RNC: Republicans Promise Change. Is the party in power running as if it wasn't?

The Republican National Convention recently ended last thursday in Saint Paul, Minnesota, finishing off grandly with a powerful declaration of "Country First" and a clarion call for change. Wait... wasn't that Barack Obama's signature line?

Yes, surprisingly enough, change was one of the main topics during the recent RNC. There, to deafening applause, the Republican Party promised to 'clean up Washington' and 'drain that swamp' in order to achieve 'change, the goal we share'. And while the event sounded like just another political convention, this time the party in question was actually promising change from itself. Personally, I don't know whether to be intrigued or confused: If the party in power seeks change.. why isn't it doing so right now?



Jon Stewarts perhaps said it best when he put forth this question to Republican Mike Huckabee: "I've been hearing so much about change [from the republicans]... do they realize who've been in charge for the most part over the last eight years?". (Watch the video here).

Are the Republicans attempting to use confusion in their favor, or do they simply sincerely believe that they are the best candidates to get the United States out of the same mess that they brought it into? It's hard to say.

Peter Baker from The New York Times also wrote an interesting article about the event two days back. Check it out.

Some excerpts:

PETER BAKER: Party in Power, Running as if it Weren't.

The nominee's friend described him as a "restless reformer who will clean up Washington." His defeated rival described him going to the capital to "drain that swamp." His running mate described their mission as "change, the goal we share." And that was at the incumbent party's convention.

After watching two political conclaves the last two weeks, it would be easy to be confused about which was really the gathering of the opposition. As Senator John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president, he and his supporters sounded the call of insurgents seeking to topple the establishment, even though their party heads the establishment.

...

The effort to position Mr. McCain and the Republicans as the true agents of change benefited this week from his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. Known for taking on her own state party over corruption and wasteful spending, Ms. Palin projects the image of the ultimate Washington outsider, literally from more than 2,800 miles outside the Capital Beltway. And she would be the first woman to serve as vice president.

But as a matter of history, it is easier to run as the opposition party if you actually are the opposition party.

"When the president of the United States is from your own party, to present yourself as a change agent is not the easiest thing to pull off," said Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist. Referring to Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, Mr. Trippi added, "All Obama has to do is say, ‘Bush-McCain, Bush-McCain.' "

...

For "every candidate, regardless of whether they're an incumbent or a challenger," said Sara Taylor, a former White House political director under Mr. Bush, "one of the fundamental missions is how to set themselves up as the change agent, and John McCain is well equipped based on a long record as a maverick to do that."

By the time the convention here was about to get under way, Mr. McCain almost sounded like a speaker at an Obama rally. "I promise you, if you're sick and tired of the way Washington operates, you only need to be patient for a couple of more months," he told supporters in O'Fallon, Mo., on Sunday. "Change is coming! Change is coming! Change is coming!"

He continued the mantra Thursday. "Let me just offer an advance warning to the old big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second crowd," Mr. McCain said. "Change is coming."

Mr Hans is neither a US citizen, nor is he living there. He is, however, baffled by some of the ridiculous things US politicians try to do and even more intrigued that they usually work.

Just remember that Mccain has voted with Bush 95% of the time in 2007 and 100% of the time in 2008. How does that make him a maverick? Change won't come until you vote for it.

Or does he really have a "maverick's record"? I haven't found any real evidence, but if anyone can provide it I would be happy to fight for Mccain's case as well. Thanks!