One of the speakers who managed to rile ’em up was Sen. Bob Casey Jr., from Pennsylvania. He showed some stem-winding instincts. And he had some effective lines. For example, tying McCain to Bush, “Four more years? How about four more months!” That got the crowd chanting, “Four more months! Four more months!” And he took on McCain’s reputation as a maverick, citing his pro-Bush voting record: “That’s not a maverick, that’s a sidekick.” Very nice (if dishonest).
Tucked into all this was an itty-bitty abortion reference: All he said was that he differed with Obama on abortion — but how swell Obama was for letting him speak at the convention anyway. (Once upon a time, Casey’s father, the governor, was denied that opportunity.) This was supposed to show how generous and big-hearted Obama was. To me, Casey gave the impression of being thrilled that the cool kid in school actually liked him, or at least tolerated him — geek that he (the speaker) was.
You can vote against the Born Alive Act, but if you give Senator Casey five minutes at your party’s podium — why, you’re practically a humanitarian.