Well, I'm back here in Ol' Nebraska. If you are still reading, thanks!
I'm two weeks behind on school, broke, and moving in to a new dorm all at the same time. Additionally I'm running for Student Body President at UNO (elections are on September 30 and November 1- vote for me!)so the next month will be the craziest of my life. Those two weeks will not be forgotten.
Here are a couple links that you might enjoy.
A story on me by the Daily Nebraskan- Lincoln's student newspaper. Turned out well. The Gateway may be doing one as well.
Here's an article about some of the group of volunteers I worked with in Denver.
And a link to the Conan O'Brien I almost made. I might be in the background, not sure. My segment is between about 6 and 12 minutes in. Also Christian Lander is on the show... I love his blog.
This story is exactly why we did what we did.
I've had a number of requests to keep the web log going as a political commentary or something along those lines. While this is something I may do in the future, I'm overwhelmed with everything right now and I'm packed through October 1.
Thanks again everyone!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
waiting for the bus at ihop
I head back to Omaha/reality today. I have to be at the Greyhound station early this morning. The 2 to 3 hours of sleep I would get were not worth the risk of oversleeping (I'm a very, very, very hard sleeper) so I decided to stay up and sleep on the bus.
Instead of sitting in my hotel room I went to the IHOP down the street and wrote on the web log.
It's been a great two weeks. I'll probably provide some sort of capstone once I return to Omaha.
Instead of sitting in my hotel room I went to the IHOP down the street and wrote on the web log.
It's been a great two weeks. I'll probably provide some sort of capstone once I return to Omaha.
the last pictures
Up until Thursday, I had gotten as many pictures with pols as I had dog puppets. That changed today. Due to mainly accident I would up in the staging area below the Xcel Center. Because the flow of influential people was incredible, I stayed. I wound up with pics with Governor Mike Huckabee, Senators Olympia Snowe and Bill Frist, and Congressman Peter King, in addition to those mentioned below.
I met Megyn Kelly! She was really nice. On the scale of wonderful women, she ranks just a notch below Sarah Palin.
I saw Katie Couric! This picture is perfect!
I was wandering around the Suite level and all of a sudden the entire cast of Special Report with Brit Hume walked out! I love that show! Yeah, I know, I need to get a life. I got pictures with Brit Hume, Mort Kondracke, and Neal Cavuto. I've been told I look like Cavuto... thoughts?
A beautiful picture of our next Vice President. You'll notice that the stage has been completely redone. It was originally a giant rectangle. Now it's more of a T.
McCain comes out on stage. A nice touch.
I literally reached down and picked up hand fulls of confetti and shoved them in to my pockets. When I went to pay for a cab later that night, wads of confetti fell out, along with my wallet. I wanted to bring balloons home, but keeping them inflated was not feasible. So I popped them.
Amid the confetti were small circular pieces of paper with the RNC logo one side and a picture of J-Mac on the other. Some had John alone, others had John with Cindy, who has an awful perm on her head.
The signs I snagged. There are a lot more people wanting signs than signs- add in the fact that people take as many as they can get their hands on, it makes for a fierce battle. It's common to see people walking up and down the aisles looking for signs.
Don't ask what I had to do to get this sign. The party in question was hosted by the owner of the New York Jets.
I met Megyn Kelly! She was really nice. On the scale of wonderful women, she ranks just a notch below Sarah Palin.
I saw Katie Couric! This picture is perfect!
I was wandering around the Suite level and all of a sudden the entire cast of Special Report with Brit Hume walked out! I love that show! Yeah, I know, I need to get a life. I got pictures with Brit Hume, Mort Kondracke, and Neal Cavuto. I've been told I look like Cavuto... thoughts?
A beautiful picture of our next Vice President. You'll notice that the stage has been completely redone. It was originally a giant rectangle. Now it's more of a T.
McCain comes out on stage. A nice touch.
