The annual Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) convention featured Rush Limbaugh as the premier speaker on its closing day--a speech carried live by CNN, CSPAN and Fox. I tuned in--not because I'm a Limbaugh fan (I'm not) but because I genuinely wanted to hear what he had to say about where Conservatives are and where they need to go.
It was pretty good stuff, inspirational and red-meat, delivered to a group hungry for leadership and vision. But in the end, I was left wanting. Not because of the words, but because of who wielded them.
Coming from a guy whose video efforts thus far have been pretty uninspiring, I realize that critiques of someone as famous and well-known as Limbaugh based largely on delivery and optics ring hollow. That said, Limbaugh is NOT the guy to be out front "visually" for this movement. His all in black Johnny Cash get up is offputting. His histrionics on stage are distracting. He just comes off as a big blow-hard, no matter how wise and sane are his ideas. Yet there he was--keynote speaker on the last day, nationwide audience and all. The contrast between his delivery and President Obama's is striking....again, I'm talking optics, not ideas and words. Though Limbaugh does spend far too much time in "well, enough about me, let's talk about me" mode.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
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5 comments:
Black is slimming. He actually weighs 600 lbs.
I too cringed when I saw he was the keynote speaker. But you know what, he has a huge following and keeps a movement we believe in strong. He's a media personality prone to blowhardedness, not an elected official, and I think the Democrats look thin-skinned painting him as the head of the party. Can you imagine the GOP whining that Keith Olberman or Janine Garofalo was the leader of the Democrats?
So I wished he was a bit more restrained and diplomatic too, but he's reaching a lot of people with a message that needs to get out there. And he is rarely out there visually (thank goodness).
I couldn't bear to watch it (on the interwebs) when I saw him physically trying to stir the crowd. Maybe I'll try to listen to the audio only. I did like parts of Romney's speech, though.
Limbaugh. Yecch. The GOP needs someone who is not a 'demon' to the left. Too cartoony, to easy a target. Meet them halfway and they actually will have to discuss issues, not throw paintballs.
How about if we are able to take Rush's ideas and package into Sarah Palin's jeans?
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