Republican National Convention: Analysis

The Republican National Convention set the tone and outlined the major positions of the Bush administration for the upcoming election.

The convention took place in New York City, just three miles from the site of the convention's most talked about event – September 11. The speakers often spoke of how this year's election is about who will protect this country most effectively from international terrorists, making it clear that they thought Kerry would do a poor job.

During his speech on the last night of the convention, Thursday Sept. 2, the President said that he "believe[s] the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch."

President Bush talked about how the results of his efforts to, as Laura Bush put it, "defeat terror so that all children can grow up in a more peaceful world" have been successful in creating a safer future for America. "Because we acted to defend our country, the murderous regimes of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban are history, more than 50 million people have been liberated, and democracy is coming to the broader Middle East," President Bush said.

Although the threat of terrorism was the main subject at the convention, the speakers also outlined the Bush administration's last four years as president and their hope that President Bush will be able to continue on the same track with his efforts to improve the economy and education.

As Vice President Cheney put it, Sunday, "with higher standards and new resources, America's schools are now on an upward path to excellence, and not for just a few children, but for every child."

President Bush also talked about his efforts to "strengthen Medicare" and how he "unleashed…the largest tax relief in a generation."

Laura Bush discussed how "home ownership in America, especially minority home ownership, is at an all-time high" in one of many efforts to prove how the Bush administration has helped improve the economy.

In an effort to negate what former President Reagan's son said about stem cell research at the Democratic National Convention, Laura Bush talked about how her "husband is the first president to provide federal funding for stem cell research. And he did it in a principled way, allowing science to explore its potential while respecting the dignity of human life."

Also, to try to offset the effects of the one of the most talked about speakers of the Democratic Convention, Barack Obama, and to increase minority Republican supporters, the Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele spoke.

This year's Republican Convention had the most diverse delegation ever. As reported in a Washington Post article, "of the 75 delegates, 16 (or 21 percent) were minorities." Still, that is only "half the number of non-whites sent to Boston by state Democrats."

But the most talked about accomplishment of the Bush administration was by far his efforts in his 'war on terrorism.' Many of the speakers often drew parallels with the current war in Iraq to World War II. President Bush called the "Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds and charging through sandstorms and liberating millions" so brave that they would "make the men of Normandy proud." Vice President Cheney compared our current enemies today with "the Nazis during World War II and the Soviets during the Cold War" and Laura Bush compared President Bush to Franklin Roosevelt citing that he "didn't want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of America and the world depended on it."

The attacks on the Democratic nominees were plentiful. The various speakers attacked Kerry's voting record citing instances where he is said to have flip-flopped. Some also questioned his dedication to America's troops and his ability to fight the war on terrorism. "Kerry doesn't appear to understand how the world has changed. He talks about leading a "more sensitive war on terror"... as though Al Qaida will be impressed with our softer side," Vice President Cheney said.

But no speech was probably more effective in denouncing the Kerry-Edwards campaign than Democratic Senator Zell Miller because despite of his party affiliation, Miller spoke at the Republican Convention attacking Kerry's ability to protect America. "Which leader is it today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family? The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party," Miller said.

He accused the Democratic party of not supporting American troops and making the country weaker "because of the Democrats' manic obsession to bring down our commander in chief."

He compared his stance to a similar situation that, occurred around the same time as World War II. "Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator. Tell that to the one-half of Europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers."

"In [the Democrat's] warped way of thinking, America is the problem, not the solution. They don't believe there is any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy," Miller said.

But many protestors lined the streets of New York City on the first day of the convention carrying posters that read "Leave No Billionaire Behind" and "Kerry-Edwards: Where's the Greed?" showing that there is a Democratic base that remains against President Bush.

The front page of Monday's Washington Post reported that 200,000 showed up to protest Bush. A later article in the Washington Post said that hundreds of Bush protestors were arrested illegally and held "illegally without charges for more than 40 hours." Several dozen of the arrested claimed that they were not even part of the protests.

Those who were finally released left the detention center had samples from their clothing taken from them by the New York City of Department of Health to "test for exposure to toxic chemicals from the holding cell," as reported in the same Post article. Medics reportedly found "numerous cases of rashes and skin infections" as a result of the conditions of the holding center that they stayed in.

The Republican National Convention was effective in getting their message out about Bush's efforts on terrorism and in denouncing Kerry's ability to be an effective president. But it, while all the speakers made it very clear what the Bush administration plans to do in it efforts against terrorism, they still left some unanswered questions about what, if elected, the Bush administration plans to do domestically. Bush did begin to explain what he plans to do in the future but he failed to mention how he plans to do it.