About the Author

Richard Cochrane is trained in chemistry and metallurgy but is far more interested and practiced as a political and fund raising consultant, writer and amateur historian. He grew up in a Navy family and with his two younger brothers carried on its 500+ year tradition of naval service to Great Britain and the USA then enjoyed a career with one of the largest advertising and public relations agencies working with numerous Fortune 500 companies and many of America's premier educational institutions. He maintains friendships and acquaintanceships around the world. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED……NO REALLY…….THIS TIME, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

September 5th, 2008 • Richard Cochrane

From Joel Strom, RNC delegate, via Richard.

Too much happened tonight to go through a chronological recap. I am just overcome with joy, tears, respect and hope, yes hope. And while hope in and of itself never cuts it, I think this hope is backed up with a rational belief that our guy and gal trumps the other guys. Contrast the speakers, the players, the family members with the DNC. How many longtime friends came up to speak about Obama, about his integrity, his humble leadership, or his accomplishments? Maybe can count on one hand. But enough about Obama.

So what was the mission of this convention? In my view, it was fourfold:

introduce this intriguing VP selection, Sarah Palin
call into question the readiness and philosophy of the other guy
make sure the American public, especially the independent and undecided voters, know the man, John McCain, his lifetime of public service, transformative years in a POW camp, his soul
unite the Party and energize it for the two-month campaign

Who can question the success of his selection and introduction of the next Vice-President of the United States? Covered a bit last night, but with 24-hour hindsight, even my unfettered enthusiasm was not adequate to describe the true boost Governor Palin gives to this ticket. Not only did we see a $10,000,000 boost in campaign online fundraising, but the smiles on the faces of all delegates along with the concerned looks of talking heads across the spectrum said it all. What a star.

Starting last night and continuing tonight, albeit with a little less red meat, speaker after speaker asked “where’s the beef” when it comes to Barack Obama. Great speaker, great promises, but no way, no how, can he deliver. And G-d help us if he could…higher taxes, more regulation, government run health care, unilateral reduction in military readiness, appeasement, you name it. From Rudy to Romney, from Thompson to Huckabee and to a red hot Graham tonight, Barack Obama was grilled in absentia. Now, the Dems will immediately yell “divisiveness”, “more of the same”, “swift boating”. But their expected charges will only show their nervousness, their inability to counteract the charges with facts. So, check off the second bullet.

Tonight, the riveting nature of Senator McCain’s own words about his capture, his internment, torture and transformation, were the difference from a B+ convention to the A it now earns. Speaker after speaker tonight, including Cindy’s wonderful words to us, plus the brilliantly packaged life history pieces, referred to McCain’s life and change related to his POW years, but face it, very few have heard McCain in his own words, hesitant at times to reveal the pain. What struck me as the most potentially helpful in peeling off undecided voters was McCain’s willingness to reveal his narcissistic years and his eventual transformation which occurred only after being nursed back to life by fellow soldiers whom he barely knew. Truly heart stopping, something no open-minded American could have listened to without tears, without feeling that this guy has faced death, faced hurdles very few men have cleared. Surely, he can lead this country to better times. So much for the third bullet.

You did not have to be on the floor tonight to feel the love, the energy, the pre-game pep rally spirit. Even the CNN team had to give the RNC planning team its just desserts. Had someone told me a few months ago that the Republicans would be more united than the Dems on Sept 5th, I would have called up the funny farm to pick him up. But lo and behold, here we are on September 5th and with the Hillary/Obama split (despite their attempts to conceal or convince otherwise) and the Palin pick, it is certainly reasonable to pick the Republicans as the unified Party, not the Dems. And that is always a good sign for victory. McCain’s speech, while not filled with the red meat of others, not a sweeping panorama of an Obama speech, and not filled with attractive yet impossible promises, was more than serviceable. It was unifying and revealing. It was what he needed to do. A bit light on specifics in my opinion (I would have preferred a bit more on contrasting policy philosophies), but there is always time to do that post convention. So, you could say, fourth bullet accomplished.

In sum, most people who know me expect me to offer up a tough critique of most RNC actions. But this time, I’ve got to give the organizers their kudos. From the last minute changes due to Gustav, the somewhat unexpected pick of Palin, the sometimes inclement weather, the rather violent anarchist protestors, and the tough tasks outlined above, nothing negative from me. The RNC team accomplished their goals in extremely difficult Republican political times and with high hurdles to clear. Job well done. Or should we say….MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

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  1. Comment by alan on 6 September 2008:

    bravo, well said. now, to arms!

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