Following her speech, Gov. Palin moves into a national campaign where she will have to appeal to audiences that are not necessarily primed to adore her. She will have to navigate far less controlled campaign settings that will test not only her political skills but also her knowledge of foreign and domestic policy.
The address by Gov. Sarah Palin, 44, who stunned the political world last week as Senator McCain’s pick for a running mate, took place before a convention transformed from an orderly coronation into a messy, days-long drama since the McCain campaign’s disclosure on Monday that Ms. Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant.
Monday’s turnover of responsibility to the Iraqis for security in Anbar Province, once Iraq’s most violent territory, serves a purpose for each man. It allows President Bush to claim that five years after the invasion, Iraq is achieving stability, and it allows Senator McCain to argue that he was the first to come up with the winning strategy.
“John is an independent man who thinks for himself,” Mr. Bush said via satellite from the White House, in an eight-minute speech intended to reinforce the McCain campaign’s theme that the senator is no clone of the president. “He’s not afraid to tell you when he disagrees. Believe me, I know.”
At least the stand-up comedians have given Sarah Palin the thumbs up. Jay Leno described McCain and Palin as a perfect match: “Palin and McCain are a good pair. She’s pro-life and he’s clinging to life. McCain went with a woman because he didn’t want to be in a position to have to get CPR from Mitt Romney.” Boom tish.
Republican White House hopeful John McCain’s campaign is highly sensitive to the imagery of holding a celebratory convention as a potential natural disaster looms, after the botched handling of Hurricane Katrina three years go. Republican Party officials were mulling different scenarios, including curtailing the convention.
Both major parties understand the need to have greater numbers of bloggers attend their national conventions. While many Americans may watch only prime-time television broadcasts of the convention speeches, officials also recognize the ability of bloggers to deliver minute-by-minute coverage to a niche online audience.