin's speech last night. There were 37 million viewers. That's just a million fewer than watched Barack Obama's speech. She unquestionably energized these convention delegates." Palin, added ABC, "could address one of McCain's biggest problems, the enthusiasm gap." She "may not appeal to everyone. But if the goal was to energize the Republican base, the McCain campaign has reason to be pleased." The Washington Post reports in its 'The TV Column' that Palin's "speech had been forecast to draw lots of curious viewers at home, but no one was predicting this kind of number. In fact, Palin already has won the first face-off with her Democratic counterpart, Sen. Joseph Biden. Her ratings performance stomped on the 24 million who watched Biden deliver his acceptance speech one week earlier."
Palin Driving Fundraising In Both Camps The AP reports that the Obama camp, which used the speech as a "fundraising hook," "said it raised $10 million Thursday following" Palin's Wednesday speech, while the Republican National Committee "announced earlier Thursday, at mid-afternoon, that it had raised well in excess of $1 million since Palin's speech."
More Negative Stories On Palin Surface. Still, its not all roses for Palin in the media today. A number of negative stories about her continue to surface. The Chicago Tribune runs a piece today challenging her claims about the state airplane she put on eBay. The AP runs an item that finds Palin "seems to have switched colleges at least six times in six years, including two stints at the University of Idaho before graduating from there in 1987." The Washington Post calls Palin's push for health care competition in Alaska "unsuccessful" "to date."
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The CBS Evening News reported, "Our latest polls show the race dead even between Sens. Obama and McCain." The CBS News poll of 735 likely voters taken September 1-3 shows Obama and McCain tied at 42% apiece. In a similar survey taken a week ago, Obama led McCain 48%-40%. The Politico says the CBS poll found that "Obama's post-Democratic convention bounce has been erased -- and that for the first time...McCain has drawn even with his Democratic opponent in the network's poll. ... CBS's findings from Monday to Wednesday -- covering the early days of the Republican convention -- is particularly noteworthy because generally Obama runs stronger in the CBS poll than in other surveys."
Other Polls Shows Obama In The Lead The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,771 registered voters taken September 1-September 3 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-42%, up from a 49%-43% lead the prior day. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for September 4 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-43%, and 50%-45% including leaners. A Democracy Corps (D) poll of 1000 likely voters taken September 1-3 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-44% with Bob Barr (L) backed by 2% and Ralph Nader by 1%.
USA Today reports, "The Harvard-educated couple that the Democrats want to install in the White House are part of an elitist, 'uppity' class, a Republican congressman said Thursday." Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, "a two-term Republican who represents some of Atlanta's suburbs," said, "Honestly, I've never paid that much attention to Michelle Obama. ... Just what little I've seen of her and Senator Obama, is that they're a member of an elitist class...that thinks that they're uppity." USA Today adds that "later, Westmoreland's press secretary offered two clarifications. 'This was an adjective for elitism, not a code word. It was obviously not a racially tinged remark,' said the press secretary, Brian Robinson."
Several stories sought to tie this incident to the broader campaign to portray Obama as elitist. The Washington Post reports, "For weeks, commentators and critics have asserted that the McCain campaign's efforts to portray Obama as a vacuous celebrity smacked of historical efforts to describe African Americans seeking equality as 'uppity,' or not knowing 'their place.'" The Hill says some Democrats "have charged that the Republican campaign to paint the Illinois senator as an elitist' is racially charged, and accused them of using code words for 'uppity' without using the word itself." McClatchy notes that with this incident, "the Obama campaign said it took no racial offense."
The AP (9/5, Babington) reports that campaigning in Pennsylvania yesterday, Barack Obama actually had positive words for the Iraq "surge," saying that John McCain "'wants to ignore the first five years of the war and just talk about the last one. And that's fair, because the truth is that the violence has gone down beyond our expectations.' However, Obama said, 'the argument was and continues to be: When are we going to turn over responsibility to the Iraqis for their own country? When are they going to resolve their political differences?'" Obama repeated similar comments on Fox News later last night.
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Gen. David Petraeus has submitted his recommendations on US troop levels in Iraq to President Bush, who is now considering whether to reduce the US' military's commitment to the country. NBC Nightly News reported Petraeus' recommendations "call for almost all of the 146,000 troops who are deployed there now to remain there through the end of this year. One combat brigade would head home in early '09 but its replacement would be sent to Afghanistan where they're badly needed." The AP says Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates "have not yet disclosed specifics of their recommendation" and White House press secretary Dana Perino "said it's premature to say when the president would decide about troop levels." Another AP dispatch reports "Bush's top defense advisers have recommended he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year contrary to expectations that the improved security in Iraq would allow for quicker cuts, The Associated Press has learned."
