Twelve times August 30, 2004 ~ 11:31 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , trackbackThat’s how many times Rudy Giuliani said “September 11″. It’s not counting all the times he just mentioned Ground Zero, or the families of the victims, or any of the days after September 11. Still, pretty impressive in a forty minute speech, no?
Still more impressive: the giant sign projected above the three women speaking about family members they had lost on 9/11 reading simply “September 11, 2001.” Because the Republicans were obviously afraid we’d forget what they were talking about. I think that was the most tasteless part of the whole proceeding, at least to me. If these women felt that the RNC was the place to talk about their loss, so be it. They have every right to do so. But could the producers be any more crass than to stick them under a huge 9/11 sign? I don’t think so.
Back to Giuliani. There were moments when I liked his speech. Really, there were. He was funny at points. He was right at points, like when he said that no party has all the answers, or is right all the time or wrong all the time. But then he pissed me off with his prolonged attempt at stand-up comedy with five millions slams at Kerry. If he shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes one more time (was he trying to find a trademark gesture, or what?), I was gonna hop on a train and track him down. Also, for future reference, Rudy, it’s not wise to stand on a stage in the Arena of the town that gave you all the political power you have, and say you “finally feel at home” because you’re surrounded by Republicans. You never felt at home here before? So sorry. Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you, as the Jerry Springer saying goes.
The thought I will leave you with (other than John McCain’s slam on Michael Moore, who good-naturedly sat back and flashed the peace sign, laughing) is this: How are we safer than we were on September 11th? Give me some examples. Yeah, Saddam’s out of power, but there are tons more terrorists popping up everyday. We still haven’t caught Osama. New York City hasn’t been below a Code Orange since 9/11. I still live in a city under siege, where I see National Guardsmen with rifles on the subway every day. I occasionally still find myself looking up at a plane that I think is flying too low over the Manhattan skyline, waiting for the crash. If the Bush “ship of state” was focused solely on defense prior to 9/11, as Rudy said, why were we such an easy target? If that same “ship of state” is now focused on defense, why are all the little reminders of insecurity that I just mentioned still there? Riddle me that, BushMan.
Tomorrow, a return to happy pictures of my environs. And I’ll even unfocus on politics long enough for a rant on public transportation, just for Sloth. And maybe tell you of my iPod woes. I promise.
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