-- Part One
of Two
Editor's note. Have a great weekend. Drop any thoughts you may have on
Parts One or Two at
daveandrusko@hotmail.com.
Prior
to last night's acceptance speech by pro-life Sen. John McCain, I'd
called a couple of friends who'd been elbow-deep in covering the
Republican National Convention. Both were utterly exhausted. Not
surprising, for it had been a long week which began with all attention
(understandably) being riveted on Hurricane Gustaf.
How
did all this play out in last night's culmination? According to
preliminary ratings from Nielsen Media Research, McCain's acceptance
speech drew more television viewers than Barack Obama attracted last
week at the Democratic party's national convention. Parenthetically,
pro-life Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's numbers were almost as large as
Obama's even though her speech was broadcast on fewer outlets.
Sen.
McCain's speech lacked the soaring lift off we saw the night before in
the stunning national debut of Gov. Palin, hardly a surprise. But what
struck me--especially as I watched the speech a second time at 12:30 in
the morning--was that while Sen. McCain lacks the charismatic stage
presence of his vice presidential running mate, his remarks were
received with tremendous enthusiasm by the delegates. Why?
In my
judgment it wasn't simply party loyalty. That wouldn't account for all
the standing ovations that interrupted his remarks or the rapt look on
their faces.
The
audience was glued to his words because of who McCain is--a hero and a
patriot whose chances of success a year ago were slim and none--and
because he tapped into a deep vein of idealism that exists not just in
Republicans but all Americans.
Put
those two together--a political comeback story to top all comeback
stories and a call to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country"--and you have someone whose appeal will
grow and grow these last two months.
The
above quote, of course, is from President John F. Kennedy, to whom (for
reasons best known to the media elite) Sen. Barack Obama is often
compared. The truth is that putting country before self is at the very
core of who John McCain is.
What
he did last night was to use his own imprisonment in the Hanoi Hilton to
illustrate a truth none of us is eager to learn first hand: to be, as he
put it, "blessed by misfortune." Surrounded by heroes without whose
"thousand acts of courage, compassion,
and love" he would died a prisoner of war, the experience transformed
the cocky fighter pilot. "I wasn't my own
man anymore," he said, "I was my country's."
As McCain put it, "I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner
in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life
here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice
and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place,
but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again."
Listen
to that speech again, and you, too, may never be the same again. The
words are beautiful, but the music--McCain's love affair with
America--will warm your heart and lift your soul.
