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NPR's Ron Elving talks with KSMU's Missy Shelton about Senator John McCain's decision to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate. He also tells us what to expect tonight from the Republican National Convention.
Shelton: This evening, delegates at the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota will hear from a variety of speakers. KSMU will carry live coverage from NPR beginning at 7 tonight. Earlier today, I spoke with NPR's Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving about what we can expect to be this evening's highpoint.
Elving: The high point, of course, will be the appearance of Sarah Palin, the party's choice for Vice President and she will be the subject actually of a role call vote later on in the evening after her speech. But there's not suspense about that as there is no suspense about John McCain's nomination, which will be by acclamation. And the great suspense of course, is about Sarah Palin herself. This is a woman that a week ago, most Americans had not heard of, a week ago people may have, if they were really following the vice presidential sweepstakes closely, they may have seen her name on a list at some point or another. But she was never on anyone's short list except apparently John McCain's short list.
Shelton: Sarah Palin wasn't widely known before last Friday's announcement...how are the party faithful feeling about her now? Are they embracing her or is there still a question mark as to who Sarah Palin really is?
Elving: You know, in a sense, there's a little bit of both. I think they are not entirely comfortable with the choice, but I also think that they're embracing her, and as enthusiastically as you could witness an embrace. You really can't overstate the degree to which this convention is excited about the idea of Sarah Palin. They have never really been this particular group of Republicans, the kind of people who are activist enough to be delegates to the National Convention. Even though their state may have given its delegate count to John McCain, the rules in many states are such that, in the Republican Party, that the winner of a particular states primary gets all the delegates. So, even if the true feelings of many of the delegates might have preferred another candidate, say, Mitt Romney for example or Fred Thompson, all of the delegates are officially pledged to John McCain. Their hearts might be some place slightly different and that is showing I think in just the first hours of the convention that we've had and really only last night was a true session of the convention. We've already seen that the audience lights up and gets excited more about Sarah Palin really than about John McCain. I think they see her as more of a soul mate, that is the activist element of the Republican Party, particularly those motivated by social issues and particularly those who associate their Republicanism very closely with the evangelical Christian faith.
Shelton: We've heard some things in recent days about Sarah Palin...her teenage daughter is pregnant, some questions about the dismissal of a state official in Alaska. Are delegates at the convention uncomfortable about any of these revelations?
Elving: I don't know that everyone who is showing enthusiasm is entirely comfortable with everything they've heard about Sarah Palin. I doubt that you could choose a governor of any state, of any size and find a personality where absolutely everything they've done would be not only above reproach, but unlikely to give anyone discomfort.
Shelton: Ron, you've covered many political conventions. Is there a sense that this convention is historic because there's a female vice presidential candidate and I'm wondering how the enthusiasm for Sarah Palin compares to what you've seen at other conventions?
Elving: Yes, I do that that's what makes it historic. I do think that some of the enthusiasm that I saw at the first convention where a woman was nominated, San Francisco 1984 on the Democratic side Walter Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro, and that was the breakthrough. There was tremendous enthusiasm for her at that convention and I think that the same is true at St. Paul right now, where you have a good deal of genuine enthusiasm and largely that is coming from the presence of a woman on the ticket, Sarah Palin.
Shelton: Ron, thank you so much.
Elving: My pleasure Missy, fun to talk to you.
Shelton: I've been speaking with NPR's Senior Washington Editor, Ron Elving about what we can expect tonight from the Republican National Convention. I'm Missy Shelton for KSMU News.
