How to convey the spectacular incoherence of last night’s continuing infomercial for the re-election of George W. Bush? The evening began with a series of speeches trumpeting vast increases in federal spending: on education, healthcare, AIDS, medical research, and on and on. No, these were not Democrats. They were Bush Republicans, extolling the capacity of government to help people, to cure the sick, educate the young, save Africans from HIV, subsidize religious charities, prevent or cure breast cancer, and any other number of worthy causes. The speakers were designed to target certain demographic and interest groups, just as the Democrats used to. The notion that these things are best left to the private sector, or that spending needs to be slashed in the wake of rising debt, or that the race of a speaker is irrelevant: all these are now Republican heterodoxy. The highpoint of this section was the speech of Bill Frist. I’ve never really listened to him give a speech before and this one was frighteningly bad. He has a cadaverous face and a terrifying smile. His first anecdote made no sense at all. His denunication of trial lawyers – the one moment when he didn’t look like a funeral director – left him wild-eyed and awkward-gestured. He spoke as if to a bunch of seven year olds in their second language. How did this guy ever get to a position of leadership? He’s the Senate Majority Leader and, on a bad day, he’d give small kids nightmares. His speech was a mishmash of comic cliches, pathetically contrived hand movements, that robotic swivel from teleprompTer screen to teleprompTer screen, and crude demagoguery. When you see who really runs the GOP (funny Tom DeLay isn’t in prime time, isn’t it?), you begin to realize why a cross-dressing ex-mayor, a dissident Californian and an unelected ex-librarian are among its major spokespeople.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s ass. I know I’m not the best authority in these matters, but I think the C-Span cameraman had the same insight.
THEN ARNOLD: My take on the California governor’s performance can be read at The New Republic Online.
The Dish 