Dear George:

The speeches opening the Democratic Convention in Boston were among the finest examples of political rhetoric ever. They compare favorably with the best of Franklin Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, and John Kennedy. Every Democrat can be proud to be a member of a political party with so much talent and wisdom.

All three speeches were models of incisiveness. They were to the point without belaboring the point. They were just the right length.

Al Gore's fighting speech to open the Convention urging Democrats to vote was sincerely and passionately delivered. Jimmy Carter's speech took the high road. Without name-calling, he nevertheless described the predicament Republican foreign policy has created: a needless, brutal war that has now claimed nearly 900 American lives, and wounded 5,000 of our troops.

Bill Clinton's speech was far better than any of FDR's efforts. Where FDR devoted a lot of oratory to describing the purple mountains of America, Clinton got to the heart of the differences between Republicans and Democrats in this election. Although most of the Rasmussen poll was made before Clinton spoke, the Republican pollster early indicated Kerry picking up a point on Bush, putting him ahead with 47% to 46%.

If you haven't noticed, with the exception of a day here and there, Kerry now leads Bush in the daily polls, compared to June, when Bush led Kerry. The major networks early on determined the Democratic Convention was not worth watching because it would be "managed," that is, there wouldn't be any floor fights for recognition of disputed delegations and nomination battles. If they tune it out they will have done a great disservice to the nation, as the Democrats are spelling out their positions succinctly and positively.

By contrast, Fox Network opened its coverage with the shrill headlines of "controversy" in Boston: i.e., the awful remarks of Teresa Kerry to a reporter and "banning" of Ralph Nader. That such trivial pursuits got any play reflects on the bias of Fox, which is not truly a news channel at all.

In sum, the Democrats are doing their best to keep the fires of liberty burning in a nation where officials with totalitarian tendencies are in the saddle.

Yours Truly, Sherwood Ross (Electronic mail, July 27, 2004)