July 22, 2016

A 70-year-old man spoke for almost 80 minutes after 10 p.m.

Trump had a long speech in the Teleprompter and he lengthened it with many impromptu additions along the way, even as the time approached midnight. Here's one of the last paragraphs, with the unscripted material in boldface:
Remember: All of the people telling you that you can’t have the country you want, are the same people that wouldn't stand -- I mean, they said Trump doesn't have a chance of being here tonight. Not a chance! The same people. Oh, we love defeating those people, don't we? Love it, love it, love it. No longer can we rely on those same people in politics and in the media, who will say anything to keep a rigged system in place. Instead, we must choose to Believe In America.
The man has energy. He didn't need to make that speech so long, and he certainly didn't need to deviate from the script, continually making it longer.

48 comments:

Matt Sablan said...

My understanding is deviating from the script is both a strong and weak point for the campaign.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Headline: Prominent Law Professor Calls Trump a Deviant

Laslo Spatula said...

From the Fauxhaus Blog:

On October 14, 1912, an unemployed saloonkeeper shot former president and Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt outside a Milwaukee hotel. Rather than being rushed to the hospital, Roosevelt insisted on delivering his scheduled 90-minute speech

Speaking of the length of Trump's speech, I assume many will make jokes regarding it as being compensation for those supposedly short fingers. History does not comment on the size of Theodore Roosevelt's fingers, but a 90 minute speech after being shot might be the Holy Grail of American Speeches.

How long a speech would Trump give upon being shot? Note that this is a rhetorical question. He would certainly know he would be making History in such a scenario, wouldn't he? What would he make of this, of his peak Trumpiness, his Trumpitude, in real time?

And -- of course -- how long would a speech would Hillary give upon being shot? How would the Media cover it? Would she finally give a press conference, knowing that all the questions will center around her resilience? Would this win her the Presidency?

Please note I am not advocating such actions: this is merely the musings of an early Friday morning, as I am listening to Bob Dylan on my laptop:

"But even the President of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked"

While these lyrics might be obvious, the title of the song is even more appropriate to the subject at hand...

"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"

I am Laslo.

David Begley said...

What will Hillary say other than attack Trump? Defeat ISIS? Mideast peace? Free college? Solar panels on every house? Racial harmony?

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

A purpose driven life is invigorating. Is that the takeaway?

For some reason I'm reminded of that famous exchange in Ben Hur where the Roman naval commander says it's good to be full of hate . . . keeps a man alive.

And for some other reason, I'm now reminded of Aguirre, The Wrath of God where the guy's obsessiveness gets everyone killed.

Gee, now I don't know what to think!!!

Amexpat said...

@Laslo,
Good stuff. On par with premium Betamax and better than Toth.

JPS said...

From Laslo's excellent link:

"X-rays taken after the campaign event showed the bullet lodged against Roosevelt’s fourth right rib on an upward path to his heart. Fortunately, the projectile had been slowed by his dense overcoat, steel-reinforced eyeglass case and hefty speech squeezed into his inner right jacket pocket. Roosevelt dictated a telegram to his wife that said he was 'in excellent shape' and that the 'trivial' wound wasn’t 'a particle more serious than one of the injuries any of the boys used continually to be having.'"

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Laslo" wrote:
On October 14, 1912, an unemployed saloonkeeper shot former president and Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt outside a Milwaukee hotel. Rather than being rushed to the hospital, Roosevelt insisted on delivering his scheduled 90-minute speech

In Morris's TR bio, he tells the story of how Teddy left home for a meeting with the president of Harvard, an ordained minister, and returned shortly afterwards because he had forgotten his revolver.

Luke Lea said...

Hillary lacks the "strength and stamina" to fix our nation -- in addition to her the "lack of judgment" and "personal integrity." These are the memes he's been using in the past.

dreams said...

