Republicans gathered last week in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center — which is ironic, since for most of the week they lacked energy.
No one watched Monday night’s somber plea to help victims of Hurricane Gustav. And Tuesday night might as well have been dubbed Grumpy Old Men Night.
The convention hall had all the energy of a “Matlock” marathon.
That is, until Sarah Palin hit the stage Wednesday night.
The pit bull with lipstick (insert your own TV-commentator cliche here) knocked it out of the park, blew the doors off the place, or raised the roof while dishing up enough red meat to feed all rural Americans who still cling to their guns and their religion.
Simply put, she energized the hardcore Republican conservatives who, until Wednesday, weren’t too jazzed about casting a vote for (much less actively campaigning for) Sen. John McCain. A guy who just a few years ago briefly considered becoming a Democrat hardly sends a thrill up the legs of most conservatives, as Chris Matthews might say.
Palin helped close the critical enthusiasm gap. That’s huge.
Just ask John Kerry. One of the reasons the Boston Bore lost in 2004, besides the “I voted for it before I voted against it” line and all those Swift Boat ads, was the enthusiasm gap.
George W. Bush, in 2004, was a conservative rock star.
It hardly seems plausible now with his toxic 28 percent approval rating, but in 2004 he motivated evangelicals and conservative Republicans to the polls.
The crowds that gathered to see him speak buzzed with excitement, and grew larger as the campaign wore on. They couldn’t wait to cast a vote for him.
Kerry voters, on the other hand, just wanted to vote against Bush.
The “Anybody but Bush” crowd groused about the president at the office water cooler, but no one really liked Kerry.
Motivation counts when it comes to getting out the vote.
Up until this past week, another enthusiasm gap was growing. Obama filled Invesco Field with more than 80,000 followers. McCain kept his convention at the 18,000-seat Xcel Center for a reason. Empty seats were almost as prevalent as protesters the first two nights of the RNC.
Conventions, at their core, are political pep rallies meant to energize the party faithful in the arena so they go forth and spread the word.
Palin provided that spark.
The more experienced candidates — such as Mitt Romney and Kay Bailey Hutchison — who McCain could have picked wouldn’t have ignited the same firestorm.
But where does Palin go from here? Well, she goes hunting.
Expect to see her popping up in rural areas of Ohio and Iowa — two states Bush won in 2004 and that McCain desperately needs — and in areas like Pennsylvania, where Hillary Clinton won over “working class” voters.
When she was tabbed as VP, many, myself included, figured it was a cheap attempt to lure some of Hillary Clinton’s 18 million glass ceiling shards, and that it was a colossal miscalculation at that.
But if she can woo over some of those folks in rural areas who, as Obama said, cling to religion and guns — and who only became Hillary Clinton fans because she wasn’t Obama — she could help expand the electoral map in McCain’s favor.
I’m not sure McCain even knew what he was getting when he tabbed Palin as his running mate, and whether he meant to deftly play the “culture” card.
But what looked to be a troubling pick last week could end up being just the sort of change McCain needs.
Editorial page editor Dan Haley can be reached at dhaley@denverpost.com.
