The GOP A.F.

As in "After Ford." Here's one sign that the GOP has its act down better the Dems: Rather than have a loser ex-president marble-mouth his way through an embarrassing rant against the rival party's head honcho, the GOP dispatched its "tribute" to electoral washout Gerry Ford--a 15-minute chief executive who is best remembered as the proximate cause of Chevy Chase's painkiller addiction--with a two-minute clip reel.

Then again, the GOP just intro'ed George H.W. Bush with a three-minute long instrumental version of Van Halen's "Jump"…

But shh. Ron Silver, intro'ed as "high energy" has taken the podium and in the first substantive speech of the evening, has invoked 9/11 in powerful terms (all quotes approximate): "We will never forget, we will never forgive, we will never excuse." He's gone on to invoke Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower--and to praise Bush as "doing exactly the right thing" in waging the war on terror and occupying Iraq. "And that is why we need this president this time!"

What are the odds he'll work again, other than as a late-night commentator on MSNBC?