I agree with a commentator on Fox who said Trump should drop the rigged system and use corrupt system instead, its a corrupt system. It was a good speech except too long. I think Trump is going to win, it feels like 1980 to me.

WisRich said...

I thought it was a very good speech and yes, it needed to be cut by 20 minutes.

Bay Area Guy said...

It feels real good to see Trump penetrate through the faux veneer of professional victimization and political correctness that the Left has constructed.

Unknown said...

It was a tremendous speech. After the Obama debacle it was refreshing to see someone stand up for America so unapologetically and so forcefully. Thank you, Donald Trump. I voted for Obama twice and those mistakes I have to live with the rest of my life.

Hagar said...

Whatever, but I think Trump is as surprised as anyone that he was standing there and he can be excused for reveling in the moment.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I only saw about one third of the speech but I thought it was effective. Judging by the immediate hissy fit reaction by the media, I'm guessing they thought it was effective too.

rehajm said...

It's very good. Of course now and then - just now and then - it gets a touch elaborate.

What do you mean, Sire?

My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in the course of an evening.

I don't understand. There are just as many notes, Majesty, as are required. Neither more nor less.

It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.

Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?

Rick.T. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TreeJoe said...

I feel like this hasn't been discussed on Althouse, but am I the only one who both is bothered by Trump's perennially offensive statements to both enemies and friends alike, yet invigorated by the reality of a major presidential candidate who did not spend the last several decades working to obtain political power?

I mean, c'mon, Hillary has basically positioned herself for the presidency since her first day in the white house nearly 24 years ago. She's failed at every executive role she's ever taken on - including her leadership of first lady initiatives. Her role as Sec of State was due to a failed presidential candidacy. In most jobs you get promoted to your point of incompetence. Hillary's incompetence at the job she took on kept resulting in promotion.

I don't care for Trump as a presidential candidate in regards to bringing people together to build a stronger america (though I like many of his stances), but it is so nice to actually see someone who just stepped up to run for president rather than planned it for a long time.

Anonymous said...

Good speech, but much to long

great speeches are short

PS: Hillary is ill. No way she has the stamina to give that speach, campaign effectively in the home stretch or govern.

PPS: Gonna be interesting to see what transparent excuses they use to avoid debates? He's a racist?

Rick.T. said...

Eric the Fruit Bat said...
A purpose driven life is invigorating. Is that the takeaway?
--------------

In keeping with the Werner Herzog theme, a purpose-driven life is fine as long as your name isn't Fitzcarraldo.

buwaya said...

Its true about energy. Most of his opponents simply werent up to working as hard.
It hasnt quite penetrated, I think, just how tremendous an effort he has been making with all those live arena shows he is putting on.
I have seen how hard rich men work, and its clear why Trump is so wealthy.

buwaya said...

And thanks to Laslo also.
Great stuff.

Oso Negro said...

Energy? For all we know he has a scrip for Adderall

Laslo Spatula said...

buwaya puti said...
And thanks to Laslo also.
Great stuff.

I am auditioning to be Althouse's guest blogger.

I am Laslo.

furious_a said...

As if it weren't already a great thread, somebody worked in Fitzcarraldo. *tips hat*

Gahrie said...

I predicted months ago that Hillary would refuse to debate Trump, using the excuse that she didn't want to legitimize his politics of hate.

Dan in Philly said...

Trump ignores rules all the time. Speech too long? Make it longer. Seems to be working for him so far.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

I didn't watch last night, but tuned in to NPR this morning for reaction.
NPR's coverage (in the ~hour I caught) included some clips from Trump & his daughter's speeches, a short commentary segment with a Repub. analyst and an NPR analyst, and then 4 solid segments with reaction from people/groups who oppose Trump! First was a segment with interviews from millennials who don't support Trump (some Repubs, some "people I ran into in Cleveland"), next was a segment interviewing delegates who aren't happy with Trump as the nominee but might vote for him, then a segment interviewing young women (including a "Republican" young woman who attended the convention but says she might vote for Hillary depending on her VP pick), and lastly a segment on a group of Democrats who watched the speech from some pub and shouted at the TV screen.
Does anyone, for a moment, believe NPR's coverage of the Dem. convention/Hillary's speech will be similarly hostile?

