When Republican delegate Cyndi Mosteller was asked why Joe Lieberman was speaking at the Republican Convention, she answered, “€œBecause he understands the importance of 9/11. This is a big-tent party.”€ But apparently the tent wasn”€™t large enough for Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, whose counter-convention in Minneapolis drew upwards of 12,000 supporters who listened to a day’s worth of speeches on reducing the size of government, returning to the Constitution, and brining the Republican Party back to its conservative roots. Paul, who received more votes in the Republican primaries than convention speakers Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, had to organize his own event because due to his opposition to the Iraq war, the GOP would not even let him in through the door at his own party’s convention. 

In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine John McCain picking a better running mate than Sarah Palin, as the small-town, straight-shootin”€™, outside-the-Beltway mother of five has not only become the life of his party, but has been successful in making everyone forget that Republican leaders could care less about any of the conservative values she represents.

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