A lot has been said and written about the West Virginia presidential nominating convention good, bad, and ugly. Some expressed pleasant surprise, others complete dismay. Thanks ought to go out to the team that made it happen. They received a thankless assignment and achieved their goals. They made money, got the state party some attention, and made the West Virginia GOP a real factor on the most important primary day. Beneath the big picture some sore feelings emerged, but at this point it looks as though reconciliation is likely.
The big question no one asked is why did John McCain do so poorly in West Virginia? Those who did not attend might reason that the more evangelical candidate, Mike Huckabee, had the inside track in a heavily Protestant state. Not true. The power of public speaking played a large role here.
Some performed well. Mitt Romney gave a flawless delivery both at his morning breakfast with supporters and later on the floor. He gave a great speech that few Republicans could possibly disagree. Romney has a strong presence in person and one can understand why his supporters back him with such passion.
Others did not. Ron Paul gave a somewhat rambling address. Just when he made a strong point about values that libertarians and Republicans share, he would haul out an extremist comment or historical errors. Historical errors are forgivable. Romney claimed that John Adams wrote the Constitution when Adams was actually serving abroad. That's fine because Romney did not base his policy plans on those errors. Paul asserted that Congress passed laws forbidding "entangling alliances." That actually came from Washington's Farewell Address and many historians believe that he only meant that for the temporary period in which the US would be vulnerable to foreign intrigues. Paul then blundered by forgetting that the United States Navy, not privateers, defeated the Barbary Pirates. His reference to being a Baptist seemed forced.
McCain's guest speaker, former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer, looked like a great singer who kept hitting false notes. He seemed congenial and had I been a Louisianan I would have enjoyed his speech. Roemer proclaimed that LSU was the greatest college football team in the nation and implied that he'd rather have been in New Orleans than Charleston. Later he made a small joke about Presbyterians while mentioning the different denominations that helped Hurricane Katrina victims. In doing so he omitted the West Virginia National Guard who played a very important role. A delegate behind me asked if he was trying to get people to vote against McCain.
Mike Huckabee spoke extremely well. Coming from a poor small town background in an impoverished mountain state, he knew how to speak to West Virginia Republicans. Contrary to Democrat claims, many current West Virginia GOPers came from poor and difficult backgrounds. Huckabee joked about Lava soap, a product often used to get dirt or grease off the hands. He claimed that it was not until he was about twenty that he understood that a shower was not supposed to hurt. Huckabee was warm and endearing and swayed many delegates to at least see him as a vice presidential possibility.
In many ways the convention proved a success. For me personally it was a fascinating experience. As a student of the history of politics, this was a rare opportunity to witness how our candidates were chosen before the era of primaries. Hopefully the hard feelings that emerged during the convention will pass quickly so we can get to the business of getting our state behind the next president
