The Importance of Being Earnest

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Lady Bracknell: "My nephew, you seem to be displaying signs of triviality."

  Jack: "On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I've now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest."

Oscar Wilde
from "The Importance of Being Earnest"

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At the Republican convention tonight, all eyes will be on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

But Alan Silverleib says, at CNN, that, while Palin's performance is important, it represents only one of four things John McCain needs to accomplish before the delegates leave St. Paul at the end of the week.

1. "[R]eintroduce the public to war hero John McCain."
   
   If one is running for president as a supporter of the Iraq War, as McCain is, he probably can't over-emphasize his experiences in Vietnam.
   
   Being war zone veterans didn't help John Kerry, Al Gore, Bob Dole or the first President Bush in their campaigns against foes who did not serve in combat.
   
   But, in 2008, the country could be more receptive to the story of McCain in the Hanoi Hilton, refusing early release in spite of his broken arms and being subjected to repeated beatings for five more years — even if it's a story people have heard many times before.
   
   George W. Bush helped get the ball rolling in his speech via satellite on Tuesday, reminding viewers of McCain's military service.
   
   And, when voters are evaluating the candidates, McCain can legitimately claim to have the perspective on war that a fondly remembered Republican president, Dwight Eisnhower, also had: "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
   
   However ...


2. "McCain needs to make it clear that his first term will not be Bush's third term."
   
   That's a crucial selling point in a year that doesn't favor the Republicans. In his speech last night, Bush made it clear that McCain will buck his party from time to time, and McCain will need to reassure voters that he is definitely his own man.
   
   That includes charting a course that will differ from the one Bush has followed for nearly eight years.
   
   McCain has frequently criticized the path Bush has followed in Iraq — but seldom has he criticized the direction.
   
   It will be up to McCain to indicate just how radically different he proposes to be.


3. "[T]he McCain campaign can't afford to bungle Palin's rollout. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Just ask Dan Quayle."
   
   The Palin candidacy has taken some knocks in the last few days. And, yes, her lack of experience does put a dent in the effectiveness of McCain's argument about Obama's lack of experience.
   
   Silverleib is correct in asserting that McCain must "put the best possible spin on these issues and instead ensure that voters see Palin as a fresh, energetic voice of change."
   
   Palin's speech tonight can either help or hinder that effort.


4. And the "final item on McCain's convention agenda: attack."
   
   Palin's inexperience may have undermined the argument against Obama, but that remains an issue McCain has to keep on the table. The election is about the presidential candidates. The running mates are important, if only because no one ever knows what is going to happen after a president takes office.
   
   But the voters will choose, as they always do, between the nominees for president. That choice is between Obama and McCain, not Palin and Biden.
   
   "It's up to McCain to convince enough voters that Obama is too liberal, too inexperienced and too risky to sit in the Oval Office," Silverleib says. "McCain needs to use the convention to chip away at the public's largely positive image of the Democratic nominee. It will be awkward to do so right after asking Americans to put aside partisanship in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.
   
   "Getting all of these things done in three short days won't be easy. But if you're a Republican in this election cycle, nothing ever is."