Day one of the convention went pretty much as I expected it to go. A whole bunch of boring speeches, albeit with a few exceptions, ending with two fabulous speeches performances by Ann Romney and Chris Christie. If you missed them, the links are below.
The one big 'disgrace' — to pick a word — was the delegates casting votes for Ron Paul. I'm not sure what kind of kooky message they were trying to deliver, but 'unity of the party' certainly wasn't on their agenda. Michigan cast the majority of its votes for Ron Paul.
Delegates are ethically but not legally compelled to cast their ballots based on the results of primaries and caucuses conducted in their state.
Well, sure. That makes sense. There's certainly no reason to pay any attention to those pesky primaries if just a handful of people can make the decision. Thank goodness for abbreviated democracy!
On the up side, the person at the podium was only repeating the votes for Romney, so when the Michigan rep said, "Thirty-three votes for Ron Paul (wild, maniacal screaming from the 127 Paulbots in the audience), six votes for Mitt Romney, one vote for Rick Santorum", all the person at the podium said was, "Mitt Romney, six votes". Big statement to the world you made there, Michigan.
A lesser disgrace was the six states that had their vote number reduced because the morons governing the state races decided to hold their primaries before the date the RNC had allowed. My home state of Florida, which, being the 4th-largest state in the union, should have had near as many votes as California's 172, was allotted a paltry 50. Hmph.
One other small disgrace were the 'abstention' votes. Nevada had five. Please tell me how a person can become a Republican delegate and find none of the candidates acceptable — on a write-in ballot!
Pics, links, and more unabashed blather below the fold.
With "We built this nation on rock 'n' roll!" [editor's correction] being the convention's motto, I believe I heard the words "built" and "build" approximately 4,105 times during the speeches. Way to get a meme going, Barack.
Oh, back to the Paulbots, jeez, what a disappointing group. Not only did they scream and yell every time a delegate cast a vote their way, but I couldn't believe such a clever bunch wouldn't have a small, portable TV with them. Between events, the standard camera shot was this:
See that guy down in front? Not once did it appear anyone knew the camera was there. What a glorious opportunity for some band of zealots to get their message across! This shameful display of inattention on the Paulbots' part might go down as perhaps the greatest blown opportunity in convention history.
And while we've got some pretty good-looking people on our side of the aisle, welcome to the world's most horrific mustache:
Yes, it actually is that monstrous and lip-covering. Probably not a big fan of kissing, would be my guess. Or eating. Strained carrots, anyone?
Of the lesser-knowns, the one guy who really impressed me was former Democrat House Representative for Alabama, Artur Davis. If politicians are going to cross lines, this is the kind we want. His speech is here.
And I was again impressed by South Carolina governor Nikky Haley. If Romney and the RNC had been determined to put a woman in the VP slot, Haley would have been a much better choice than Bachmann or Palin. Her speech is here.
The speechgiver the media most flipped out over was Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, Mia Love. A real firecracker. You might have seen mention this morning of people already defacing her Wikipedia entry. Congratulations, Mia, that's when you know you've arrived. Her speech is here.
As for Ann Romney, she'd never given a major speech like this before. This 'rawness' came through at times, and in a most positive way. There were certain little reactions she had during applause moments and such that were both very real and very un-politicianlike. In that subliminal way that body language has, a great number of women in the TV audience realized that she's really more like them than just another 'politician's wife'. When she addressed the mothers in the audience, you could almost feel the mood in the room change. Her speech is here.
And then there was The Big Guy. Roughly two sentences into Christie's speech, I was ready to elect him Emperor of the World. As I mentioned yesterday, while I knew he could tone down the feistiness we see on YouTube, there's no way that charisma couldn't help but seep through. This morning, some guy on National Review saw it the same way:
He may be a YouTube sensation, best known for arguing with lefty hecklers, but Governor Chris Christie’s keynote speech late Tuesday was a temperate oration, forceful yet muted.
"Frankly, that is the Chris Christie I know," says Pennsylvania congressman Pat Meehan, a former United States attorney who has been friends with the New Jersey governor for years. "The attack-dog part is what the media covers, but he has been a positive, forward-thinking, aggressive guy since the first time I met him."
From his speech:
"You see, Mr. President, real leaders don't follow polls. Real leaders change polls."
I would admit that at one point he started pontificating a bit, spouting party line and revving up the base — 'applause lines', in other words — but I suppose that's to be expected, given the context. Overall, he was just as great as I expected him to be. His speech is here.
On tonight's agenda we have speeches from some guy named John McCain (I believe he was Sarah Palin's running mate a few years ago), and three people many wanted in the VP slot; Bobby Jindal, Rob Portman and Tim Pawlenty. Also making an appearance is the always-affable Mike Huckabee, and I expect it to be one of the most entertaining speeches of the evening. Like Herman Cain, Mike isn't afraid of throwing in a joke or two.
Did I ever mention I was one of the first to take up the "Condoleezza Rice For President" cause back in 2004? Never mind. She's also giving a speech tonight, and I suggest it'll be a little different than anything else said. This is probably the only person speaking during the entire event who isn't a politician by any definition of the word.
And The Kid will wrap things up, and I would suggest that the world will not see the reason Romney picked him for his running mate. Romney picked him for his reputation, not his speechgiving skills. He picked him to prove to the American public that the Republicans were serious about getting the economy turned around. It'll be a great speech, I'm sure, but behind a podium isn't where he belongs.
Will we see Clint Eastwood tomorrow night?
A 3-day schedule is here. As I noted yesterday, YouTube is streaming it live (click on 'Live' at the top of the page). Enjoy the show!
