REPUBLICAN CONVENTION – FINAL NIGHT

Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination in a speech lasting more than an hour, applause included.

It was widely recognized before the speech that this was a critical moment.  Trump, who has very high negatives, had to sell himself to the American people as a president, not simply a candidate for the nomination.

Did he succeed?

Partly.  Only partly.  On paper the speech was pretty well written, covering all the basic points that Trump has been making.  But it was dark, lacking in any soaring quality, much less Reagan's "shining city on a hill" than "it's 11 p.m. and things are falling apart."  Yes, it was serviceable, and informative in parts.  And I disagree with critics who said that Trump was fear mongering.  It's not fear mongering when there are so many things out there that reasonable people should seriously fear.

But a speech is called a speech because it's designed to be spoken.  And that's where the serious problem came in.  Trump is a poor speechmaker.  No doubt about it.  He has an abrasive, almost intimidating manner.  He shouts.  He's angry.  He seemed as if he was constantly out of breath.  He speaks in a kind of monotone, wherein his description of crushing ISIS had the same tempo and character as his telling us that he loves his family.  He's hard to listen to for more than a short period.

So, overall I'd give the event a B-minus.  I do wish that Trump had gotten the proper kind of voice training.   It would have made all the difference. 

In truth, a few quick polls after the speech showed that it was generally well received, and will do Trump some good.  I'm surprised, but it's an unusual election year.

More on this tomorrow.  We'll probably have more polls.

July 21,  2016