“Nothing will hold us back”—pledges Bush in his acceptance speech

A.H. Jaffor Ullah

The Republican Party’s scripted convention that started 4 days ago on August 30, 2004, just ended tonight at about 11:30 p.m. EDT (Eastern daylight saving’s time).  Mr. G. W. Bush spoke for 62 minutes before cheering convention-goers, which was marred by the heckling of two protesters.  The hecklers were whisked away by the security guard and the deafening cheering and shouting by the loyal Republicans who came to the convention from four-corners of America drowned their heckling.

Bush’s speechwriters crafted the acceptance speech, which he delivered flawlessly.  It was surely a very political speech that was big on promises but lacked substance.  The bulk of the speech was dominated by topics such as 9-11 terrorist attack, global terrorism, a new beginning in the Middle-East, keeping America safe from terrorists, so on and so forth.  In the middle of the speech Mr. Bush talked about some new initiatives at home front to help the retiree buy prescription medicine at a subsidized price, health insurance for employees of small firms, educational reform, etc.  But never did he mention where the funds for all this will come from. 

In the last 4 days, the Republican convention was abuzz with the talk of 9-11 terrorist attack and how Mr. Bush handled the crisis.  The impression that was given by the speechmakers was the following: George W. Bush knows how to handle a crisis as big as 9-11.  Therefore, reëlect him; America will be safer under his leadership.  No one really talked about Mr. Bush’s failure dealing with Iraq after American soldiers occupied the nation removing Saddam from power.  Mr. Bush gave a very upbeat assessment about a new beginning in Arab countries as he mentioned removal of Saddam from power, Afghani people having their election in October 2004, Gaddafi’s renunciation of global terrorism, Saudis pledge to reform their society, so on and so forth. 

To justify what America did to Iraq in March 2003 as Bush ordered invasion of Iraq and what is yet to come, Mr. Bush said, “We are staying on the offensive — striking terrorists abroad — so we do not have to face them here at home, and we will prevail.”  The sentiment expressed by these sentences epitomizes Mr. Bush’s political philosophy and to make a sharp distinction between him and his opponent, Senator John Kerry.  The delegates to the convention liked those tough pronouncements by Mr. Bush.  America, according to Mr. Bush, is standing tall to face any challenge from the terrorists.  Not too long ago, Mr. Bush called himself a “war president.”  Mr. Bush’s acceptance speech carried that sentiment, which the conservative crowd loved through and through.  They cheered their candidate by saying, “Four more years … four more years.”

The recurring theme of his speech was America is fighting a noble cause, i.e., wiping out those who attacked America from outside on September 11, 2001.  He summoned the nation toward victory over terrorism and economic security at home.  “Nothing will hold us back,” he said to the loyal crowd. He repeated this refrain to enthuse the convention delegate.

Mr. Bush criticized his opponent, Senator Kerry, for not supporting his budget of $ 87 billion dollar for Iraq War effort in 2003-2004.  Mr. Kerry initially supported America’s war against Iraq but later he became one of Bush’s harshest critics.  Therefore, in an oblique reference to Kerry’s vacillation over Iraq War Mr. Bush said, “I believe this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership, and that is why, with your help, we will win this election.”

Mr. Bush reintroduced him to Americans tonight.  With a self-deprecating humor, he admitted that his English is not that perfect, his comments are blunt, and his is a swaggering gait.  Notwithstanding all these negativities, he said he is a principled leader.  His speech was geared for his conservative constituencies and that includes neo-cons.  Mr. Bush did not use a language filled with incendiaries, as it was the case with Mr. Dick Cheney who delivered his acceptance speech last night (Wednesday, September 1, 2004).  To show where George Bush differed with Senator Kerry on domestic agenda, the candidate Bush said in his acceptance speech that Senator Kerry has proposed “more than $2 trillion in new federal spending so far, and that's a lot, even for a senator from Massachusetts.”  Then Mr. Bush said, “To pay for that spending, he is running on a platform of increasing taxes — and that's the kind of a promise a politician usually keeps.”  Mr. Bush wanted to cut income tax; therefore, he said that on this issue he differed from the Democratic Party’s nominee.  

At the end of the speech, the Bush family including his wife, daughters, mother, and father joined him on the podium and so did Mr. Cheney and his family.  Thousands of balloons were descending from the ceiling and confetti were coming down to give the final moment of the Republican convention a touch of merrymaking and celebration of George Bush’s candidacy for the second term.

Will the Americans buy what Mr. Bush said tonight and what he outlined in his speech his vision for the nation?  That remains an open question.  The election is 60 days from now.  Many things could happen from now until then.  By all estimate the race is a very tight one.  The political pundits will tell us whether George Bush had received the bump in the opinion poll right after the convention.  Normally, this bump in opinion poll evaporates very fast.  Now we learned that there are 17-20 states, which are called the tossup state.  In some poll, Mr. Kerry is gaining ground in the state of Florida.  The state of Pennsylvania is shaping up to go in Kerry’s column   Mr. Bush still has a slight edge in Ohio, another battleground (tossup) state.  If the economy improves in the next two months, there is a chance that Mr. Bush may come out victorious.  However, if the economy seems weak in the eyes of the voters, especially in Ohio, then Mr. Bush will join his father by becoming a one-term president.  Therefore, stay tuned.  A lot more is yet to come.  The political carnival season has just started.   

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A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA