Well, I've come a long way in a few years. Last night I felt like I was watching a bunch of clueless people, trapped in an ideology that leads them to celebrate the grave sins they are guilty for. I've never been so angry after a night of political convention. And last night was supposed to be the non-ideologues (though the media never have understood how conservative McCain is). Some of the lowlights:

* McCain's impassioned ending that once again made it out like all of us who object to this war and this administration are unpatriotic and evil.
* Giuliani trumpeting this ridiculous idea that the al-Qaeda terrorists are fighting against freedom. His rhetoric at this point in the speech would have been more fitting in the Cold War.
* Also his weird anti-European section where he told a pretty limited story of European cowardice in the face of terrorism in the 1970's and 80's (why not mention Reagan withdrawing from Lebanon or negotiating with the Iranian Ayatollahs? or that W didn't respond to the Cole bombing).
* The worst thing the whole night, though, was watching the delegates gleefully hoot, holler, cheer, laugh, and applaud jokes and catchphrases having to do with the war. It was basically like the speakers got up and said, "We kick ass!" and all the crowd screamed "Four More Years of Kicking Ass!" Clearly these people do not understand that we are talking about WAR. War must always be fought as a last resort and done so with humility, remorse, regret and always with an eye to how reconciliation and peace can be achieved on the other side. This display of hubris, insensitivity, and downright warmongering just appeared to me, through my tv screen, to be an exercise in sinfulness.