Major themes at last night’s session:
Experience
And I’m optimistic about something else: When the debates have ended, and all the ads have run, and it is time to vote, Americans will look closely at the judgment, the experience, and the policies of the candidates — and they will cast their ballots for the McCain-Palin ticket.
Sen. Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But eloquence is no substitute for a record – not in these tough times. In the Senate he has not reached across party lines to get anything significant done, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party.
— Former Democrat candidate for vice president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman
Here’s another inspiring statistic. When my husband took office, fewer than 50,000 Africans suffering from AIDS were receiving the medicine they needed to survive. Thanks to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, that number is now nearly two million. You might call that “change you can really believe in.”
Reform
The Washington bureaucrats and power brokers can’t build a pen strong enough to hold these two mavericks [Gov. Sarah Palin and McCain].
— Former Democrat candidate for vice president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman
Last year, John McCain’s independence and character helped change history. The Democrats had taken control of Congress and were threatening to cut off funds for our troops. In the face of calls for retreat, I ordered a surge of forces into Iraq. Many in Congress said it had no chance of working. Yet one Senator above all had faith in our troops and the importance of their mission — and that was John McCain. Some told him that his early and consistent call for more troops would put his presidential campaign at risk. He told them he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. That is the kind of courage and vision we need in our next commander-in-chief.
Let’s be clear … the selection of Gov. Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment. Sound like anyone else we know?
— Former presidential candidate and former Sen. Fred Thompson
Economy
We do so while taking a different view of our country than that of the other party. Listening to them you’d think that we were in the middle of a great depression; that we are down, disrespected and incapable of prevailing against challenges facing us.
— Former presidential candidate and former Sen. Fred Thompson
Tonight we are being called upon to do what is right for our country. Tonight we are being called upon to stand up for a strong military … a mature foreign policy … a free and growing economy and for the values that bind us together and keep our nation free. Tonight, we are being called upon to step up and stand up with John just as he has stood up for our country.
— Former presidential candidate and former Sen. Fred Thompson
We’re dangerously dependent on foreign oil, while radical jihadists lurk in the shadows, seeking our destruction. At this time of anxiety, Americans are looking for solutions. But when they look at the Democratic Congress, they see politicians more interested in taking care of themselves.
— House Republican Leader John Boehner
Character
I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.
— Former Democrat candidate for vice president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman
Because John McCain stood up, our country is better off.
— Former presidential candidate and former Sen. Fred Thompson
What you can expect from John McCain as president is precisely what he has done this week: which is to put country first. That is the code by which he has lived his entire life, and that is the code he will carry with him into the White House.
— Former Democrat candidate for vice president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman
Service isn’t a political trait – though some Presidential nominees certainly know more about service than others. As Republicans, we recognize that service is an innately personal characteristic.
— U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann
Women
I’m proud that America’s first female Vice President will be a Republican woman. Women have always played an important role in our party, from energizing grassroots to driving policy. Thank you to the dedicated women in
our audience for making the Republican Party so strong. I am proud that impressive women have served in my husband’s administration — women like Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Military Career
From the day of his commissioning, John McCain was a respected naval officer who made decisions on which the lives of others depended. As an elected public servant, he earned the respect of colleagues in both parties as a man to follow when there’s a tough call to make.
Now, being a POW certainly doesn’t qualify anyone to be president. But it does reveal character. This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders. Strength. Courage. Humility. Wisdom. Duty. Honor.
— Former presidential candidate and former Sen. Fred Thompson
Deborah Creighton Skinner is the editorial director of BlackEnterprise.com.