Under the Bush shadow

Republicans do not have an easy sell. They would like to present themselves as fighting against the Washington political establishment, yet they are nominating a senator who has spent 26 years of his life in the highest echelons of the US capital. A Republican president has been in control of the White House for the last eight years and until 2006, they had dominated Congress for a long time. That was probably why Senator John McCain stressed that he was a "maverick" who could bring about change even if it required being at odds with his own party.

McCain's acceptance speech, as compared to that of his vice presidential pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and many other key speakers, was more inclusive, respectful and calm. He wanted to portray the image of a statesman who puts the nation and people first, rather than his or his party's narrow interests. The dirty part of the job would be done by Palin. She combines a mom image with a masculine-female one (hockey mom), and hence effectively appeals to the relatively unexcited Republican conservative and nationalist base. Palin's convention speech was full of nasty swings at the Democratic ticket.

The reactions in the audience revealed a lot about the leanings of the Republican base. They looked more excited with bitter-tongued speakers like Palin and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Many of them seemed clearly bored during most of McCain's presentation.

One of the biggest rounds of applause came after following Giuliani remark: "For four days in Denver, the Democrats were afraid to use the words 'Islamic terrorism.' I imagine they believe it is politically incorrect to say it. I think they believe it will insult someone. Please tell me, who are they insulting if they say 'Islamic terrorism'? They are insulting terrorists." By this token, most Muslims in the world fall into the terrorist category in the eyes of Republicans!

Palin was cheered when she claimed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was "worried that someone won't read them their rights" while al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America. That was an implicit endorsement of grave human rights abuses (including torture) in places like Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

I don't know about McCain, but it looks like many prominent leaders in his party still see the world through black-and-white cultural lenses and an us-versus-them minimalism. That was the mother of all mistakes Republicans made during the Bush tenure. And if McCain's maverick credentials do not surface in this case, the US and the world might suffer four more years due to this mentality. That's clearly what President Bush still wants: "We live in a dangerous world," Bush said in his video message to the Republican convention. "And we need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain."

In an increasingly globalized and diverse world and US, the formations of Republican and Democratic crowds demonstrated stark contrasts. Republicans looked wealthier, Democrats more earthy. Non-whites were perhaps overrepresented in the Democratic convention, whereas whites overwhelmingly dominated the Republican convention. That's reflected in both parties' White House picks as well. The Republican ticket includes two WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestant); the Democratic ticket, none (Obama is black, his running mate, Joe Biden, is a Catholic.)

McCain, a Vietnam war hero, looks like a courageous man. His lines criticizing his own party Thursday night were indicative of his courage. Straight talk against Democratic opponents is obviously more enthusiastically endorsed by the Republican core constituency. But that was an attempt to reach out to reformers in his party, conservative-leaning Democrats and independents. His lines regarding how he values peace and would like to refrain from wars as a former victim of war were meant to serve the same purpose. We'll see if it's going to work on Nov. 4.