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By Newt Gingrich This was the happiest convention I have attended.
In seven conventions going back to 1984, I have never seen delegates as happy.
I have seen them eager, energized, committed, determined but the underlying mood last night was sheer joy. There was joy that Senator McCain had had the courage to pick Governor Palin. There was joy that she and her family had come through the week of attacks smiling and eager to campaign. There was joy that Governor Palin's Wednesday night speech completely vindicated Senator McCain's choice. There was joy that 37 million Americans had seen her speech. That is almost as many as watched Senator Obama's acceptance speech (39 million).
There was deep inspiration from Cindy McCains story of adopting a child from Bangladesh and her commitment to the poor and the weak around the world. There was awe at the film about Senator McCain's service to country and inspiration from the personal parts of his speech. There was joy at Roberta McCain saying "he's a momma's boy" and admiration for her energy and enthusiasm at 96 (sort of knocks down the age issue). Finally there was joy that we had nominated two real people of great authenticity to take on the poseurs on the other ticket. It was appropriate in St. Paul, the city of F. Scott Fitzgerald, that the modern Great Gatsby found himself facing a ticket with a real war hero and a real governor. Obama's long voyage of self discovery and posturing may be about to collide with a team that can't be intimidated and is not afraid to tell the truth. Now that is a cause for joy.
The Coming War Against Sarah Palin
I am writing this newsletter from St. Paul, MN, where Alaska Governor Sarah Palin electrified the crowd at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. And I think it's safe to say she showed the entire country a fresh new face of conservative reform. There was a lot of build-up to Governor Palin's speech, both in the media and among the professional Republican political class. Everyone was telling us that the speech was the Governor's big moment; if she could perform well Wednesday night, she would break free of the despicable, sustained partisan and personal attacks being leveled at her by everyone from the left-wing blogs to the elite media.
Palin Survived.
Now the Left REALLY Has to Destroy Her But the pundits and the consultants were wrong. Palin's success last week doesn't mean the left-wing is going to give up attacking her.
Palin's success means that now the left really has to destroy her.
Why? Because she's proved that she is an intelligent, articulate and mortal threat to the left's claim that it is the sole, legitimate voice of women and blue-collar, working Americans. Sarah Palin is a mother of five who is also an accomplished woman. She is a lifelong member of the NRA who is also an intelligent, articulate professional. She is pro-life in her words and in her deeds, and she controls an $11 billion budget and 15,000 Alaska state employees.
Simply put, the left has a greater vested interest in destroying her than any presidential or vice presidential candidate the Republican Party has nominated in the last fifty years. The media will try to downplay her accomplishments as when Ron Allen of MSNBC tried to get me to accept that she had too little experience. Watch it here
Echoes of the Clarence Thomas Nomination We've seen this kind of desperation before, of course.
Those of us who lived through the effort by the elites to destroy Clarence Thomas when he was nominated to sit on the Supreme Court by George H. W. Bush have an unsettling idea of the fight that lies ahead. The left and the elites regarded Thomas - an African-American who is also a conservative - as a threat to their ability to be the arbiters of what African-Americans and other minorities should believe. Allowing Thomas to ascend to the high court would show that skin color does not dictate political affiliation - just as allowing Sarah Palin to become vice president would show that being a woman and a blue-collar American does not dictate political party.
So they threw mud at Thomas. They called him a traitor to his race. Just like what's happening now with Governor Palin. We've seen this before.
If Palin's Still Standing in November, Republicans Will Win the Election The road ahead promises to be bumpy. But the good news is that if Governor Palin survives the next few months as a national figure of competence and reform, then the left suddenly has a tremendous problem. It's a problem that is bigger than just losing the election (which is what will happen if she is a star in November). The left's problem will be that, at 44, Sarah Palin represents potentially 30 years of Republican Party leadership and transforming the party and America.
The stakes are high, and the race is on. It's time to brace ourselves for the coming war against Sarah Palin - and its time to win it.
Your friend, Newt Gingrich
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