Marine Democrat Senator Zell Miller's speech

[Sparrowhawk]

OUTSTANDING!

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040901/040901_zell_miller_hmed.h2.jpg

Remarks by Senator Zell Miller

Since I last stood in this spot, a whole new generation of the Miller Family has been born: Four great grandchildren.

Along with all the other members of our close-knit family -- they are my and Shirley's most precious possessions.

And I know that's how you feel about your family also.

Like you, I think of their future, the promises and the perils they will face.

Like you, I believe that the next four years will determine what kind of world they will grow up in.

And like you, I ask which leader is it today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family?

The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party.

There is but one man to whom I am willing to entrust their future and that man's name is

George Bush.

In the summer of 1940, I was an eight-year-old boy living in a remote little Appalachian valley.

Our country was not yet at war but even we children knew that there were some crazy men across the ocean who would kill us if they could.

President Roosevelt, in his speech that summer, told America "all private plans, all private lives, have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger."

In 1940 Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee.

And there is no better example of someone repealing their "private plans" than this good man.

He gave Roosevelt the critical support he needed for a peacetime draft, an unpopular idea at the time.

And he made it clear that he would rather lose the election than make national security a partisan campaign issue.

Shortly before Wilkie died he told a friend, that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between "here lies a president" or "here lies one who contributed to saving freedom", he would prefer the latter.

Where are such statesmen today?

Where is the bi-partisanship in this country when we need it most?

Now, while young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrat's manic obsession to bring down our Commander-in-Chief.

What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?

I can remember when Democrats believed that it was the duty of America to fight for freedom over tyranny.

It was Democratic President Harry Truman who pushed the Red Army out of Iran, who came to the aid of Greece when Communists threatened to overthrow it, who stared down the Soviet blockade of West Berlin by flying in supplies and saving the city.

Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter. But not today.

Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator.


http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040902/capt.rncc12309020210.cvn_keynote_miller_rncc123.jp g




And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators.

Tell that to the one-half of Europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers.

Tell that to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because Dwight Eisenhower commanded an army of liberators, not occupiers.

Tell that to the half a billion men, women and children who are free today from the Baltics to the Crimea, from Poland to Siberia, because Ronald Reagan rebuilt a military of liberators, not occupiers.

Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home.

For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.

No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country if he doesn't believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home.

But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution.

They don't believe there is any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy.

It is not their patriotism - it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking. They claimed Carter's pacifism would lead to peace.

They were wrong.

They claimed Reagan's defense buildup would lead to war.

They were wrong.

And, no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

Together, Kennedy/Kerry have opposed the very weapons system that won the Cold War and that is now winning the War on Terror.

Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but Americans need to know the facts.

The B-1 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, dropped 40% of the bombs in the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The B-2 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hussein's command post in Iraq.

The F-14A Tomcats, that Senator Kerry opposed, shot down Khadifi's Libyan MIGs over the Gulf of Sidra. The modernized F-14D, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered missile strikes against Tora Bora.

The Apache helicopter, that Senator Kerry opposed, took out those Republican Guard tanks in Kuwait in the Gulf War. The F-15 Eagles, that Senator Kerry opposed, flew cover over our Nation's Capital and this very city after 9/11.

I could go on and on and on: Against the Patriot Missile that shot down Saddam Hussein's scud missiles over Israel, Against the Aegis air-defense cruiser, Against the Strategic Defense Initiative, Against the Trident missile, against, against, against.

This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces?

U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?

Twenty years of votes can tell you much more about a man than twenty weeks of campaign rhetoric.

Campaign talk tells people who you want them to think you are. How you vote tells people who you really are deep inside.

Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United Nations.

Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide.

John Kerry, who says he doesn't like outsourcing, wants to outsource our national security.

That's the most dangerous outsourcing of all. This politician wants to be leader of the free world.

Free for how long?

For more than twenty years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure. As a war protestor, Kerry blamed our military.

As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harms way, far-away.

George Bush understands that we need new strategies to meet new threats.

John Kerry wants to re-fight yesterday's war. George Bush believes we have to fight today's war and be ready for tomorrow's challenges. George Bush is committed to providing the kind of forces it takes to root out terrorists.

No matter what spider hole they may hide in or what rock they crawl under.

George Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a better grip.

From John Kerry, they get a "yes-no-maybe" bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends.

I first got to know George Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man.

I am moved by the respect he shows the First Lady, his unabashed love for his parents and his daughters, and the fact that he is unashamed of his belief that God is not indifferent to America.

I can identify with someone who has lived that line in "Amazing Grace," "Was blind, but now I see," and I like the fact that he's the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday morning.

He is not a slick talker but he is a straight shooter and, where I come from, deeds mean a lot more than words.

I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel.

The man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family.

This election will change forever the course of history, and that's not any history. It's our family's history.

The only question is how. The answer lies with each of us. And, like many generations before us, we've got some hard choosing to do.

Right now the world just cannot afford an indecisive America. Fainthearted, self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world.

In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him.

Thank you.

God Bless this great country and God Bless George W. Bush.


http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040830/040830_miller_vmed_12p.vmedium.jpg

[thedrifter]

I do have to agree Cook....

Outstanding......


Something a little extra..........

Ellie



Zell Miller Accused of Putting Money Over Politics
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
September 01, 2004

New York (CNSNews.com) - Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, a Democrat who will deliver the GOP's keynote address, came under attack Wednesday from members of his own party who claimed the speech was merely a publicity stunt for his best-selling book.

"Let's be crystal clear, he's not going to switch parties because if he switches parties, he can't sell as many books," said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "I've talked to people who've talked to him, and he goes around the country bragging about how many books he's sold."

Last year Miller wrote "A National Party No More," his account detailing the alleged demise of the Democratic Party. It became a bestseller and Miller made national news for his disagreement with his own party.

Throughout their hour-long press briefing Wednesday, Democrats tried to avoid discussion of Miller. But after prodding from reporters, McAuliffe and New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg came out swinging at the Georgian.

"During the time I've served with Zell Miller, he never offered a suggestion as to what to do from a policy standpoint," Lautenberg said. "All he did was cast a vote for the other side. They could count on him every single time. He hasn't brought anything to the Democratic agenda."

Miller was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2000 by Georgia's then-Democrat governor Roy Barnes after the death of Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell. Miller later won re-election to serve the remainder of Coverdell's term, which expires next January.

Although Miller isn't seeking re-election, the GOP has asked him to come back to Madison Square Garden, the same place he delivered the keynote for the Democratic National Convention in 1992. Four years later, he helped draft the Democrat platform.

But since joining the Senate, Miller has been a consistent ally of Republicans. He has voted for President Bush's judicial nominees and has remained loyal to the president on issues when even some moderate Republicans have defected.

The way McAuliffe sees it, Miller wants to fool the public into thinking he's a steadfast Democrat when that couldn't be further from the truth. After all, McAuliffe said, Miller won't even attend the party's caucus meetings.

"Being a Democrat attacking Democrats helps you sell books," McAuliffe said. "If he truly felt the way he does about the Democratic Party, he should have shown the courage and leadership to have left the party a long time ago. But that wasn't in his economic interest. He wouldn't be on all these television talk shows if he was just another Republican."

http://www.cnsnews.com/Politics.asp


Ellie

[Sparrowhawk]

take Millers speech and run it often on National TV....

It was a great speech, one the media will try to stay away from fully printing.

He remains a Marine that's for sure!

[Jersey Joe]

What a twosome to criticize Miller!! Terry McAuliffe (you remember
he's the Clinton's boy that just happened to sell all his World Com
stock [$19 MILLION] before it crashed--also, believe he only invested $100,000 but could be wrong). Also, Lautenberg SPOKE!
Did they visit him in the old folks home??? Where was he--I want
to see a live, walking, talking Lautenberg. What a joke he is to
the State of NJ. He was the one, for you folks West of the
Delaware River, who replaced Torricelli for the US Senate just before the Feds were closing in. Doesn't matter our State Constitution FORBIDS such action---just get our Jersey Supreme Court involved and anything the Dems want, they get.
Sorry for venting, but these two are truly clowns of the highest order.
IMHO, Zel's speach was "right on", to the point, and he spoke the truth. All things some folks cant stand to hear.
Semper Fi

[thedrifter]

Zell Miller draws cheers at GOP Convention

NEW YORK (AP) Hailed by Republicans as ``the conscience of the Democratic Party,'' Georgia Sen. Zell Miller asserted Wednesday that Senate colleague John Kerry's indecisiveness would encourage terrorists and weaken the country's defenses.

