Unconventional candidates

The Republicans are gathering in Minneapolis-St. Paul to nominate for president a candidate who by any conventional political wisdom shouldn't be there.And at John McCain's side will be a most unconventional pick as his running mate: Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor, a mother of five and a former sportswriter whose favorite food after snowmobiling is moose stew.McCain's presidential hopes were thought to have crested in 2000 when he lost a bitter South Carolina primary to George W. Bush. Right after the 2004 election, the man being touted by insiders as the GOP's next candidate was Virginia Sen. George Allen, his principal selling point before the president's approval ratings cratered, being that he seemed very much in the mold of George Bush.Allen flamed out in his re-election bid and that left the Republican field wide open, seemingly to everybody but McCain. Just 14 months ago, the adjective widely used to describe his campaign was "dead."But through dogged persistence and the missteps of his adversaries, McCain survived and will triumph to take the honors at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center. He is stiff in his set speeches but immensely effective in smaller groups. He comes across as authentic, perhaps because he is, his reversal on several key issues notwithstanding.While in many ways his voting record is conventionally Republican -- around 90 percent of the time with President Bush -- in other ways seldom has a nominee been so at odds with key points of party dogma.The GOP differs with its candidate on immigration, campaign finance, cap-and-trade pollution emissions credits and federal funding for stem-cell research. The platform tried to paper over these differences, sometimes opting for silence, Even though both McCain and Bush support it, there is no mention of a guest-worker program. Although Iraq is receding as a front-burner issue, some Republicans undoubtedly wish McCain weren't so hawkish on the war.Although McCain presents himself as a mainstream Republican, some openly wonder whether he would continue to act like one in the White House. He is, after all, known as a maverick.Despite the baggage of the Bush presidency and voter disenchantment with congressional Republicans, and putting aside the issues, McCain has one great advantage in this campaign: He is a known quantity, a reassuringly familiar face. Barack Obama is not.