I literally reached down and picked up hand fulls of confetti and shoved them in to my pockets. When I went to pay for a cab later that night, wads of confetti fell out, along with my wallet. I wanted to bring balloons home, but keeping them inflated was not feasible. So I popped them.
Amid the confetti were small circular pieces of paper with the RNC logo one side and a picture of J-Mac on the other. Some had John alone, others had John with Cindy, who has an awful perm on her head.
The signs I snagged. There are a lot more people wanting signs than signs- add in the fact that people take as many as they can get their hands on, it makes for a fierce battle. It's common to see people walking up and down the aisles looking for signs.
Don't ask what I had to do to get this sign. The party in question was hosted by the owner of the New York Jets.
the balloons fell!
Well, it finally happened.
I arrived at the Xcel Center early enough to get on the floor and wander around before the gestapo... err... volunteer staff kicked everyone out. While down there I made it back to the television section and saw sections of a number of television shows.
Security inside the Xcel Center is really odd. They guard the convention floor as if there were piles of gold bullion hidden among the delegations. Funny story- a volunteer refused floor access to Minnesota Congressman Jim Ramstad, even after admitting he knew Ramstad was his personal Congressman.
But there really isn't any security anywhere else within the Center. I wandered around the Club and Suites levels (home to politicians and big money donors) most days looking for famous people or forgotten signs.
On Thursday after I got down on the floor I accidentally wound up on the backstage area where the politicians and news media entered and exited the arena. There were scads of volunteers and security guards everywhere, but they never once stopped me or anyone else. I'm sure most of the politicians/news media/big money donors would have preferred not to have stupid kids like me in their presence, but no one kicked me out. So I stayed.
Now down to business. Today's schedule was a lot more chaff-free and went much quicker. Sadly, due to the hurricane-imposed tightenings College Republican National Committee Chairman Charlie Smith's speech was cut. Charlie and his Exec. Director Ethan Eilon are great guys who helped provide me with many of the opportunities presented in Denver, and it's a shame young people were almost completely left out of the RNC.
Once the groundwork was set by Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback and others, Cindy McCain gave one of the week's better speeches. She did a solid job setting up her husband.
McCain's speech was really weird, almost anticlimactic. It didn't seem like an acceptance speech, it was more like a State of the Union Address. Early on two or three protesters managed to start yelling something- at the time no one in attendance really knew what was going on, except that everyone started chanted USA.
Something that I thought would come off poorly on television was the backdrop, and judging by what I've seen, this is true. In person, the backdrop looked really cool. For most of the speech it was a scape of an American flag against a perfectly blue sky. On the TV up close shots, it just looked like a blue blob. I don't know why they didn't make sure the area behind McCain's head wasn't so odd looking.
The lasting effect of the week is that Sarah Palin's speech is one that will be remembered for years to come as one of the best ever, and McCain's will get shuffled away in to the folder of very good, but not great.
After the speech was over, the balloons fell and everyone cheered. Also a crap-ton of confetti covered everything. An interesting touch is that in addition to the balloons, a number of star covered beach balls were dropped. They got bounced around for a while, but people quickly scooped them up as souvenirs.
Something I learned for the first time during McCain's speech is that, apparently, he was some sort of POW during the Vietnam War? I haven't really heard much about the whole ordeal. Might have to use the ol' Google on that one.
If you look back to this post "rnc rough schedule released" you'll note that I promised to vote for whichever party had the better balloons at their convention (I also gushed about Sarah Palin- before she was even considered a candidate for VP). Well, Obama and the Dems refrained from balloons entirely. And McCain had an exceptional amount of balloons. So I guess it's sealed, I'm voting McCain/Palin...
I arrived at the Xcel Center early enough to get on the floor and wander around before the gestapo... err... volunteer staff kicked everyone out. While down there I made it back to the television section and saw sections of a number of television shows.
