RNC - Day 3 - Gov. Sarah Palin

I thought she was great. She was strong, confident, poised, humorous, warm, and tough all rolled into one. She exceeded expectations plus some, and she showed the viewers what kind of character she has. Of course, I’m talking about Gov. Sarah Palin. McCain should be thankful that the nomination vote has already been taken, or there might be some on the floor this evening trying to flip the order and make it a Palin/McCain ticket. But before I go too in depth on Palin, let me review the other speeches of the evening.

Mitt Romney – Simply a speech to position himself for 2012 should McCain lose. I know many pundits focused on whether or not Hillary would endorse Obama. But what they failed to look at is what Mitt did tonight – offer an endorsement of McCain, but secretly hope he loses so that Mitt can run in 2012. His endorsement of McCain was less enthusiastic than Hillary’s was on Obama. Maybe Hillary is just better at it, or maybe Mitt is mad he didn’t get the VP slot too. Whatever the case, Romney seems to have everything a successful politician needs – strong image, money, successful career, conservative positions (although these are all new positions and are getting more conservative by the sentence). But he lacks authenticity. He seems robotic. And he won’t ever be the nominee of the Republican Party. Forgettable speech.

Mike Huckabee – What a great storyteller and communicator. He is the anti-Romney. Huckabee exudes authenticity. He gave a great speech. Some of the highlights:

- “I’m not a Republican because I grew up rich. I’m a Republican because I didn’t want to remain poor, waiting for the government to rescue me.” The Republican Party needs more of Huckabee’s connection with middle class voters that he so naturally possesses. This is where Palin will be helpful.
-“Palin received more votes in Wasilla than Biden did for President.”
- On the media feeding frenzy on Palin’s family: “The elite media is tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert.”

Huckabee delivered a good speech. I hope his message can continue to permeate the Republican Party.

Gov. Linda Lingle of Hawaii – I have never heard of her, but she did a nice job talking about Palin’s success as Alaska’s Governor. Some of her best points included how Alaska and Delaware (Biden’s home state) have the same number of electoral votes; however, 250 Delawares would fit inside Alaska.

Rudy Giuliani – One of the goals of the campaign tonight was to attack the media. Rudy was the third speaker I heard begin his speech in this way. He quickly moved into his attack on Obama, using Biden’s and Hillary’s words concerning Obama’s inexperience as his support. Much of the speech centered on national security. He even went after Obama on the Iraq war, which is gutsy, since the war still remains unpopular. But the success of the surge is a defining moment for the McCain candidacy. I just wonder if people listen anymore when a sentence includes “Iraq.” The point Giuliani drove home was that McCain’s plan led to victory, Obama’s would have produced defeat. He took it to Obama in his own Rudy type way. I’m curious how it played out among Undecideds.

Gov. Sarah Palin – I decided not to take any notes during her speech, because I wanted to concentrate on each moment. She was brilliant tonight. I think she handled her family issues with grace, she supported John McCain’s candidacy, and she showed her mettle on energy issues, while defending her record as a mayor and governor. Forcefully going after Obama, Palin did so in a congenial way, not mean-spirited. She never yelled, she just coolly and calmly, but deliberately and firmly, laid out why people should vote for McCain/Palin.

She has authenticity. One gets the sense that who she is on the stage is who she is off it. When she describes herself as a Hockey Mom, she’s believable. (“What’s the difference between a Hockey Mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”) As long as she stays true to who she is, I think she will connect very well with voters, especially the blue collar, small town voter (you know, those “bitter” people who “cling to their guns and religion,” according to Obama.) One can see why the Democrats have spent the last four days trying to bring her down. She’s competent, more experienced than Obama on making tough decisions, engaging to listen to, knowledgeable and reasonable on energy independence, a true reformer, even of her own party, and a great example of what women and men in politics can be. I’m sure she will face even more scrutiny now, as her opponents will really seek to bring her down. However, if the trooper issue remains a non-issue, I think Palin is where the Republican Party is headed.

That being said, she now needs to be interacting with the media and public. She needs to frame the debate on who she is. The McCain campaign has been slow in defending Palin against the recent attacks. With this successful speech at the convention, I look forward to hearing more from her on the campaign trail and in interviews with the media.

This is a tough year to be a Republican in politics. However, this was a good night for the McCain campaign. Palin’s speech will be the highlight of the convention – I don’t think what McCain says tomorrow will make much of a difference among voters. Not that McCain’s speech is not important, but Palin’s speech tonight was the most anticipated, and it will be the most discussed post convention.