Impressionism

Thinking back on last night's convention speeches, they ranged from funny (Miller) to boring (Cheney), with Zell's speech being one of the highlights of the convention for its grandiose flourishes.

Zell's quasi-preacherish oratorical style probably has echoes of some old Georgian traditions that I'm not aware of, but it sounds interesting nonetheless. His accusations were harsh and probably exaggerated, but unintentionally the funniest speech of the convention. It wasn't the Southern part that was funny (hell, I'm Southern), but the way that a lifelong Democrat can feel so estranged from his party that he is willing to address the other side. In the Old South, didn't they hang people for less?

Anyway, Cheney was a bit boring by contrast. His speaking style reminds me of corporate Board meetings, where calm and precise cadences are spoken in terse sentence form. I didn't hear anything new from him.

I'm not going to analyze the content of the speeches any further because I'm Off to See the Wizard, who in this case is one of our major airlines on the verge of extinction. If I'm late, I may have to join the back of the unsecured creditors' line in court for a refund.

The next week's blogging may be a little light, but I'll try to post when I can.