I have to say that the decision to choose Steele as the Chairman of the RNC was definitely a good one.

Looking past the obvious difference in the selection of Michael Steele (and the blustery-goodness of Glenn Beck), it is clear to me that the Republican party has embraced the idea of change. Not just in it’s selection of leaders, but rather in the tone and tenor that the party takes going forward. Steele is basically saying that Republicans need to back up and regroup before they can take the next election (not just a presidential election either — ANY election) seriously. The public’s trust has been lost and it must be regained.

Shoot. If Glenn Beck is telling you that your party sucks, then you know that you have got some work to do.

Steele said, “You have absolutely no reason — none — to trust our word or our actions at this point.”

Nice one. Of course, ‘our’ = Republicans. Refreshing.

[cross-posted at ThePajamaPundit.com]

The Republican National Committee has elected Michael Steele as chairman. In addition to being the RNC’s first African American chairman, Steele’s moderate leanings also represent a break from recent Republican ideology. In his brief acceptance speech, Steele said he wants to expand the party:

”We’re going to say to friend and foe alike: We want you to be a part of us, we want you to with be with us, and for those who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over.”

While we’ll have to wait to see how effective Steele will be, his election is good news for those of us who hope for a reenergized GOP more committed to finding new, small government ideas and less focused on destructive, power-hungry partisanship.

While I’m sure Steele’s selection will not sit well with the take-no-prisoners wing of the party represented by Rush Limbaugh and his ilk, the GOP’s recent plummet into minority status proves the party needs a new direction. Hopefully Steele can provide just that.

If McCain had been that McCain for the last six months, his speech last night would have sealed the deal. I’d be sticking the bumper sticker on my car this morning. But he very much hasn’t been that McCain. He’s been a panderer and a partisan and a petulant old man. The maverick we saw speak last night is not the man we’ve seen running for president.

So what am I supposed to think now?

When I was actively supporting McCain earlier this year, I frequently made the point that while Barack Obama talks beautifully about bridging divides, McCain has an entire career of doing the hard and often thankless work of finding common ground. While Obama says he will bring change and yet offers a slim record showing little more than a string of partisan votes, McCain says he’ll bring change and backs that up with a record of bucking his own party and going after a slew of special interests and corrupt powers.

No, McCain’s record is not without its warts. He has some distasteful associations with lobbyists and he’s made some poor decisions. But at least I know (or once thought I knew) he will not simply deliver one party’s policies no matter the situation. He will have the brains and the guts to reach for what he believes is the best solution, regardless of who that pisses off. I still have no reason to believe Obama will give us anything but the usual Democratic policy initiatives (as much as I’d like to believe otherwise).

I would pull the lever (or touch the screen) for McCain with little reservation if I thought we were getting the maverick version. Unfortunately, I’m not sure who we’d get. At least he showed last night that the McCain I admire is still alive and kicking. Now let’s see if that McCain is the one who shows up for the debates and the rest of the campaign.

There is still a lot of campaigning left, but I think we can safely say: Palin is no Dan Quayle. She can more than make up for her slim experience through her obvious intelligence and powerful charm/rhetorical skills (kind of like someone we know on the Democratic ticket, no?). She managed to weave together a speech that featured typical Republican bromides, cut-and-paste attacks on Barack Obama and a sprinkling of maverick-ness and yet, she somehow sounded fresh.

I think Palin’s going to be a much stronger addition to the McCain campaign than many of us originally believed. I think she’ll give Biden a surprisingly tough time in the Vice Presidential debate and I think she’ll charm more voters than the Obama campaign would like to admit. There has never been a major American political figure quite like her. Her very presence will help McCain deflect the notion that he’s offering “more of the same.”

Now, the question is, can she keep it up? If it’s all downhill from last night’s speech, then all those positive attributes I mentioned will fade from the public’s memory. Her experience is still an albatross. Her maverick tendencies are muted by her social conservativism. To Palin be an effective gamble for McCain, she has to keep up the intelligence and the charm. Do that and the Republicans have a shot at this thing.

In fact, we heard over and over that McCain is “his own man” and bucks the system but we were apparently just supposed to know on which issues McCain is a maverick. Maybe that’s for later.

But I have to agree with John Dickerson at Slate who called the night a “Bizarro GOP” for all the cheering and approval of McCain’s tendency to go against the GOP. The delegates seemed eager for change – even though that change would mean leaving behind the policies of the current Republican president.

If the first night sets the convention tone, then I suspect we’ll hear a lot about McCain’s toughness and willingness to go his own way. Hopefully we’ll actually hear how he plans to change things if elected. I know Obama is basically running on the cut-and-paste Democratic platform. As plodding as I find those positions, they are at least different than the cut-and-paste Republican platform McCain has generally pushed for most of the campaign. I’m hungry for some new ideas. Maybe Sarah Palin will surprise us tonight and not just talk about being a maverick but actually tell us what that will mean if we elect McCain/Palin.

