Watching C-Span clears up misconceptions

Watching the Republican National Convention on C-Span last night was an interesting experience. I got to see unadulterated subject matter without distracting and biased comments!

It hit me hard that my past rejection of most things political came from having to endure the second-guessing of wanna-be pundits and aging talking heads with anger management problems.

In the past I would watch Obama and McCain and would tune out quickly after the usual barrage of fawning or disparaging comments from the talking head TV personalities.

Unadulterated speeches are far more interesting to me because I can actually take in the content, the body language, and the emotions accompanying the delivery.

Last night I got to hear for the first time how John McCain experienced a transformation from a hotshot pilot to a dedicated patriot, from a focus on self to a focus on service, through the care and support he received from fellow American prisoners of war. As he put it, "He fell in love with his country" as a result of his experiences in prison.

Though still crippled from his experience, he is not bitter nor is he stuck in the past regarding his torture. He seems to have learned to be a better person which is one of the best possible outcomes from such a travail.

I would not have had the pleasure of getting the whole story from John McCain’s viewpoint if I had not watched his convention speech on C-Span.

Getting information straight from the source is a liberating experience.

Watching Sarah Palin the night before was a similar revelation. From the very first sentences she made it plain that she is a force to be reckoned with. Her pointed observations about Barack Obama’s experience and the media started at the very beginning of her speech and increased in intensity throughout her 36 minute speech.

According to my neighbor, James Carville said Sarah was making nice for the first part of her speech and then they flipped the switch and she started hitting the Republican talking points.

Sarah Barracuda is evidently more than Carville can confront. She was in high gear from the moment she started speaking, like a pit bull with lipstick. What she said made a lot of sense to voters who are tired of the leftward tilt in American politics.

If you want to make up your mind about Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barack Obama, or Joe Biden, you need to see what they say and how they say it. Listening to a media "political expert" is an absolute waste of time, unless you want a biased viewpoint.

Watch events on a channel that gives you the news, not one that "interprets" and "shapes" the news.

(The above is my own opinion, based on my personal observations. Your mileage and reactions may be quite different.)