The meeting continued as we were in a strong building. The McCain delegates were obviously nervous and loaded for bear, as they were outnumbered by the Huckabee delegates. They made a motion to adjourn and meet again a month or so later "after McCain would have it all wrapped up". I thought, I just came through a tornado to get here and I'm not driving all the way back again just to do what we came here to do today. Well, the controversy continued. I won't get into details, but some of this had more to do with internal Alabama politics than the convention. When all was said and done, we elected a delegation chairman, Mike Hubbard, the party chairman who was neutral on the candidates. We elected Huckabee delegates to several key committee positions, but also some McCain people were elected for some positions too.
I have to relate one incident (one of several). At one point a McCain delegate said, "Come on, who here thinks Huckabee has any chance? I mean we all know the nominee will be John McCain". Well, that did not sit well with us. I wanted to say, the fat lady may be warming up, but she hasn't sung yet, in fact there may yet be another act to this opera! I seriously thought about standing up and saying : "NUTS". That is what General Mcauliffe said in the battle of the bulge. Well, we don't just give up because the other side is ahead. Let's let all this play out, then we will join forces whoever the nominee happens to be. I was proud of how the Huckabee delegates handled themselves.
One note, I was impressed with Mr. Edgar Weldon. He deftly calmed the nerves and guided the meeting to a successful conclusion. (I was later on to find Mr. Weldon has been a great asset to the party and has vast experience in bringing consensus over the years).
