My Beautiful Wickedness

According to BBC reporter Justin Webb, at the conclusion of John McCain’s speech last night
“the North Carolina placename fell (or was pushed over) and struck me a glancing blow before banging heavily on to the head of a woman standing next to it.”

Webb has a sober assessment of the speech. He points out that the biggest applause-getter was when he introduced Palin — bad if you are the guy at the top of the ticket. If your central concern is terrorism, this is a speech that might have worked for you and if you are invested in the war, you’ll like what you heard. If your big worry is the US economy or if you agree with the majority of Americans who want to see Iraq in charge of its own destiny now that we’ve blown the hell out of its infrastructure, destroyed its cultural treasures, and broken its economy, you’ll be underwhelmed.

This speech was the tired sigh of an old man. There is no disputing that he served bravely and endured great suffering during another misbegotten and ill-considered war. I thank him and wish him a long soldier’s rest in sunny Arizona.