rnc rough schedule released

A loose schedule for the Republican National convention has been released. While there are no shockers, it looks like an exciting week.

Monday- Day of the Un-Wanteds

-- U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.)
-- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Calif.)
-- Vice President Richard B. Cheney
-- First Lady Laura Bush
-- President George W. Bush

If I didn't know any better, I'd say they attempted to load Monday with the people they don't want to brag about. bush and Cheney aren't likely to wrangle up any voters, and the Governator isn't really liked all that well either.

Laura Bush is the only popular one of the bunch. Lieberman is a star in Republican circles and a Judas in Democrat circles (He's a flip-flop version of Chuckie Hagel)

My guess is they assume Monday will have the fewest viewers- it is Labor Day, and it is the farthest from J-Mac's speech. So it became a dumping ground.

Tuesday- The Day of Awesomeness

-- Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
-- Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.)
-- Former Gov. Tom Ridge (Pa.)
-- Gov. Sarah Palin (Alaska)
-- Gov. Jon Huntsman (Utah)
-- Rosario Marin, California Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency and former Treasurer of the United States
-- Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.)
-- Gov. Linda Lingle (Hawaii)
-- Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (Md.)

Tuesday looks really interesting. I've already seen Giuliani, Huckabee, and Thompson- are all decent speakers and vanquished foes of McCain. Governors Huntsman and Lingle both should be interesting. Ridge should be fun to see as well, even if he is a little dry. And honestly, I don't really know much about Rosario

Michael Steele is one of my favorite politicians. I was lucky enough to meet him at the NEGOP convention. He ran an incredibly inventive series of ads during this run for Maryland Senate in 2006- so much so that Pete Ricketts copied them in Nebraska. It's a shame the Free State is hopelessly blue- he'd make a great lawmaker, in any capacity.

But the highlight of the day is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Not gonna lie, I have a massive crush on Governor Palin. Yeah, I'm a dork like that. She is a successful and wildly popular Governor, an awesome speaker, a mother of five, and beautiful to boot. I'm definitely looking to get a picture with her.



I could talk about Sarah Palin for days... but I digress.

Wednesday- Heavy hitters

-- U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.)
-- Meg Whitman, National Co-Chair for McCain 2008 and former President and CEO of eBay
-- Carly Fiorina, Victory '08 Chairman for the Republican National Committee and former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co.
-- Former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.)
-- Mrs. Cindy McCain
-- Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.)
-- Republican Party's Vice Presidential Nominee

Should be a heavy day. Does the fact that Romney is scheduled this day mean it's more likely the Veep will be him? either way, whoever the VP nom is will be the highlight.

Mrs. McCain will be fun to watch, as will Governor Jindal of Louisiana. There has been talk that the GOP may attempt to use the 2008 RNC as a springboard for Jindal, much as the 2004 DNC was for Barack Obama.

Fiorina and Whitman are two of the more intriguing speakers of the week. I recently purchased an Braves alarm clock on eBay and was mailed a Phillies clock instead... maybe Ms. Whitman could help me right this wrong.

Thursday- The Big Day

-- Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.)
-- Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.)
-- U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.)
-- U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.)
-- John McCain

Four heavy hitters then the main man... What I'm really looking forward to is seeing all the balloons drop. According to the (worthless) RNC Frequently Asked Questions section, there will be upwards of 100,000 balloons.

I'll probably base who I vote for on which convention has better balloons.