WASHINGTON-The Democrats had their fun in Denver. Now the Republicans get a week in the spotlight.

The GOP convention kicks off in St. Paul tomorrow and runs through Thursday, when John McCain officially accepts his party’s nomination in a prime-time speech.

Between now and then, there’s plenty worth paying attention to. Here are five things to watch for:

Disunity

Much was made last week of the Democratic party split between supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. McCain, who crafted an image as a maverick for not always toeing the party line, has his own intra-party issues.

McCain and evangelical Christians – a key GOP voting block that helped put President Bush in office twice – have never fully warmed to each other. Though he’s a Christian, religion has never been a big part of his identity and McCain has often seemed uncomfortable talking about his faith.

Since winning the nomination, though, he’s courted key evangelical leaders and reached out more directly to this group. He will likely need a strong turnout from evangelicals to win in the fall, and many will be watching his speech for a sign that he truly cares about their cause. If he fails to make a strong case, some could simply stay home on Election Day.

Who Is That?

McCain surprised pretty much everyone by choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his number two. Much of America – the lower 48 states – will hear her speak for the first time Wednesday night.

McCain has attacked Obama for months as too inexperienced to be president. In choosing Palin, he selected someone who has been a governor for less time than Obama has served in the Senate.

Before that, she was mayor of a town with less than 10,000 people. Besides using the primetime speech to introduce herself to America, Palin will likely make a case for why she is ready to be commander-in-chief should something happen to the 72-year-old McCain.

Out With the Old

President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and First Lady Laura Bush are all slated to speak on Monday night. The Bush administration’s approval ratings are extremely low and Democrats argue a McCain victory would represent a third Bush term. The Bush appearance presents problems for Republicans. While he remains popular with much of his own party, a speech that highlights similarities between McCain and Bush could turn off independents and conservative Democrats.

In With the New

Though she has been on the campaign trail for months, would-be first lady Cindy McCain remains unknown to most voters. She rarely gives interviews and has resisted the spotlight to a greater degree than wives of other presidential nominees.

Her considerable wealth from her family’s beer distribution business has garnered much attention in recent weeks, after her husband revealed he did not know how many houses the couple owned.

Her speech Wednesday gives her an opportunity to define herself and her husband on her own terms. Expect to hear a lot about her charity work and not much about real estate.

Not Just Any Old Joe

The political arc of Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut presents perhaps the most interesting subplot of the convention. He was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000. In 2006, his support of the Iraq war led to his loss in the Democratic primary.
He left the party, ran as an independent and returned to the Senate.

He almost always votes with Democrats. But he’s extremely close to McCain. McCain was strongly considering picking him as vice president, and Lieberman’s campaign appearances help McCain argue that he has support from more than just Republicans. Lieberman is slated to address the convention Monday.

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On the Web, Republicans are offering a live video feed, daily video recaps and speech texts at GOPConvention2008.com. Also visit MGWashington.com for continually updated convention coverage.