Security inside the Xcel Center is really odd. They guard the convention floor as if there were piles of gold bullion hidden among the delegations. Funny story- a volunteer refused floor access to Minnesota Congressman Jim Ramstad, even after admitting he knew Ramstad was his personal Congressman.
But there really isn't any security anywhere else within the Center. I wandered around the Club and Suites levels (home to politicians and big money donors) most days looking for famous people or forgotten signs.
On Thursday after I got down on the floor I accidentally wound up on the backstage area where the politicians and news media entered and exited the arena. There were scads of volunteers and security guards everywhere, but they never once stopped me or anyone else. I'm sure most of the politicians/news media/big money donors would have preferred not to have stupid kids like me in their presence, but no one kicked me out. So I stayed.
Now down to business. Today's schedule was a lot more chaff-free and went much quicker. Sadly, due to the hurricane-imposed tightenings College Republican National Committee Chairman Charlie Smith's speech was cut. Charlie and his Exec. Director Ethan Eilon are great guys who helped provide me with many of the opportunities presented in Denver, and it's a shame young people were almost completely left out of the RNC.
Once the groundwork was set by Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback and others, Cindy McCain gave one of the week's better speeches. She did a solid job setting up her husband.
McCain's speech was really weird, almost anticlimactic. It didn't seem like an acceptance speech, it was more like a State of the Union Address. Early on two or three protesters managed to start yelling something- at the time no one in attendance really knew what was going on, except that everyone started chanted USA.
Something that I thought would come off poorly on television was the backdrop, and judging by what I've seen, this is true. In person, the backdrop looked really cool. For most of the speech it was a scape of an American flag against a perfectly blue sky. On the TV up close shots, it just looked like a blue blob. I don't know why they didn't make sure the area behind McCain's head wasn't so odd looking.
The lasting effect of the week is that Sarah Palin's speech is one that will be remembered for years to come as one of the best ever, and McCain's will get shuffled away in to the folder of very good, but not great.
After the speech was over, the balloons fell and everyone cheered. Also a crap-ton of confetti covered everything. An interesting touch is that in addition to the balloons, a number of star covered beach balls were dropped. They got bounced around for a while, but people quickly scooped them up as souvenirs.
Something I learned for the first time during McCain's speech is that, apparently, he was some sort of POW during the Vietnam War? I haven't really heard much about the whole ordeal. Might have to use the ol' Google on that one.
If you look back to this post "rnc rough schedule released" you'll note that I promised to vote for whichever party had the better balloons at their convention (I also gushed about Sarah Palin- before she was even considered a candidate for VP). Well, Obama and the Dems refrained from balloons entirely. And McCain had an exceptional amount of balloons. So I guess it's sealed, I'm voting McCain/Palin...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
thank you!
When I first made the decision to attend both conventions, I tried to come up with a way to properly chronicle the journey. I decided to make a web log; I figured the only people that would read it would be my mom, gramma, and maybe a few CR buddies.
Well, I underestimated our reach. The number of people who have complimented me on this web site has astounded me. Those who have professed readership include the vast majority of the Nebraska delegation, Robyn Terry, and a FOX News commentator, just to name a few.
Again, thank you.
Dayton
Well, I underestimated our reach. The number of people who have complimented me on this web site has astounded me. Those who have professed readership include the vast majority of the Nebraska delegation, Robyn Terry, and a FOX News commentator, just to name a few.
Again, thank you.
Dayton
palin-tastic pictures!
Sadly, none of my pictures of Sarah Palin turned out all that well. Sigh. But here are some other good ones.
My chest.
I need to talk about the backdrop of the stage. It is a giant HD television screen, and the background is not a picture, but a slow-motion picture taking place- at one point a boat passed along the New York skyline. Also cool is the fact that the stage is essentially a mirror reflecting the screen.
I met Cowboy Troy! If it weren't fact that he sang the national anthem, I wouldn't have noticed him. Well, he was the only 6'6, African American in a cowboy hat, so I would have noticed him. But I wouldn't have known who he was!