My Bayesian update was that the speech must have been pretty good since the Media coverage largely avoided reporting on the speech itself (had it been terrible the coverage would have been wall-to-wall clips, etc).

Derek Kite said...

There were some odd moments. I think even Donald Trump is somewhat overcome by what he has done. I didn't watch much of it, but caught a few moments here and there.

When he was talking about the rigged system, he said he knows. He knows because he played in it. I'm the person to fix it because I know how it works. Interesting, including the expression on his face.

When he thanked the evangelical voters, was it unscripted when he said he really didn't deserve the support? I thought that was pretty brilliant.

eric said...

I was watching the speech on Twitter last night.

At some point, maybe 20-30 minutes before the end of the speech, some of the Democrats started to complain about how long the speech was.

I found it fascinating how people suddenly fell all over themselves to repeat this line in different forms. New and inventive ways to show displeasure at the length of the speech. And I started to wonder, is this something the left does? Or is this something all humans do?

I mean, they all had the choice to just stop watching. Instead they chose to continue watching and complain about the exact same thing.

Again, i was fascinated by the lemming behavior.

buwaya said...

Twitter seems to be all about lemming behavior.
And Facebook.

CWJ said...

Laslo is to Althouse as Steyn is to Limbaugh?

Interesting idea.

gilbar said...

"Does anyone, for a moment, believe NPR's coverage of the Dem. convention/Hillary's speech will be similarly hostile?"
It will probably be Exactly simular. Right down to the exact same people. Of course, those people won't be hostile to Hilterly

I

Anonymous said...

This entire last night of the convention was a home run for Trump. Was the speech too long? Who cares except whiny low-energy types. When the campaign started back in 2015 Trump began visiting New England, New Hampshire mostly, and I made it a point to go to every one of the rallies I could, I sweated in Derry and Rochester, N.H. froze in Farmington, Concord, and Keene, N.H., was really cold six miles from the Connecticut River, froze again in single-digit wind swept temps in Lowell, Mass., and during it all I thought, "It's hard work being a Trump supporter," logging the miles driven, eating in gas stations on some back country road, standing in lines, some blocks long, like in Lowell, Mass. and cheering and clapping and holding up signs in the event. Then I realized how much harder it was for him, he was the one giving speeches, shaking hands, signing autographs, talking privately to local politicians. Last night was nothing to Trump and the next eight years will be a ball for the rest of us as he, "Makes America Great Again." Trump 2016! Ivanka 2024!

Anonymous said...

Correction, the blocks long line I meant to mention was in Worcester, Mass., although the lines in Lowell, Mass. were pretty long too.

pm317 said...

It was a bad speech, bad delivery. I got a headache from all that shouting and turned off the TV. I wanted to wait for the balloon drop and the family on stage but got very irritated by his delivery and turned it off.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Again, i was fascinated by the lemming behavior.

I was amused by the almost universal criticism of Trump's speech by the MSM as being "dark" (btw, isn't that racist?). This criticism has been so frequent, you would almost think it was coordinated. Anyway, how could anyone have the nerve point out problems in America after the "seashells and balloons" reign of Barack Obama?

Todd said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Anyway, how could anyone have the nerve point out problems in America after the "seashells and balloons" reign of Barack Obama?

7/22/16, 11:09 AM


And unicorn farts, don't forget all of the unicorn farts!

For some strange reason, for the last 8 years the unicorn farts have all smelt like failure...

SeanF said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi: I was amused by the almost universal criticism of Trump's speech by the MSM as being "dark"

The talking heads on NBC were saying that immediately after the speech - I don't remember the exact wording, but the implication was that he was saying bad things about the country - and it surprised me, too, because that was not my take-away.

