Giuliani To Be Keynote Speaker At Republican National Convention
CBS News by Brian Montopoli
Former New York City mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani will be the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday, September 1st. His Tuesday night address will follow primetime speeches from Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who are seen as two of the most likely candidates to become John McCain’s running mate, were not granted primetime speaking slots. Romney is currently slated to speak on Wednesday, Sept 3rd, while Pawlenty is scheduled to join Charlie Crist, Sam Brownback and Mel Martinez to address the convention on Thursday, Sept. 4th, before McCain’s convention-closing address.
I guess I should have entitled this - Good News For Us - since a lot of our members are unaware that it is tradition that the VP give his or her acceptance speech on the third night… this is yet another hint that Romney will be the Vice - Presidential nominee.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I think that this is a great sign for Romney and VP, because it seems that there is very little room for him on the schedule otherwise.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Ann Marie, I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed!
I’m glad Huckabee wasn’t granted the KEYNOTE speaking honor like his Army was insisting upon. He’s got a prime time slot with the wonderful Sarah Palin, so all should be pretty happy with that.
As Romney has been admonishing - time for Republicans to come together.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/romney-jindal-to-speak-on-vp-night-at-gop-convention-2008-08-20.html
“On Wednesday, the night on which the vice presidential nominee is expected to speak, Romney and Jindal will lead the lineup.”
August 20th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
List of RNC Speakers Offers Clues to McCain’s VP Pick:
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/20/list-of-rnc-speakers-offers-clues-to-mccains-vp-pick/
August 20th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I hope Romney is the guy, otherwise I will be a little “put out” that Suckabee was given a “prime-time” spot and Romney was not.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
For Mitt to not get a prime time slot is an outrage. Mitt did so much better in the primaries than both Giuliani and Huckabee combined. If Mitt is not the VP pick and he’s still not scheduled for a non-prime time spot; we will finally know what McCain thinks of Romneys’ tireless effort to elect him president.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Sean Hannity just had pollsters from Zogby and Rasmussen on his radio show. Both of them, along with Hannity, agreed that they think Mitt will be the pick!
August 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I won’t vote for McCain unless Romney is on the ticket. I can’t help it, I decided that I won’t vote against a candidate but for a set of principles and ideals. McCain embodies none of those I hold true and dear. I will be forced to vote 3rd party, maybe Libertarian or Constitution if Mitt isn’t the running mate.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
If Mitt is not the VP pick, and he is actually given this slot, it will finally confirm to me what I have known all along: McCain is a weasel.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Meg Whitman of eBay fame–and an old friend, Bain collegue, and supporter of Romney–is also on the lineup Wednesday night. It seems like they have, in her, a good lead-in to the VP speaker, who is hopefully our favorite governor. I can think of no better way to introduce Romney to a broader audience, than to have someone who knows Mitt well, to make the introduction…
Just reading the tea leaves…
August 20th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Don’t get your hopes up about Romney. The buzz I’ve been hearing is that it will be Pawlenty, Ridge, or Lieberman.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
During the recent Civic Forum at Saddleback, the times McCain got the biggest applause was when he delivered lines that MR would have been comfortable delivering.
I hope the talk about a possible Democratic or pro abort candidate were just trial balloons.
Judging from the public reaction, I think those options have been taken off the table.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Leslie, of those you listed, no way it will be Ridge or Lieberman….both would squash a big social conservative turnout for McCain.
So really it is either Pawlenty or Romney.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Eric - I’m in the same boat. Not voting McCain unless Romney is on the ticket. I was thinking about Constitution Party for that contingency too, until I learned that Chuck Baldwin endorsed Huckabee for the GOP race, so that brought my Constitution Party plan to a screeching halt. And I disagree with the Libertarians on a lot of issues, so I think my only choice now if Romney is not VP is to write Romney in.
And to the others - yes, I agree that if they didn’t give Romney a prime-time slot and he’s not the VP, then yeah, that’s really low.
But looking at all the info available, if I had to bet money on it, it really looks like Romney’s the Veep. Which would be awesome. We’d have a great commander-in-chief combined with a superb economist and social conservative.
Here’s something ironic… when my friend first told me over a year ago that Romney was running for President, I said, “oh, he must want to be VP, maybe McCain’s VP or something”. Until I learned more about Gov Romney I doubted his ability to become president, but then as the primaries pressed on I realized he was the best choice by far… his Faith in America speech sealed the deal for me, and I brought many friends and family to the same realization. I think this VP thing is great and I think many Americans over the next several years will go through what I did… the slow realization of what a great American and leader Gov Romney truly is, while also being comforted having a true American hero (Sen McCain) as our commander-in-chief.
I voted for McCain back in 2000 primaries, but the illegal immigration things and several other issues Sen McCain did that were not exactly conservative give me enough reason to not support him without Romney on ballott. I really like Sen McCain and he is undoubetedly one of the greatest Americans of our time, but if I have to see Romney on the ticket to beleive that conservatism is here to stay in the GOP and under a McCain administration for the next 4 years.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I was encouraged by the comments from Rasmussen and Zoogby on the Sean Hannity radio show as JA noted. They also said that Romney would be the best pick for McCain.
What a feeling it will be if MR is picked.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Well, good news if Mitt is the pick. Otherwise that’s a shame, I liked Rudy’s speech at the 2004 convention and was looking forward to watching him again, but not if I’m risking watching the Huckster embarrass himself and the GOP in prime time that night. If Mitt’s not the pick and Huck got a better speaking spot, that’s yet another rhetorical poke in the eye to conservatives.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Are you sure he doesn’t have a prime time spot? I am going to go check that out at the GOP website. I just can’t believe they wouldn’t give him a prime time spot. That would be so low after all the work he has put into fund raising alone.
What a feeling it would be indeed. I am still very cautious about this though. I just don’t trust McCain fully yet.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:02 am
Okay…we have to take a deep breath. This is the line up as of now. Remember that August 29th will be the day we know the VP pick.
August 29th is the VP announcement.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:28 am
Pawlenty, who?
August 21st, 2008 at 4:56 am
It’s just got to be Romney.I went to freeandstrongamerica and left best wishes from comMITTed to Romney, said we would work our butts off for McCain/ Romney ticket. Word of mouth, e-mails, phone banks, signs, etc. whatever it takes. Maybe as indivduals we could go there and leave a message. Anyone have a better e-mail address for the Romney’s? Hang in, it’s almost time to celebrate!!!!!!!!!!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:05 am
Paulee & Mike, you can also e-mail to info@mittromney.com
and his mailing address is: P.O. Box 79226 Belmont, MA 02479