Summary
Arriving in St. Paul, Minn., for the 2008 Republican National Convention, one couldn't help but wonder what Larry Craig was thinking. Though the Bush administration may hold more of the blame, Craig represents an early flashpoint in the GOP's current schizophrenia. Since the party's nasty treatment of the senator following his bathroom stall incident last year, its various constituencies have been in rapid fray. At the convention's start, nominee John McCain was trailing Barack Obama by 8 points in some polls. Meanwhile, Democrats were poised to crush Republicans in congressional elections and McCain's barely vetted vicepresidential pick, Sandpoint native Sarah Palin, was just about to unveil a laundry list of family issues.
It's hard to argue with his reputation as a political iconoclast, although Democrats complain that he's recently fallen in line with the Bush administration. As if to counter this point, McCain used the word "change" repeatedly in his acceptance speech, although his proposed policies sounded like Republicanism as usual-school choice, loosening trade restrictions and strengthening private health care. Only when he looked the right-wing faithful in the eye and told them things they didn't want to hear-like about how the "Contract for America" Republicans lost their way ("We let Washington change us")-did he give hints as to why he's been so successful. But it was likely too little, too late.Who knows what the final two months will bring, but departing the convention, one couldn't help but think that-despite McCain's best efforts, thousands of conventioneers and thousands more protesters-the hoopla surrounding Palin's family could well decide the election. Americans could decide it's high time for a suburban hockey pit bull mom. But, then again, they could decide that they don't want a circus ringleader a heartbeat away from the presidency. Reports of Britney Spears' younger sister sending Bristol pink burpclothes only underscored what, we already suspected: Politics and entertainment have collided head on.See the full content of this document
Extract
Riding the Rnc
Arriving in St. Paul, Minn., for the 2008 Republican National Convention, one couldn't help but wonder what Larry Craig was thinking. Though the Bush administration may hold more of the blame, Craig represents an early flashpoint in the GOP's current schizophrenia. Since the party's nasty treatment of the senator following his bathroom stall inci...
See the full content of this document
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