Story Originally Published in the Saint Louis Beacon (Fake Photo Above)
There is an old adage that Democrats fall in love with their candidates, while Republicans fall in line.
It's true this year: Obama's campaign is inspirational; McCain's workmanlike. In his post-convention bounce, McCain seems to have found a chink in Obama's armor, with VP nominee Sarah Palin evoking the enthusiasm McCain has been struggling to create. The race is a dead heat, and rank-and-file Republicans who are emailing me say it's the most exciting in their lifetime.
John McCain, written off early as uninspiring and unappealing to the conservative base, surprised many Republicans when he upset the more flashy candidates to become the nominee. The 72-year-old McCain beat a television star, America's Mayor and a very successful businessman and former governor of Massachusetts. The determined tortoise most certainly beat the hares. Conservatives initially displayed consternation at his success, yet continue to fall in line as Obama faces a game-changing Gov. Sarah Palin and the home stretch.
Most Republicans consider the choice of Palin to be a masterstroke, as McCain defied conventional expectations and selected a complete Washington outsider.
Her conservative core values burnish McCain's credentials with the conservative party base; her attractiveness and verbal dexterity, using humor as a rhetorical weapon, thrilled Republicans being lulled to sleep by McCain's delivery.
The contrasting images of Biden and Palin are striking: the ultimate Washington insider versus a gun-toting frontierswoman, the Party conformist versus old-boy network buster. The synergy of McCain-Palin is that both candidates have willfully diverged from and made enemies within their own party.
Those who criticized McCain from the right were dismayed by his authorship of McCain-Kennedy, considered a soft immigration bill with amnesty; and McCain-Feingold, campaign finance reform viewed as abridging free speech. Doctrinaire conservatives and libertarians could not be more upset by the free-spending ways of the past eight years and remain uneasy about McCain's willingness to partner with Democrats and wander off the reservation.
Palin's Republican detractors come from (dare I say it) country-club Republicans, who may have been happier with a known centrist quantity, such as Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. Two core and related issues -- abortion and religion -- are implicit in that dissension. Anyone involved in Republican politics in Missouri will inform you that reliable Republican voters are pro-life, and instruct you to get your ducks in a row on the issue. One cannot waffle, mince words, equivocate, or vote for it before you vote against it.
Palin's unwavering pro-life beliefs and much-publicized invocation of the G-word (God) make secular middle-roaders uneasy, delighting conservatives who tepidly supported McCain.
In the interest of full disclosure, I originally supported Giuliani, whose candidacy imploded after he lost the Florida primary. I suppose that pigeonholes me a non-doctrinaire pro-choice conservative, but there is more to it than that. I had first-hand experience with Giuliani in New York, and watched him take a city oft branded ungovernable and restore it to glory.
Ignoring catcalls from many powerful Democrats, Rudy demanded a modicum of decency from all New Yorkers, in every situation: no more windshield washers at busy intersections, the homeless population cannot sleep and beg anywhere they wish, graffiti will not be a ubiquitous art form, one may not smoke on the subway platform! I admit I got a ticket for smoking while waiting for the "A" Train. Most important: Giuliani's intrepid performance on 9/11.
"Country First" is the new motto for McCain-Palin, evoking a patriotic optimism likely considered jingoism by some who see America riddled with problems and guilty of creating problems for the world. Perhaps that is the bottom line for Republicans: Who will protect our country from all threats foreign and domestic? Who will maintain a hard line against radical Islam while simultaneously healing a wounded economy? Who has the stomach for battle on these and other fronts?
Republicans will continue to fall in line with the ticket; this election is one for the history books. I hope the kids are studying.