``George Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a better grip,'' the Georgia senator said. ``From John Kerry, they get a 'yes-no-maybe' bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends.''

To a den of cheering Republicans, Miller delivered the keynote GOP address, a resounding denunciation of Kerry and the Democratic Party to which he has belonged for half a century. He enthusiastically endorsed President Bush's re-election.

``I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel,'' Miller said. ``The man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family.''

The partisan crowd went wild, holding up signs saying ``We love Zell'' and ``It's Zell Miller Time,'' when he said ``No pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.''

Vice President Dick Cheney followed Miller to the podium and said, ``I'm sure glad Zell Miller is on our side.''

Still, Miller said he has no plans to become a Republican he's not seeking re-election and his vote for Bush will be his first for a Republican in 52 years as a voter.

Miller gave the Democratic keynote address 12 years earlier in the same Madison Square Garden, and his colleagues seethed in anger calling him a turncoat and organizing protests at his office.

Miller, meanwhile, was scathing in his criticism of fellow Democrat Kerry. He said no one had been ``more wrong, more loudly, more often.''

``For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure,'' Miller said. ``As a war protester, Kerry blamed our military. As a senator, he voted to weaken our military.''

Miller, D-Ga., said Kerry had voted to cut key weapon systems. ``This is a man who wants to be the commander in chief of our U.S. armed forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?'' Miller said.

In those remarks, Miller ignored the cuts in military spending that Vice President Dick Cheney pushed as defense secretary under the first President Bush. Cheney canceled the Navy F-14D Tomcat fighter and sent Congress a budget that proposed curtailing production of the B-2.

He sneered at Kerry's proposal that the United States seek consensus before going to war, with the United Nations and other nations. ``Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide,'' Miller said.

Miller, a former Marine, also accused the Democrats of putting soldiers in danger just to get at Bush.

``While young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats' manic obsession to bring down our commander in chief,'' he said.

Miller said he's standing with Bush.

``I ask which leader it is today that has the vision, the willpower, and yes, the backbone to best protect my family?'' he said. ``The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party.''

This comes from the same Southern Democrat who in 1992 told the Democratic National Convention that President George H.W. Bush ``doesn't get it'' and that 12 years of Republicans in the White House ``have robbed us of our hope.''

But Miller said the current President Bush is the right man for the future.

``Right now the world cannot afford an indecisive America,'' Miller said. ``... In this hour of danger our president has had the courage to stand up.''

Republicans hoped Miller's speech would convince undecided voters and maybe some conservative Democrats that Kerry is too liberal for them. Miller has consistently sided with the Republicans on just about every issue during his Senate career.

Miller was known more for his progressive politics while Georgia governor instituting a statewide lottery to provide free college tuition to all students with ``B'' averages and leading a failed attempt to remove the Confederate fighting banner from the state flag.

He insists that he hasn't changed, but the Democratic Party has.

Democrats, meanwhile, revived old nicknames like ``zigzag Zell.'' Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., called his speaking to the GOP ``a shame and a disgrace.''

``During the time I served with Zell Miller, he never once offered a suggestion as to what we might do from a policy standpoint, all he did was cast votes for the other side,'' New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Wednesday. ``They could count on him every single time. He hasn't brought anything to the Democratic agenda.''

Republicans, however, have treated Miller like a rock star this week. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Georgian, pointed to Miller as proof that the Democrats were not an inclusive party.


http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=83990


Ellie

[Charles Neilson]

Zell might have also reminded us about Senator Taft, the Republican leader who was a staunch Neutralist that strongly opposed America's involvement in the European warfare just before WWII. But after Pearl Harbor, he then solidly stood behind President Roosevelt when it became necessary to either make a total committment to America's quest or continue partisan politics. Regardless of any irony or other negative accusations about Zel Miller as a staunch Democrat, Zel simply represents that rare politician from the Democratic Party that loves family and Country above political power at any cost. There were more Americans killed on 9/11 than at Pearl Harbor! Furthermore these were non-combatant civilians rather than the military. Even if today's average Joe SixPack did not run to the local recruiting station after 9/11 as did many many married men with families after Pearl Harbor, I at least expect our leaders to project more patriotic fervor than has Kerry and the Democratic Party. Regarding this, Zel has stepped up for Kerry and the Democrats and they can only complain about extraneous non-pertinent BS to demonize him. After the Democrats lose this election, they will need to call on Zel to lead them back to their senses or we will have a three or four party system. Currently, the only chance the Democrats seem to have to win elections is by giving the vote to illegal immigrants and ex-convicts and by extending entitlements to the unproductive segment of society in exchange for their vote. If they succeed with this approach to gaining power, then America's destiny will be relegated to utopians that have no fear in allowing other nations to choose when we should take a stand on freedom. Zel should win a "Chesty" courage and leadership award....as I don't think I will ever forget what he said and stood for. CJ Neilson MD, Sgt USMC 1967

[Sparrowhawk]

Take a look at the Globe and Anchor on the right side of Miller's suit.

Makes you proud of the man and his message for such a time as this.





http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040902/capt.rncc12309020210.cvn_keynote_miller_rncc123.jp g


"Nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators."

Semper Fidelis

Cook

[radio relay]

"Throughout his career, Senator Miller has credited two major influences for his success: his strong mother and the U.S. Marine Corps. " from his bio on his official website: http://miller.senate.gov/index.htm
http://miller.senate.gov/ZM%20Personal%20Pictures/ZM%20Marine%20photo.jpg

We need more democrats, and republicans like, Zell Miller! It must be very hard for such a man to be a democrat these days.

[thedrifter]

Miller turns on own party, calls Kerry weak and wobbly

By: Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Hailed by Republicans as "the conscience of the Democratic Party," Georgia Sen. Zell Miller asserted Wednesday that Senate colleague John Kerry's indecisiveness would encourage terrorists and weaken the country's defenses.

"George Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a better grip," the Georgia senator said. "From John Kerry, they get a 'yes-no-maybe' bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends."

To a den of cheering Republicans, Miller delivered the keynote GOP address, a resounding denunciation of Kerry and the Democratic Party to which he has belonged for half a century. He enthusiastically endorsed President Bush's re-election.


"I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel," Miller said. "The man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family."

The partisan crowd went wild, holding up signs saying "We love Zell" and "It's Zell Miller Time," when he said "No pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry."

Vice President Dick Cheney followed Miller to the podium and said, "I'm sure glad Zell Miller is on our side."

Still, Miller said he has no plans to become a Republican -- he's not seeking re-election -- and his vote for Bush will be his first for a Republican in 52 years as a voter.

Miller gave the Democratic keynote address 12 years earlier in the same Madison Square Garden, and his colleagues seethed in anger -- calling him a turncoat and organizing protests at his office.

Miller, meanwhile, was scathing in his criticism of fellow Democrat Kerry.

"For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure," Miller said. "As a war protester, Kerry blamed our military. As a senator, he voted to weaken our military."

Miller, D-Ga., said Kerry had voted to cut key weapon systems. "This is a man who wants to be the commander in chief of our U.S. armed forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?" Miller said.

He criticized Kerry's proposal that the United States seek consensus before going to war, with the United Nations and other nations. "Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide," Miller said.

Miller, a former Marine, also accused the Democrats of putting soldiers in danger just to get at Bush.

"While young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats' manic obsession to bring down our commander in chief," he said.

Miller said he's standing with Bush.

"I ask which leader it is today that has the vision, the willpower, and yes, the backbone to best protect my family?" he said. "The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party."

This comes from the same Southern Democrat who in 1992 told the Democratic National Convention that President George H.W. Bush "doesn't get it" and that 12 years of Republicans in the White House "have robbed us of our hope."

But Miller said the current President Bush is the right man for the future.

"Right now the world cannot afford an indecisive America," Miller said. "... In this hour of danger our president has had the courage to stand up."

Republicans hoped Miller's speech would convince undecided voters and maybe some conservative Democrats that Kerry is too liberal for them.

Miller was known more for his progressive politics while Georgia governor -- instituting a statewide lottery to provide free college tuition to all students with "B" averages and leading a failed attempt to remove the Confederate fighting banner from the state flag.

