John McCain tried to unify his party with his prime time acceptance speech. “We’re going to fix Washington,” McCain said. “We’ve got a record that proves just that.”

Most delegates seemed pleased with his talk but not everyone was buying it. “I don’t believe there will be any change between McCain and Bush,” said Washington State delegate Stephen Hardy, a college student and small business owner. He said Bush campaigned in 2000 on “Republican ideals of a humble foreign policy, sound monetary policy, and getting back to the Constitution,” but never lived up to them while in office. “I don’t see what McCain champions regarding the Republican ideals.”

Hardy was wearing a “Goldwater ’64” button alongside a “The Old Right—Good Ideas Never Die” button. He’s a Ron Paul supporter and like dozens of other delegates, he had managed to find time to attend Paul’s counter-event in Minneapolis held at the same time as the RNC.

He said Sarah Palin is “an excellent choice” for Vice President, due to her stance on the Constitution. Ron Paul supporters “don’t think John McCain shares those values and that’s why we supported Ron Paul.”

I asked Hardy if he was disappointed about how little civil liberties were discussed during the RNC. “I think civil liberties were addressed, unfortunately,” he told me. “When Sarah Palin in her address talked about how unfortunate it was that Senator Obama was concerned about criminals being read their rights, I wondered why this crowd of 15,000 people cheered with abundant applause at the death of habeas corpus.”

Maverick 2.0

Day Two of the RNC

Day One of the RNC

RNC Security at All Costs