Kitsap Caucus

Here’s more from Larry Little, a Kitsap Sun columnist attending the GOP convention.

Arriving early at the convention center, I was able to meet several folks, in the media, volunteers and relatives of delegates. I chatted for about 45 minutes with a news director of a chain of Christian radio stations in the Midwest. He had also covered the Democrat Convention.  We discussed everything from his feelings about McCain before and after the Palin selection to whether the announcer was the same woman at the Democrat Convention, as they sounded the same to him. Palin’s inclusion changed his tone from so-so about McCain to enthusiastic.

The volunteers with whom I spoke were a high school senior from the Minneapolis area who planned to major in political science in college and a graduate student at Georgetown from Israel. The relatives with whom I spoke were the mother of a young Texas delegate and the wife of another.  They were seemingly enthusiastic, except when Joe Lieberman listed the many areas where McCain wasn’t lockstep with most Republicans.  There was virtual silence when a speaker noted McCain’s open disagreement with President Reagan over Beirut.  

The area in which I sat was above but with a good view of the podium and the VIP section. 

The convention especially erupted with sustained applause during many parts of Senators Lieberman’s and Thompson’s speeches, when President Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush arrived, and when various of McCain’s fellow POWs were introduced. 

I especially enjoyed Minnesota US Senator Coleman’s anecdote in his speech:

“A story is told of Thomas Jefferson riding on horseback with a group of companions, reaching a river without a bridge.

Standing on the bank was a man who needed to get across.

One by one, they passed him until Jefferson was alongside and the man asked, “Can you carry me across the river?” Jefferson immediately did.

One of Jefferson’s men pulled the guy aside and yelled, “How dare you ask the President of the United States for a lift! You could have asked any one of us, instead you chose to bother him?”

The man said, “I had no idea who he was, but your faces all said NO and his face said YES.”

John McCain has a face that says, Yes. … because that’s what’s in his soul. He’s never given in to adversity. He’s never said No to a challenge. “

I also liked the image of a speaker who noted Cindy McCain coming back from one of her trips helping to rescue children and bringing them into foster homes, “…infant in each arm.”

When I rode the city bus back from St Paul to Minneapolis late Tuesday night, I rode with a Fox News cameraman who had been arrested, perhaps as part of the extensive arrests of protesters.  I also heard of other apparent mistaken arrests as well as many likely quite legitimate due to the fairly widespread anarchy mixed with peaceful protest.

Overall, an inspiring day–more tomorrow.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 11:11 pm by Steven Gardner and is filed under Election 2008, Presidential Election, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.