He insists that he hasn't changed, but the Democratic Party has.

Democrats, meanwhile, revived old nicknames like "zigzag Zell." Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., called his speaking to the GOP "a shame and a disgrace."

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/09/02/election2004/20_03_419_1_04.txt


Ellie

[cdtroy]

Senator Miller has put into words one of the things that pains me to be from Massachusetts.

"And, no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry." Senator Miller.

Semper Fi Brother

[USMC-FO]

Did not catch all of Zell's keynote last night but what I did see was one rip roaring, red meat barn burner. Loved the red face buldging neck veins full frontal assult.....Needless to say the Eagle Globe and Anchor on the lapel was also noted....

All Marine !!

[bobarthur]

After the convention, Zell was interviewed by Chris Mathews on MSNBC. Zell was so insulted by Mathews' hardball style that he challenged Mathews to a duel!! Great Stuff!!

[CAR]

LOVED the speech! I was roaring. It was so nice to hear a politician give an honest and truly heart felt speech. Not shocked that it was a Marine. I saw the speech and then saw him on "Hardball" with Matthews. Mathews showed his colors and tried to play the "divert the facts" game with an Old Dem and got smashed. Sad to see that the Dems were out in force quickly trying to diminish Miller with crap like "Zig, Zag, Zell"
Thank you Miller and Semper Fi

[thedrifter]

Zell, Dick, life!


New York, N.Y. — Before getting on to Wednesday's business, can we discuss a little of Tuesday's? Yesterday, I was hard on the Bush twins' performance, and a lot of my readers were, in turn, hard on me. One woman likened me to the music critic (Paul Hume) who criticized Margaret Truman's singing — the president threatened to punch him in the nose, or something.


Others said I was disloyal: "Lefties never slam the children of their leaders. In fact, they defend their own. Perhaps conservatives can learn something from that sense of loyalty."

I must tell you, it's a joy to be an independent journalist. Confusion comes, I think, from the set-ups on television. When I go on television, I'm almost invariably put up against a Democratic-party worker — not another independent journalist, who is a liberal, but a professional Democrat. I am free to say whatever I wish — and sometimes that cuts against the Republican party — but the Democrat must always toe the line. I feel sort of sorry for him (or, more often, her).

One of the things I found unfortunate about the Bush twins' performance is that it sort of detracted from the atmosphere that Schwarzenegger had established. The arena became nervous, tittery, sort of alarmed. One source-on-the-floor told me that some delegates were on the verge of booing. What saved the day, said this source, was that President Bush (41) shook his finger at the girls, scoldingly, or mock-scoldingly. I did not see that — but I'm glad about it!

Care to hear something positive about Jenna and her sis? Okay, here's a letter:

Hi, Jay:
I was watching the twins last night with my mom (a staunch lib), and I looked over and saw that she had a small smile on her face. I asked her what gave, to which she replied, "Jenna reminds me of Vicky" (my younger sister). She sat that way throughout their remarks. I said to myself, "Mission Accomplished!"


In his Diary yesterday, David Frum remarked on the sheer niceness of the Republican throng. (David knows a thing or two about niceness — I know no one nicer.) I have picked up on this too. I was especially aware of it in 2000, after attending both the Republican and the Democratic conventions. I'm biased, sure, but the Republicans struck me as the kind of people you would want to happen by, if you were broken down on the road. They would stop and help. And yet, the national press continually characterizes this party as "mean-spirited."

We will have plenty of time later to discuss the meanness factor in Democratic politics (and I know our party has some beauts, too). Now we will move on (to coin a phrase).

Speaking of nice: Larry Kudlow, with his television partner Jim Cramer, hosted a lunch yesterday, at the famed French restaurant Daniel (as in the chef Daniel Boulud). Larry, who has been through fire, spreads light and love wherever he goes. So does his wife Judy, the picture of serenity. I asked Larry, "Is she always so serene?" He chuckled and said, "Pretty much, yes."

Dick and Betsy DeVos, the Michigan Republicans and activists, are also conspicuously nice. They hosted a gathering at which they celebrated All Children Matter (whose website is here), dedicated to education reform, and especially to school choice. They are a couple who have put a fortune to excellent, public-spirited use. And as Dick says, school choice, in addition to being an education issue, is a justice issue.

At an NR party, we had roomsful of wonderfully nice people, including my beloved friends Ted and Heidi Cruz (he is solicitor general of Texas, and almost surely a future governor of Texas, and quite possibly a future president; Heidi is a financial whiz, late of the White House, now a mover-and-shaker in Texas). And I will say something about Mona Charen, who was present: Acquire her book, Useful Idiots. It's about who said what, during the Cold War. Keep it for reference, all your life — it will come in handy, I assure you. (My review of that book, incidentally, is here.)

End of social notes (for now).

At the convention, Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican, comes off as impossibly young. He looks and sounds like a fellow who just won a Rotary public-speaking contest. He is speaking against a background of a Wisconsin farm (I assume it is a Wisconsin farm). Those clever convention maestros: They can make the podium background — with that screen — whatever they want. Congressman Ryan talks about small business and the travesty of the "Two Americas" argument and the ignominy of class warfare. He makes a sparky, likable speech.

And by the way, have you ever noticed that Wisconsinites pronounce "Wisconsin" in that special Wisconsin way? No one else says that word that way. I'm not even sure I can imitate it.

On the subject of pronunciation: One of those RNC "correspondents," Yohana de la Torre, insists on saying her name in spectacularly Spanish style. In this, she reminds me of that Saturday Night Live character. Remember her? (I think it was Saturday Night Live — I think it was Gilda Radner, too, but I can't be sure.) A TV reporter, she would give her report in perfectly standard American English, then sign off by pronouncing her name ultra-Spanishly. Hilarious. And Yohana de la Torre is a trip (and sort of a hot tamale).

Immensely likable is Renee Amoore. She said of herself (and I paraphrase), "You're probably asking, 'Who is this black woman up here?' For one thing, I'm a third-generation Republican — and my 20-year-old is a fourth-generation Republican. We love being Republican. And I'm not only Republican, I have the nerve to be African-American. And guess what? I've been black a long time. People say, 'How dare you? How could you?' And I say, 'I believe in George W. Bush, because he believes in small business'" (pronounced "bidness").

I hope you caught it — rousing and satisfying.

In television interviews, Terry McAuliffe consistently refers to Vice President Cheney as "Mr. Halliburton." It's a little silly, but this is Terry McAuliffe ("The Macker," he calls himself). My question: Should Republicans not feel free to call him "Mr. Global Crossing"?

Michael Reagan hit some very nice notes, like right here at the beginning of his talk:

I am truly the luckiest man in the world. I am lucky for so many, many reasons. First of all, I'm lucky because my mother, my father, my birth mother, and my birth father all had something in common. You know what it was? They were all pro-life. And they were pro-adoption.
Because they were, I stand before you tonight as Michael Edward Reagan.


A little later, Reagan said, "I've come tonight to honor my father, not to politicize his name." Okay, okay, but really: Ronald Reagan was twice the GOP nominee for California governor; he was twice the GOP nominee for president. It's okay to "politicize" his name. He was, after all, a politician, and a not unproud one.

After the Reagan video tribute, the convention played the Republican anthem, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A.," which — I'm sorry — holds up, after all these years, and probably always will. May it always be the Republican anthem, especially when things Reagan come into play (and may they always — speaking of wishes).

About Reagans: I think it's a shame that Nancy Reagan has not come — if even to give a little wave. Why has she not? Is it because 1) she's frail, 2) her anti-Bush juices are flowing, 3) she did not want to appear to contradict her son Ron (who spoke at the Democratic convention), or 4) for some other reason?

No idea.

Saw a little item on Fox News (I say "saw," because it was on the "crawl"). Jack Nicklaus spoke at a Bush rally in Ohio (Jack's native state). I had never heard of the Great One's having anything to do with politics. If this is true . . . I'm sort of amazed, and awed. Look, if Jack wants Bush to be reelected, what more is there to discuss?

Also on Fox News, I saw Newt Gingrich interviewed, and he was — what? Dazzling. I had forgotten — forgotten, really, how talented, how knowledgeable, how powerful, in argument, he is. It's one of the crying shames of history that that speakership did not work out.

