There are some whose intense personal dislike of Ted Cruz leads them to dismiss the veracity of his arguments.
The fact remains that the GOP has a significant recent history of nominating losers and near-losers, all of whom share the common trait of either rejecting principled Conservativism or else soft-peddling it while alienating the voters whose support is integral to its success.
As a consequence, many people who over time might have been attracted to Conservative values have failed to be attracted, or even much impressed.
That said, I found Ted Cruz's CPA speech to be somewhat off-putting and self-referential, as compared with those of other presenters. Part of the problem, at least for me is his manner, which brings to mind that of a televangelist, as opposed to a statesman. He has a habit of folding his hands in front of him while standing away from the podium, of speaking with odd pauses and emphases, and of making facial expressions that don't quite mirror the words he speaks.
And so, even when he speaks the truth, I find myself not quite trusting him. In this respect, he reminds me entirely of too many slick politicians who know the script but fail to convey sincerity. I think that's a problem for a presumptive Presidential candidate. It's a problem because I happen to like him and agree with him on so much, and yet... How much more difficult will his task be be to appeal to those he needs to attract and impress?
Rick Perry, for his part, made a very good speech, but was also guilty of theatrics that I though distracted from the power of his words.
Sarah Palin made a very funny, lighthearted, self-deprecating and occasionally inspiring speech that consolidated my opinion of her: a charismatic spokesperson who has a talented ear for popular cultural references, who to my pleasure revels in driving liberals absolutely bat-guano insane, but not one who truly inspires as a Presidential candidate.
I thought that Chris Christie, who I am always prepared to dislike, delivered a surprisingly solid performance, discussing substantive issues in an engaging manner, and promoting his very real accomplishments in New Jersey. He also drives Democrats crazy, which as is the case with Ms. Palin, always brings a smile to one's face.
Watching MSNBC's frantic round-the-clock coverage of "Tollbooth-gate", or whatever one wishes to call it, was amusing in the same way that one might enjoy the spectacle of a particularly loud and annoying theater-goer in the seat in front of you dumping his ice-cold Big Gulp all over his lap.
Bobby Jindal, more relaxed and Louisiana-inflected than I have ever seen him, had one of the best lines of the convention: "You know, we have long thought and said this president is a smart man. It may be time to revisit that assumption, or at least to make a distinction between being book-smart and being truly wise. And so today, let it be heard — and I hope he's watching — to President Carter, I want to issue a sincere apology. It is no longer fair to say he was the worst president of this great country in my lifetime. President Obama has proven me wrong."
Marco Rubio, both youthful and energetic, also made a solid showing, scoring solid points on presentation and on having an appropriately sincere tone. He also made a pretty smart and telling comment: "And let me tell you, it's pretty impressive when you get to Washington, you go into these meetings, you start looking around the room and you see so-and-so there on ‘Meet the Press.’ Look at so-and-so, he ran for president, look at so-and-so. It's pretty amazing. And you start wondering to yourself, man, how did I get here? And about six months later, you look around the same room, and you say, man, how did they get here?"
Finally, I thought that Rand Paul gave the best speech of all: substantive, thoughtful, inspirational, forward-looking, appropriately defiant, and idea-driven. And yes, I know, he quoted Pink Floyd (from "The Wall"), but (A) it's a great song and (B) it's sadly, and disturbingly all coming true.
