You really weren't the audience they were trying to impress though were you?

Sure - none of Ahnolds spiel is new to you - but to many watching on network TV is might have been.

Pretty effective in my view.

I agree with Brian. I live in GA and have never heard him give a real speech. I was impressed and inspired. I was left thinking that we NEED to re-elect W. ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!!

Then the twins came on and the buzzkill started.

W brought it back and Laura got me good.

Wow...I'm from CA and it was sad to see our current idiot-governor still being an idiot in front of the world (not gonna touch the movies at all). I'm positive the twins were stoned out of their minds and Laura is the scariest wife I think I've ever seen. If anyone watched the RNC tonight and thought "yep, George is my boy", then God save us all. I'm amazed at the delusional world the Reps. inhabit. Watching the RNC has been like a trip down the rabbithole.

Karol--

I am surprised. I actually thought Arnold's speech was unexpectedly good. It was inspirational. It was subtle in its jabs at Kerry, but highly effective. And most importantly, it was fun. The movie references bring in people who just cannot relate to politics. I thought he projected power and optimism. The Bush twins came off as silly, but noboy went into it thinking they were rocket scientists. And when you compare what we saw last night to the night Teresa Kerry spoke, I think Laura Bush was the winner. It wasn't a great speech on her part, but I dont think it's expected to be.

arnold's speech was positively AWFUL. his whole shtick about "if you believe... then you're a republican" was a bunch of crap. most of the beliefs he expressed are sentiments that are shared not only by the democrats, but by most third-party candidates as well. what differentiates the parties is the METHOD used to achieve said ends. he tried to paint everyone as a republican, when that is simply not the case.

he's also used those hackneyed movie lines so often that they've become groaners. and i, for one, hope he never utters the term "girlie-men" ever again; it wasn't even his line, but the line of people making fun of him. it was silly then and it sounds sillier when used in a serious context. the one exception is the "i'll be back" line, but only in the context of this speech was it not so much a groaner.

his immigrant thing loses a lot of punch when you realize the reason he was so "successful" in america - he was willing (steroids or not) to put his body through crazy stuff to be a champion bodybuilder. you need to be more than an american to do that. you can talk about drive, determination... OK, but it also helps to have a good body type. some people just cannot do what arnold did, no matter how hard they work. his "immigrant experience" does NOT match well with the majority of immigrant experiences. not every immigrant has the potential to be a champion bodybuilder and movie star; in fact, an overwhelming majority don't.

i will give him credit for trying to cut a broad cloth for the republican party, but i think anyone with a shred of intelligence could see through his (speechwriters') cheap attempts to convert people. to the republican party. much of his speech (aside from praise of bush) could have easily been spoken by a democrat. i don't understand how this speech was motivating or galvanizing for the republicans.

Ralph,

I thought "economic girlie-men" sounded forced as well. Not the best speech, but a decent one.

Since a convention is essentially a pep rally, most of the speeches should be cheerleading speeches. In that regard, Arnold’s speech was great. Look at the applause he got. His movie references were cheered the most. A highly effective speech.

He left out the most important thing in his “Then you’re a Republican” segment.

You are a Republican if your view of life is optimistic, hopeful, thankful and happy. Arnold is a perfect example of that view.

You are a Democrat if your view of life is pessimistic, hopeless, bitter and sad. Anika and Ralph are a perfect example of that view.

I love Arnold, don't get me wrong. And it may just be that I'm comparing Tuesday's speeches to Monday's and they don't measure up. I like Arnold better than McCain but I felt McCain did a lot better. Dorian, you may have a point that the movie references bring in non-political people, but I can't imagine those people sitting through the convention at all. And Jake, you're right that it's a cheerleading session but it's also a media event and I didn't hear any killer lines in that speech that the media can splash on its front pages today. Most of the stories I saw today focused on the 'girlie-men' line. Is that really going to sway voters? 'I don't want to be an economic girlie man so I'm voting for Bush'?

For once we agree- the Bush twins were cringe-worthy. Did the crowd even get the Outkast references?

Anika,

Remember, slash with the grain on your wrists, not against it. It's much more effective.

Do you need a razor?

quoting jake: "You are a Democrat if your view of life is pessimistic, hopeless, bitter and sad. Anika and Ralph are a perfect example of that view."

my view of life is NONE of those things, sir. just because i disagree with the ways and means of the "party in charge" only makes me optimistic, full of hope, sweetness and happiness for a defeat of the republicans come november!

just because we disagree does not demonize or otherwise denigrate myself or my viewpoints. debate is what this country was founded on - the right to affirm our beliefs, even when they are contrary to another's.

THAT is what makes america great.

self-promo time - my own blog! click on my link below, thanks!

Ralph's first comment was not necesserily pessimistic, but it does convey strongly partisan wishful thinking:
his immigrant thing loses a lot of punch...
it was silly then and it sounds sillier when used in a serious context...
i think anyone with a shred of intelligence could see through his (speechwriters') cheap attempts to convert people...

Ralph wishes Arnold were ineffective - and he takes the shortest path to see his wish come true, by simply saying that it is reality. I wish my mind were that powerful.

The "anyone with a shred of intelligence must agree with me" argument is quite typical of the Left. Such attitude stems from ideological bankrupcy the Left is experiencing - and Arnold's speechwriters took advantage of it. The fundamental difference between Left and Right goes deeper than "methods of achieving" certain ends. It IS about the motherly role of the state that the Left loves and the Right hates. Arnold did a good job conveying that.

Karol, I agree the twins were cringe-worthy, but for me that was a good thing. Those two were obviously bright, confident (possibly cocky) little hellraisers doing Dad and Mom a favor.

They came across as normal young adults who really aren't political, but who've gotten a good start in life.

(But then again, I'm old enough to remember Amy Carter, so I may have some subconscious "compare and contrast" things going on.)

For the political pros, their performance was awful. For some of us who aren't, it was refreshing.

Again, for comparison, the Kerry girls always make me think of Stepford Daughters....

By the way, my money is on young Barbara to continue Dad's and Grandpa's family tradition.

W. was pretty much a party animal in college, too....

arnold wasn't effective at swaying ME, and seriously doubt his speech is going to have the type of psychological impact on non-republicans that the speechwriters would hope for. they went for all the cheap lines... lines which i felt i could have just as easily heard from any democrat. it's cheap to co-opt ingrained human rights and ideals a la "family values." NO democrat is against "family values," and i would expect no less from every republican, too.

those who want change are always wishing. there was plenty of wishful thinking coming from your camp in 1996 and 2000...

again, you're using basic, ingrained human values, this time to denigrate. you have GOT to do better than this...