A few words about Zell Miller, if I may — "Give 'Em Zell" Miller. I thought he was thrilling. Whether the rest of America will think so, I don't know. I am hardly a national gauge. (I find no politician more likable than Phil Gramm, who is almost universally agreed to be unlikable.) Miller was stern and scalding. He was full of righteous indignation. That indignation did not seem manufactured, it seemed genuine.

He came out firing, not even waiting for applause to stop — not waiting for it even to subside! In the course of his speech, he seemed unwilling to accept Republican applause. It was almost as though he had resolved to say his piece, then get out of there. He tore the bark off Kerry — as no Republican would have been quite allowed to do, strangely. He will probably prove the most potent anti-Kerry speaker of the convention.

continued....

[thedrifter]

He gave the kind of speech that simply isn't made anymore — not in the Age of Oprah. At political conventions — especially Republican ones — a niceness pervades. Also a caution, a sense of "Play it safe." Well, into this atmosphere of nice, Senator Miller poured a bucket of vinegar. The astringency of his speech was one of the most glorious things about it.

In what he said, Miller reminded me of a dear friend of mine — a lifelong Democrat, for many years an aide to an extremely prominent Democratic politician. Over a year ago, my friend told me that he was voting to reelect Bush, because "when I look at my children, I want a president who will do the utmost to keep them safe — and that can't be a member of my party. At least no plausible member."

From Miller's lips, I was especially taken by, "In the summer of 1940, I was an eight-year-old boy living in a remote little Appalachian valley. Our country was not yet at war, but even we children knew that there were some crazy men across the ocean who would kill us if they could." The current relevance is overwhelming. And I think a good many of us liked Miller's insistence that American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are liberators, not occupiers (although a type of occupation necessarily followed liberation). And, "Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier." Plus, "our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home."

Which was a nice segue to: "It has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag."

And can anyone really doubt the truth of the sentence "In [the Democratic leaders'] warped way of thinking, America is the problem, not the solution"?

Out of the blue — completely out of the blue — came Miller's attack on Kerry and Ted Kennedy, jointly: "No pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two senators from Massachusetts . . ." I was thinking that Miller must have a special antipathy to Kennedy, to call on him like that.

Miller's most southern-sounding line? "I could go own and own and own."

And you must have liked that crack about outsourcing: "John Kerry, who says he doesn't like outsourcing, wants to outsource our national security. That's the most dangerous outsourcing of all."

Myself, I had never heard the "same man on Saturday night as he is on Sunday morning" line, and I enjoyed it. And I thought this was a good and affecting sentence: "I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel."

It would have been wise, I think, for Miller to say something like, "I'm a Democrat, and I will remain one — but the overriding issue of this age is the war." Whatever my criticisms, however, Miller gave us — certainly gave me — a memorable oratorical thrill.

Play it again, Zell!

Dotting the arena were signs that said "Let freedom reign!" This is what President Bush scribbled, of course, when Condi passed him a note saying that authority in Iraq had been transferred. Some twitted him for saying "reign" instead of "ring" — but Bush got it exactly right: Government in Iraq will be consensual; what will reign is freedom, not dictatorship (if all goes well).

Cheney did something at the beginning of his speech that his introducer, Mrs. Cheney, did not do: He acknowledged that Miller speech, which was advisable, even requisite. Some (further) notes on the VeepSpeech:

When Cheney said, "I have an opponent of my own" (meaning Senator Edwards), a low-voiced (male) delegate said, "No, you don't" — marvelous.

"From kindergarten to graduation, I went to public schools, and I know that they are a key to being sure that every child has a chance to succeed and to rise in the world." A wonderful, sort of old-fashioned phrase: "to rise in the world."

Cheney plugged tort reform, which Republicans have done too little of.

And wasn't that an interesting fact about Libyan nuclear materials "locked up and stored away in Oak Ridge, Tenn."?

The "USA, USA," and "Four more years, four more years," detracted from Cheney's speech. He did not manage applause, either. He let applause smother his lines, disrupt his thoughts. The pace was not super-good — and I am a huge fan of Cheney as performer, thinking him grossly underrated in this department.

I would not go so far as to say that Cheney disappointed in this speech — but his was maybe my favorite in Philadelphia, four years ago, and his was the one I was most looking forward to in Madison Square Garden. And it was okay — no, quite okay. But I had saddled Cheney with the non-bigotry of high expectations.

I'm fairly sure I spotted former QB Jim Kelly in the arena, and I think I spotted former WR Lynn Swann — but I can't swear to it.

It semi-saddens me that no one uses my favorite — because most damning and emblematic — Kerry quote: "The invasion [of Grenada] represented a bully's show of force against a weak Third World nation."

Shall we deal with a little mail? I should have put the following at the top, with the Margaret Truman bit: In yesterday's Impromptus, I referred to George P. Bush as "a little brown one, all grown up" (or something like that). Several readers wrote to say they found this offensive, and how could I? I find their offendedness offensive. The first President Bush, their grandfather, said "little brown ones" with affection, and probably pride. (He said this to President Reagan, pointing out his son Jeb's kids.) I recall it in the same spirit. Enemies of President Bush spun this ugly. I don't have to accept their spin — and neither do you. These children are brown and beautiful. So f***ing what? (Pardon my French — but I speak it in honor of John Kerry. And Dick Cheney!)

Also in yesterday's Impromptus, I mentioned Elizabeth Dole's line about staying behind the podium, or coming out from behind the podium. Many readers objected that she meant "lectern," not "podium," and what a shame that I failed to rip her for it. But note the second definition of "podium": "a stand for holding the notes of a public speaker; a lectern." Lectern may be more precise, and preferable, but I think podium is kosher — from usage.

I also mentioned the Republican party's "ground game" — its get-out-the-vote effort, which had been lagging behind the Democrats'. I received several letters from Republicans who are actually players in the ground game — this one, for example:

I am involved with state legislative races in Wisconsin, and work closely with the Bushies here. . . .
In 2000, Bush had three paid field staff for the entire state. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing any of the staff for the entire campaign. Bush lost Wisconsin by around 5,700 votes.

This time, between Bush-Cheney and the Republican party of Wisconsin, there are nearly 50 paid field staff working to reelect the president. In the Green Bay area — which is the battleground area of this battleground state — they have had three paid staff for months. By comparison, the Kerry team now has one field staffer in Green Bay, and that person just got here in the last couple of weeks.

The Bush team has out-hustled, out-organized, and generally creamed the Kerry team here in the ground game. I am very confident that Bush will win Wisconsin, and much of the credit will go to beating the Dems at their traditional specialty.


Music to Republican ears!

"Dear Jay: This is such a small thing, but it drives me crazy: John Kerry may have the sloppiest, most unsatisfactory salute I have ever seen. I'm ex-Navy, and while I didn't make it a career or even love it that much, I always took a little pride in giving a proper salute. The forearm and hand should form a perfectly straight line from elbow to fingertips, the thumb should be bent tightly into the side of the hand (karate chop style), and the palm should be turned just slightly in toward the face. The tips of the middle and index fingers touch the temple just above the eyebrow. Kerry's salute is about as limp and sloppy as I've seen — right up there with Bill Clinton's!"

"Jay, a Sacramento radio talk show interviewed California Democratic honcho Bob Mulholland about the Republican convention yesterday. When asked what he thought about Zell Miller's crossing party lines to give a keynote address, Mulholland dismissed Miller as a '70-year-old white male.' Way to go, Bob! Incidentally, aren't you a white male? Isn't stereotyping a bad thing, as in bigoted and divisive? My father is a 70-year-old white male, which is the most superficial label one could ever dream of for this inventor, grandfather, engineer, bicyclist, etc., etc. I'm sure there's a lot more to Mr. Miller than his skin color, sex, and age. For one thing, he's a lot smarter than that partisan gasbag."

Amen, brother.

continued....

[thedrifter]

"Jay, you were talking about Bush's alleged gaffe, and the winnability of a war on terror. A former student of mine spent five years with Special Forces, and he went beyond Bush to say (accurately, in my opinion), 'There is no such thing as peace.'"

"Hey, didn't you like that Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed a lot during his speech? This was completely unlike the politicians who have bought into the notion that pointing is demeaning to the listener, and who show instead wimpy gestures as if they had palsy. Maybe Arnold will bring back real gestures."

Good point (so to speak).

Oh, I loved this from John J. Miller's interview of Zell Miller:

NRO: Why don't you just switch parties?
MILLER: I will always remain a Democrat. I'll meet my Maker as a Democrat.

