[Mb-civic] Letter

[Ian]

A letter I sent in response to a NYT article.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ian 
To: letters at nytimes.com 
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 9:46 PM
Subject: letter


The chart accompanying your front page article ("G.O.P., Last to Bat, Swings Freely for the Fences," Sept. 2) indicates that speakers at the Republican National Convention invoked John Kerry's name 86 times, while speakers at the Democratic National Convention invoked George Bush's name only 19 times.  This clearly makes Republican claims of Democratic "Bush-bashing" disingenuous, if not hypocritical.

Your chart also indicates that speakers at the RNC used the word "terrorism" 38 times (compared to DNC speakers, who used it 30 times), and the word "jobs" 28 times (compared with DNC speakers, who used it 127 times).

I have done a slightly different, though equally instructive, count.  RNC speakers invoked "9/11" 28 times; DNC speakers invoked it only 14 times, or half as often.  In addition, RNC speakers  invoked the "economy" 14 times, while DNC speakers invoked it 25 times, or twice as often.

Considering that (i) in choosing New York City for its convention, a spokesperson for the RNC indicated that references to 9/11 would be "discreet" (i.e., minimal), and (ii) Mr. Bush and his administration have boasted about their economic accomplishments, the statistics vis-a-vis convention rhetoric tell a very different story in both these regards.

Rev. Ian Alterman
New York City
(646.489.3444)
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