Preaching to Choir And Congregation
By ROBERT RUPP
Editor's note: Robert Rupp, a political historian at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, W.Va., is providing a daily journal of analysis and happenings from the Republican National Convention.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Every convention has two audiences - the gathered delegates and the public that needs to be introduced and convinced of the nominee. In a sense, the speakers at a convention have to address both the choir and the congregation.
The first audience is important because close elections can turn into landslides when a portion of a party's base stays home and sits out the election.
The second audience is important because 20 percent of voters make up their minds after the end of both parties' convention.
On Tuesday, Republicans, who already lost a day of their convention because of Hurricane Gustav, dealt with this tension by falling in line behind John McCain with a parade of witnesses that included defeated party rivals and his president.
They also introduced McCain as someone who placed service about self and as a maverick who took independent stands.
Tuesday's speakers included Fred Thompson, who gave not so much a speech as a conversation about McCain. Every candidate has to have a story and every candidate should have Thompson as the storyteller. The former Tennessee senator walked the quiet audience through McCain's remarkable life.
Sen. Joe Lieberman came next. His historic speech marked the first time that someone who ran on the national ticket of one party addressed the convention of the other side. Eight years ago Lieberman was the Democratic nominee for vice president. Now he is endorsing McCain for president.
The closest thing to such a public partisan switch occurred in 1940 when the 1936 Republican vice-presidential nominee, Frank Knox of Illinois, served in Franklin Roosevelt's cabinet as Secretary of the Navy. Knox was the running mate of Alf Landon on a ticket that carried only two states. Lieberman ran with Al Gore and won the popular but not the electoral vote in 2000.
Lieberman began his speech by asking the question everyone was thinking: "Why is a Democrat like me at the Republican convention like this?"
The answer is to get Democratic votes, to reinforce McCain's ability to work across party lines and also to further his maverick image.
On Wednesday, McCain's vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, introduced herself both to the delegates and to the national audience.
Just as Lieberman's speech will not win over that many Democrats, Palin likely will not bring in many of the 18 million Hillary Clinton voters. However, her candidacy can attract the independent women voters who constitute the swing vote in such key battleground states as Pennsylvania and Michigan. Many have waited 24 years for a woman to be on a national ticket and probably enjoy that Palin's selection has confounded pundits.
In her speech Palin played up not only her identity as a woman, but more important her identity as reformer. The reaction in the hall was positive as the choir enjoyed both the words and symbol of Palin at the podium. How that plays to the congregation in the coming weeks is still to be determined
For despite the enthusiasm and controversy over her appointment, the voters vote for the top of the ticket. And in this regard the burden of victory rests on the ability of John McCain to reach both the choir and the congregation during his acceptance speech today.
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RedDish
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09-05-08 10:37 PM
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Russell1959---Hmmmm. My sister's spouse is a democrat. She's a Republican. They sleep together. GASP! Did she get the same type of cooties that Gov.Palin got? Is she suddenly going to favor expanded government control in all aspects of her life? OH NOOOOOOOO
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Russell1959
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09-05-08 7:31 PM
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Why don't we as intelligent, informed citizens research the Alaska Independence Party. Then ask ourselves why Sarah's husband is a card carrying member and what effect this has on Sarah's politics. The AIP wants Alaska to leave the union, do not consider themselves Americans and have planned for years to infiltrate one of the major parties by getting one of their own to high office. Or is it just left wing propaganda? you can just discount it or research it yourself. that's the great thing about life today...the information is out there , all you gotta do is look. Or is it just more comfortable and less trouble to be infatuated with the new 'america's sweetheat'
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Georgetwin
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09-05-08 11:15 AM
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Cory1978, Private Ownership is the foundation of capitalism. How many jobs does private industry provide for ‘the Average American’? The woman was simply saying that ALMOST nowhere else could she have had to opportunity to live out her dream. Is she any different than DiCarlo’s Pizza, etc?
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EllisWyatt
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09-05-08 6:41 AM
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Russell The New York Times has 3 front page articles in one day on Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy. The Daily Kos ran a multi-day story suggesting that Governor Palin did not actually have her last baby and, instead, was covering for her daughter. Her family, her daughter especially, has been dragged through the mud because the left is trying desperately to find a way to stop her. Fortunately, this stupidity backfired and the American people realize that the left are a group of intolerant, violent, communist *******es who will stop at nothing to overthrow our Republican system of government. Obama appealed for moderation because he knows this hurts him. Would you hav any problem with the NY Times printing info on the personal and sexual lives of Obama's daughters, day after day? Why not some dirt from a college classmate of Michelle Obama, maybe suggesting that she had one too many one night and performed for an audience? Good for the goose, good for the gander.
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RedDish
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09-05-08 12:10 AM
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I would respectfully like to ask the editors of this paper to halve the pay made to Mr.Rupp for his coverage of the RNC. Compare the headlines; "Preaching to Choir and Congregation" vs. "Clinton Preaches Unity" or "Top Speaker Absent Monday" vs. "What A Change in U.S. Politics" Since Professor Rupp only objectively observed one of two conventions, his pay should be adjusted accordingly.
