Nothing is surprising here. But the delivery is sedate, to say the least—a laundry list without unity or theme. You don’t feel the knife to the throat, like he’s capable of. In a way it’s surprising because that’s exactly what they need to turn people out.
I think it’s further proof that whoever has his ear this week rules—for all the talk of the elder son, the Kushners are all over this speech.
The idea, of course, is take care of the balloon-blowers and bell-ringers on previous nights, then make him look mild for the big audience. It’s fair enough, if many of those people were still up for grabs.
The smartest thing they did through the broadcasts is thread appeals to Wisconsin.
The remarkable thing, I guess, is the total lack of vision or belief in anything other than him. Change a few words and it could easily be four years ago. There is really no past or future, just him.
It may seem ridiculous at first but a lot of people don't have the luxury of looking backwards or forwards. It will come down to how many of them feel betrayed.
On reflection I think it's that he simply wasn't enjoying himself.
