Allow me a quick shallow moment: what is up with the music the Republicans used in all of the video presentations last night? I sure hope they didn’t pay that “composer” much because I could have come up with better notes and I’m  tone deaf.

The Republican festivities in St. Paul started in full throttle last night. Things were a bit slow at first and there were odd moments. Like what is up with the video background that kept putting up pictures of John McCain when people were on stage speechifying?  And was it me or did the hall look empty?

Ahhh, but Fred Thompson earned his cash last night. The actor who had a quick dip in the Republican primary (columnist George Will wondered why) revved the crowd up last night with a dramatic retelling of John McCain’s biography and a full throttled defense of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. To hear Thompson tell it folk who don’t like Palin have issues and are part of the liberal elite.

Expect the Alaskan governor to jump on the liberal elite media bashing memos tonight in her acceptance speech. Nothing gets the Republican faithful more excited than intellectual bombs against those two perceived enemies.