NRO: If you were a younger man, would you consider switching?

MILLER: If I were a younger man, I'd think about a lot of things.


"Mr. Nordlinger: I believe I must speak out about the very strange neglect, by all the media, of a speech given at the convention on Monday night. A very lovely Iraqi woman gave a short but heartfelt talk. She said, in part, 'I want to thank President Bush and the American people for giving the greatest gift one country can give to another: freedom.' My gosh, don't you think someone should have commented on this?"

Yes.

"Jay, here's another reason to enjoy being a Republican. When addressing the female presiding officer at the convention, the delegates almost always say 'Madam Chairman,' not 'Madam Chairperson' or 'Madam Chair.' Isn't that great?"

Now that you mention it — yes!

See you tomorrow, dear hearts (Republican or Democratic).


http://www.nationalreview.com/impromptus/nordlinger200409020759.asp


Ellie

[thedrifter]

'Give 'em Hell' Zell gives Bush a feisty and bipartisan boost
Thursday, September 02, 2004
DAVID REINHARD
NEW YORK CITY -- They call him "Give 'em Hell" Zell, and this year Georgia's senior senator is giving his own Democratic Party fits, if not hell. Twelve years ago he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic convention and flayed President George H. W. Bush. Last night, the Georgia Democrat gave the keynote speech at the Republican convention and hailed President George W. Bush.

He's not changing parties. He was born a Democrat and has said he'll die a Democrat. Why, then, is he keynoting a GOP convention and supporting a Republican -- a Republican so hated by so many in his own Democratic Party -- for president? And does Miller's bipartisan Bush-backing represent anything more than the action of one lonely Democratic senator?

So what got into Zell? Well, 9/11 and the fact we're at war, for starters.

"Like you," he told an appreciative throng last night, "I ask which leader it is today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family. The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party."

Or, as Miller declared at the end of his keynote address, "Right now, the world cannot afford an indecisive America. In this hour of danger, our president has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him."

The Georgia senator also thinks the Democrats and Kerry are, well, weak on defense.

"For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong and more wobbly than any other national figure," Miller said after reviewing his Democratic colleague's record. Miller's view of Kerry's approach to terrorism: "From John Kerry, (terrorists) get a 'yes-no-maybe' bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends."

This from one of Kerry's Democratic colleagues -- a Democratic colleague who served in the U.S. Marines.

For his apostasy, Miller is now receiving the Democratic war-room treatment. Georgia's Democrats are running ads against him, and party leaders are working to explain away their 1992 keynote speaker's support for Bush. He's trying to gin up sales for his book ("The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat"). He left the Democratic Party years ago. (Miller says the party left him. "What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?" he asked last night.)

Hell hath no fury like a Democratic Party and presidential candidate scorned.

You hear lots about Bush 2000 Republicans who are now Kerry 2004 followers, especially if you're from Oregon. Former U.S. Air Force Gen. Tony McPeak, now an Oregonian, is the Kerry campaign's marquee former-Bushie. But the Democratic convention didn't feature a GOP keynoter, and Miller, it turns out, is not the only Democrat for Bush. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has come out for Bush. So has George McKelvey , the Democratic mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, who is here attending his first GOP convention. Saint Paul, Minn., Mayor Randy Kelly has also endorsed Bush.

"We need unequivocal leaders with resolve because it's a very dangerous world out there. We cannot have a leader who can in any way be seen as equivocating when a tough decision is required," Kelly told me yesterday afternoon. He also thinks a Kerry victory could halt the economic recovery.

Miller, it also seems, may have himself an audience beyond Madison Square Garden. A recent Mason-Dixon Poll of Democrats and Republicans showed 11 percent of Democrats would be willing to vote for Bush, compared with 5 percent of Republicans who would be willing to vote for Kerry. A full 18 percent of Democrats consider themselves conservative, and one-third of those said they would vote for Bush.

The Georgia Democrat may also speak to voters who long for greater bipartisanship in Washington, D.C. Democratic leaders, of course, cast "My-way-or-the-highway" Bush as the problem. But Miller's worked with Bush on tax cuts, education reform, the farm bill and the healthy forests legislation. Moreover, White House communications director Dan Bartlett told me Tuesday, "It kind of undercuts that argument when you have a Democrat as the keynote speaker."

Especially when that GOP convention keynoter lives up to his "Give 'em Hell" Zell moniker.

David Reinhard, associate editor, can be reached at 503-221-8152 ordavidreinhard@news.oregonian.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_reinhard/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1094126283322351.xml


Ellie

[marinemom]

Zell Miller is an outstanding American, and proved it by his statements the other night. <br />
<br />
I strongly recommend to all of you his book - written years ago, but an outstanding read - &quot;Coprs Values -...

[thedrifter]

Network Morning Shows Offended by Zell
Miller's Negativity

On Thursday morning's Good Morning America, ABC's Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos seemed the most offended by the Wednesday night convention speeches delivered by Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic Senator Zell Miller. Gibson complained that "the Vice President and Senator Miller pounded and pounded and pounded. It may have been very effective politics; it was not subtle." Stephanopoulos characterized Miller as out of control: "The Vice President was very, very tough, but Zell Miller was on a tirade. I mean, he was red faced, red meat for the red states."

CBS and NBC also stressed the negative tone of last night's speeches. CBS's Bill Plante said the "Republicans unleashed their fiercest partisans" with Miller delivering "stinging partisan jabs" at Kerry. NBC's Campbell Brown argued that Cheney and Miller "delivered plenty of red meat," and she characterized Miller's speech this way: "He called Senator John Kerry unpatriotic and unqualified to lead."

In fact, Miller last night distinguished "patriotism" from "judgment" when he challenged the approach of Democratic Party leaders:
"In their warped way of thinking, America is the problem, not the solution. They don't believe there's any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy. It is not their patriotism, it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking."

ABC's Gibson and NBC's Tim Russert both were more equivocal. Gibson's phrase was that "Miller all but questioned Kerry's patriotism," while Russert said Miller in his speech was "challenging, in effect, Senator Kerry's patriotism."

Now, more complete summaries of how ABC, CBS and NBC showed their disgust with the Republican criticisms of John Kerry:

# ABC's Good Morning America led with the dismissal of the Kobe Bryant case and the hurricane heading to Florida. Previewing the upcoming story on the convention, however, MRC's Jessica Anderson recorded how Gibson used war metaphors: "The Democrats really came under the gun last night. Republicans were on the attack and we're going to show you some of that."

A few minutes later, in his review of the night's speeches, Gibson asserted that Democrats had been "polite to the President" in their speeches: "Democrats might now question their strategy of having been polite to the President at their convention, for Republicans showed no such reluctance last night. The keynote speaker, Democratic Senator Zell Miller."

Then a soundbite from Miller: "For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak, and more wobbly than any other national figure."
Gibson: "Miller all but questioned Kerry's patriotism, citing Kerry votes against weapons systems."
Miller: "This is the man who wants to be the Command In Chief of the U.S. armed forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?"

Gibson then moved on to Cheney: "The Vice President, in his acceptance speech, was milder by comparison, but just by comparison."
But the soundbites ABC showed were pretty familiar to anyone who's followed the last few weeks of campaigning.
Cheney: "He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror, as though al-Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side. Senator Kerry denounces American action when other countries don't approve. George W. Bush will never seek a permission slip to defend the American people."

After running through a couple more soundbites from Cheney --including his crack that "Senator Kerry says he sees two Americas. It makes the whole thing mutual. America sees two John Kerrys" -- Gibson fretted: "The Vice President and Senator Miller pounded and pounded and pounded. It may have been very effective politics; it was not subtle."

Gibson then turned to Stephanopoulos: "What did you think of what they did last night?"

Stephanopoulos was just as dissatisfied: "Well, the Vice President was very, very tough, but Zell Miller was on a tirade. I mean, he was red faced, red meat for the red states. I think it did a lot more to energize Republican voters than convince some of those swing voters in the middle."

# NBC's Today led with the hurricane, then reporter Campbell Brown summarized the events of Wednesday night using some of the same clips from Cheney's speech: "It was Vice President Cheney and a Democrat in the key note slot who delivered plenty of red meat."
Cheney: "George W. Bush will never seek a permission slip to defend the American people."
Brown: "Vice President Dick Cheney on the attack. Building up President Bush's record and tearing down Senator Kerry's."
Cheney: "Senator Kerry doesn't appear to understand how the world has changed. He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror. As though al-Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side."