The Nebraska delegation's seating assignment. I really want that sign.
This booth is where all of the VVVIP's (Very, Very, Very Important People) sit- Cindy McCain, Todd Palin, the Palin kids, the kid that got Bristol pregnant, etc...
Me with Triumph the Comic Insult Dog and Robert Smigel!
The contract NBC made me sign because I was in the background of footage that may or may not be used on Late Night with Conan O'Brien! I can't sue them!
Me with Henry Kissinger!
The teleprompter Sarah, Mitt, and company read from and the cameras they look in to.
The McCain/Palin '08 sign built in to the wall.
My chest.
I need to talk about the backdrop of the stage. It is a giant HD television screen, and the background is not a picture, but a slow-motion picture taking place- at one point a boat passed along the New York skyline. Also cool is the fact that the stage is essentially a mirror reflecting the screen.
I met Cowboy Troy! If it weren't fact that he sang the national anthem, I wouldn't have noticed him. Well, he was the only 6'6, African American in a cowboy hat, so I would have noticed him. But I wouldn't have known who he was!
The Nebraska delegation's seating assignment. I really want that sign.
This booth is where all of the VVVIP's (Very, Very, Very Important People) sit- Cindy McCain, Todd Palin, the Palin kids, the kid that got Bristol pregnant, etc...
Me with Triumph the Comic Insult Dog and Robert Smigel!
The contract NBC made me sign because I was in the background of footage that may or may not be used on Late Night with Conan O'Brien! I can't sue them!
Me with Henry Kissinger!
The teleprompter Sarah, Mitt, and company read from and the cameras they look in to.
The McCain/Palin '08 sign built in to the wall.
happy sarah palin day!
Both days of the convention seem to get better as they go along.
Each day the convention starts with a series of fairly meaningless speakers with Norm Coleman sprinkled in here and there. I mean, honestly, who travelled to the Republican National Convention so that they could hear the founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels speak? I mean she was decent, but this is the pinnacle of politics. Can't we get a Congressman or something? I digress.
Meg Whitman was the first major speaker of the day. She was pretty good, although I expected her to somehow tie in with Ssrah Palin selling her plane on eBay. She was followed by Carly Fiorina, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee, all solid.
The highlight of the night outside of the final two speakers was easily Maryland's Michael Steele. I mentioned earlier how I love him and was lucky enough to meet him at the NEGOP Convention. It's a shame he's stuck in liberal Maryland. The chants he started of "Drill, Baby, Drill" were continued during multiple later speakers.
Right before Rudy Giuliani spoke I had the thought that the convention thus far had been shockingly positive. That all changed with America's Mayor. Rudy played the role of pit bull and relentlessly attacked Obama with essentially the greatest hits of attacks on liberals- flip-flopper, anti-America, tax-raiser, et al. It accomplished the intended goal- Rudy is a great speaker.
As I write this, I'm watching a re-run of Sarah Palin's speech on FOX News. She was as truly amazing in person as she was on television. I could go on forever about how incredible the speech was, how enthralled the audience was, how in awe everyone was for hours following, but I won't. All I'll say is that Sarah Palin is the hope of our party: She is not only the present, but the future.
A little thing I noticed in person that I'm not on television is that Palin doesn't completely have talking to a large crowd down pat. She struggled with her starts and stops when there was thunderous applause and laughter. It's not much, but she'll learn. Also, I sat next to a woman from Alaska who actually works for one of Palin's (and McCain's) rivals, Senator Ted Stevens. While she admitted the two weren't best friends, she said that Stevens and every person on his staff idolized Mrs. Palin.
After the speech I wandered around the arena while the official nomination process. I actually ran in to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger having a discussion with D-list movie actor Steven Baldwin. No joke. Only at the RNC.
