2008 Republican National Convention


The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popular Minnesota State Fair, though because of Hurricane Gustav, this day was mostly a call for action to help victims and formal, required activities; most of the politicking and partying did not start until Tuesday, the second scheduled day.
This was the latest any major party convention has ever been convened, and the first one to take place entirely in September. Traditionally, the party who holds the White House has the opportunity to select the date of its convention second, and normally the challenging party holds their convention in July while the incumbent party holds its convention in August. This year, later dates were chosen for both conventions because the parties wanted to schedule their conventions after the 2008 Summer Olympics ended.
President George W. Bush did not attend the convention, in order to oversee relief efforts to help citizens recover from Hurricane Gustav. The attending delegates at the convention nominated Senator John McCain from Arizona for president and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska for vice president. 1,191 pledged delegates were necessary for candidates to win the respective nominations.

Speakers

Monday, September 1, 2008

  • Scheduled speeches by U.S. president George W. Bush, U.S. vice president Dick Cheney and U.S. senator Joe Lieberman were canceled because of Hurricane Gustav. An abbreviated meeting was scheduled for late afternoon to conduct business required under party rules. The remainder of the convention schedule was determined day by day depending on the nature of the storm.
  • Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
  • Cindy McCain, wife of Presidential nominee John McCain

    Tuesday, September 2, 2008

  • George W. Bush, President of the United States. Because of the events of Hurricane Gustav, Bush did not attend the convention, and delivered his remarks to the delegates by satellite. Bush honored McCain's courage and his maverick reputation, and said that McCain is ready to lead.
  • Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States. The First Lady touted McCain's experience and credentials, while talking about her and her husband's achievements in the White House. She introduced President Bush who appeared by satellite.
  • Joe Lieberman, Independent Democrat U.S. Senator from Connecticut. Lieberman, who ran for Vice President with Democratic Party Presidential nominee, Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, praised McCain and argued that Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, was not ready to be president.
  • Fred Thompson, former U.S. senator from Tennessee. Thompson attacked perceived liberal-media bias, branded Democrats as elitists, and praised McCain's vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin.
  • Norm Coleman, U.S. Senator from Minnesota
  • John Boehner, U.S. House of Representative Minority Leader from Ohio

    Wednesday, September 3, 2008

  • Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, New York. Giuliani questioned Obama's judgment and overall experience. He said, "John has been tested. Barack Obama has not. Tough times require strong leadership, and this is no time for on-the-job training." He also said that Obama and Democrats "are in a state of denial" about the threat of terrorism to the U.S., while McCain can confront and defeat "anything that terrorists do to us". He further said that Obama is without a record of leadership: "He's the least-experienced candidate for President of the United States in at least the last 100 years." The former Mayor praised Palin as "one of the most successful governors in America—and the most popular... She already has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket."
  • Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential nominee. In Palin's speech, she portrayed herself as a reformer and a fighter for change. She introduced her family and described her life in Alaska, saying she is just "an average hockey mom," while commenting on her recent negative publicity: "Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country." She defended her relative lack of political experience and criticized Obama. Her speech was well received by the convention delegates and media commentators.
  • Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas. While he commended Obama for clinching his party's nomination, Huckabee said that Obama lacks experience and judgment, especially in foreign policy. He said, "I don't believe his preparation or his plans will lift America up."
  • Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts. Romney commented on Obama's campaign message of change, saying, "We need change all right. Change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington. We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington—throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain." Romney said that Obama "ducked and dodged" when asked about terrorism and Islamic extremism.
  • Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader. McConnell performed the Adoption and Announcement of Vice-Presidential nominee Palin.
  • Norm Coleman, U.S. Senator from Minnesota
  • Linda Lingle, Governor of Hawaii
  • Carly Fiorina, former chair and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard
  • Meg Whitman, former president and chief executive officer of eBay
  • Anne F. Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne's

    Thursday, September 4, 2008

  • John McCain, United States Senator from Arizona and 2008 Republican nominee for President of the United States. In his speech, McCain culminated the Republican convention by accepting his party's nomination for President of the United States. He was introduced by a video tribute.
  • Cindy McCain, wife of John McCain. Before appearing on stage, a video tribute honoring Cindy McCain was shown to the delegates. She then appeared and introduced the seven McCain children. McCain portrayed her husband as a "straight talker" and a father who, by example, has passed his love of his country onto his children. She avoided criticizing Democratic nominee Barack Obama, rather she praised her husband, saying, "He has shown the value of self-sacrifice by daily example and, above all John showers us with the unconditional love and support every family dreams of. I know what his children say of him. And his courageous service to America in war and peace leaves no doubt what our forefathers would make of him." She also showed her support for vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, all before her husband took the stage.
  • Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota
  • Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania
  • Sam Brownback, United States senator from Kansas
  • Bill Frist, former United states Senate majority leader
  • Mel Martinez, United States senator from Florida
  • John Ensign, United States senator from Nevada
  • Lindsey Graham, United States senator from South Carolina
  • Tom Cole, United States representative from Oklahoma
  • Mary Fallin, United States representative from Oklahoma
  • Marsha Blackburn, United States representative from Tennessee
  • Aaron Schock, 27-year-old Illinois state representative; nominee for U.S. House of Representatives
  • Rosario Marin, former treasurer of the United States
  • Carol A. Mutter, retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general

    Hosting city selection

Four cities made bids to the Republican National Committee for proposals to host the 2008 Convention. Those cities were Cleveland, Ohio; Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; New York City, New York; and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida. The RNC Selection Committee made its recommendation for Minneapolis-Saint Paul and on September 27, 2006, the RNC made its decision public that the 2008 Republican National Convention would be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The RNC made their decision earlier than originally scheduled because the Democratic National Committee also had Minneapolis-Saint Paul as a finalist among bidding cities. This is the second time the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area held the Republican National Convention—the first was held in 1892.

Scheduling

With the landfall of Hurricane Gustav on the U.S. Gulf Coast, the White House canceled the planned appearances of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas skipped the convention to remain in their states during the hurricane's landfall. The Monday, September 1, 2008, schedule was compressed to two hours from seven. McCain called on the party to reduce partisan activities ahead of the hurricane's arrival. The Republican Party chartered a DC-9 to fly convention delegates representing the affected areas back home to their families. The last time a major hurricane struck in a Presidential-election year was Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which hit South Florida four days after the Republican Convention in Houston, Texas.
On March 26, 2008, the NFL and NBC agreed to move the kickoff time of a September 4 season-opening football game to 7:00 p.m. EDT instead of 8:30 p.m. EDT to accommodate the convention. The game ended relatively on time, at 10:01 p.m. EDT, with NBC Sports handing off to NBC News within moments of the end of the game. According to Nielsen Media Research, 38.9 million Americans watched McCain deliver his acceptance speech—a half million more than tuned in to see Obama the previous week.