SNOW JOB AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Anyone who heard the speech this evening of Miss Congeniality at the Republican National Convention knows that she is anything but "congenial".

Governor Sarah "Barracuda" Palin showed us her sharp elbows and was the closing act in a low class tag team performance begun with "Rude" Giuliani's attacks on Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

When I was taught by the Dominican Nuns at St. Pius’ Grammar School in the South Bronx, they always said that “empty vessels made the most noise.”

Governor Palin, in about thirty minutes, reduced the hi-falutin American dialogue that Senator McCain once promised us to its lowest degrading common denominator, to hurled insults, lies, half truths, and misdirection.

The Bush-Cheney-Rove response to any serious allegation has almost always been to attack and destroy "the allegator".

Governor Palin recited the script the Rove machine wrote for her this evening, in the most recent edition of this deplorable strategy, and proved her disqualification for the office that she seeks, more than anything we’ve heard about her since her candidacy was announced only a few days ago and she went to ground, to avoid shooting from the lip.

"Rude" Giuliani made fun of Senator Obama's efforts to help the poor in the streets of South Side Chicago as a community organizer. Presumably, the brothers from Manhattan College taught the "Rude" Mayor about the Sermon on the Mount - and how we should care for the least of our brethren. But these delegates roared with laughter that Senator Obama would care to take the time to care for the poor.

“Moose Killer” Palin, who has never written a book herself and who reportedly wanted to burn books when she was a Mayor, made fun of Senator Obama's two published biographies.

How ironic for her to insult someone who discloses who he is when she has ducked interviews and withheld some vital information about who she is - even to Senator McCain in the “exhaustive” twenty minute "vetting" that delivered her to this “historic” nomination.

The NY Times’ Maureen Dowd remarked that she thought political parties learned not to go on “blind dates” when picking their vice-presidential nominees. It’s rare that they work out well and Governor Palin is no exception to this rule.

If we needed a reminder of what we want and need to change in this nation, we got a birds-eye view tonight when we witnessed the harsh tone and vaporous content of the Republican convention.

Venom spewed forth from the Republican cobra that has entwined and strangled this nation's promise for so long, revealing itself in this convention’s speakers and the inapt cheers from the assembled party faithful.

This convention’s character is a mirror of the outgoing Administration that the Republican party seeks to perpetuate, an Administration that authored the Patriot Act, lied to make the Iraq war, approved torture, imprisoned citizens on the say-so of the Chief Executive, broke our economy, squandered the blood of our young and the treasure of our nation, denied women choice, stymied stem cell research, awarded ceos, short-changed the middle class, appointed Justices who have compromised our rights and liberties and contradicted their sworn assertions to the senate committee that “approved” them, shut out the public on its energy decisions, ignored global warming, created lies and junk science to explain itself, compromised our environment including the air we breathe and the water we drink, denied evolution, preferred risky private retirement accounts over social security, compromised job security, health care, and worker's rights. You can start with this list and add your own grievances.

Everyone is now on notice.

We risk more of the same if these folk steal another election.

That’s why we cannot ignore this barrage of slanders, sophistic sleights of mind, and misdirection begun in earnest with this convention.

We are headed toward another nasty, low ball slimy campaign like those sponsored four and eight years ago.

Remember the "not-so-swift" boat attacks on Senator Kerry.

Remember those same attacks on Senator McCain himself.

Remember as well that these lies stick and stay and destroy hope and change - if you fail or delay to respond to them.

Our course is clear.

We must answer each and every false claim, disintegrate the rhetoric, underscore the reality that they would obscure for this is the only way they can succeed.

We have a campaign based on truth and fundamental fairness, a reform campaign, and the nation is ready to change – if we can only dispel the false smoke that would conceal this coiled snake ready to strike once again.

J. Flannery