The Republican Party rolled out its star on Tuesday night - and Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered, with one of the best speeches of the convention so far.  Arnold Schwarzenegger represents the American dream |
He mixed a bit of humour with a little bit of red meat in building the argument for the re-election of George W Bush. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a compelling story. It is the story of the American dream, a story that many around the world understand and a dream that many want to achieve.
Republican strategists must have been very happy with Tuesday night.
They were able to fit both Mr Schwarzenegger and First Lady Laura Bush's speeches into the one hour that the American broadcast television networks give to the party conventions.
Arnie in primetime
And Arnie in primetime made perfect sense from the standpoint that he is the most famous Republican, with the possible exception of Mr Bush himself.
There were some people who probably tuned in Tuesday night just to see Arnie make a speech.
 |  If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does, then you are a Republican  |
They may not really care about politics, and they may not even vote. But they will want to catch Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is not a conventional politician. What other politician could use the phrase "Girly man" in a nationally televised speech?
And he was able to package the Republican Party's message in quite a compelling way.
"If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government, then you are a Republican!" he said.
"If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does, then you are a Republican!" he said.
The big tent
He acknowledged that there might be people watching that may not agree with all of the tenets of the party, but he said that it was what made the country great.
It helped reinforce that big tent that the party has been trying to emphasise since the divisive convention of 1992 when social and religious conservatives were seen by some to have hijacked the party.
The written platform of the party remains solidly conservative, but the moderates have been on display during the convention. Some moderates, such as the gay Log Cabin Republicans, have spoken out against positions against same-sex marriage and gays in the military.
But conservatives have not expressed concern about the moderate speakers at the convention.
Monday night was about the head of George Bush. Tuesday night was about the heart of George Bush.
The speakers on Tuesday talked about what President Bush had done to combat Aids, to reform the education system and to improve the healthcare system.
Earlier in the day, Republican delegates carried out a media stunt by doing compassionate deeds in New York.
The slogan of the night was People of Compassion. That was the message that the party was trying to get out.
One-Minute World News 
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