Unity: It’s Not Just for Democrats

By Karin Caifa in St. Paul, MN

The Democrats and Republicans came into these back-to-back conventions with the same, obvious goal: to make their nominations for president of the United States. But the Democrats’ Denver confab last week was branded with another purpose: shoring up support from disappointed Hillary Clinton supporters. The word “unity” was ubiquitous all week. It was the concept that drove the week’s storyline, ratcheting up primetime drama as political observers prepared for a possible knock-down, drag-out battle that never really materialized.

For the GOP here in St. Paul, “unity” is just as essential to their White House ambitions. The Republicans didn’t have the epic primary season that the Democrats did, but there was still a fair share of reconciliation to be done here on the floor. One year ago, settling upon a GOP nominee did not seem like a clear-cut decision. Some of the men who spoke on stage in favor of John McCain, battled against him in the primaries, including Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Sam Brownback.  And even though McCain emerged the winner in March, some Republican voters remained unconvinced– and uncommitted.

The glue that unified the GOP came just days before their convention was to begin.  McCain picked little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, and intense media scrutiny followed, rallying the party. “I’d like to thank the elite media for doing something that, quite frankly I wasn’t sure could be done,” former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said. “And that’s unifying the Republican party and all of America in support of Senator McCain and Governor Palin.”

The Palin pick did wonders in reaching out to Christian conservatives previously tepid to McCain’s candidacy. After the Alaska governor spoke on Wednesday night, evangelical leader Pat Robertson, the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network couldn’t curb his enthusiasm. “All of a sudden people who were lukewarm for McCain are red-hot for the ticket,” he gushed. “This shows who he wants, the kind of person he wants with him, and someone who shares his values. We weren’t quite sure what his values were, but now he’s saying loud and clear, this is what I want. And we’re delighted.”

The Republican Party is likely delighted for the support as well. The party leaves St. Paul more energized than anyone may have anticipated before last week, and, some believe, better-equipped to keep the presidential race close in the last two months before Election Day.

Karin Caifa is a political producer with CNN who contributes to this blog via CNN’s Running Mates.

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Tags: cnn, democrat, hillary clinton, john mccain, karin caifa, ksat, mitt romney, presidential campaign, republican, rudy giuliani, sam brownback, san antonio, sarah palin

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