Brown, too, suggested that Miller had been the most extreme: "But by far, the harshest words of the evening, perhaps the convention, coming from a Democrat, keynote speaker Georgia Senator Zell Miller."
Miller: "No pair has been more wrong, more loudly more often than the two senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry."
Brown claimed: "He called Senator John Kerry unpatriotic and unqualified to lead."
Miller: "This is the man who wants to be the commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces. U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?"

Brown recalled a happier time when Miller used his oratorical powers to castigate the first President George Bush: "The folksy firebrand, who electrified Democrats at their convention twelve years ago, this time accusing leaders of his own party of elevating partisan politics over national security."

Matt Lauer then asked Tim Russert what he thought of Miller and Cheney's approach. Russert cited Republican delegates as making the case that Miller was too hot:
"Zell Miller was just out front, frontal attack. Several delegates came to me afterwards and said do you think Zell was too hot tonight, as much as they enjoyed it. And that's for the voters to decide. A lot of undecided voters are women. Whether they will think he is too negative, we don't know."
So, Lauer asked, "there's an upside and a downside to Zell Miller, in your opinion?"
Russert: "There very well could be. Did he come across as someone who's just so angry and over the top, by his challenging in effect, Senator Kerry's patriotism."

He painted Cheney in a more favorable light: "Vice President Cheney took a much different tack by saying these are the specific issues in which we disagree with Senator Kerry and frankly, we don't think he's up to the job. The Republicans set the table in a very interesting way, Matt. You had Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger saying the most important issue is the war on terror, and we need a strong commander-in-chief. Vice President Cheney came in last night and said John Kerry is not a strong commander-in-chief."

Russert added that Cheney's general popularity was beside the point: "It doesn't matter what Dick Cheney's popularity ratings are with the American public, frankly. His job is to be by the president's side and offer the best advice. What the public saw last night was Dick Cheney. Not electrifying, but someone who laid out, in his mind, a very dangerous world and all the scenarios that could flow from that, if you didn't have the right commander-in-chief."

# Only CBS's Early Show gave a full report on the GOP convention before diving into the hurricane and Kobe Bryant case. MRC's Brian Boyd caught how co-host Harry Smith called it a "no-holds-barred assault" on Kerry:
"Tonight, of course, belongs to President Bush as he officially accepts the Republican nomination for a second term. Last night the GOP laid a no-holds-barred assault against Democratic challenger John Kerry. And CBS News White House correspondent Bill Plante is here at the Garden with me with more. Good morning, Bill."

Plante echoed Smith's summary: "On the third night of the convention Republicans unleashed their fiercest partisans and one of them was a Democrat. Vice President Cheney, as Vice Presidents traditionally do, also went on the attack....But the most stinging partisan jabs came from a Democrat, Georgia Senator Zell Miller, who ridiculed Kerry for opposing a long list of weapons."







In ‘92, ABC Called Zell's Bush Attacks
"Time Honored Tradition"

Now it's harsh and ugly, then it was a "time-honored tradition." ABC's Good Morning America may have been horrified by Zell Miller's GOP convention speech, but twelve years ago, the morning after Miller at the Democratic convention in New York City delivered a very negative speech attacking then-President George H.W. Bush as "a timid man" who "just doesn't get it," ABC's Mike Schneider saluted it as an instance of Democrats "engaged in the time-honored tradition of attacking the opposition."

continued............

[thedrifter]

MRC's Jessica Anderson tracked down our DVD recording of the July 14, 1992 Good Morning America. News reader Mike Schneider offered this summary during the 8am EDT news update: "This year's Democrats are trying to chart a new course for their party, a winning course. One of the keynote speakers, Barbara Jordan, summed it up best, perhaps, by saying, 'It's time for the Democrats to convince the American people to trust them to govern again.' But while that new message was being spun out, some of the other speakers engaged in the time-honored tradition of attacking the opposition."

ABC then showed Miller taking a whack at Bush and, indirectly, then-Vice President Dan Quayle: "Let's face facts: George Bush just doesn't get it. He doesn't see it, he doesn't feel it, and he's done nothing about it. That's why we cannot afford four more years. If the Education President gets another term, even our kids won't even be able to spell 'potato.'"

A footnote: Six years later, in 1998, Mike Schneider ran for a U.S. Congressional seat in New Jersey as a Democrat. He lost.





Democratic VP Nominee John Edwards On
ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC

Breaking with the usual convention manners, John Edwards did a round of morning interviews on ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN this morning. ABC's Charles Gibson and NBC's Matt Lauer each wondered if the Democrats have been too soft on Republicans. CNN's Bill Hemmer was the only one to note that the major party nominees don't have a habit of trying to steal time on the other's convention days.
After being the most critical of last night's Republican speeches (see item #1 above), ABC's Charles Gibson was the gentlest with Edwards, sticking largely to questions about the candidate's feelings. He asked if the Democrats went too easy "not to engage as directly" in Boston.

In contrast, NBC's Matt Lauer was actually challenging, asking Edwards why Kerry "hasn't come out more on the offensive against those [Swift Boat] ads." On CBS, Edwards stammered as Hannah Storm demonstrated a surprisingly hard-news approach, asking for Kerry-Edwards specifics.

Unlike ABC, CBS and NBC were at least being consistent in having on a representative of the other party on the final day of a convention. On July 29, the Thursday morning in Boston, NBC interviewed Rudy Giuliani in the first half hour, explaining he was there to respond to the convention. CBS interviewed Giuliani at 8:40 that morning, but stuck to the topic of the September 11 Commission and New York's homeland-security needs. But ABC's Good Morning America hosted only Democrats on July 29.


A run-down of this morning's coverage:

# ABC. Good Morning America co-host Charles Gibson began: "Senator Edwards, they went at you hammer and tong last night from the podium here at this Republican convention, saying the fundamental security of this country was at stake in this election, questioning John Kerry's ability to be Commander In Chief. I wonder how you felt as you listened." He said there was "an enormous amount of anger."

Gibson replied: "Did it make you, in any way, second guess the decision at the Democratic convention not to mention George Bush from the podium so often, not to engage as directly?" Edwards said no.

Gibson then asked two more challenging questions about how they will respond to the Republican focus on Kerry flip-flops, but then returned to softballs: "You speak with such equanimity this morning. Didn't they make you mad last night?" Edwards said it was "over the top" and avoided the issues, so Gibson prodded: "Did you get mad, though?" Sensing he had to give Gibson what he wanted, Edwards said, "Oh, yeah. I was especially about the personal attacks against John Kerry, because they're false. I know this guy and I know what he's made of inside and he's ready to lead this country."

# NBC. MRC's Megan McCormack transcribed how Matt Lauer began: "Did you watch the speech last night by the Vice President?" Edwards said "I did." Lauer replied: Matt Lauer: "What was your reaction?" After the Edwards line about a lack of focus on domestic afffairs, Lauer grew tougher: "Actually, you issued a statement last night. And you said there was a lot of hate coming from that podium. I'm curious about that choice of words. I mean, political rhetoric is one thing, hate is something different. Do you really think it was hate?" Edwards did not say yes, but changed the subject to economic statistics.

Lauer then played a clip of Cheney and asked: "Since Senator Kerry used those word, a more sensitive war on terror, a few weeks ago, the Republicans have really used them against him. Do you think he regrets that term?"

Lauer finished with a panicky-Democrat question: "There's no doubt in the polling John Kerry seems to have been hurt by these ads that question his version of events in Vietnam. A lot of people are wondering why Senator Kerry hasn't come out more on the offensive against those ads. Why he seems to be taking a defensive strategy and, in some ways, putting you out there to take the offensive on this."

# CBS. On The Early Show, co-host Hannah Storm began: "Last night, Democrat Zell Miller offered a blistering attack on Senator Kerry. First off, I want to show you some comments from that keynote address....Miller went through this litany of weapons systems that he said that Senator Kerry has opposed. What's your reaction to his statements about Kerry's voting record?"

Edwards answered, in part: "It's just false, it's not true. And if you actually look at Senator Kerry's life, not just his time in the Senate when, by the way, he strongly supported our national defense. Some of these votes that he's talking about, the Vice President of the United States, who spoke right after him, supported exactly the same position when he was the Secretary of Defense."

