I caught up with Jill Buck of Pleasanton at the RNC’s delegate party Sunday night in Minneapolis. She was late but through no fault of her own: The police-escorted shuttles buses for the California delegation went to the wrong convention center.
The delegate party was in downtown Minneapolis; the buses went to the Xcel Center in St. Paul. The two downtowns are about 10 miles apart,
I know how that happens. My college and I believed our credentials were at Xcel but you can’t get into Xcel without your credentials. So, we went to Minneapolis. While we were in Minneapolis, McCain was doing a press conference via a live feed at Xcel.
But Buck wasn’t discouraged. She is one of the most optimistic people I know.
I persuaded her to talk on video for me about her plans to help put together a volunteer effort for Hurricane Gustav.
I landed in Minneapolis Saturday afternoon and within an hour, the Republican National Convention delivered something conventions almost never do: Surprises.
It began at the airport at baggage carousel No. 9 with an all-female barbershop quartet at the airport. (Is that a Minnesota thing? Hey, I love Prairie Home Companion, so I’m not complaining.)
But within an hour of checking into my hotel room near St. Paul at the Sheraton, the entire Republican convention seemed to be in as much peril as the residents living along the Gulf Coast in Hurricane Gustav’s path.
Out of concern for the potential victims of Gustav, expected to hit land on Monday, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney pulled out of Monday night’s speaking schedule. Pundits squabbled on cable TV about whether the Republicans should cancel the whole shebang. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger begged off, citing California’s unresolved budget mess.
No way did Republicans want that split screen showing a balloon drop and big party scene next to people clinging to trees and hanging from rescue helicopters above raging flood waters.
By Sunday afternoon, presumed presidential nominee John McCain held a press conference and announced the GOP would truncate Monday’s floor session and conduct only the bare minimum business. The party, under its rules, must convene on Sept. 1, adopt a platform and elect its officers.
The rest of the convention would be on hold pending Gustav’s impact on the Gulf states, said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.
But by Sunday night, GOP spokesman Hector Barajas told my colleague Mary Anne Ostrom of the Mercury News that he expected McCain to show up Thursday night as scheduled. He told delegates they should plan on staying around all week. The California GOP was changing the tone of its events and renamed its Monday night party into a “reception” where they planned to would raise money for Gustav victims.
Okay. I’ll try to keep up but I’m starting to feel as though I’m in the eye of Hurricane Gustav and can’t tell which way is up.
Even the most scripted political convention planners cannot write the script for Mother Nature.
A massive hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast is creating havoc with plans for Monday’s opening session of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.
President George Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were scheduled to speak Monday but GOP sources say the storm could alter those plans.
Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is unlikely to speak Monday night. He has said he will not come to the convention unless the California Legislature passes a budget and we know how well that’s going. (It’s not.)
A Caliifornia GOP source says the gavel will come down at 7 p.m. as scheduled. But CNN reports the Republicans may transform the evening into a telethon-type benefit for the victims of Hurricane Gustav. No one really knows what will happen. Stay tuned.
“All we know is what we’re hearing in the news,” said McCain delegate Jill Buck of Pleasanton.
The fireworks are over and security is trying to throw the press out of Invesco stadium, unsuccessfully, mind you. We’re a stubborn lot, especially on deadline.
The CNN groupies oogling Cooper Anderson have disbursed. I never knew cable television personalities had groupies.
Obama delivered an impressive speech. He was bold and confident. He was clear and concise.
And he set the tone for the upcoming campaign: Attack McCain’s politics, not his character. It remains to be seen whether the outside groups on both sides of the political aisle will subscribe to it but it is a worthwhile and worthy goal.
I was skeptical about this outdoor stadium idea. The stage seemed too grand with its Greek-like columns and the atmosphere too much like a rock concert. It was still way too long at nearly six hours. I worried that some of the delegates would have trouble sitting in the sun for so long. The fireworks were a little scary, frankly. I like my fireworks a little further afield than inside a stadium with 84,000 people.
But now that it’s over, I liked it. There were many memorable moments, some big and some small but the delegates — and myself — will surely take away a sense that democracy is sometimes worth grand gestures.
Next up, I’m headed to St. Paul for the Republican Convention. I’ve never been to Minnesota so I’m looking forward to seeing a new place and listening to different set of Americans exercise democracy.
Look for my “GOP convention” posts to start Saturday and my coverage next week of the nomination of John McCain and his vice president.
This is what these Democrats have been waiting for, the words of their new presidential nominee as they embark on the next three-month campaign for the White House against Republican John McCain.
Here’s the greeting they gave Obama when he came out on stage at Invesco stadium in Denver.
Obama delegate and Richmond Councilman Tony Thurmond is celebrating his ninth wedding anniversary today.
And where is the happy couple?
The young African-American elected offiical is Inside Invesco stadium with 75,000 people at the Democratic National Convention watching the first man of color nominated as the party’s choice for president of the United States.
Tony says he sent flowers earlier in the week and he and his wife will have a romantic day in Denver on Sunday before they return home to their two young daughters.
Flowers are nice. But diamonds are even better, Tony.
On the same night Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech in Denver, presumed Republican nominee John McCain released a new ad:
All week, Democrats have openly expressed appreciation for McCain’s service to the U.S. as a Marine who spent 5 1/2 years in a Vietnamese prison camp and decades in the Senate while decrying his politics.
Now, McCain is returning the favor.
The television ad is called “Convention Night.” It features McCain offering his congratulations to Obama, the first African-American to be nominated for president by a major political party.
CNN Wolf Blitzer and political commentator, author and super-delegate Donna Brazile are dancing on the CNN portable studio in front of us as Stevie Wonder belted out, “Signed, sealed and delivered.”
Brazile was Al Gore’s campaign manager and he is walking on the stage right now.
He’s got rhythm. Stevie would be proud.
A young woman next to me says, “You won’t see that at the Republican convention, that’s for sure.”
UPDATE: An East Bay delegate, courtesy of the Blackberry, says she saw Michael and Kitty Dukakis and Charlie Gibson rocking out to Sheryl Crow.
Recording artist Sheryl Crowe rocked out Invesco stadium in Denver with “Change will do you good,” a close proximity of Barack Obama’s campaign theme.
I posted a short video below of my view of Crowe from the press stand. I could only see her on the big screen, but she sounded great.
At this moment, former presidential candidate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The crowd loves Richardson; he earned the first round of foot-stomping in the stadium.
