what mistake did he make
He had an incredible opportunity. The convention had been a rousing success by every measure. The party was as unified as it has been in years. Even the critics were admitting that.
The nation was watching, knowing this was his first speech since the bullet. His family and friends had given real examples of his humanity- including his grand children. He had a chance to give a unifying speech- focused on the future.
He had a 3000 word speech. 60 minutes.
he started out great. Very unifying.
But then he went off the tracks. 12000 words, 93 minutes. He spent 30 minutes, off script, ad- lobbing. 9000 words. He whined. About how the Dems cheated. About how he has been persecuted. He lied, embellished and exaggerated his past accomplishments. He called people names. It was standard Trump. It wasn’t what so many wanted, and his opponents feared. A New, softer, more reasonable version. He rambled.
As several liberal critics noted, it was the first good thing that happened to the Dems in over a week.
IMHO, he just invited all of the standard criticisms they sling at him( even if much of it is false).
once the Dems choose their candidate- this goes back to a dead heat, at best. He had the ball at the 15 yard line, a 3 point lead, and all he needed to do was down the ball and run out the clock. But instead he tried to throw a pass, and it was intercepted. Now- the other team has the ball.
And remember- the other team will rip him to shreds ( they already are) for the GOOD things he says and does. Thanking god for surviving the assassin. Paying tribute to the fallen firefighter who was shot. Extending an olive branch to those who have previously supported him. Because they too are nuts. But he gave them legitimate ammunition. Undecided people don’t want to hear him say that Biden is worse than the last 10 bad presidents combined. They don’t want to hear them call Nancy Pelosi crazy even if she is. They don’t want to hear him whining about how Dem used Covid to cheat in the last election.
I just think he had an amazing opportunity all set up for him, and he screwed the pooch badly.
