Who says the evangelical religious are mostly in the Republican Party?

This week’s Democrat National Convention had many exuberant attendees on its opening night, cheering each speaker from the old guard and the newcomers. Few preachers could have done better jobs rousing up the faithful.

America’s “royal family,” the Kennedys, took center stage Monday with Caroline, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, giving a tribute to her uncle and U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

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No matter the baggage that has long followed him, none of that is mentioned at the convention because this audience loves him.

Many within and outside the Democrat Party hold sentimental feelings for Kennedy, especially now that the senator is fighting brain cancer.

The audience was on the edge of its seat as it watched the tribute to Kennedy and whipped into a frenzy when the only survivor of four brothers shuffled on stage at the end of the tribute to give a speech. It was traditional Kennedy, including a call for national health care while trashing his opponents across the aisle.

Then there was the newcomer, Michelle Obama. She was the most anticipated speaker of the night. She took the stage, sounded sincere and gave a powerful speech. Sure she inspired the audience, but she likely impressed many more people who tuned in.

On Tuesday, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner gave the keynote address for the convention. Reports in anticipation of his speech questioned whether Democrats could take his bipartisan message.

The what? After listening to his speech, I’m not sure where the bipartisan part came in. Maybe it was at the end when he said “... the race for the future will be won when old partisanship gives way to new ideas. When we put solutions over stalemates, and when hope replaces fear.”

Was he talking about how both parties cover their ears and spew rhetoric about how awful the other party is?

Maybe, but it is likely that the Democrats in the audience interpreted it to mean that those rascally Republicans need to stop all that hemming and hawing just get on board with them.

Neither party can lay claim to being the least partisan because each tries to block the other’s efforts. For example, when President Bill Clinton tried for years to fill prize federal judge appointments, the Republican-controlled Senate balked, stalled and just put off as many as possible.

When President George W. Bush tried the same, Democrats did the same, even before they were in control because the GOP majority was too slim to avoid a filibuster. Now in control of both House and Senate, after many promises were made to voters about “change,” ending the war and wanting to help middle- and lower-class folks cope with rising fuel and food prices, all we have seen has been fingerpointing and rhetoric about how bad the current administration is. And, as only a strategy for the presidential election, they lumped in U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican candidate, with the Bush administration.

That was the principle message failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gave in her 20-minute sermon Tuesday night. After solidly supporting Barack Obama — something pundits worried she might not do with much vigor — she slashed the GOP for its performance the past eight years and made out that McCain would be a twin of Bush.

It is only strategy, rhetoric.

Former President Bill Clinton takes the stage tonight and will deliver more of the same. He, too, will deliver a sermon to the faithful that will stir up the fire in the Democrat congregation. And as all have been doing for the past two days, he’ll be preaching to the choir.

JEFF ZERINGUE is managing editor of The Daily Iberian. He can be reached at

iberianedit@bellsouth.net.