Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton is introduced, Monday morning August 25, 2008, at the New York delegate breakfast, at the Sheraton Hotel, Denver. Clinton was the keynote speaker. (AP Photo/Rocky Mountain News, Ken Papaleo)

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Four days, hundreds of speakers, thousands of delegates, endless pontificating and one hurricane looming large from afar. So much that is memorable from the Republican National Convention, so much that is forgettable. Five AP reporters help sort it all out, by identifying in their humble opinions some of the week's best and worst: speakers, odds, moments, and more.

APPRECIATE AND BEHAVE

To the Democrats and Republicans, Class of 2008: Fair warning. This will sound, and possibly is, naive.

In the past two weeks, you have experienced the best of times: nominating your candidate and positioning him to lead the land you love. Amid the political maneuverings, don't forget one thing: This process we undergo is exciting. Zimbabwe doesn't have it. Myanmar doesn't have it. We do. It's easy, in the rhetoric of the age, to lose sight of how fortunate we are to be able to shout rather than shoot.

Which brings us to the worst of times. We Americans consider ourselves civil, even as we often prove to each other that we aren't. This notion is not bipartisan; it's nonpartisan. Bobby Kennedy, a good Democrat, believed deeply in being gracious; so did Ronald Reagan, a good Republican.

Our desire for a strong, safe, kind nation unites us. How we get there is up for debate. But obnoxiousness, menace and pandering to the darker angels of our nature are and this is a carefully chosen word un-American. This means you, Democrats. And this means you, Republicans.

Be enthusiastic. Fight hard for your candidate, but fight honorably. Don't let your juvenile tendencies get the better of you.

We have unlimited potential. This is a chance for change, and an open road lies ahead. Don't risk it all on petty little drag races.

Naive? In the America both sides insist they want, not one bit.

By Ted Anthony

OVERLOOKED ORATORY

The best overshadowed speech: Rudy Giuliani, ad libbing his way through a slicing speech that mocked Obama, praised John McCain and revved up the crowd for McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin. It was vintage Rudy.

What made the speech remarkable is that Giuliani found the right pitch for delegates at the Republican National Convention, a crowd that does not make up his traditional base of support.

Basking in their cheers, the cocksure former mayor of New York was hyperbolic and sassy as he celebrated fellow former mayor Palin (she of tiny Wasilla). A proud New Yorker with a taste for big-city life, Giuliani had the sauciness to declare: "I'm sorry that Barack Obama feels that her hometown isn't cosmopolitan enough. I'm sorry, Barack, that it's not flashy enough. Maybe they cling to religion there."

Audacious indeed. But the crowd loved it. Then Palin went on to wow them even more.

By Jim Kuhnhenn.

UNDERWHELMING ORATORY

Worst prime-time speech: Mitt Romney's.

His robotic delivery and the quality of the speechwriting lines like "Republicans prefer straight talk to politically correct talk!" made his speech fall flat even before a sympathetic GOP crowd.

By Andrew Taylor

OSCAR MOMENTS

Most surreal moment: Sen. Joe Lieberman gets Republican delegates to applaud Bill Clinton.

Best surprise: Convention-goers pick up the chant, "Drill, baby, drill!" much to the confusion of Rudy Giuliani.

Worst state slogan: "Minnesota nice." Everyone knows that's just another way of saying it's not cute.

Most dubious campaign promise: Mitt Romney predicting the sun will rise in the West, thanks to the clout of Arizona and Alaska. Take that, Maine.

Best insult to the media: Mike Huckabee calls its coverage of Sarah Palin's family "tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert."

Best pre-convention assignment: Shooting footage of mountain scenes and palm trees to play on the screen behind convention speakers.

Worst pre-convention assignment: Shooting footage of a parking lot to run behind Mike Huckabee.

Best way to discard a governor's unnecessary jet: Sell it on eBay. (As Palin did.)

Best way to fight a convention cold: Attend a protest. Tear gas clears you right up.

By Kathryn Grim, Medill News Service

WORST ODDS

Sorry, John.

From a historical standpoint, the odds have been cruel to Arizonans who sought the presidency.

Four Arizona politicians, including John McCain in 2000, have run for the nation's top office and all lost.

Republican icon Sen. Barry Goldwater lost in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Three others Democratic Rep. Morris Udall in 1976, former Democratic Gov. Bruce Babbitt in 1988 and McCain in 2000 never survived primary season.

The losing streak inspired a quip, frequently attributed to Udall and repeated over the years by McCain, that Arizona may be the only state where mothers don't tell their children they can someday grow up to be president.

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl pointed out those odds to Republican delegates Wednesday night.

"It's time to break that string and elect an Arizonan," he said.

By Jacques Billeaud

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