Hands down:

I’ll be on Catholic Radio 2.0 today with Commander Craig discussing the “recently completed GOP Convention.”

Tune in if you can.

Update: And here is the link to the archived version. My interview runs from about the 8:00 mark until 30:00.

John McCain deserves tremendous credit for maintaining his cool while being repeatedly interrupted by protesters. Somehow, he managed not to lash out or show visible irritation. I kept expecting him to yell, “What the hell did you ever do for your country? Don’t you think I deserve to be heard? Have I earned that much?” He soared above it.

On the other hand, I have to rate the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the speech as weak. It had the same uninspiring feeling as a George W. Bush State of the Union. The laundry list, the calling out of ordinary Americans. When he started naming people struggling with recession, I thought of some campaign functionary looking at the poll results. “Cares about people like me” — Check. The first part of the speech had to be endured, sort of like direct mail that repeats the old pattern and the old tricks. You have to wade through it to get to the meat.

The good news is that there was meat. McCain got through the faux SOTU and began talking about what really matters — who he is, what his life has been like, why he is ready to lead. When he talked about that, the tingle started to develop. You could feel it. The contrast sharpened almost painfully. You realized, “Barack Obama has scarcely held a full-time job and we are about to elect pretty words when we desperately need a veteran.” That’s when John McCain scored. Scored points in bunches. He shook off a tired old cocoon and metamorphosed into the great man when he did that.

Well, sportsfans, I don’t know what the McCain folks have planned for tonight, but it’s going to be difficult to top Governor Palin’s speech, which electrified the crowd last night. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing it was to be on the floor. As I’ve mentioned before, the Georgia delegation has excellent seats right next to Arizona and New Hampshire, stage right. And I was fortunate enough to be seated in the first seat of the third row, right next to the microphone. The first two rows are, of course, reserved for the big-wigs (last night I was sitting behind Senator Saxby Chambliss and Newt Gingrich). In any event, I was a witness to a historic event, and I am honored that I was able to be there as a representative of the wonderful folks of Macon, Georgia. 

So, what are we to make of last night? Well, in my humble opinion, I truly believe that Palin will end up being a huge asset for John McCain. She energizes the base in a way that is truly indescribable. We love her. Governor Palin is one of us, and there is no doubt in my mind that she is absolutely committed to fostering a culture of life in the United States. I know that some people wish that she had said more about the issue of abortion (and other life issues), and I would have liked that as well. But I can certainly understand why Governor Palin didn’t directly address the issue of abortion in this particular speech. This was her “coming out” moment, and she had a great deal of ground to cover. That having been said, there was a part of Governor Palin’s speech that dealt with the sanctity of life, and demonstrated her commitment to a culture of life in this country:

Our family has the same ups and downs as any other … the same challenges and the same joys.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

Now, is that as specific as I and many other prolifers would like? Of course not. But Governor Palin’s prolife views are well known (as is her amazing life story), and there will be plenty of time for her to express them as the campaign moves forward. What I am curious about is whether the same people who are criticizing Governor Palin for her lack of specificity on life issues last night will condemn Senator Obama for immediately attacking her prolife record as a means of galvinizing his proabort base. 

(cue chirping crickets)

The bottom line is this: For all of Senator McCain’s faults (e.g., his support for federal funding of ESCR), his prolife record is light years ahead of Senator Obama. More importantly, Senator McCain has chosen a true-blue prolife conservative as his running mate, and in doing so has positioned her for a White House run of her own in the future. That alone ought to seal the deal with any prolife Catholics and Evangelicals who are on the fence about supporting Senator McCain. The maverick may not have given us everything that we wanted, but by choosing Palin he has signaled to the social-conservative base that our voice has been heard loud and clear and that we will have a place at the table in a McCain administration.

And consider the alternative, folks: Senator Obama, a supporter of infanticide, who has pledged that his first act as president will be to sign the “Freedom of Choice Act” into law–which will remove any and all restrictions on abortion at the state level, and roll back years of progress made by the  prolife movement. Is that something you can live with my fellow Christians? And don’t even get me started on the looming Supreme Court vacancies.

In sum, I honestly do not see how a faithful Christian, Catholic or Protestant, can–given the addition of Palin to the ticket–justify voting for a man like Barack Obama, a third party, or sitting this election out. The stakes are simply too high. It is time for Christians of all stripes to get on board and help elect Senator John S. McCain as the next president of these United States.

Once again, sportsfans, I am at the Xcel Center, and the place is buzzing with excitement over Governor Palin’s speech tonight. That is the big event, and everything preceding it is all but an afterthought. One of two narratives will be written about Palin after tonight: (1) she is the real deal, gave a tremendous speech, has energized the base of the party, and McCain was smart to pick someone “out of the box” like her; or (2) she’s not ready for prime time, and not ready to lead. I strongly suspect that Governor Palin will give a fantastic speech, and that many of the doubts about her ability to serve as Senator McCain’s running mate, or as vice president upon election, will be silenced tonight–at least with the voters who matter most.

Those in the MSM crowd will, of course, continue to raise questions about Governor Palin’s “experience” and ability to serve that they would never dream of doing with Obamamessiah. But in the end, I believe most voters will see the media bias for what it is, and will end up viewing Palin for what she is–an extremely talented, bright, and accomplished individual.

