The Patriot as Reformer

John McCain adopted a conciliatory tone and presented himself as independent of Washington. But the real hero of the convention was Sarah Palin.

For weeks, the Republicans sneered at Barack Obama’s “messianic appearance”. But when John McCain went before the public late Thursday evening to accept his party’s nomination for President, his election strategy showed that Republicans weren’t above also striving for the messianic. In the shining spotlight of an otherwise dark stage stood John McCain. A savior.

Much of his speech also sounded like a sermon: “We’re all God’s children, and we’re all Americans.” – “I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it.” – “Nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.” John McCain spoke mainly in sentences suitable for headlines – or as calendar homilies. “We believe in low taxes, spending discipline and open markets.”

Almost without a break, McCain touched on nearly every subject significant to the current political discussion in his 53-minute speech. Education, he said, was the “the civil rights issue of this century”. He had little to say about the future of health care, saying only he favored more competition and freedom of choice while his opponent, Barack Obama, wanted more bureaucracy.

On energy policy, McCain favors constructing new nuclear power plants and supports controversial offshore oil drilling, both opposed by Obama. The struggle for oil independence, he said, would create millions of new jobs and become the “engine of our future prosperity”.

For months, the conservative media has been crediting the troop surge in Iraq as the right recipe for success in the war. McCain claims personal credit for that decision: “I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn’t a popular thing to do. That saved us from defeat.”

The candidate supported a strong military but acknowledged that diplomatic along with military action was necessary for international relations: “We’ll stop giving 700 million dollars a year to countries that don’t like us very much.” Did McCain explain further? No. Instead there was frenetic applause. Such declarations are especially well liked by the 2,400 delegates in the arena. Together, they immersed themselves in the nationalism that’s been propagated here for days.

The terrorists haven’t been defeated yet. “Iran remains the largest sponsor of state terrorism.” The Russian leadership has rejected democratic ideals and reverted to their ambition to bring back the Russian empire. “We face many threats in this dangerous world, but I’m not afraid of them. I’m prepared for them.”

A sense of message was imbedded in each of McCain’s brief sentences, namely: “Change is coming.” The political class – including the Republican party – has lost the people’s confidence because “we valued our power over our principles”. The candidate promised he wanted to change that: “I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for a particular interest group. I don’t work for myself. I work for all of you.”

He thanked the President, whose name he never once mentioned, for his strong leadership after the attacks of 9/11. Nothing further – a clear gesture that he was distancing himself from incumbent George W. Bush.

Much to John McCain’s good fortune, hurricane Gustav struck the southern states at the beginning of the week. On the second day of the convention, the President sent a harmless video message via satellite. In it he expressed his support for McCain – and otherwise caused no further damage. Nobody in Minneapolis missed him, least of all John McCain.

McCain was consciously moderate, expressing his “respect and amazement” for his opponent, Barack Obama. Aside from their differences, he said there was more upon which they agreed than disagreed. “We’re both American and that means more to me than anything else. We adhere steadfastly to the idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights. No nation has ever had a greater goal.”

Since this convention, John McCain can afford to say such fatherly things. He can now leave attacks and ridicule to his newly chosen Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, the young Governor of Alaska John McCain obviously pulled out of his hat on short notice last Friday, without much research or consultation. She is admirably suited to this role. By the time the balloons dropped at the end of the convention, Palin was clearly the star of the week.

The party choreographers left no doubt that from the conservative’s viewpoint this election would be about “character.” McCain spoke with the most detail about his prisoner of war years in Vietnam. During that time he discovered the limits of his “egotistical independence” and began to understand that people need one another.

That was when he began to love his country. “I no longer belonged to myself – I belonged to my country.” He intends to remain faithful to this position as President: “I’m going to fight for my cause every day as your President. I’m going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I’m an American.”

“Yes, yes, yes”, Lorraine Quarrumb cries, emphasizing her enthusiasm by waving her hand-lettered sign. On it she has written “Real American hero”. Each time John McCain says something she likes, and that’s quite often, she jumps up and waves her sign.

“He reminds us why America is so wonderful”, she says as the thunderous applause dies down. “I love the way he rages against Washington”, says a young woman from Wyoming, “especially against this waste of money going to other countries. They should look after themselves. Why should we always sacrifice?” she asks, and her neighbor, also a delegate, agrees with her.

McCain is great, they both agree, but they’re especially happy with Sarah Palin. “She stands for those things that are most important to me: the right to gun ownership and the banning of abortions.”

“That kind of person isn’t good for us Republicans”, says George Buffett, seated one row further forward. “These social conservatives are like a corset”, he complains. He’s the only member of the delegation from New Mexico who has hardly applauded the speeches tonight. He jokes that he’s a moderate, something fast becoming a rare species. He was a member of the state house of representatives in New Mexico for 24 years.

When he mentions his last name, he also lets us know that he’s finance guru Warren Buffet’s cousin. Warren’s father, his uncle, was a conservative politician who he says strongly influenced him. But it didn’t have anything to do with Christian conservatism in those days.

Despite that, he has a crush on Sarah Palin. “She’s the embodiment of the average American. Well, I’m an average American”, says the 79-year old, “I’m just a little bit wealthy”.

Buffet has been going to these conventions since 1952 and has never missed a single one. But now he’s running out of enthusiasm. “Television ruined everything for us”, he gripes. People in other rows nod in agreement. “These short speeches, these video clips. The whole thing here is such an artificially constructed show. It’s being controlled by people behind the scenes.” No, Buffett is bored by it all now. He just wants to go home. “It’s all too perfect for me here”, he says.