Sorry for the delay with all the traveling, but I have a new piece on the homepage about John McCain’s speech last night. After an amazing campaign — talk about an “improbable journey” — McCain is finally the leader of the Republican party:

Except that he can barely bring himself to say its name. In his acceptance address, McCain used the word “Republican” all of three times: once to describe vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s ability to work with both Republicans and Democrats, once to make the point that corruption exists in both parties, and once to lay special blame on Republicans who “gave in to the temptations of corruption.” McCain also stayed completely away from the word “conservative.”
All that stands in stark contrast to the rhetoric McCain used to win the Republican nomination. “I am a proud, reliable, consistent conservative Republican,” he declared at a GOP debate in Florida last October. “I stand on my record [as] a conservative.” At many other appearances throughout the primary race, McCain said much the same thing.
The shift is no surprise. With the Republican party out of public favor these days, everyone knew McCain would use the convention to emphasize his bipartisan credentials. But the striking thing about McCain’s speech at Xcel Center was the consistency of his conservative message and Republican principles. Speaking to the delegates, and to the national television audience, McCain delivered a solidly conservative Republican message, just without the R-word. He was the opposite of a Republican In Name Only; in St. Paul Thursday night, John McCain was a Republican in everything but name.