St. Paul Republicans gathering early here in St. Paul are ecstatic about the Palin pick and–not surprisingly–less than blown away by the Obama speech in Denver last night. I talked to some experienced Republican operatives this morning and they shared thoughts on both topics. First, on Obama last night, a senior GOP communications consultant said this:
A GOP operative working at the convention in St. Paul said this: “I guess we now know the kind of ‘change’ he has in mind. He wants to bring about a bunch of liberal, redistributive policies. I don’t think that’s the type of change people want.” Finally, an experienced GOP campaign veteran I talked to worried about younger voter reaction to the speech. “I can see how young people might buy into this whole thing. The hype, the music, the enthusiasm–it’s like nothing they’ve every seen in politics before. The problem is it’s the same old product with just a new salesman. I worry that young voters don’t get that.” Participants here are still digesting the Palin pick, but early reactions are glowing. Here’s a sampling of immediate reactions from folks here in the Xcel Center:
The selection should also sit well with delegates who worried Senator McCain might pick a pro-choice candidate or even a Democrat. Bottom line: The Palin pick is generating a lot of initial enthusiasm in the convention hall right now–passion the McCain camp hopes will build into next week.
