Junto Boys

REMEMBER BACK IN 1992?

I bought a stand-alone DVD burner a few weeks ago and have been in the process of turning the old VHS tapes into DVDS. I threw away about 80% of my VHS in 2001, but kept the things that I couldn't ever buy on DVD.

Tonight I'm recording the 1992 Republican Convention and it's notable for a number of things, Pat Buchanan's infamous speech, Reagan's last major address, and Dan Quayle's last major address. I didn't remember that Bob Dole gave a pretty good speech between Quayle and Bush. These days it seems that VPs and Presidents give their speeches on different nights. George W. Bush can be seen with a full head of brown hair sitting next to Barbara in the box.

Everybody is using the "I didn't inhale" line as part of their shtick, at varying degrees of effectiveness. Reagan even refers to Clinton using the now clichéd "slick." Both Quayle and Reagan make plays on Bentson's 1988 line, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." I have already forgot Quayle's, but Reagan took issue with Clinton's likening himself to Thomas Jefferson. "I knew Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson was a friend of mine. Sir, you are no Thomas Jefferson." Great re-use of the line.

I noticed that Quayle's oldest son doesn't clap for anything, even his own father, despite the fact that Marylin and the other kids seem to be enthusiastic. Kay Bailey Hutchison shows up as a state office holder in Texas. Condoleza Rice shows up and speaks earlier that night listed as a former assistant NSA person under Bush 41. Even the new people are older than we think.

A bunch of speakers kept calling for term limits, the line item veto and a Republican congress. Little did they know that Bush's defeat would lead to all of this just two years later. Though, of course, Republicans forgot term limits and the court struck down the line item veto. Yeah the only thing we seemed to have gotten was guys with an (R) next to their name that spend a lot of money. I was so idealistic in 1992.

Leading into Bush 41's speech was a little documentary narrated by Robert Mitchum. Always a fan of Mitchum, I forgot this detail and confirmed it on IMDB. I also learned that Mitchum was one of the few Hollywood guys who supported the war in Vietnam and yet was named as one of the coolest guys in Hollywood in the 1960s by the youth. He was so underrated. When you see what he did with Max Cady in the 1962 CAPE FEAR it makes you realize what an over-the-top performance that DeNiro gave in the 1990 version. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, OUT OF THE PAST, CROSSFIRE etc. The guy was a minor legend.

Speaking of Hollywood and 1992, I have another tape of Bush speaking around the country the day before the election. On one tape standing behind Bush is Bob Hope and Charlton Heston. We always think of liberal Hollywood, but even 14 years ago, there was still an old-time portion of Hollywood somewhat conservative. By the time Reagan's funeral came around in 2004, I can only remember seeing Mickey Rooney and Scot Baio.

The 1992 convention became notorious in the media, especially because of Buchanan. The media spent two years talking about how it split the party and what not. But this ineffective convention that lead to defeat really set the stage for the 1994 Congressional takeover based on ideas over personalities. The 1992 loss was a blessing in disguise in that we wound up with a decent sized tax cut. But much of what could have been done hasn't been done and since this is the first year where there majority seems to be in trouble, it's criminal how they wasted such an opportunity.

Anyway, 1992 is a classic. I'm glad I didn't throw it away.