Hucksters

Andrew Sullivan is back from vacation and isn’t any more impressed with the Republican National Convention than I am.

How to convey the spectacular incoherence of last night’s continuing infomercial for the re-election of George W. Bush? The evening began with a series of speeches trumpeting vast increases in federal spending: on education, healthcare, AIDS, medical research, and on and on. No, these were not Democrats. They were Bush Republicans, extolling the capacity of government to help people, to cure the sick, educate the young, save Africans from HIV, subsidize religious charities, prevent or cure breast cancer, and any other number of worthy causes.

What a complete and utter joke these things are. I”m a swing voter, so I know both parties are trying to pitch to me right now. And I am not going to let myself get huckstered by either one of them. The Democrats pretended to be Republicans at their convention and swaggered more than generals at a Latin American military junta’s parade. And now the Republicans are pretending to be big-government bleeding hearts. Gimme a break, people. If you want my vote, don’t insult my intelligence. Seriously.