Ahnold at the RNC

There was a lot of buzz on the left side of the blogosphere after the California governor's comment about "girly men" in his convention address tonight, so I figured I should listen to the whole thing so I could get it in context. When he got to the line (and it is just one line), I could see where people were coming from, but I probably wouldn't have made as big a deal of it. Most of the responses could be described as an extrapolation of what he had said or perhaps embodied the subtext behind the statement made explicit. A nuanced interpretation, you might say -- and sadly, I think it's already been proven that nuance isn't welcome in today's political climate. (or maybe people would be pointing out Bush's more relevent flip-flops, like his position on campaign finance reform for starters...)

Nothing earth-shattering in the Governator's speech -- it's the patriotic fluff you'd expect at the convention -- full of grandiose platitudes about America's greatness that no one can argue with. America IS a great country, founded on universal principles of freedom and human rights, we ARE a united country of immigrants (or at least it's an ideal that most of us believe in), out of many peoples, we have created one. You've got to at least give him credit for generally staying on message and not attacking the opposition (mostly, and I'll get to that) as opposed to what I've read about Giuliani's speech. I should hear it for myself, but I really don't have the stomach to sit through that one just yet.

However, I did experience moments of cognitive dissonance during a few of his remarks, and I figured I'd point them out.

• When he talked about growing up in Austria and his fear of the Soviet soldiers, I wondered if he could then appreciate how Americans of middle eastern descent must feel under the shadow of Guantanamo Bay.
  
  
• He became a Republican because of Nixon? Doesn't he know why he stopped being President in '74?
  
  

• "In this country, it doesn't make any difference where you were born. It doesn't make any difference who your parents were. It doesn't make any difference if, like me, you couldn't even speak English until you were in your twenties."

  Except that it does. Like getting into the National Guard when there's a waiting list for everyone else. Being able to start a business for yourself because you've got some extra cash from your college trust fund. Arnold is right: this country is about being able to make something of yourself regardless of your origins. And that's certainly more true here than in many other countries. But it's by no means the equal playing field that he describes.
  
  But there I go into nuance again.
  
  

• "if you work hard and play by the rules, this country is truly open to you. You can achieve anything."

  Which is mostly true, but perhaps more true if you were born into money and didn't have to play by the rules.
  
  

• "And maybe just maybe you don't agree with this party on every single issue. I say to you tonight I believe that's not only okay, that's what's great about this country. Here we can respectfully disagree and still be patriotic still be American and still be good Republicans."

  Yes, that's what's great about this country. But no, I don't think the same can be said of the Republican party, which seems perfectly capable of labelling anyone who disagrees with their policies as being unpatriotic. But I guess that's only if you're a Democrat.
  
  

• "if you believe we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism ... then you are a Republican!"

  Because if you're a Democrat, you probably want to help terrorists. Actually, you probably ARE a terrorist. Bzzzt. Sorry, no.
  
  

• "[Terrorists] ...hate the power of the individual. They hate the progress of women. They hate the religious freedom of others."

  When I heard this, my brain immediately asked (rhetorically, of course): Doesn't the President push policy that favors big business over individual protections? Doesn't the President oppose a woman's right to choose? Doesn't the President marginalize those that do not share his religious beliefs? Arnold, are you saying that the President is a terrorist?

Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but I don't remember the Democratic speakers being quite as misleading. And again, I haven't even tried to listen to Giuliani's remarks yet (apparently it's the 9/11 - Kerry is a flip-flopper speech).