Service with a smile

Two hours, 39 minutes.

That's how long it takes a commercial aircraft to fly from Washington, D.C., home of President George Bush and characterized last night as a swamp of politics as usual, to St. Paul, Minn., where the Republicans are gathering. Probably, it takes Air Force One even less time to get there.

Yet. using the rescinding threat of Hurricane Gustav as a reason, the highly unpopular president - with a 28 percent approval rating with the general electorate and perhaps even lower with the presumptive Republican candidate - stayed at the White House Tuesday night. Instead, he offered an eight-minute speech - eight, count 'em, eight minutes - to honor McCain. It was solid support. But his wife, who was in attendance, seemed more genuine in her enthusiasm. Bush and McCain are two men who do not share much affection. Since McCain all but secured the nomination, Bush has appeared for one 20-second photo op with the senator on a tarmac.

Unfortunately for the Republicans, Bush was off the air two minutes after the three old networks began airing their one hour of convention coverage. During those eight minutes, Bush used broad strokes to paint John McCain as the original maverick and to tar any opponents as malcontents.

"If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain's resolve, you can be sure the angry left never will," Bush said.

That was one of the undercurrents of the evening's themes. The Republicans are happy people. The Democrats? Uhmm, not so much.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has five children like presumptive vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, as well as 23 foster children, characterized the convention's host state as "friendly happy people" enticing some viewers to break out into the similarly named REM song. "We have a lot of liberals in Minnesota," Bachmann said of the state that produced Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, "but they're happy liberals." Other liberals? Not so happy, as subsequent speakers stressed throughout the evening.

Conventions are about telling stories, selling candidates and messages as products that are palatable to American voters. Tuesday's story was about John McCain as a war hero, a maverick with a tough independent streak.

Having lost Monday to the storm,  speakers repeatedly spoke of putting the country first but, by doing so, politicized Gustav as much as Democrats have used Katrina to their favor. It's hard to be humble, and true humanitarians, if you're always calling attention to personal sacrifice and good works.

Still, the convention organizers and McCain's brain trust were inspired in scrapping the original schedule. Out went keynote speaker Rudy Giuliani, a former opponent on the campaign trail, who doesn't know McCain that well. Also out: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, claiming that state budget battles kept him from attending. The evening resembled a society dinner party where former foes beg off using reasonable excuses when they know they're not wanted. To be fair, Giuliani is expected to speak Wednesday night.

Instead, the convention called upon independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, a close McCain ally, and former Sen. Fred Thompson to create vivid portraits of the nominee. This was the evening for the convention to reclaim its mission.

Thompson, giving the best speech of the evening, turns out to be as good on script as he proved poor off during his dismal run for the White House. There's a reason why the man has earned far more money acting than he ever did in politics. Finally, at 10 p.m. EDT, someone took to the podium to inspire the listless crowd that had been abandoned on Monday and had to wade through moving, but poorly executed speeches by an endless parade of everyday heroes. The Republicans, who have branded Barack Obama as the "biggest celebrity in the world," took pains to free their stage of any of them.  The performers, speakers and faces in the crowd (except for the arrival of Poppa and Bar Bush, and a brief glimpse of Jon Voight) were not notables, which stressed the theme but made for less than memorable oratory.

The night's biggest applause was reserved, unsurprisingly, for Ronald Reagan. Every time his name was mentioned, or image shown, the crowd cheered, far more than for the frequent references to Abraham Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt. Is history what we learn, or only what we remember?

As a fellow naval pilot and war hero, George H.W. Bush received a gracious welcome when he entered the Xcel Energy Center. His story and photographs were intertwined with those of McCain's past. It was a fitting tribute, though the utter silence on Bush's son was chilling. It was as if he had been erased from the record.

The Republicans are trying to have it both ways. They're trying to run against Washington, D.C., which has been governed by a powerful Republican president for eight years. It's somewhat ironic to have a senator and former senator belittle Washington when their candidate has served in the U.S. Senate for 20 years. Lieberman, who has served just as long, loses credibility when he rallies against the place that brought him to the podium.

"America First" is the convention theme. If Democrats played on voters' fears for their wallets and health insurance, Republicans returned to the threats from foreign countries. McCain's unparalleled military history feeds this story. As Thompson put it "a character tested like no other candidate in the history of our country."

Images returned of Sept. 11. Chances are Tuesday won't represent the last of them. Both parties capitalize on fear while peddling hope, independence, change and other beautiful buzz words. In the end, they're both selling leaders who, they claim, will protect voters from powerful forces that can potentially destroy whatever peace, prosperity and health they currently enjoy.

A few minutes after midnight, early Wednesday, the schedule had yet to be produced for tonight, which will introduce Sarah Palin to the faithful and the nation. The script is constantly being rewritten in this most unusual of conventions.