The third day of the convention was a truly memorable occasion. The evening was loaded with terrific speeches, lots of thunderous applause and topped off by a home run speech by our next Vice President, Sarah Palin. The floor was packed and you could hardly move in the seats. The aisles were overflowing and it was impossible to get anywhere on the floor. Last night, we heard from Michael Steele, Mike Hukabee, and Mitt Romney before Rudy Guilliani nearly brought the house down with his speech. He got the crowd on its feet multiple times with his lines about our opponents. It was a fantastic speech! In fact, the crowd interrupted his speech with applause so many times that the whips on the floor began encouraging the delegates to sit down because it was causing his speech to run long. They were concerned that Governor Palin’s speech would start too late to get maximum media attention during prime time. Who would have guessed that we would be encouraged NOT to yell and scream during a speech?! We thought we’d seen the best speech of the night from Rudy Guilliani. We were wrong. Soon after Rudy exited the stage, Governor Sarah Palin confidently strode on to the stage, smiling radiantly and waving to the crowd. The place went nuts! I have never been in a crowd that was that excited about anything! The arena was packed and everyone in the place was standing and screaming. It was electric! The delegates broke out into a spontaenous chant of “Sarah, Sarah”! It really was a moving experience. She then delivered a masterful speech in a way that only a “hockey mom” can. She was charming, funny, tough, smart and engaging. She pointed out the obvious differences between John McCain and Barak Obama and described her own unique experience in politics. She introduced her beautiful family, who was seated behind the Virginia Delegation. She delivered several memorable lines, including two that poked fun at Senator Obama’s “experience” as a “community organizer.” She also noted that the opposition often says they are “figthing for Americans”. She then dramatically paused and pointedly said: “Only one man in this election has actually fought for Americans”, obviously alluding to Senator McCain’s military service. She got so many standing ovations I lost count and just about screamed my lungs out, along with every other delegate on the floor. After her speech, she brought her family up on stage and Senator McCain made a surprise appearance asking the crowd: “So, did I make a great selection for our Vice President, or what?” The ticket soaked up the thunderous applause for several minutes, before finally exiting the stage. We found out later that Governor Palin’s teleprompter malfunctioned during the biggest speech of her life but she obviously didn’t miss a beat. She is am amazing candidate. We were then treated to a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner from country superstars, John Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy. John Rich then raised the roof with his new song “Raising McCain”. The roll call vote was next and Senator McCain was officially nominated as the republican candidate for president. Governor Palin and her husband later made an appearance at the bar at the Hilton Hotel and signed autographs and met with Delegates. Unfortuantely for me, I am staying at the Radisson.

Several of us then returned to our hotel and went to a restaurant across the street near the University of Minnesota. We sat in a nice outdoor patio area, where we were briefly verbally accosted by a protestor who screamed at us something unintelligible about Governor Palin’s daughter. We ignored him and he eventually went away. Several students spoke to us about the convention and our experiences in Minnesota. I had a pleasant conversation with a graduate student who was very impressed with Governor Palin. She’s a democrat, but said she was giving McCain a second look, in light of his selection of Governor Palin.

It was a remarkable night and one that I won’t soon forget.

Bryan