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Russell1959
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09-04-08 10:08 PM
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I don't see how sking questions about this woman who may very well have the white house dropped in her lap when 'grampa' is too feeble to wipe his own butt , is 'attacking' her. who ever heard of her? I here the o'reilly's and the hannity's and the limbaugh's saying the left is attacking her family....but that just isn't true... I listen to the most left wing (and right wing0 media outlets there are and the only ones saying anything are the right wingers saying the left is attacking her family. In her speech last night she came out swinging....what if the left swings back they are woman beaters??? I have heard way more attacks coming from the right than the left... do you know why? They are scared because ALOT of people are paying attention now. People are fed up with the same old crap and they know that is just what they will get with the republican ticket
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toughlove
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09-04-08 9:36 PM
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Look out golden boy Obama, there's a new rising star hitting the scene, Sarah Palin. Too bad your immense ego prevented you from having Hillary Clinton as your running mate. You could have avoided this problem had you done so.
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EllisWyatt
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09-04-08 9:22 PM
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You can tell the left is FRIGHTENED by Governor Palin just by the amount of hatred that has been thrown at her in a week. If she can stand this heat, and, thus far, she has, she is ready to lead this nation. If the left was NOT afraid of her, they would simply ignore her. The fact that they are putting a massive effort into hurting her means she is doing something right. The left is afraid of this woman because she has tipped the balance. She has taken attention away from Hussein Obama and she is a real American woman. Liberal elitists think it is okay for a mom to be a working professional-if she is a liberal. If she is a Republican, she should stay home. The left is in a panic. How is it that the party of "diversity" and "tolerance" lacks both?
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Katabatic
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09-04-08 8:55 PM
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I'll be glad when the elections are over, and you left wing extremists, who have tried in recent months to dominate our blog, pack your keyboards up and crawl back under the rocks that you crawled out from.
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UNCOMMONSENSE
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09-04-08 8:46 PM
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So unfortunately Ms Palin is little more than a party cheerleader.
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UNCOMMONSENSE
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09-04-08 7:35 PM
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Palin can CLAIM to reform all she wants but as VP would have absolutely no power to do anything but watch.
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Russell1959
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09-04-08 7:28 PM
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well I guess we can see now that Palin is more than willing to get down and roll in the mud in a Rovian manner. (hmmm her and Condi..rolling in the mud)
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cl26003
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09-04-08 4:58 PM
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Pit Bulls are actually banned in many areas of the country or required to wear muzzles…. which really makes a mess of their lipstick!
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wonderwhy
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09-04-08 12:19 PM
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and palin's speech was written by bush's speech writer. hmmmm. more of the same.
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cory1978
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09-04-08 12:15 PM
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CSPAN's coverage was humorous. I've never seen so many wannabe oil cowboys in one room in all my life. They even showed two black cowboys talking to each other for at least 5 minutes straight to show the "DIVERSE" republican party. Then they have the owner of Auntie Annies pretzels talk about how the republicans gave her the opportunity to live out the American dream. I've never laughed that hard in a while. That really showed me what the majority of republican party stands for. Help out big money and hopefully money will trickle down to the average American.....simply humerus!
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wonderwhy
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09-04-08 12:04 PM
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good4u, u r right, john mccain considered a maverick of his party? going against them on issues, then votes 90% of the time on failed policies, and palin a conservative prolifer who preaches abstinence, except for at home, who earmarked and took millions from the federal gov for alaska, more per capita than any other state. and yes, obama did write several legislative bills with mccain and other dems and republicans to stop special interests groups..getting more protection for the troops, this list goes on and on.
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good4u
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09-04-08 11:57 AM
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Ever notice how angry and bitter right winged conservatives can get towards liberals but tend to ignore the elephant in the room (literally) when it comes to discrepencies within the republican party? Kind of funny when you have a republican presidential nominee whom is a great war hero but a horrible politician and a vice president nominee who nobody, except Alaskans heard of until last week?
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Georgetwin
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09-04-08 10:51 AM
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I see where The Liberal Hippie Trash threatened to kidnap delegates to The RNC and also threatened MASSIVE riots today. I also saw video of a hippie getting night sticked and maced. This coward proceeded to start crying and wet his pants. LMAO! Hopefully The Police will give The Liberal Hippie Trash a healthy dose of M & N Therapy today.
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UNCOMMONSENSE
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09-04-08 8:29 AM
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So LIEberman is claiming to be a Democrat this week! His spots never seem to stop changing. And for Ms. Palin, she has quickly taken to the hypocrite title with her inexperience finger pointing. What the American people are witnessing is the last desperate moves by entrenched career politicians to block reform of Government. And if Palin was any kind of reformer, she would have not allowed the Federal Government to dictate how Alaska shall utilize their own lands. States have become weaker and weaker as Washington has grown more and more in control of what USED to be State issues. The EXACT opposite of the framework of the Constitution.
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