http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5625320/
The author of the piece gushes over George Bush and his ability to work a crowd like a revival preacher. A couple of points in this paragraph struck me as noteworthy:
"After last week's Democratic convention, I felt that John Kerry had become the favorite in the presidential race. Now, after only two days with President Bush, I'm not so sure. He's that good. Unlike many people, I'm not threatened by the president's religious rhetoric. It must be the Midwestern Catholic in me. Like the people in the audience, I find it familiar and comforting. I can see why so many people believe the president is "one of us," no matter how rich or how elite his background. And I can see that Kerry will have a tough time besting Bush in all three debates."First, the president is only "that good" as a speaker or presence when he appears in front of a carefully selected group of white, evangelical Christians who are tripping over each other to view him as a success and would applaud him if he took a crap on the stage in front of them! W's reliably pathetic performance when attempting to discuss real issues is too well known to merit discussion here. The debates will not be held in front of an audience of hand-picked and vetted evangelicals and they will not be a slam dunk for Bush, despite what the author of this article says.
The second thing that is strange is the statement that, "Unlike many people, I'm not threatened by the president's religious rhetoric. It must be the Midwestern Catholic in me" Now, I was raised a Catholic in the midwest. What kind of Catholic church was this guy going to anyway? How could a Catholic, steeped in a liturgical tradition, go to a Bush rally where he's behaving like a tent revival, 'come back to Jesus altar call' kind of preacher and feel like this spoke to the "midwestern Catholic' in him? This guy's head is so far up Bush's ass, I'm amazed that he managed to get it out in order to write this opinion piece for Slate. The important point is that Bush can be good, but he's only really good at addressing a very specific target audience. When he has to address real issues and specifics to a general audience, he sucks!