I couldn't help but think of those comments up above when Mada Gasper said, "...it was refreshing to see someone stand up for America so unapologetically and so forcefully..."

Rick.T. said...

furious_a said...
As if it weren't already a great thread, somebody worked in Fitzcarraldo. *tips hat*
-------------------

(Blush) Well, it was either that or Roy Neary from Close Encounters building his tower of mashed potatoes....

Fritz said...

buwaya puti said...
Its true about energy. Most of his opponents simply werent up to working as hard.
It hasnt quite penetrated, I think, just how tremendous an effort he has been making with all those live arena shows he is putting on.
I have seen how hard rich men work, and its clear why Trump is so wealthy.


The contrast with the current stoner wanna be golfer is particularly stark.

Real American said...

Great speech! Trump really nailed it. I'm not a huge fan of his speaking style, but he was true to who he is and really captured the anger that most of this country is feeling right now. Not sure he's the best vehicle for that anger, but he's all there is (wrong man at the right time). The country knows we're heading towards disaster if we stay the course on most of the current policies, particularly regarding law enforcement and handling terrorism, which the current administration and Hillary are basically telling us to get used to (when they're not blaming us for it.)

mockturtle said...

@Bushman of the Kohlrabi I was amused by the almost universal criticism of Trump's speech by the MSM as being "dark" (btw, isn't that racist?). This criticism has been so frequent, you would almost think it was coordinated. Anyway, how could anyone have the nerve point out problems in America after the "seashells and balloons" reign of Barack Obama?

Having watched the speech in its entirety, I was disgusted, though not surprised, at the segments selected by the MSM and the truly important segments that were totally ignored. They are, and will remain, purposefully clueless, disingenuous and firmly planted in Hillary's camp.

Smilin' Jack said...

70-year-old man spoke for almost 80 minutes after 10 p.m.

The man has energy. He didn't need to make that speech so long, and he certainly didn't need to deviate from the script, continually making it longer.


Please. He doesn't live in Wisconsin, so he doesn't have to get up at 5 to slop the cows and milk the pigs or whatever you people do.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Rick Turley said... Well, it was either that or Roy Neary from Close Encounters building his tower of mashed potatoes....

*intensely starting a picture of an orange-faced, oddly-coifed Trump*

"This means something...this is important!"

mockturtle said...

Apparently, CNN [Clinton News Network] buried their own 'instant poll' which showed a 75% approval rating for Trump's speech.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

It was kind of fun reading along with the Politico text, which I picked up at about the 70% mark, knowing that the speech did come to an end, and seeing how slowly the end was coming, but also seeing what material Trump was adding as he went along.

I don't think he could have spoken so long without all of us falling asleep if he had merely droned on, so the angry tone was necessary to the length of the speech. Was there a 30 minute version of that speech, that could have been delivered with all smiles, as his daughter Ivanka did? That is the lost opportunity.

What he failed to do is disarm his critics who say he is too risky and dangerous. The angry speech just conclusively proved their point of view.

Ryan McLaughlin said...

I saw a couple people saying Trump seemed more "shouty" than usual. If that's true, I think it's for two reasons and both mean a victory for Trump. 1) If Clinton tries to match Trumps volume and energy, she'll likely get labelled as shrill. As sexist as that label is, most of us are primed to see her shouting in that way since it's been an "issue" in the past. Our priming will lead to confirmation bias.

2) If Clinton tries to keep a calm tone and demeanor, she'll likely get questions about her stamina and whether her health can hold up for four years as president. Again, we've been primed to suspect weakness/tiredness in Clinton as a sign of health problems. If Trump doesn't speak at a high (shouting?) volume and with lots of energy, then this dichotomy doesn't exist. I don't know how Clinton plans to speak at the DNC, but Trump backed her into a corner she and her team might not realize yet. And, for what it's worth, there might very well be a third option for Clinton that I'm not aware of.