For Tony Oberley, the best part of next week’s Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, the part that will make him feel like he is witnessing tradition in action, is the roll call. One by one, representatives will step forward to pronounce each state’s choice for the party’s presidential nominee.

“It’s part of our country. It’s part of our democracy,” said Oberley, of Windham, who witnessed a roll call four years ago as an alternative delegate to the 2004 convention. “To be a part of that made me feel honored to represent Maine.”

Oberley, one of 18 alternative delegates from Maine who will attend the convention, said the Republican bash is coming at a time when the party is on the rebound. Just a short time ago, with the war in Iraq, rising fuel prices and a general dislike of the Bush administration casting a pall over Republicans everywhere, the party faithful thought Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., might cruise into office.

Now, even after two months of steady media coverage focused on the Obama campaign, presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., finds himself in a virtual dead heat with his Democratic rival. Party morale, said Oberley, is on the rise.

“It’s better than it was a couple of weeks ago,” said Oberley. “We were a little worried about McCain’s chances. It’s just a bad environment for a Republican.”

Oberley, 48, a self-described “moderate conservative,” originally backed Rudy Guiliani in the race for the Republican nomination, but switched to McCain when the former New York City mayor dropped out.

McCain, said Oberly, is respected by a wide spectrum of voters for his reputation for not always following the party line. In order to win the general election in November, Oberley said, the Arizona senator will have steal some Democrats at the ballot.

“He’s got to continue to appeal to all voters, and not appeal just to conservatives only or Republicans only,” he said.

In that case, Oberley said, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., a former Democrat who was that party’s vice presidential nominee in 2000, should be named McCain’s running mate. A liberal who often votes with Republicans on issues of national security and the war in Iraq, Lieberman strikes voters as a politician who can think on his own, Oberley said.

“He’s independent and kind of a maverick,” said Oberley. “I think it would be continuing in the same sense as McCain.”

From Oberley’s point of view, Obama made a strategic error in selecting Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as his vice presidential nominee. Biden is a Washington insider, having won six terms in the Senate, and his presence on the ticket does not mesh with Obama’s campaign slogan, he said.

“That kind of goes against the message of change,” said Oberley.

A longtime political junkie, Oberley will be attending his third national convention. In 2000, while living in South Carolina, he was a delegate for the Reform Party, where conservative commentator and author Pat Buchanan was nominated that year.

After switching states-and parties-in 2001, Oberley came to Maine looking to get more involved in grassroots party politics.

“I just started locally, helping out at events, and I got more involved as I went along,” said Oberley, who especially likes to work on voter registration drives. “I’ll register voters for any party,” he said. “It’s important for people to participate and vote.”

That love for the political process led him to apply for an alternative delegate position at the state Republican convention in 2004. After rubbing elbows with senators, authors, media members and celebrities in New York City, he was hooked, and jumped at the chance to go to the convention again this year.

Convention nights, he said, feature the speeches widely covered on the major networks. During the daytime, Oberley will attend forums on issues like healthcare and education while also pitching in on a community service project of some kind.

Oberley’s presence, like that of thousands of other party supporters, is necessary to build momentum for the November election. The entire political world will be centered on Minneapolis, and party leaders have been stressing to convention attendees that they use the attention generated by the convention to send out in unison the same message, namely, McCain for President.

“We had conference calls and meetings with them saying, ‘It’s important to stay unified. It’s important to stay together,'” he said.

Tony Oberley of Windham, shown here at a rally for John McCain, is attending next week’s Republican National Convention in Minneapolis as an alternative delegate.