Front Sight, Press

Lessee, how can I put this? Well, I’m glad I recorded last night. I have Sarah on my DVR now for those nights when my enthusiasm fades.

The speakers tonight just lacked the sparkle of last night. There was a definite feeling of anti-climax about the evening. Tim Palenty delivered a journeyman grade presentation. Sam Brownback was flashy but insubstantial. Coach Gibbs made my skin crawl with his sermon on a national revival. Tom Ridge was probably the strongest speaker of the evening. Cindy McCain is sweet and I like her. She is stronger and smarter than she appears, but public address is not her thing. McCain himself was strong, and himself. He’s not a great orator, but he came off as sincere and committed. McCain did an interesting piece of prestidigitation in separating himself from the Bush years while taking credit for “the surge.” That was a nifty trick, but it won’t be an easy sell in the general election. That is the trick McCain has to pull off: he has to run against the Bush administration without appearing to do so. That won’t be easy. McCain’s "maverick" cache may help in that, but he’s still the Republican candidate, and there is a lot of frustration with the Republicans out there.

Clearly, Sarah Palin has emerged from this convention as the new "rock star" of the Republican Party. The biggest round of applause McCain got in his speech was for his mention of his running mate. A star is born, and it isn’t John McCain. However, tonight McCain was ordained as the leader of the Republican Party, and I never thought I’d see that.

One stark contrast between Wednesday night and tonight was in the treatment of Obama. Last night, it was open season on Obama, led by Giuliani and Palin. Tonight Obama was scarcely mentioned, and when he was mentioned by McCain, McCain’s remarks were gentlemanly and conciliatory. Interesting. Good cop bad cop? I don’t know, but I do think that if the conservatives get too vicious toward Obama, he can turn it to his advantage just as Sarah Palin did against the liberal attack dogs.

The big surprise of this convention was in the energy and excitement it generated, and in that way it must be counted as a success, and as exceeding expectations. I think the real energy was generated by the revelation of Sarah Palin. The task of the McCain-Palin campaign now is to re-direct that excitement to the electorate.

Now, on to the debates…