Pressing Moderate Republicans on W

Coming out of this convention that will be dominated by more moderate Republicans the likes of McCain, Giuliani, and Schwarzenegger, it would be nice to see them be asked specific questions on just how much they support Dubya. At the convention, they will hail Bush on security but they will be doing so in extremely vague terms.

Here are a couple of pre-released speech excerpts:

McCain:

"He has not flinched from the hard choices. He will not yield. And neither will we," McCain said in excerpts of his Monday address released by the campaign the night before.

Giuliani:

"George W. Bush saw and described terrorism for the evil that it is and he will remain consistent to the purpose of defeating it while working to make us ever safer at home," Giuliani said in excerpts of his speech text.

My point here is that it's time to go after them on the specifics of Bush's "security agenda":

• Do you agree with the president that capturing Osama bin Laden is no longer a priority?

• Are you supportive of the presidents security agenda despite its lax stance on protecting sensitive facilities and shipping ports.

• Do you agree with the Vice-President when he mocks John Kerry for expressing the need to fight, among other things, a more sensitive war on terror, or do you believe that our policies should be determined by other people's perceptions of our actions and how many civilians we slaughter?

The list should continue, suggestions are encouraged. The point is that Bush's security agenda is weak. That's a major point Kerry is trying to make. Now, instead of letting everybody's favorite POW (McCain) and the Mayor of 9/11 (Giuliani) get away with vaguely supporting the President on security, make them address specific issues and either sweat it out putting their foot in their mouth or be seen as backing off their support of the President on these issues.

•  Tip Jar

  Will this approach work or are these guys good enough politicians to weasel their way out of it. The missing ingredient in the plan, to my eyes, is the interviewer. Who in the media today would be willing to ask these questions, and follow-up when the first answer they get is evasive?

  by nussbaumski on Sun Aug 29, 2004 at 07:46:02 PM PDT

•  Interesting point, but...

  who'll ask these questions?  I don't think you'll see much from the mainstream "media" on this point.

  In fact, this week on "Washington Week", Gwen Ifil referred to the moderate face of the Republican convention, and stated they were doing the same thing the Democrats did in Boston.  (Something about how the Democrats "hid" their liberals.)  Funny, at the convention that I watched, I saw Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and Al Sharpton speaking in prime-time.  Gwen must have been watching a different convention...

  It seems the media will be giving Bush a pass on his convention makeover.

  -MM-    

  by MuscularMultilateralist on Sun Aug 29, 2004 at 08:32:18 PM PDT

•  Good theme

  Milt Shook at the Daily Weasel is beginning a series of articles along these lines.  Here's the first:

  To the Conservatives Planning to Vote for Bush -- Are you Nuts???

  by Jonathan on Sun Aug 29, 2004 at 08:37:41 PM PDT