RNC - Day 4 - John McCain

The final night of the RNC wrapped up a challenging, but mainly successful week. With Hurricane Gustav canceling night one, squeezing everything into three nights, and even more vital, condensing the schedule down to three one-hour programs for the major networks to cover appeared vexing. So again, I am thankful for PBS, although Jim Lehrer at times is Captain Obvious (“Those fireworks on the large screen in the hall are not real, they’re recorded”).

It’s remarkable how much politics changes in a year. A year ago, John McCain’s candidacy was dead. He was out of money and seemingly had lost his mojo. His problem? He was running as a mainstream Republican, which is not true to who he is. He shook up his staff, carried his own luggage, and began being John McCain again. And it worked. About this time last year he began showing signs of life. Once he got rolling, he went right back to the top and won the nomination. So here he is, in the most unlikely place, accepting the nomination of the Republican Party. In this election year, with Bush unpopular, the economy dragging, and an unpopular war, McCain should be down 20 points in the polls, and yet, somehow he has managed to keep it close. With his pick of Sarah Palin, he made a bold move, securing the conservative base, while also strengthening his desire for reform in Washington. Now, he can be John McCain without having to worry about the base. McCain is not a great speech giver. In fact, he is probably the fourth best among the two tickets this year. So I wasn’t expecting much from his speech tonight in the way of delivery. However, I was expecting him to reach out to independents and Reagan Democrats by being John McCain. Unfortunately, for tonight anyway, I feel like the maverick was corralled for the most part and the mainstream Republican John McCain was on stage. Not that the entire speech was bad, in fact, at times it was stirring, but I am a little disappointed.

First, the highlights: John McCain’s personal story is so moving, no matter how many times I hear it. I cannot imagine losing six years of my life as a POW, enduring the harsh, brutal conditions he endured while maintaining integrity, hope, and strength. That is the kind of character heroes are made of, and that is the kind of character I would want to lead this country. I also appreciated that he mentioned support for those affected by autism. Coupled with Palin’s advocacy of children with special needs, it is nice to have a ticket placing these issues at the forefront of their plans. This isn’t a new issue for McCain, he has discussed this boldly before as well. He also highlighted the responsibility to select competent judges. The next president will replace at least two Justices on the Supreme Court, greatly affecting the direction of the divided court for years to come.

While discussing national security, McCain made a point that many who oppose him often miss: “I hate war.” As a man who has served and suffered, he knows war. Since many view the war in Iraq as a mistake, I think it is important for McCain to emphasize his desire to only send troops when absolutely necessary, but to send in enough to do the job when he must. This led to is strongest portion of the speech, where he echoed JFK by encouraging us all to serve a cause greater than ourselves, such as: joining the military, becoming a teacher, serving in office, tutoring a student, etc. Finally, he swore to fight for what is best for all Americans, regardless of which party has the best idea.

His strongest and riskiest move though was when he called out fellow Republicans in Congress as part of the problem. Lamenting the fact that the Republicans in Congress had become what they had set out to change, McCain promised to fight for what is best for all Americans, regardless of which party has the best ideas. McCain has a clear record of bipartisanship – his promise here is credible. And it demonstrated his maverick streak, since he was calling out some of the lawmakers in the room.

Unfortunately, that real John McCain was too rare in his speech tonight. McCain cares deeply about the environment and global warming – yet he didn’t mention it at all. McCain has a reasonable approach to immigration – yet he didn’t mention it at all. McCain has the ability to speak about the economy in a way that can relate to the middle class, but he failed to do so. I know he cares about these issues, yet I feel he was muzzled by his advisors not to rock the delegates too much. I think that’s a mistake. He played it too safe when he should have just been himself. Independents will not be attracted to mainstream Republicanism this year; however, they would be and have been attracted to the true John McCain. His campaign faltered last year when he tried to run against his true identity. Now is not the time to slip back into that again. In a speech that should have rejected the accusation that he is “more of the same,” I’m afraid he failed to do so. Perhaps he’s banking on the American public to eventually see through the thin facade of the Obama campaign. Nevertheless, tonight McCain could have sealed the deal, but he didn’t.

Overall, the Republican Party is more united now than it was a week ago, and Palin is a star. In a year when the Republican Party should lose badly, McCain/Palin just might win. The fight for Independents to vote for McCain/Palin this November is still ongoing. John McCain needs to be unleashed and set free to be who he is. Otherwise, he’ll end up the second coming of Bob Dole.