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Tonight was the end of the beginning of the campaign, and the beginning of the end of the campaign. And where once in the Republican home where nothing was heard but a discouraging word, hope springs eternal. A look back before looking ahead…* OK, after last night’s boffo performance by Sarah Palin, there simply was no way, no how for tonight’s warm-up speakers to come off as anything but flat and uninspiring. So let’s just leave it at that without naming any names.* And from the Department of Too Much of a Good Thing, enough with the videos, OK? It...

By all reports, John McCain isn’t much of an orator. But one wouldn’t know it from his impressive acceptance speech yesterday at the Republican National Convention. Part personal story, part policy blueprint, the speech, ably delivered by McCain, also was a stirring call to national service. Its greatest virtue, however, was its stark delineation of the differences between Sen. McCain and Barack Obama. Even more than McCain’s rallying cry to “fight with me,” the speech may be remembered as a study in contrasts. In his remarks, McCain had kind words for his Democratic opponent.

What a relief last week to go from the real world of Gustav to the unreal world of another national nominating convention, full of full of hype and fury signifying . . . well, that depends on who's talking at the time. As the drama built up to the well-staged acceptance speeches Wednesday and Thursday nights, Tuesday evening was just the prelims. But it had two stars: Fred Thompson was the first. The former senator and prosecutor was utterly convincing so long as he was praising the record of his party's standard bearer. It was an easy case to make....

American presidential politics went from the sublime to the ridiculous within little more than 12 hours last week. Being in the Denver stadium filled with over 80,000 supporters of Democratic Presidential Nominee Sen. Barack Obama last Thursday night, this writer experienced the palpable shared sense of a great moment in time, and the strongest, most refreshing rekindling of the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King in the 40 years since his death. Obama was forceful, eloquent, and not strident but firmly resolved to lead the nation back on the path it abandoned in the years following Dr. King's assassination, toward...

Somebody, PLEASE, post a clip of Andrea Mitchell fighting through the ballon drop while trying to drone out about (her view) McCain's utter failure as a nominee. This truly was Must-See TV!

Here is a tag cloud of the top 100 words used last night in John McCain’s speech.

Last night's rather low-key Convention speech by John McCain was hugely overshadowed by Sarah Palin's virtuoso performance the evening before. It did however succeed in reinforcing the message that the Senator from Arizona is a force to be reckoned with on national security issues in an increasingly dangerous world, and that his record as a war hero gives him far greater credibility as commander in chief than his Democrat opponent. Perhaps the most important element of the speech related not to the routine "kitchen table" issues that dominated large swathes of it, from government spending to education reform, but his...

Dawson, Gretchen Wilson make the rounds at convention

Republicans descended on the Midwest for their convention this week, promoting John McCain's credentials, introducing vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and hoping to win the support of the region's voters come November. If money determined the winner in each state, McCain would take Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota. He wouldn't, however, manage to win Minnesota, which hosted the Republican National Convention this week, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois or Missouri.

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Political parties usually reform in the wilderness. They suffer some crushing defeat, the old guard is discredited and the pain compels turnover and change. John McCain is trying to reform the Republican Party before a presidential defeat, with the old guard still around, and with a party base that still hasn’t accepted the need to transform. The central drama of this week’s convention was the struggle by reform Republicans to break through the gravitational pull of old habits and create something new. Before the convention, some McCain aides wanted to sunder the links to the past in one bold stroke:...

Pointlets on McCain’s Speech [Jay Nordlinger] 1. I’ll start by repeating what I said earlier, in my “instant react”: He was himself and he said what he believes. And that’s probably the most you can ask for in a candidate. 2. The introductory video was effective in its use of humor — “Some called him a hothead. Some called him things that can’t be repeated.” (I paraphrase.) Nicely done. 3. Seeing pictures of McCain’s dad reminded me that WFB knew him — stayed with him out in Hawaii. 4. “John McCain’s life was spared — perhaps he had more to...

By the time Sen. John McCain finished his speech and delegates let out of the Xcel Energy Center, downtown was so devoid of activists that a large diverse crowd gathered in Rice Park couldn't even muster a unified cheer, despite many signs indicating anti- Republican sentiments. In short, a stranger might not know this is a democratic town. The end came after protestors who had rallied at the Capitol grounds made several unsuccessful attempts Thursday night to reach the X, site of the Republican National Convention. Large rows of armed law enforcement officials, many on bicycle or horseback, stopped them...

Why Palin’s Speech Worked A former vice-presidential speechwriter breaks it down. 4 September 2008 Last night, Sarah Palin, the previously obscure governor of Alaska, demonstrated before a national audience that she has an extraordinary ability to communicate with Americans. As someone who used to make her living writing political speeches, I can say that Palin certainly knows how to deliver one. She is talented at properly inflecting words to maximize dramatic punch, and she doesn’t stumble over timing. These skills, and not the writing, are what make it possible for an audience to really hear a speech. Consider that the...

More than 40 million tune in to Palin’s speechBoth Palin and Obama reached about the same number of viewersLOS ANGELES - Barack Obama apparently isn’t the only “rock star” in presidential politics this year. After days of intense media coverage about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s qualifications, more than 40 million Americans tuned in Wednesday to see for themselves what they thought of her. The huge audience for Palin’s acceptance speech rivaled that for Obama’s address at the Democratic National Convention six days earlier, and set a tough standard for the top of her own ticket. John McCain was...

The real candidate of change accepts the nomination and promises to shake up Washington. There were a few code pink moments that the crowd shouted down with USA chants.

What is it to be an American? The John McCain I met tonight was incredibly Reaganesque as he reminded us that American pride comes from winning the fight - not from whining for handouts as victims. McCain, through his own riveting personal story of transformation from self centered cocky fly boy to dedicated man of his country. McCain reintroduced himself to America, and reintroduced us to ourselves. The speech was a huge hit. And the comparisons to Obama were striking.

Here is the outstanding biographical video shown at the Republican National Convention, September 4, 2008. . . . (see video at link)

MSNBC gets worse spot than Al Jazeera (updated) September 4, 2008 at 6:53 pm by Irene Jay Liu A random observation: NBC News has possible some of the worst seats in the house, tucked away so far to the side of the Xcel Energy Center that it has a partially obstructed view of the stage. To the right of NBC is Al Jazeera, which has a slightly better view of the stage. MSNBC, which is affiliated with NBC, is widely considered to be the more liberal of the cable news networks (with Fox to the right, and CNN somewhere in...

Great speech tonight, if I didn't know any better I believe he channeled Ronnie for a bit...