A star is born
By every measure, Governor Sarah Palin’s speech Wednesday night was an amazing success on all fronts. She electrified the Xcel Center (and probably more than a few living rooms across America), fired-up our Republican base, and gave our Presidential ticket a shot in the arm that surpassed even the highest expectations.
Yet even when considering how electric the atmosphere was inside the Xcel Center, that description still seems to come up short.
The speech itself was a masterpiece, with too many highlights to list. But if you ever need a quick pick-me-up during your day, click here to watch some of those highlights.
There is a real feeling that we are witnessing history happen before our eyes, more than just a changing of the guard within our Party or in national politics. Sarah Palin’s formal introduction to the nation was a uniquely American triumph, one that serves to tell us and generations to come how this nation provides opportunities to people like no other.
Much like the spectators who happened to be in attendance when Babe Ruth hit his first home run, those of us with the good fortune to see Governor Palin deliver her speech know this is just the beginning. Her speech was not only a groundbreaking moment by an amazingly authentic leader who connects with average Americans, but an entrée of things yet to come.
This is a proud moment for our Party and our nation; one that won’t soon be forgotten.
Politically, it was pure dynamite. Governor Palin crystallized perfectly why a ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has the qualifications, values and experience to lead America into the future. She laid out the central difference between the two men at the top of the tickets; one is a man of talk, the other is a man of action. I think this portion sums it up perfectly:
“And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.
There is only one man in this election who has ever reall.y fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John McCain.”What makes that statement so powerful isn’t its eloquence, but its truth.
Pitbull in lipstick
“You know what they say is the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.” – Hockey mom Sarah PalinDemocrats haven’t stopped chewing off fingernails since her speech ended, and for good reason. Sarah Palin connects with real people, and Democrats are worried they will lose all the votes they hoped to get just by continuing to bash George W. Bush and robotically repeating that John McCain is just Bush III (which to anyone paying attention, is just baloney).
As noted by Republican House Republican Leader John Boehner, Palin gives Republicans a tremendous opportunity to expand our party and bring in more blue-collar voters to create a solid working majority for elections to come. The McCain/Palin ticket has two straight-talking, authentic mavericks. That’s a hard combination to beat:
“[Sarah Palin] is a gun owner, she is an athlete, she is accomplished, she is independent. When you look at the voters that Hillary Clinton had in her contest against Barack Obama, the ones that Obama can't quite get his arms around, she can. That is why she is on the ticket." -- John BoehnerThis is bad news for the Democrats, who still haven’t quite figured out what to say about the choice of Palin beyond “she has no experience” for fear of further angering the Hillary voters they left at the curb (notwithstanding the fact she has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined).
Of course, the media doesn’t quite get it either, underscoring the fact that they are woefully out of touch with average Americans, and why Republicans will always fail if we govern with an eye toward being “popular” with the media. The best news of all is that Sarah Palin – all the way from Alaska – already gets it.
As she told the delegates to raucous applause, "Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators, I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion -- I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."
If I were a member of the media, I’d thank God she wears lipstick!
Who says Obama has flip-flopped on experience?
Ever since John McCain named Sarah Palin his running-mate, the Democrats (with the help of the media) have bemoaned the fact that the little-known Governor is “too inexperienced” (see Newt Gingrich’s comments on this ).
Of course, they were never concerned about Obama’s lack of experience, or that John Kerry put a first term unaccomplished lawyer on the ticket four years ago when he selected John Edwards as his pick for Vice-President.
Media scrutiny of Obama’s qualifications and experience were few and far between until Republicans brought them up. But we’re not the only ones concerned: now we’ve found another supporter of the idea that Obama is just too inexperienced as a first-term senator to take on the most important job in the world. Click here!
Convention Highlights
The speeches this week have been inspiring, compelling, and a wonderful reminder of what the issues are that make us fight under the GOP banner. The highlights themselves could take up the better part of a week to view, but have a look at some of our favorite moments:
President George W. Bush
“Fellow citizens, if the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain’s resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will.”
“We live in a dangerous world, and we need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.”
Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson
“What a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is. She’s from a small town with small town values. But apparently that’s not good enough for some of the folks that are out there now attacking her and her family. Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed, rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit.“
“…the Democrats present a history making nominee for president. History making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for president. Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history making, Democrat controlled Congress. History making because it's the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation's history."
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (2000 Democratic nominee for Vice-President)
“What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this? The answer is simple. I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.”
“When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, when Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground, John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge, and because of that, today, our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure, but in honor.”
"Eloquence is no substitute for a record -- not in these tough times."
"In the Senate [Obama] has not reached across party lines to get anything significant done."
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
“He is the least experienced candidate for president of the United States in at least the last 100 years. Not a personal attack, a statement of fact; Barack Obama has never lead anything, nothing nada. ... This is no time for on-the-job training.”
“Nearly 130 times [Obama] couldn't make a decision. He couldn't figure out whether to vote yes or no. It was too tough. He voted ‘present.’ I didn't know about this vote -- ‘present’ -- when I was mayor of New York City. Sarah Palin didn’t know about this vote ‘present’ either… For president of the United States, it's not good enough to be present. You have to make a decision."
“Our opponents want to reframe the debate. They would have you believe that his election is about change versus more of the same. But that’s really a false choice, because there is good change, and bad change. Because change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy.”
Big Mac steps to the mic
On Thursday night, the convention stage was altered with a catwalk-type runway extending about 30 feet onto the center of the floor of the Xcel Center.
At the end of the runway was the modest podium from which John McCain would accept the nomination for President, and deliver his speech to the nation. Lucky for us in the Virginia delegation, we had an intimate view being only 20 to 30 feet from the stage.
It was hard to imagine that the excitement and energy pulsing through the Xcel Center the previous night when Gov. Sarah Palin spoke could be matched for a second time, but the place roared when McCain stepped onto the stage. The jet engine-decibel cheers of the crowd showed just how united Republicans are, and how solidly we are behind John McCain as our next commander-in-chief.
Unlike a speech given in front of make-believe Greek arches, John McCain delivered a speech short on rhetorical flourishes but deep with meaning. He spoke plainly and wisely about how our common citizenship connects each of us to a cause greater than ourselves, and our moral obligation in serving the cause of always putting America first; above partisanship and factional politics.
A President is hired by the people to care for and honor the nation, and there is no candidate that can match John McCain’s profound devotion to his country. His resume to be President is written in the scars his body bears from the years of torture and squalor he endured as a prisoner in Vietnam. He is not a man of symbols or made up logos.
The logic of the speech should be self-evident, for if we don’t protect the principles from which all of our freedoms flow, what will be the effect on our country as we know it? On this note, he addressed the fundamental conservative philosophy that keeps America strong, namely: less government; individual industry; unleashing the creative spirit of our best minds; faith in God; and commitment to one another.
Of course, his “maverick” spirit also came through loud and clear when he told the crowd that “change is coming” with a McCain-Palin ticket while outlining the fundamental policy differences with Obama on energy independence, the economy and national defense, among other things.
The speech was part Ronald Reagan, part Harry Truman, but certainly all John McCain. One key task the speech performed was recasting our nominee in a light that is uniquely his own, one that cannot be defined by his opponents.
The night ended on a perfect crescendo for the previous week. The stakes are high and the mission before us is well-defined. The Presidency is not a job for a spectacularly talented cue card reader.
Virginia Delegation to the Republican National Convention
We had a great group representing Virginia in Minneapolis -- surely all of them leaders in our Virginia GOP. They carried the Commonwealth's banner well.Click here for the full-size photo.
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