USA Today reports "top military officials have recommended the withdrawal of about 7,000 troops from Iraq early next year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the proposal." The New York Times notes the proposed reduction "is smaller than some officials had earlier suggested might be possible before President Bush leaves office in January," but "reflected a common approach that was arrived at following extensive discussions between the Pentagon and General Petraeus."
The Washington Post reports on its front page that "Pentagon leaders have recommended" that "no further troop reductions" should be made "in Iraq this year, administration officials said yesterday." The Los Angeles Times runs a similar story under the headline "Gen. Petraeus Recommends Delay In Iraq Troop Cuts."
Iran Wants Iraq To Reject US Presence The Wall Street Journal reports, "As Baghdad and Washington officials try to hammer out a final agreement laying out the terms of a continued American military presence in Iraq, Iranian officials have ratcheted up pressure on their Iraqi counterparts to reject a deal." In public, Iran "has made it clear it is unhappy over progress made so far in the talks" and "behind-the-scenes opposition by Iran has also intensified, according to Iraqi officials."
In a new book, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post says US officials conducted surveillance on key Iraqi leaders and used covert methods to make progress in the conflict with al Qaeda and other insurgents. On its front page, the Washington Post reports the Bush Administration "has conducted an extensive spying operation on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his staff and others in the Iraqi government." The book "also says that the US troop 'surge'...was not the primary factor behind the steep drop in violence there during the past 16 months. Rather, Woodward reports, 'groundbreaking' new covert techniques, beginning in 2007, enabled US military and intelligence officials to locate, target and kill insurgent leaders and key individuals in extremist groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq."
Another Negative Portrayal Of Bush In its front-page story, the Washington Post also says Woodward's book "portrays an administration riven by dissension, either unwilling or slow to confront the deterioration of its strategy in Iraq during the summer and early fall of 2006." While "publicly, Bush maintained that US forces were 'winning'; privately, he came to believe that the military's long-term strategy of training Iraq security forces and handing over responsibility to the new Iraqi government was failing."
On its website, Fox News reports the book "renders a mixed verdict on Bush, lauding the president's surge of troops into Iraq, but saying 'too often he failed to lead.'" The new book "is less critical than Woodward's last tome, 'State of Denial,' which savaged Bush for his execution of the war in Iraq." The President "refused to grant an interview to Woodward for 'Denial,' but gave the author several interviews for 'War Within.' Such increased access did not seem to improve Woodward's opinion of Bush." The AP notes that in his new volume, Woodward says Bush "rarely was the voice of realism" on Iraq, and depicts him as "detached, tentative and slow to react to the escalating violence in Iraq."
A New York Times article on the return of residents to New Orleans following Hurricane Gustav depicts a slow return to normalcy, reporting that "garbage was set to be picked up, the airport reopened, Friday lunch at Galatoire's in the Quarter was on again, and mail delivery was scheduled to be resumed." Though "62,000 homes" remained without power, "energy company executives, under pressure from Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and hot and weary citizens, promised a speeding-up of repairs." Under the headline "Normality By Weekend The Goal In Big Easy," USA Today reports, "Federal and local officials pledged to try and get residents' lives back to normal this weekend," while warning "that no one should expect too much as the city tries to cope with a massive cleanup."
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Jay Leno: "What a week this has been. If you watched last night, I guess you know, Barack Obama got beat up by a girl."
Jay Leno: "And did you see McCain and Palin standing together? Didn't it look like a special episode of 'Regis and Kelly?'"
Jay Leno: "I guess there are some problems" with Palin, though. Have "you heard about this 'Troopergate' scandal?" Palin "allegedly...used her power as governor to pressure officials to fire her former brother-in-law from his state trooper job. Now, maybe I'm wrong, but wasn't that an episode of 'Dukes of Hazzard?'"
Jay Leno: "Sarah Palin also said that when she was governor," it "was not uncommon for her to bring her children to work with her." But it is "not going to work out bringing kids to the White House. McCain yelling out the window, 'Get off the lawn!'"
Conan O'Brien: "While she was addressing the crowd, Sarah Palin spent a lot of time criticizing Barack Obama's campaign speeches for not having enough specifics. ... Obama was reportedly angry about the claim, but didn't say exactly why."
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