Recently in Republican Convention Category

One overlooked aspect of John McCain's acceptance speech could end up being an important moment of the campaign -- and one of its most indelible images. Anyone watching who harbored doubts about McCain's vitality and sharpness certainly would have been impressed when McCain wound up his speech with a supercharged plea to "fight with me. Fight with me. ... Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight."

St. Paul, Minn. -- John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination last night and then rebuked his own party for failing its trust with voters, its reform ideals, its conservative compass and its once legendary spending discipline. The elephant in the arena no one talked about? President Bush. McCain never mentioned him by name. "Change is coming," the new nominee said.

The week certainly had bright and stirring moments like most big conventions, but McCain's presence as a different sort of Republican nominee -- one often at odds with the party leadership -- gave a different feel to the affair.  

For a while now, there's been a lot of curiosity and downright worry in some GOP circles about whether John McCain could inject his candidacy with a big vision and something more than being a safe alternative to Barack Obama's thin record and "time for change" mantra. I think he's doing that this week. And tonight he'll try to drive the point home.

In the rush to defend Sarah Palin and condemn the press for sexism, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has let loose with both barrels.  His overkill is offensive and untrue.

Huckabee launched into still another attack on the media, a staple of the Republican convention, as Jon Frandsen notes elsewhere on this page. But Huckabee didn't stop with criticism of the press.

St. Paul -- Does anyone think Sarah Palin will flop tonight at the Republican convention? Of course not. She'd have to have the teleprompter fall apart or her microphone go dead to score anything less than a 10 with the warmest crowd she could have in the convention hall. After all, she only has to deliver a speech written and vetted by a team of political operatives. At some point, probably sooner than later, the bar will rise much higher.