Storm hit Edwards with the polls: "The Vice President said last night, and terrorism has been the theme of the convention, that Senator Kerry has repeatedly made the wrong call on issues of national security. And there was this very interesting Washington Post poll this week that says Americans trust the President to fight terrorism more than John Kerry and the numbers are astounding: 56 percent to 38 percent. So are you losing this debate on national security?"

Edwards claimed: "No, because what will happen between now and the election on election day is the American people will hear what John Kerry and I plan to win this war on terrorism. I mean, we have a real substantive plan to win the war on terrorism, including making sure that we lead the kind of strong alliances around the world that allows us to get at these terrorists where they are before they can get at us."
Storm followed up: "When are we going to start hearing those specifics?"
Edwards: "I can start right now if you'll let me (laughs at his own joke). What we want to do is lead strong alliances so that we don't have other countries that prevent us and don't allow us toget at these terrorist cells where they're operating. We want to adopt all of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and the President is moving very slowly and he's taking half measures instead of doing what needs to be done."

Storm: "Can you give me one specific because he is implementing a lot of those recommendations. So give me one specific where he's taken a half measure."

Edwards: "Yes, ma'am. He will not, in terms of having a national director of intelligence, he will not give that national director the authority he needs to do his job, including budget authority. The President has taken a half step in that direction, not the kind of, and unfortunately we're facing these threats every single day."

# CNN. On American Morning, MRC's Brian Boyd noted, host Bill Hemmer began: "You released a statement last night and quoting from that statement ‘there was a lot of hate coming from the podium last night.' What do you mean by that, the word ‘hate'?" After Edwards equated hate and anger and talked about the poor and jobless, Hemmer asked: "What did you think of your Democratic colleague, Zell Miller?" Edwards said: "I thought it was sad, honestly."
Hemmer changed it up: "You say Iraq is a mess. Do you believe the U.S. is winning the war on terror at this point?"
Edwards answered: "I think we've made some progress and there's a lot left to be done. And that includes in Iraq," and then shifted to Iran.

Hemmer was the only anchor to note how the Edwards' interviews upset the natural pattern of convention manners:
"This interview is really the exception rather than the rule when the opposing party is having a convention. We went back and did the research, the Vice President, the President did no national interviews during the Democrats rally, their convention, a month ago in Boston. Back in 2000, also we found Al Gore, Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney, George Bush at the time all of them lied low during the other party's convention. Why do you feel it necessary to do this interview today as opposed to waiting until later tonight or even tomorrow on Friday?"

Edwards suggested they just wanted to work so hard to get their message out, to which Hemmer followed up: "But back to my original question, Republicans would suggest the presence is a sign of desperation. How would you react to that?" Edwards insisted: "Well, this is, we have planned long ago to campaign straight through the Republican convention."

http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2004/cyb20040902pm.asp#1


Ellie

[yellowwing]

ZELL ATTACKED KERRY’S 20 YEAR RECORD TONIGHT

Miller: "For more than twenty years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure."

-BUT ZELL PRAISED KERRY’S 16 YEAR RECORD OF LEADERSHP JUST 3 YEARS AGO

FACT: Zell Miller Lauded John Kerry as an Authentic American Hero
Miller: "My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders - and a good friend. He was once a lieutenant governor - but he didn't stay in that office 16 years, like someone else I know. It just took two years before the people of Massachusetts moved him into the United States Senate in 1984. - U.S. Senator Zell Miller, Remarks to the Democratic Party of Georgia Jefferson Jackson Dinner 2001

FACT: Zell Miller Said John Kerry Worked to Strengthen Our Military; Fought for Balanced Budgets
Miller: "In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington. Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so. John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment." , U.S. Senator Zell Miller Remarks to the Democratic Party of Georgia Jefferson Jackson Dinner 2001

NOTHING MAKES ZELL MADDER THAN SOMEONE CALLING TROOPS 'OCCUPIERS'

Zell Miller: "Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today’s Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator. And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators." [RNC, 9/1/04]

BUT BUSH CALLED OUR TROOPS 'OCCUPIERS'

Bush: "On June 30th, the Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to exist and will not be replaced. The occupation will end and Iraqis will govern their own affairs." [5/24/04]

Bush: "I've told the Iraqi people this, and I mean it; we will transfer sovereignty to the Iraqi people on June the 30th. Of course, I know I'm - American citizens hear, well, maybe the Iraqis don't want us to occupy them. Who wants to be occupied? Nobody wants to be occupied." [5/7/04]

Bush: "And they were happy - they're not happy they're occupied. I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied either. They do want us there to help with security." [4/13/04]

ZELL ATTACKS CUTS TO MILITARY PROGRAMS

Miller: "Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but Americans need to know the facts. The B-2 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hussein's command post in Iraq. The F-14A Tomcats, that Senator Kerry opposed, shot down Khadifi's Libyan MIGs over the Gulf of Sidra. The modernized F-14D, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered missile strikes against Tora Bora. The Apache helicopter, that Senator Kerry opposed, took out those Republican Guard tanks in Kuwait in the Gulf War. The F-15 Eagles, that Senator Kerry opposed, flew cover over our Nation’s Capital and this very city after 9/11." [9/1/04]

BUT CHENEY TRIED CUTTING SAME PROGRAMS

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by yellowwing
ZELL ATTACKED KERRY’S 20 YEAR RECORD TONIGHT


-BUT ZELL PRAISED KERRY’S 16 YEAR RECORD OF LEADERSHP JUST 3 YEARS AGO

FACT: Zell Miller Lauded John Kerry as an Authentic American Hero
Miller: "My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders - and a good friend. He was once a lieutenant governor - but he didn't stay in that office 16 years, like someone else I know. It just took two years before the people of Massachusetts moved him into the United States Senate in 1984. - U.S. Senator Zell Miller, Remarks to the Democratic Party of Georgia Jefferson Jackson Dinner 2001

FACT: Zell Miller Said John Kerry Worked to Strengthen Our Military; Fought for Balanced Budgets
Miller: "In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington. Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so. John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment." , U.S. Senator Zell Miller Remarks to the Democratic Party of Georgia Jefferson Jackson Dinner 2001

BUT BUSH CALLED OUR TROOPS 'OCCUPIERS'



ZELL ATTACKS CUTS TO MILITARY PROGRAMS

Miller: "Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but Americans need to know the facts.
The B-2 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hussein's command post in Iraq.
The F-14A Tomcats, that Senator Kerry opposed, shot down Khadifi's Libyan MIGs over the Gulf of Sidra.
The modernized F-14D, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered missile strikes against Tora Bora. The Apache helicopter, that Senator Kerry opposed, took out those Republican Guard tanks in Kuwait in the Gulf War.
The F-15 Eagles, that Senator Kerry opposed, flew cover over our Nation’s Capital and this very city after 9/11." [9/1/04]

BUT CHENEY TRIED CUTTING SAME PROGRAMS


When did Cheney do this? as Vice President?

What I liked about Miller is that he hasn't backed down. When he was asked by a Fox News reporter why he supported Kerry before and had now changed his mind.

Miller answered; I was given that script by the party and I believed it to be true and I supported Kerry. but, since then, I found it not to be so. Before I hadn't done my research now, I have and found that it wasn't as I was led to believe.

He went on to say, that with Bush as our Commander-InChief, he can trust his Granchildren's will have a future.

[thedrifter]

Zell Miller's Home Run
By DEROY MURDOCK
Sep 3, 2004, 03:37

One sentence of Georgia Sen. Zell Miller's scorching critique of his fellow Democrat, John Kerry, left me winded.
Speaking Wednesday at the GOP convention in New York, Miller said: "The F-15 Eagles, that Sen. Kerry opposed, flew cover over our nation's capital and this very city after 9/11."

After retrieving my jaw from the floor, I was so buffaloed that I barely could absorb the first 10 minutes of Vice President Cheney's acceptance speech, which followed Miller's 5,000-volt keynote address.

Inside Madison Square Garden, I recalled that sparkling morning three Septembers ago when I sat on my balcony and watched American Airlines Flight 11 fly very low and very loudly over my East Village apartment. I remembered hearing the jet's menacing roar and the piercing car alarms its vibrations triggered. I visualized the burning Twin Towers and its many doomed inhabitants for whom I grieved in total horror, wondering what next would explode in flame.

