When it comes to Democratic conventions , the party tends to look for keynote speakers who have a vision for the nation’s future — Barack Obama, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, and Mario Cuomo come to mind.
Republicans seem to prefer a different tack. Four years ago, the party picked Zell Miller for the gig. Eight years ago, the party didn’t have a keynote address at all. And this year, the Republican convention is going with Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani was close to McCain before they faced off in the GOP primary and, after his disappointing third-place finish in Florida, the former New York mayor quickly threw his support to McCain.
Since then he’s been a frequent surrogate for McCain but has received no mention as a veep prospect. The keynote slot offers Giuliani, who is said to be considering a New York gubernatorial run in 2010, a high-profile opportunity to reestablish himself and tout McCain’s national security credentials.
It’s been a while, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Giuliani ran one of the more embarrassing presidential campaigns in recent memory and lost every contest in which he competed, usually by enormous margins. He invested millions and ended up without a single delegate.
The rationale behind giving Giuliani this high-profile slot is … well
, I’m not quite sure what the rationale is. Maybe the McCain gang decided they haven’t heard “9/11” and “stay on offense” quite enough.
Just to provide some additional context
, though, Jonathan Stein raises an interesting point: “John Edwards cheated on his wife. The media found out about it. John Edwards will not be attending the Democratic convention. Rudy Giuliani used public funds to cheat on his wife and used city agencies to cover his tracks. The media found out about it. Rudy Giuliani will be delivering the keynote at the Republican convention.”
It is odd. Spitzer and Edwards get caught having affairs
, and their careers are finished in Democratic politics. Giuliani and Gingrich get caught having affairs, and they remain high-profile Republicans in good standing. Hmm.