Projo Politics Blog

There does lie ahead the matter of a general election to win.

But during the afterglow of Sarah Palin's lavishly praised speech last night, some of the veteran pols in Rhode Island's Republican delegation allowed themselves -- first, a communal wave of relief and then some sunny forecasts of what is to come in November and beyond.

National Committeeman Rob Manning sat in the power boxes high above the stage with big shots, including Republican National Chairman Mike Duncan and rows of the nation's GOP governors.

Was there trepidation in the air as the party elders awaited Paley's big test?

"Big time,'' Manning said. "Big time. The sense of tension was palpable.'' Once Palin broke the ice and got her pacing down, "people were very happy.''

"There were a lot of very big smiles,'' he said, naming no names. "Everbody was enormously impressed with her and with her ability to handle this huge increase in intensity and focus,'' as compared to the kind of scrutiny Palin faces as a small state governor.

"She demonstrated that her experience base was a lot deeper than people thought,'' Manning said.

This morning, as he led the local delegation's administrative meeting in their hotel, Manning's optimism remained high. One of his closing announcements began this way: "When we win, if you're interested in going to the Inauguration, these are the people you will have to talk to.''

Other Rhode Island delegates shared Manning's assessment of Palin. "I am so glad he chose this woman,'' House Minority Whip Nick Gorham, a John McCain delegate who represents Foster, Glocester and Cumberland said last night in the Xcel Energy Center. "The reason why this place was so charged up was that everybody was wondering. They were like me. They really wanted to see: Can she deliver?''

And the verdict? "I think she hit the ball out of the park.''

Gorham was another party insider who owned up to some moments of high anxiety between presidential candidate McCain's announcement of his selection of a running mate last Friday and Palin's performance last night. "No question. She was not a risk-free choice. She's someone who was relatively unknown. But the more you learned about her, the more you liked her,'' he said -- notwithstanding the swirl of controversies that followed Palin and her family into the public eye.

"And this,'' he said with a nod to the stage, "this was a great speech.''

Gorham, who backed the Arizona senator against Texas Gov. George W. Bush eight years ago, said Palin's performance did more than launch her as a formidable member of the ticket; it also vindicated McCain's roll of the dice.

"McCain really came back to be the true McCain that we knew in 2000. He went outside all the expectations and chose somebody different,'' Gorham said.

As a leader of Rhode Island's permanent minority, he said he could relate to Palin's account of how she became governor and "took on the old politics-as-usual in Juneau.'' Gorham said Palin's experience "really resonates with me.''

Palin made Rhode Island National Committeewoman Carol Mumford "proud to be a Republican tonight,'' she said. Speaking of the appeal of this presidential ticket -- a pairing that could scarcely have been imagined a year ago, Mumford said, "We made the right choice, both with McCain and with Sarah Palin.''

If she needs to learn on the job she seeks, Palin "will be standing elbow-to-elbow with the master, John McCain. Eight years from now you'll see the next President of the United States, Sarah Palin,'' said Mumford.

"The Republicans will be able to do what the Democrats could not, and that's putting a woman in the White House.''

 Tags  Gorham Manning McCain Mumford Palin Republican Convention

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