I had thought it was a virtual certainty that this was going to be a huge success. And it was for the people in this hall, who are deliriously happy, but looking at this dispassionately, the evening failed in a few key ways.

First, the speakers leading up to Palin were supposed to show how the Republicans would achieve prosperity. They didn’t. Giuliani had one perfunctory paragraph on the economy and, as usual, he just seemed too mean. The Republicans should hope that most people tuned in just for Palin.

Palin did show herself to be a skilled politician and leader. She revealed wit, composure, and a good speech delivery. Most important, in the section on energy, she delivered substance. You had sense that she would help us solve our energy crisis. Her explication of McCain’s personal courage was as good any we’ve seen. In many ways, her speech was just spectacular. It didn’t entirely wipe out the question of experience, but it went pretty far, and certainly gave energy to the ticket..

But her speech, too, was dripping with contempt. Obama and McCain had gone out of their way to praise McCain as a person and criticize their policies. Palin and Giuliani went out of their way to ridicule their opponents. They cast Obama as utterly worthless, gave not even a perfunctory recognition of what he’s achieved. It was highly effective ridicule, to be sure, but just too much for my taste. If they’d deleted about half the barbs, the speech would have been perfect. Instead, the overriding tone was mockery.

Of course Democrats would be foolish to complain about it being too nasty. That’d make them look whiny and weak. I just wonder whether the Republicans will thrive by being strong on ridicule and short on economic substance. The target for this convention was undecided and independents. Do those voters really yearn for this tone? They’ll certainly come away thinking McCain is a hero and Palin a sharp up-and-comer, but will they really come away thinking this is the ticket that will improve their lives?