Yawnfest 2008

There is a noticeable difference between the Democratic and Republican conventions. Last night I was walking around on the floor of the convention hall (that's the delegate equivalent of a mosh pit) and the lack of excitement was palpable. The Republicans seemed like they were all sedated. The faces of the delegates all looked pained. The signs for McCain were thrust in the air half-heartedly. It reminded me of a wedding reception where the entire wedding party knew the marriage was doomed but they had to try and put on a good face.

Bush was only on the jumbo screen for eight minutes. Not enough time to erase all the damage he's done to the GOP. Fred Thompson tried to get the crowd fired up by discussing McCain's POW torture in excruciating detail. That didn't seem to work. He could have used a few more takes. Joe Lieberman, who can't really be trusted by either side, is no Mr. Enthusiasm. He always sounds like a bit of a whiner to me when he speaks. Last night he sounded like a traitorous whiner.

I don't know how the Republicans can invigorate their celebration, but they need to do something. Maybe Sarah Palin will perk things up.

Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to upload any new sketches last night. Until I can get back on track I will leave you with a sketch that I drew during the Republican Convention in Philadelphia in 2000. That convention boasted the arrival of the bloggers as credentialed journalists. There were only a handful of bloggers on site back then. At this convention there are hundreds. Sadly, not much has changed in terms of excitement.