Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Giuliani, McCain Fire Up Delegates
Mike Coffman, a Colorado delegate and the state treasurer, said both men captured the antiterrorism theme well, but Giuliani won the evening.
NEW YORK (AP) - They cheered Vietnam war hero John McCain on the first night of the Republican National Convention. But they screamed their lungs out for Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who guided his city through unspeakable horrors and restored its mental health.
Giuliani clearly had home field advantage, delegates said. He spoke just four miles from Ground Zero. He painted a gruesome picture of witnessing "the flames of hell" on Sept. 11. He touched raw emotions in a crowd craving to cheer President Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism.
"When you think of Giuliani you think of New York City," said Nicolee Ambrose, a delegate from Baltimore. "He lived it and breathed it."
Delegates mentioned other contrasts between McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, and Giuliani - two potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in four years.
Some said they haven't forgiven McCain for his bitter primary fight against Bush four years ago. Others were critical of the McCain-sponsored overhaul of campaign finance laws.
"Giuliani defines a person who took charge in very difficult times," said June Rentmeester, a Richardson, Texas, delegate who joined her state colleagues in wearing denim cowboy shirts.
"McCain, after he lost the primary, showed this bitterness. He was a sore loser in my estimation. When he should have supported Bush, he was still sitting around and complaining."
There was little difference in the message of the two opening-night headliners.
Giuliani recalled the day the president stood atop a pile of rubble at Ground Zero and promised to avenge the attacks. Bush was like Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill in staying with his convictions, the ex-mayor said. "Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership."
McCain told the crowd, "We need a leader with the experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with them." Bush provided that leadership at home and abroad, he said, calling the invasion of Iraq "necessary, achievable and noble."
"We're in New York and he was mayor Sept. 11," Coffman said. "He's just more relevant to the delegates."
They were "both great," said delegate Bill Hranac of Aberdeen, Wash. "But when Giuliani's on a roll, he's really on a roll."
Mike Coffman, a Colorado delegate and the state treasurer, said both men captured the antiterrorism theme well, but Giuliani won the evening.
NEW YORK (AP) - They cheered Vietnam war hero John McCain on the first night of the Republican National Convention. But they screamed their lungs out for Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who guided his city through unspeakable horrors and restored its mental health.
Giuliani clearly had home field advantage, delegates said. He spoke just four miles from Ground Zero. He painted a gruesome picture of witnessing "the flames of hell" on Sept. 11. He touched raw emotions in a crowd craving to cheer President Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism.
"When you think of Giuliani you think of New York City," said Nicolee Ambrose, a delegate from Baltimore. "He lived it and breathed it."
Delegates mentioned other contrasts between McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, and Giuliani - two potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in four years.
Some said they haven't forgiven McCain for his bitter primary fight against Bush four years ago. Others were critical of the McCain-sponsored overhaul of campaign finance laws.
"Giuliani defines a person who took charge in very difficult times," said June Rentmeester, a Richardson, Texas, delegate who joined her state colleagues in wearing denim cowboy shirts.
"McCain, after he lost the primary, showed this bitterness. He was a sore loser in my estimation. When he should have supported Bush, he was still sitting around and complaining."
There was little difference in the message of the two opening-night headliners.
Giuliani recalled the day the president stood atop a pile of rubble at Ground Zero and promised to avenge the attacks. Bush was like Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill in staying with his convictions, the ex-mayor said. "Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership."
McCain told the crowd, "We need a leader with the experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with them." Bush provided that leadership at home and abroad, he said, calling the invasion of Iraq "necessary, achievable and noble."
"We're in New York and he was mayor Sept. 11," Coffman said. "He's just more relevant to the delegates."
They were "both great," said delegate Bill Hranac of Aberdeen, Wash. "But when Giuliani's on a roll, he's really on a roll."
