PrintSeptember 5, 2008
Ground Noise and Static
The three adult children who took turns disrupting John McCain's acceptance speech last night, now being heralded as heroes by some left wing blogs, are off-springs of the steady lineage of vitriolic shrill that's come from Al Gore (of "He lied to us; he preyed on our fears" fame), Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, et al, for they have helped sustain and sanction their growth.
With each spewing of distain and hatred for Bush-Cheney, a divot is taken out of the fairway of what civility there was left in American political discourse. And, while partisans might meet later with their pseudo mortal enemies over a drink in the club and exchange stories, their naive minions-of-bitterness take all the adversarial theater seriously. So they put bumper stickers on their cars that read "Bush Lied & People Died," and the more zealous among them dress up in costume and crash McCain's acceptance speech.
Some blogs have identified the protesters last light as "veterans." Veterans of what? The suppression of free speech? The battle to support rudeness and incivility by trying to drown out what others want to hear?
With every disruption from these "veterans," McCain picked up a few thousand more votes. And, when he smiled, went off script, and said, "Don't be diverted by ground noise and static," the focused steadiness of the former combat pilot surfaced and we got a closer glimpse into the man.
I'm thinking most of us liked what we saw at that moment. I sure did.
