Last year Canadians were appalled at the beginning of August when they realized they were faced with a two and a half-month federal election campaign. Americans are faced with more than three months. They know they have a great deal to achieve in that limited time.
The biggest challenge for the major candidates is pacing. It is like two heavy weight boxers going into a 15-round bout. They have to be on their feet for the 15th round. Hillary Clinton has been there. She knows the rhythm that is needed. The Republican candidate does not.
Candidates want their policies to build and come together for the voters over the course of the campaign. The Republican candidate has never talked about his positive policies. Does he have any policies?
The one thing that is clear is that nobody can benefit from a campaign of slandering their opponent. It is like a joke. It can only be funny the first time.
And when the Republican candidate called for the Russian President to interfere in an American election the other day, he waved a flag of ignorance for all to see.
It can certainly not be the role of the Democratic nominee to spend the campaign correcting the errors and excesses of her opponent. She can leave that mainly to others. She is also fully qualified and able to defend herself and to attack the inadequacies of her opponent for the job he seeks.
But it was obvious to all in the convention hall Thursday evening that Hillary Clinton has good speech writers and she knows her stuff. The speech was almost a cacophony of good lines strung together. It was too long of course but there was a huge and friendly audience to cheer her on. It was the ideal time to reach many millions watching at home. It was a tribute to her stamina, her public speaking ability and her many years of preparation for this one event.
Forget the flatness of her daughter’s introduction. Hillary embraced the direction set by Bernie Sanders. She built the speech on the clear understanding that she can get things done. She offered a better future and Americans will be wise to choose it in November.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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