Conventions Again: The Brief Version

I watched yet another national political party convention tonight. The Republican convention staring John McCain and Tina Fay. I hear this McCain character's something of a maverick. And a war hero to boot. Why doesn't anyone talk more about this?

Once again I decided to alternate between CNN and Fox News to compare coverage and once again I must reiterate that these comparisons are neither standardized nor scientific, but simply what I saw whenever I changed the channel which was roughly whenever I felt like it. It seemed that format wise both were as they were previously. CNN had a large contingent at the convention itself and presented the convention in essentially the same manner and style. The commentators for their part also discussed things in the same way as before. They did seem a bit snarky at times, especially in the beginning, but this seemed to give way some after McCain himself arrived. Fox News likewise was much as before the main exceptions being that Sean Hannity of Hannity and Colmes was noticeably quieter in the beginning and the network, for whatever reason, decided to have its own host of reporters inside the convention itself for this go around as well. They had mostly pleasant things to say. Lastly, both stations forgot to mention Obama's full name this time around. Barak Hussein Obama. How else are we going to differentiate him from the other Barak Ombamas?

Oh and instead of an endless stream of fireworks the Republicans had an endless sea of balloons. I hear the Libertarians had an extensive network of fog machines. The Green Party, for what it's worth, could only afford a few canisters of silly string.

The conventions themselves aside I was once again pleased. This year is a good year to be a voter.

I'll Vote for You, and You, and You

Tonight was a slow night on television. Which for me essentially means there was no Wipeout, American Gladiators, the Office, or noteworthy cartoons on air to watch. As a result I found myself tuning in to watch the Democratic National Convention. Curious, I switched back frequently between CNN's broadcast of the program and Fox News's broadcast. Not surprisingly there were differences. Although I cannot say this is by any means a comprehensive or even fair assessment of the two shows -- there was little rhyme or reason to when and why I changed channels and there were no standardized, scientific measurements of bias -- but the atmosphere for great parts of each presentation was clearly, significantly different. CNN gave much greater coverage of each stage of the convention where as Fox News frequently looped back to Sean Hannity who aggressively and incessantly attacked Obama as he is want to do. CNN's commentators, it appeared at least, got more caught up in the pageantry and excitement of the convention than Fox's commentators who seemed much more detached. (Likely having something to do with the fact of where each set of reporters were located: many of CNN's at the convention and many of Fox's outside it.) And where as CNN referred to Obama simply as Obama, Fox News took the time to clearly enunciate his full name, Barak Hussein Obama, at least once. Hmm. Alright. I look forward to watching the Republican National Convention next week.

I look forward to watching the Republican Convention for other reasons too, however. Better reasons. That's because for the first time in my short tenure as a registered voter I do not feel as if I am voting for the lesser of two evils. I do not feel as if I must grugingly chose between two leaders who will both likely lead us into mediocrity at best or calamity at worst. I am, for once, not tempted to vote for Nader. I am, I am surprised to say, happy with not just one candidate but both candidates. This is not to say I fully agree with both Barak Obama and John McCain. That is of course not even possible. I disagree with both of them on many things and on many things I agree with neither. They don't have all the answers like do. But I do feel that both men are honest, hard working, and intelligent individuals earnestly striving for what they believe to be the best for their country. In a country where politics is all too often politics and little more, these two men, I believe, have remarkably, truly, put their nation first. I was not intending on watching the Democratic National Convention, and certainly not on writing about it, but after watching a good share of it and observing McCain's congratulatory commercial I felt led to. Partially just to make a Nader joke, but mostly to record one of the few times I have been particularly excited to vote for the next president of the United States. Many people have often considered my views on the world negative -- I won the "Most Cynical Award" on my high school college trip -- but I have always felt myself to simply be a realist. And now, for once, I am really happy for our next chief executive. Whoever it may be.