Rep. Jim Leach, a Republican, stands up for America in Denver and endorses Barack Obama

BE-ELECTED
by Chad Rubel

Yes, Ted Kennedy gave an inspiring, marvelous speech. And Michelle Obama's speech showed us that if there was a debate this year among the potential First Ladies, she would kick Cindy McCain around the table.

But the speech I found most intriguing was a soft spoken, 9-minute commentary by former Rep. Jim Leach -- a Republican.

Rep. Leach served in the House from 1977-2007, mostly notably as the chairman for the Banking and Financial Services Committee.

To illustrate the contrast between Leach and his fellow Republicans, this about the 2006 race from Wikipedia: "his refusal to allow Republican Party activists to distribute an anti-gay mailing. When Leach told the Republican National Committee that he would leave the Republican caucus if they proceeded with such divisive tactics, social conservatives were offended and refused to back him."

But last night wasn't a Zell Miller moment, and won't likely be anything like Joe Lieberman's RNC speech next week. Leach looked uncomfortable being in front of Democrats. He ended up praising George H.W. Bush twice without actually saying the name "Bush." He didn't apologize for his party, and didn't talk about leaving it either. But clearly, Leach was not happy with the current direction of his long-time home.

Even someone who used to work for Leach thought he did a good job, no matter how awkward it might have been to see his former boss address Democrats.

Though I can't say I agree with every word in his speech, it should be replayed for school children who are learning about how government should work.

"The American progressive tradition reflected in these debates spans Democratic standard bearers from the prairie populist William Jennings Bryan to the Camelot statesman, John F. Kennedy. It includes Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt, who built up the National Parks system and broke down corporate monopolies, and Dwight David Eisenhower, who ran on a pledge to end a war in Korea, brought a stop to European colonial intervention in the Middle East, quietly integrated the Washington, D.C., school system and not so quietly sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock to squash segregation in public schools throughout the country."

"In Congress, Democratic senators like Pat Moynihan and Mike Mansfield served in Republican administrations. On the Republican side, Arthur Vandenberg helped President Truman launch the Marshall Plan, and Everett Dirksen backed Lyndon Johnson's landmark civil rights legislation."

The DNC could have had Lincoln Chaffee, the former Republican Senator from Rhode Island, also speak for Obama last night. Chaffee is a more dynamic speaker than Leach, but Leach has 30 years of credibility, and unlike Chaffee, still is a Republican.

Now I can understand that this makes some progressives nervous. Why are Jim Leach, Lincoln Chaffee, and other Republicans supporting Barack Obama? You can't tell for sure, but I got the impression that these people would not stand where they do if Hillary Clinton or John Edwards was the Democratic presidential nominee. These people have taken a chance because they believe Obama represents the leadership they feel will make this country more cooperative and better overall.

We've seen Democrats compromise (i.e., cave in) with Republicans in the past so many times, our necks hurt from the whiplash. But Jim Leach has strong credibility. It's no surprise that Iowa turns out politicians that get it since Iowa is one of the few states that proportions Congressional districts in a non-partisan manner. Congressional districts in Iowa have lots of people from both parties, so working together is a more valuable skill than in most Congressional districts.

We haven't seen that many speeches mention FDR, Eisenhower, Al Gore, and Ronald Reagan lately, except from perhaps Barack Obama. Leach's speech was a throwback to the days when civility was a part of the process, where politicians might have had different solutions to solve problems but were at least trying to solve those problems.

We talk about electing more progressive Democrats to Congress, but we also need to think about steering away some of those Republican seats for people such as Tom DeLay and guiding them to people such as Jim Leach.

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