ENPR: SPECIAL EDITION -- Republican Convention -- Preview

September 1 , 2008 Special Edition Washington, DC To: Our Readers EDITOR'S NOTE: This week as we cover the  Republican convention in St. Paul, we will have a different publishing schedule, sending you ENPR twice: today and Friday. SPECIAL ENPR REPUBLICAN CONVENTION PREVIEW Outlook Republican spirits were buoyed immensely by Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. A convention that threatened to lack all enthusiasm now holds the possibility of catapulting McCain ahead of Obama. The most important part of the week will be Palin's speech on Wednesday night. Given her potential upsides and potential downsides, she could affect the fate of the ticket more than most running mates. Gustav will dim the GOP infomercial, but that may not be too bad. Republicans were never going to perform as well as the Democrats did last week. Polls do not yet show an Obama bounce. A clear picture of the race will not begin to emerge until next week.   (Continued Below) Sponsored Content A Stock Tip from... Ann Coulter? Do you know which special interest has given more money to the Obama and Clinton campaigns than any other? If you guessed "trial lawyers" -- well, okay, that's too easy. But can you guess which special interest came in second? Labor unions? Nope. The Green Lobby? Nope. AARP? Wrong, again. NEA? Nyet. Give up? Okay, here's the answer... Read the rest of Ann's letter here Republican Convention Preview Palin: Derided by Democrats as "desperate" and "bizarre," and celebrated by conservative activists as redemption for McCain, the Palin pick is certainly a high-risk/high-reward decision. Conservative enthusiasm for McCain's choice cannot be overstated. The mood in Minneapolis over the weekend was giddy, and the talk among delegates and conservative activists focused almost exclusively on Palin. Support for her was nearly unanimous. McCain needed to energize the base, and he had no time to waste. He did it. Picking a brand-new governor whose previous job was small-town mayor in a far-off state has serious potential downsides. For one, it somewhat de-fangs the attack that Obama is not ready to lead—which was the entire message of the GOP counter-convention operation in Denver last week. On the other hand, if Republicans drop that attack, the worries about Obama's inexperience will probably persist in voters' minds, and a running mate's inexperience won't be as important. Palin not only plucks the pro-life and conservative strings in the GOP base, but she also hits the reform note that has gotten louder among GOP dissidents following the party's spending binge in Washington and crushing defeat in 2006. McCain's reform message, criticism of ethanol and sugar subsidies, and crusades against pork and waste were his strong points in the eyes of the base. Palin multiplies those virtues, standing in rebuke to the old guard of the GOP. Her sex introduces many important dynamics to this race. First, however, it is important to understand that she will have very limited reach into the pool of former supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Some female Clinton voters—not likely a significant number—were already considering a vote for McCain, and this pick could solidify their leanings. Will conservative female turnout increase? If McCain can get 49% of the female vote, he will win, but there are no early signs that Palin will have such an impact. (Continued Below) Sponsored Content PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Due to his recently diagnosed brain tumor, Bob Novak has retired from his column and also from his role as editor of the Evans-Novak Political Report. Novak has edited ENPR since he and Rowland Evans launched it in 1967. Per the succession plan we worked out last summer with Bob, Eagle Publishing will continue to publish ENPR under the leadership of Senior Reporter Timothy P. Carney, a protégé of Bob's who has worked by his side for years. In his 2007 memoirs, The Prince of Darkness, Novak described Carney as "maybe my best political reporter since I began hiring them in 1982." Carney is also a contributing editor at Human Events and a weekly columnist for the Washington Examiner. Click Here to Continue Reading

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