And I could not forget feeling both amazed and reassured a few minutes later when, of all things, fighter jets screamed into the skies above Manhattan. As tears of patriotism filled my eyes _ as they do even as I write these words _ I thought to myself: "My government in Washington has sent these valiant men in well-armed aircraft to protect me and my neighbors from these murderers. Finally, we're safe."

That emotion was as vivid as having my mother or father run to my aid at times when I hurt myself as a little boy.

If Kerry had his way, those F-15 Eagles never would have arrived, nor would others like them have patrolled the skies over Washington, where many of my friends live and work within the institutions that govern our nation and oversee our leaders.

Kerry's vote would have left the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations and my entire community naked to more fireballs and carnage, had Mohammed Atta's henchmen transformed even more airliners into guided missiles. If the brave passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 had not steered their craft mercifully into a Pennsylvania field, what defense would Kerry have offered to protect himself, his staffers and family had that Boeing 757 maintained its deadly trajectory toward Washington?

"Seeing the aircraft coming to our defense probably meant more to me at that point in time than anything else out there because it was a clear sign of security," said Bernard Kerik, the former New York police commissioner who called the White House early on 9/11 to request air cover. "For somebody to vote against things like that that are absolutely essential ... I can't endorse anybody to be in the White House who would do that."

Even worse, Kerry opposed far more than the F-15 Eagle.

"Listing all the weapon systems that Sen. Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security," Miller said. Among others, he cited the B-1 bomber, which dropped four of every 10 bombs in the first six months of Afghanistan's rescue from the Taliban; the B-2 bomber that struck Saddam Hussein's command facilities; and the Apache helicopter that neutralized Iraqi tanks in Gulf War I.

"You don't value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service," Kerry complained in a July 29 Democratic convention acceptance speech that lambasted President Bush. Yet Kerry famously voted last Oct. 17 against $86.5 billion in military spending for Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure included $300 million in body armor and $140 million for armored Humvees.

As Cheney observed, Kerry also turned thumbs-down on "ammunition, fuel, spare parts, armored vehicles, extra pay for hardship duty and support for military families." He added: "A senator can be wrong for 20 years, without consequence to the nation. But a president always casts the deciding vote."

Kerry's strategy seems to be to empty the arsenal of civilization and hope that multilateralism magically will shield us from those who plot to murder us by the thousands.

If he had his druthers, John Kerry would be a commander in chief with little to command.


(Deroy Murdock is a columnist with Scripps Howard News Service and a senior fellow with the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Va.)

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_5175.shtml


Ellie

[d c taveapont]

The facts about what the VP did is not widely known. But he did try to weaken our Military by cutting some projects. Also there were 5 other Repubs who voted with kerry or they wrong as well. as you well know that if kerry is elected they'll be others under him WHO will inform him in certain matters. But the final say will be his.

[thedrifter]

Steady on the Right, Bush Pitches to the Center
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

Published: September 6, 2004

PARKERSBURG, W.Va., Sept. 5 - To Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Senator Zell Miller, the Democrat from Georgia who delivered a scathing attack on Senator John Kerry at the Republican convention last week, is a rabid opportunist who has become the hate-spewing face of President Bush's re-election campaign.

"He was so frightening that parents took their children away from the television," Mr. McAuliffe told reporters in a conference call on Sunday.

To Mr. Bush, however, Mr. Miller is his new best friend.

Campaigning here on Sunday, Mr. Bush invoked Mr. Miller's support as a reason Democrats and independents could feel comfortable voting for the Republican ticket. Mr. Bush has used a version of the same line at every campaign stop he has made since the end of his convention on Thursday night, and here, as in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio in recent days, it brought rousing cheers from the audience.

Standing at the 50-yard line of the Parkersburg High School football stadium under a blazing sun that had his audience wilting, Mr. Bush never mentioned his support for the struggling coal and steel industries, the issue he usually emphasizes when he travels to this state.

But Mr. Bush has an eye toward expanding his appeal beyond his conservative base as the race enters the home stretch. So he found time to celebrate Mr. Miller, who at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night suggested that Mr. Kerry was so weak on defense that he wanted to protect the United States with spitballs.

"See, my message is for everybody," Mr. Bush said after noting that the crowd included Mayor Jimmy Colombo of Parkersburg, a Democrat. "A safer, stronger, better America is for every citizen of this country. I think old Zell Miller set a pretty good tempo for Democrats all across the country. He made it clear it's all right to come and support the Bush ticket."

In the hours and days after Mr. Miller's appearance at the convention, Democrats predicted that his speech would backfire by providing evidence that Mr. Bush's campaign was all about attacking Mr. Kerry, impugning his patriotism and scaring voters into the arms of Republicans.

But Mr. Bush's aides said the response to the president's mentions of Mr. Miller showed that Mr. Miller had touched a chord among voters of all stripes by voicing doubts about Mr. Kerry's record on national security issues.

Ken Mehlman, Mr. Bush's campaign manager, told reporters as they accompanied the president on a bus trip through Ohio on Saturday that he had spoken with Mr. Miller that morning.

"I told him he could run for mayor in places like Cedar Rapids," Mr. Mehlman said, alluding to the cheers that greeted Mr. Bush's mention of Mr. Miller in Iowa on Friday.

Bush campaign officials are moving to take advantage of what they see as the opening Mr. Miller has provided. Scott Stanzel, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, said Mr. Bush had hoped to have Mr. Miller campaign with him this weekend, but Mr. Miller had bowed out because of an illness in his family. Mr. Stanzel said the campaign hoped Mr. Miller would campaign with the president as soon as possible.

Reaching out to Democrats is crucial to Mr. Bush in West Virginia, where Democrats hold a substantial advantage among registered voters. Bill Clinton carried West Virginia in 1992 and 1996, but Al Gore lost it to Mr. Bush in 2000. Both parties are campaigning hard here: this was the second consecutive Sunday Mr. Bush had spent here.

Mr. Bush had the campaign trail to himself on Sunday. With 58 days until the vote, Mr. Kerry and his running mate, Senator John Edwards, both took the day off, as did Vice President Dick Cheney.

Emphasizing the support he has received from Mr. Miller - without dwelling on the specifics of the Georgian's convention speech - is part of Mr. Bush's broader strategy to move to the political center and deliver a positive message. The shift comes after spending months attacking Mr. Kerry's qualifications to be commander in chief and shoring up his own base on the right.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney have both campaigned with Senator John McCain, the Republican from Arizona who is popular among independent voters and moderate Democrats.

Even as his surrogates have continued to try to undermine Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bush has toned down his own attack somewhat. He never mentioned the Democrat from Massachusetts by name during his 32-minute speech here, and he limited criticism of "my opponent" largely to Mr. Kerry's votes on spending for military operations in Iraq.

Instead, Mr. Bush drew indirect but pointed comparisons built on his campaign's portrayal of Mr. Kerry as wavering and unprincipled on national security. And he focused his comments on his domestic agenda and what he said was evidence that the economy was coming back.

"I'm running with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America," Mr. Bush said. "I'm running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. And I believe this nation wants steady, principled, consistent leadership."

Mr. Bush said that his tax cuts were paying off by strengthening the economy, and he suggested that Mr. Kerry would weaken it by raising taxes on people in the top income tax bracket, a group he said contains 900,000 small-business owners and entrepreneurs.

"Raising taxes will stifle job creation," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Kerry's campaign said Mr. Bush was distorting the definition of small-business owners by including taxpayers like some doctors, lawyers, corporate chief executives and others who earn income as members of a partnership. Only a tiny fraction of small-business owners earn enough to be in the top income tax bracket, leaving nearly all of them untouched by Mr. Kerry's plan to roll back the Bush tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year, Mr. Kerry's campaign said.

"If voters think that giving Dick Cheney a tax cut is the best way to create jobs, they should vote for George Bush," said Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign. But if they want taxes cut for small businesses "that create jobs or offer health insurance, they should vote for John Kerry."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/politics/campaign/06bush.html


Ellie

[CplCrotty]

"He was so frightening that parents took their children away from the television," Mr. McAuliffe told reporters in a conference call on Sunday.

It may just be me, but I think what is just a little bit more frightening is the thought of American school children being shot in the back as they try to escape from their "captors" or "gunmen" or "separatists."

But hey, that's just me.

[crew]

I'm with you on that, Cpl.....the people I know were very impressed with Miller and his confidence in himself and his convictions...Semper Fi