More to come.

The useless talking-head chitter chatter has gone from a background annoyance to a resonant hum following the surprise nomination of Governor Palin. Citizens such as myself who seek to preserve our sanity by avoiding talking heads and the whine of the ruby-throated North American pundit cannot block out the Left’s chest beating and its crocodile tears for the Governor’s children. Even on this sacred site, the comments inevitably turn to the issue of pregnant teens and leadership. Why this fevered fusillade from the Lunatic Fringe?

As usual, Peggy Noonan has the answer. It’s fear.

Because she jumbles up so many cultural categories, because she is a feminist not in the Yale Gender Studies sense but the How Do I Reload This Thang way, because she is a woman who in style, history, moxie and femininity is exactly like a normal American feminist and not an Abstract Theory feminist; because she wears makeup and heels and eats mooseburgers and is Alaska Tough, as Time magazine put it; because she is conservative, and pro-2nd Amendment and pro-life; and because conservatives can smell this sort of thing — who is really one of them and who is not — and will fight to the death for one of their beleaguered own; because of all of this she is a real and present danger to the American left, and to the Obama candidacy.

She could become a transformative political presence.

So they are going to have to kill her, and kill her quick.

My suspicion is that they will be even more scared tomorrow.

O.k., sportsfans, I am back at the Xcel Center. The mood of the crowd is much more upbeat tonight. It has been a great day. I went to Mass at Saint Thomas Law School, and then attended another Catholic Working Group event (i.e., a screening of the documentary ”Advise and Dissent” with an accompanying panel discussion). I then went to an excellent shindig for the Georgia delegation hosted by AT&T.

Upon arriving at the convention, I immediately scouted out a prime seat, and then paid a visit to the Catholics for McCain suite (which was very, very nice). I then rushed back to the floor to trade for some buttons for my mother, who collects political memorabilia. And before the session started, I was able to have my picture taken with the lovely Julianne Chambliss and her husband Saxby.

Oh, and some media folks took several pics of me next to the Lincoln look-alike. They apparently thought it would be an interesting picture given my choice of tie this evening, which has a certain Southern flavor to it.

O.k., that’s it for now, folks. I try to blog some more later. My Internet connection is a little spotty though, so I can’t make any promises. See if you can spot me on C-Span.

Update: I met and had pics taken with the following folks last night: Senator Sam Brownback, Megan Kelly of Fox News, and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Pretty cool, eh?

O.k., sportsfans, I am here at the Xcel Center in St. Paul at the GOP National Convention. The mood here is fairly reserved. Obviously, the primary concern right now is Hurricane Gustav and the people of the Gulf Coast.  My thoughts and prayers are certainly with them.

Right now, I am sitting in the Georgia delegates section, which is stage right one row back from the New Hampshire folks. There is a huge video screen, and media people crawling all over the place. I’ve already been interviewed three times (by ABC News Radio, ABC Chicago, and AOL News). The main line of inquiry is, of course, the news that Gov. Palin’s daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant. Now, I realize that many of our liberal friends will use this story as an opportunity to bash the Palins and family values. Let them do it. The bottom line is this: Gov. Palin’s daughter made a choice for life. And she did so because her mother has lived out her faith and prolife values in the most beautiful way–by choosing to give birth to a precious child, who just happens to have Down Syndrome.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for the way the Palins are handling this situation, and I am confident that this revelation will do nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for her among the social-conservative wing of the Republican Party. If anything, it only reinforces what we already know to be true: Gov. Palin lives what she believes when it comes to life issues.

O.k., that’s it for now, folks. I’ll be blogging throughout the day below the fold, so stay tuned.

Update: The convention has started, and various and sundry motions are being made.

A Lincoln look-alike just paid a visit to the Georgia delegation. I quickly informed him that he was “in the wrong section.” He replied, “Whatever do you mean?” I then informed him that we were still upset “about Sherman.”

Hey, sportsfans, I am here in the beautiful twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul for the GOP Convention, and I have to say that so far I am very impressed. The cities are very clean, and the locals are quite friendly.

Last night, I attended the media party with some of the RedState crew, and we spent most of the night chatting it up with Michael Barone. Needless to say, that was very cool. I did have to correct his pronunciation of Houston County, Georgia (which sounds like “Howston”). On Super Tuesday, he referred to it as “Hughston County,” which is how you would think it should be pronounced if you lived anywhere but the Middle Georgia area. He seemed to get a kick of my correcting him. Anyway, Barone is a brilliant guy, and I had a great time speaking with him.

After that the Redstate crew went to a local sports bar and watched a little college football. It was fun o’ plenty, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the folks I’ve been blogging with now for over a year.

Well, that’s it for now, folks. I am getting ready to leave for a tour of/Mass at the St. Paul Cathedral. And after that, I’ll be attending a “Welcome Delegates” Party at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I suspect that a good time will be had by all.

Oh, I do have one bit of news. All of the other GOP presidential candidates have finally released their delegates, which means that non-McCain delegates are free to vote for whomever they please. I will, of course, proudly cast my vote for the McCain/Palin ticket, and I suspect many others will do likewise.

Having Palin on the ticket changes everything (at least for me it does).

Stay tuned. More to come.