We’ll see…

The reorganized convention will include a by-satellite primetime speech by President Bush as well as a previously planned speech by Joe Lieberman and a hastily arranged primetime speech by former Republican Senator Fred Thompson. Rudy Giuliani, who was originally scheduled to give the keynote address tonight, will likely speak Wednesday or Thursday.

Given the complications caused by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the unavoidable distraction of Hurricane Gustav, the Republicans are hardly having the kind of convention for which they’d hoped. They need to run a really tight ship the next couple of days to ensure they communicate a direct and coherent message. I, for one, am very interested in hearing what Palin has to say as well as finding out which John McCain shows up: the maverick or the panderer.

These are three very critical days for Republicans. We’ll see if they pull it off.

Hopefully the St. Paul police and protest organizers will be able to prevent future outbreaks during the rest of the convention.

Neither President Bush nor Vice President Cheney will speak as planned as they will be attended to official business on the coast. McCain still plans to attend the convention but, if the situation ends up being as terrible as predicted, McCain may deliver a truncated acceptance speech from the coast. As the potential next president of the United States, he wants to be on-site of this potential natural disaster as much as possible.

More as it develops…

By the sound of it, the Republicans are not going to allow themselves to make the mistake of holding a party while a hurricane smashes the Gulf Coast (can you imagine the Nero allusions?). The Republicans have to be extremely careful with how they proceed. If the storm is as awful as predicted, a quick, poorly televised convention a few weeks from now would be a better option than continuing as planned. It’s not just a matter of competing for media time. It’s a matter of being respectful of a very serious situation as well as making sure Republican leaders, such as President Bush and Gulf Coast elected officials, are where they need to be to provide the leadership that the nation may need.

Hopefully, the storm won’t be anything like predicted. But I’m glad to hear the Republicans are taking the matter seriously. This is awful timing for the Republicans. But if John McCain is going to be president, he’ll have to handle the unexpected. We’ll see what happens now.

The Republican Party didn’t make room for Ron Paul at the convention in St. Paul, so Paul and his supporters are making room across the river in Minneapolis. That’s right, it’s time for Ronstock ‘08 (although I think Paulapalooza would be a better name), complete with tents and people who don’t need drugs to act weird.

All across the nation, Paul supporters are loading up in Ronvoys and making the trip to what officially seems to be named Rally for the Republic where Paul and others will speak to a crowd of true-believers expected to number around 10,000 or more. No word what the speakers will actually discuss, but I’m sure it’ll involve the usual riveting topic of monetary policy.

This all sounds fairly organized and respectful for the Paulites. I was hoping they’d make a covert effort to invade the convention hall and start a ruckus. I guess they decided a legitimate event would provide their cause more coverage.

But will the media actually cover Ronstock ’08 or any other Paulite activities? Unlikely. But they can probably bank on The Daily Show sending a correspondent.

democrats and republican hate cartoon

However, when you look at how much the McCain camp and the RNC has combined, you’ll understand why Obama opted out of public financing for the general.

Obama’s money + DNC’s money = $72 million

McCain’s money + RNC’s money = $95 million

So the money situation actually doesn’t favor Obama right now. That may all change during the general election, but for now McCain has the upper hand.

UPDATE:
Hmmm…Talking Points Memo has different numbers that don’t put the Dems very far behind the Repubs…

The Democratic National Committee raised $22, 481,194 in June, spokesperson Karen Finney says.

The DNC’s cash on hand total $20, 306,056.

That puts the total combined Obama and DNC cash in the bank at over $92 million — very competitive with the GOP/McCain total of nearly $100 million.

From a $23 million dollar deficit to an $8 million dollar deficit?

Who’s right?

Here’s more about their cash on hand…

McCain reported having about $32 million in cash for primary-related expenses at the end of May.

Obama reported having $43 million in hand at the start of June — but about $10 million of that is dedicated to the general election.

So they really are at near parity, and with the RNC’s cash on hand being more than 10 times what the DNC has ($53.5M to $3.9M), is it any wonder that Obama decided to forgo public financing? He’s got some massive slack to make up.

But as TPM points out…

The real numbers to watch will be June’s, after Obama sewed up the Democratic nomination and then opted out of public financing for the general election.

Estimates for Obama’s potential fundraising windfall have ranged anywhere from $100 to $250 million, but since McCain will take the $84 million in public financing for the general, Obama will have to raise at least $135 to match McCain and the RNC dollar for dollar, given the RNC’s aforementioned massive cash advantage over the DNC.

More as it develops…