REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION: Last Night's Speeches

Yesterday afternoon, I was told that things would only last an hour. However, it was a full convention schedule - and I was notified of it yesterday evening...after I was already on site. For the second day in a row, the GOP did not have wifi access on-site for bloggers to access unless you had a broadband card. We weren’t informed of this fine print. Almost all of the bloggers have moved out of our assigned section and are blogging from locations where we are in front of or slightly to the side of the convention stage, instead of behind it.

Last night's convention theme was service, and highlighting how Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) has been of service to America. Two key claims across convention speakers were (1) that Sen. McCain doesn’t just talk about service, but has lived a life of service; and that (2) he will bring that service to the White House and fight for America. Convention organizers distributed signs saying “Country First” and “Service” to people on the convention floor. Some convention delegates also had homemade signs stating “We Love Mac”. A couple of times during the evening’s festivities, one section of the convention delegate area shouted “McCain” and another section shouted “Palin”.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), emphasized in his podium remarks that "under the leadership of Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, Republicans are returning to our roots and reclaiming our mantle as the party of reform...." However, I took these comments as an acknowledgement that the GOP is currently not operating from its stated core principles.

Relatively early into the schedule, they showed a convention video featuring both high-profile people and regular folks who’ve done extraordinary things by placing America first. There was a very arousing applause when President Ronald Reagan was shown. Same for President H.W. Bush, and who I believe was John Wayne. However, the hall was significantly quieter than it should have been when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shown. However, there were no boos.

The first black speaker on the convention lineup - and the only one of the night - was Miles McPherson, a former defensive back for the San Diego Chargers and head of Miles Ahead. Responding to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's recent warning if folks didn't evacuate from the impending hurricane then they were on their own, Mr. McPherson - who is turns out is also a pastor - said something like "we're never alone because God is on our side." He continued: "Others say character is doing the right thing when no one’s watching, but character is doing the right thing, because someone is always watching you. You may not see God, but he’s here and always watching you…” Mr. McPherson quoted Bible scriptures and asked us to pray for the hurricane relief victims and the spirit of the American people “who reach out to those in need”. On a side note, these convention attendees pray a lot. As regular readers of Booker Rising know, I’m not a religious person. There have been more requests to bow my head in prayer - not just at the convention, but at the blogger brunch and other events - in the past two days than I’ve gotten in the past year.

Tonight I saw Bridget McCain – who has been pretty absent during this campaign cycle, and whose absence I pondered. She was in the convention hall as one guy spoke from the podium with his Bangladeshi adopted daughter about how Cindy McCain helped him and his adopted daughter.

A Hispanic Democrat named Tommy Espinoza later took the stage to tout Sen. McCain’s presidential bid. He has known Sen. McCain for 25 years and I think said was a godfather to at least one of Sen. McCain's children. Mr. Espinoza said that he supported Sen. McCain because of faith, hope, his work on immigration, his pro-life stance on abortion, sanctity of marriage. The guy actually got some boos when he took the stage and said he was a Democrat. However, by the end of his speech he got rousing applause from the crowd. “John McCain is a leader that America needs. Viva John McCain, Viva John McCain.”

First Lady Laura Bush got a very warm reception when she took the stage, in a red outfit. A black Secret Service agent guy was just steps from me during Mrs. Bush’s speech, reappeared and disappeared again, whenever she retook the stage. Mrs. Bush said about the McCain-Palin ticket, “A real American hero, John McCain and a strong executive and proven reformer, Sarah Palin. I’m proud that America’s first female vice president will be a Republican woman”, That comment got a very rousing applause and cheers. She then talked about her husband, President George W. Bush and his accomplishments. She focused on education reform and increased test scores, “judges who respect the Constitution” and cited Alito & Chief Justice John Roberts, faith-based initiatives, emergency plan for AIDS relief. In an obvious dig at Sen. Obama, she said, “now that’s change you can really believe in.”

President George W. Bush spoke to the convention via satellite from the White House, getting a very rousing applause from the convention floor. He came out swinging relatively early on: "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." Dubya talked about making his tax cuts permanent, offshore drilling, and said that McCain never shies away if he disagrees with you (“believe me, I know”, said President Bush). Dubya got a standing ovation from the convention floor crowd and even a few levels up for his speech.

While most of the speakers sounded like they were delivering the scripted speeches that they indeed give, the last two speakers - former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. Joseph Lieberman - sounded more fervent. Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee took the stage to rousing applause and cheers, and even some chants. He was tonight's red-meet-to-the-base speaker, and focused a lot on defending Gov. Sarah Palin. Sen. Thompson said that Gov. Palin “has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan Governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the Union and won over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week. He was more convincing when speaking about Sen. McCain because he gave moving stories about Sen. McCain’s life and tied it to his character & service themes. More importantly, he gave first-hand accounts that tied into the "Country First" theme. Unlike Sen. Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton, I got the sense that Sen. Thompson is indeed backing his party's candidate.

"John McCain’s bones may have been broken but his spirit never was. Being a POW certainly doesn’t qualify anyone to be President, but it does reveal character. This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders: strength, courage, humility, wisdom, duty, honor." In a clear reference to Sen. Obama, Sen. Thompson said that "it’s pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, 'Who is this man?' and 'Can we trust this man with the Presidency?'" Delegates chanted “USA, USA”. He said, “now that is character that you can believe in.”

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, independent Democrat from Connecticut, took the stage to warm applause. When he mentioned his Democrat status, there were no boos like with the Hispanic Democrat speaker earlier in the evening. “Now, why is a Democrat like me at a Republican convention like this? The answer is simple. I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party..." He discussed why he believed that Sen. McCain was well-positioned to lead the country, and that is where things got tense in the convention hall. Sen. Lieberman’s talk about how Sen. McCain has taken on corrupt Republican lobbyists, Big Business, etc. did not go down well in the convention hall. I heard no boos, but people definitely weren't clapping either. The blogger next to me even hand-tapped the table, and later I overheard other attendees criticize this portion of Sen. Lieberman's speech. "Were we supposed to clap during that part?" a male attendee asked a female attendee as we headed out of the convention center.