The Republicans Find Their Groove (and a Few Good Women)

During these two weeks I have discovered that as political parties, the Democrats and Republicans are simply incomparable. At least this cycle, the Republicans are the poorer sibling. The Republicans have much less money, their convention has smaller crowds, less energy, less food, and fall short in production.

The Republicans are very much still feeling the wounds of 2006 and a President that has disappointed them. One additional point of comparison is the number of elected officials at the conventions. Virtually all of the Democratic statewide elected officials were in Denver, and that is not the case for Republicans in St. Paul. The press here outnumber the elected officials.

One gets the feeling that many in the party perceived that this would be the convention to nowhere, and that the decision to steer clear of the McCain Express was survival instinct.

Yet after last night, the Republicans and the Straight Talk Express are, to quote Pearl Jam, “still alive.” Very much so.

For two hours last night they at least equaled the very best of what we saw in Denver and they may have had a crescendo all to themselves.

Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Rudy Giuliani did what the Clintons did not; endorse their party’s presidential nominee with all their mind, heart, and soul. While Romney gave a good scripted political speech from his heart, Huckabee reached within himself to find the authenticity to genuinely ask us as nation to make the upcoming campaign a debate about ideas, and not a referendum on race. Giuliani gave one of the best speeches of the last two weeks by rediscovering the Rudy that led New York City and the nation following 9/11. By the time Giuliani was done, the Xcel Energy center was electric (by Republican standards) and it was clear that the convention had finally, 48 hours in, begun.

But last night needed to have a real authentic crescendo, and two good women delivered it. They gave this convention the one thing that Denver lacked, a surprise attack. In Denver, we knew what was coming, the expectations were high, and the Democrats delivered (no small task). In Saint Paul, we were introduced to assets the Republicans had kept hidden in the form of two women governors from the West.

This was Sarah Palin’s night. But what prepared her to be believable was the speech of Linda Lingle, the Governor of Hawaii.

Before yesterday afternoon I did not know Hawaii had a Republican Governor, let alone a female one. When I saw her name on the speakers list, I thought that putting her after Huckabee and Romney was about as intelligent as putting me after Karl Rove; mere fodder for channel surfers.

But when she began speaking she drew everyone in. She was quietly magnificent. She was so good that the woman next to me asked three minutes in, “Who is she?” and six minutes later, ”Why didn’t McCain pick her?” Linda Lingle communicated something far more important than words. Her competence and confidence raised the hopes of everyone in Xcel in regard to the quality of Sarah Palin. You could feel the collective relief and excitement build as people began to realize that if John McCain selected Palin instead of Lingle, Palin might indeed be something special. Linda Lingle told the nation that the Republicans have a deeper bench of governors than anyone knew.

As soon as Rudy left the stage, Sarah Palin stepped to the microphone. After the first few minutes where nerves seemed to distract her, she found her groove and helped the Republicans find theirs.

She delivered the two things every Vice-Presidential acceptance speech must:

1. Introduce yourself to the nation in a vice-presidential manner.
2. Explain why your running mate is the best person for the job.

She did a better job of this than most, and everyone in Xcel, and especially the press knew it. Afterwards you could hear countless Republicans say in unison, “We’ve got a chance.” Afterwards you could sense the press had just been given red meat, and they were visibly excited “We’ve got a race to cover.” As I listened I could not help but wonder what Obama, Biden, and the Clintons were thinking. I wondered if there were any high fives tonight on the Obama team.

We will see in the weeks to come, as the press and the public vets the two campaigns, whether Sarah Palin has the right stuff.

What is clear is that the Republicans have more than a few good women.

In fact they are so good, that John McCain has some work to do in his acceptance speech tonight. The last thing he wants to do now is leave the delegates and the nation daydreaming about a ticket that might have contained two Republican governors from the West.