Reply #5: Two speakers taking the low road sounds just about right [View All]

[AirAmFan]

Everybody else is going to be forced to "take the high road" and sound positive, whether they want to or not. Elections are mainly about the future, not the past. In the positive future, Bush is gone, so there's no constructive reason to bash him.

But conventions MUST throw a little red meat into the crowd now and then, to get people on their feet and revved up for positive and thoughtful keynoters. If two people are going to take the low road, Gore and Kennedy are the best two choices:

(1) They're already associated strongly with partisan Bush-bashing, so the inevitable right-wing press they'll get will tend to be ho-hum, "dog bites man" stories.

(2) Everybody knows who they are already, and neither Kennedy nor Gore is likely still to harbor aspirations for higher offfice. They already had their shots at the White House. So what they'll say will be all about Bush/Cheney and Kerry/Edwards, not about Gore and Kennedy.

(3) Both men know how to get crowds involved in what they're saying. Both speeches will be memorable, but probably timed for minimum media coverage.