The official nomination process was fairly interesting. States voted in alphabetical order and actually, Nebraska would have been the state state to put McCain over the top. Except, teh right of putting the nominee is given to the candidate's home state. Every state from Nebraska to Wyoming passed, then Arizona got the honor. While each state pledged its votes to Senator McCain, they gave a cheap plug for themselves: Nebraska! Home of America's first female Republican Governor! (said so eloquently by Mark Quandahle)
After everyone had cleared out, I made it down on the floor for the first time this week. It's pretty impressive. Also on the floor was Triumph the Comic Insult Dog. If you don't know, it's a guy holding a dog puppet and making fun everybody. he's actually quite funny. the man holding the puppet and doing the voice is SNL legend Robert Smigel- he's actually hilarious in person. The gig he was doing was a song called "Sarah-brate Good Times" about Sarah Palin. Look for me on Conan O'Brien tomorrow night!
Insider tip of the day- I asked Mr. Smigel whether Tina Fey (ironically my favorite actress/comedian) would play Sarah Palin on SNL. His response- "Hopefully"
Tomorrow is McCain! Hopefully I'll snag a balloon! Night!
Each day the convention starts with a series of fairly meaningless speakers with Norm Coleman sprinkled in here and there. I mean, honestly, who travelled to the Republican National Convention so that they could hear the founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels speak? I mean she was decent, but this is the pinnacle of politics. Can't we get a Congressman or something? I digress.
Meg Whitman was the first major speaker of the day. She was pretty good, although I expected her to somehow tie in with Ssrah Palin selling her plane on eBay. She was followed by Carly Fiorina, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee, all solid.
The highlight of the night outside of the final two speakers was easily Maryland's Michael Steele. I mentioned earlier how I love him and was lucky enough to meet him at the NEGOP Convention. It's a shame he's stuck in liberal Maryland. The chants he started of "Drill, Baby, Drill" were continued during multiple later speakers.
Right before Rudy Giuliani spoke I had the thought that the convention thus far had been shockingly positive. That all changed with America's Mayor. Rudy played the role of pit bull and relentlessly attacked Obama with essentially the greatest hits of attacks on liberals- flip-flopper, anti-America, tax-raiser, et al. It accomplished the intended goal- Rudy is a great speaker.
As I write this, I'm watching a re-run of Sarah Palin's speech on FOX News. She was as truly amazing in person as she was on television. I could go on forever about how incredible the speech was, how enthralled the audience was, how in awe everyone was for hours following, but I won't. All I'll say is that Sarah Palin is the hope of our party: She is not only the present, but the future.
A little thing I noticed in person that I'm not on television is that Palin doesn't completely have talking to a large crowd down pat. She struggled with her starts and stops when there was thunderous applause and laughter. It's not much, but she'll learn. Also, I sat next to a woman from Alaska who actually works for one of Palin's (and McCain's) rivals, Senator Ted Stevens. While she admitted the two weren't best friends, she said that Stevens and every person on his staff idolized Mrs. Palin.
After the speech I wandered around the arena while the official nomination process. I actually ran in to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger having a discussion with D-list movie actor Steven Baldwin. No joke. Only at the RNC.
The official nomination process was fairly interesting. States voted in alphabetical order and actually, Nebraska would have been the state state to put McCain over the top. Except, teh right of putting the nominee is given to the candidate's home state. Every state from Nebraska to Wyoming passed, then Arizona got the honor. While each state pledged its votes to Senator McCain, they gave a cheap plug for themselves: Nebraska! Home of America's first female Republican Governor! (said so eloquently by Mark Quandahle)
After everyone had cleared out, I made it down on the floor for the first time this week. It's pretty impressive. Also on the floor was Triumph the Comic Insult Dog. If you don't know, it's a guy holding a dog puppet and making fun everybody. he's actually quite funny. the man holding the puppet and doing the voice is SNL legend Robert Smigel- he's actually hilarious in person. The gig he was doing was a song called "Sarah-brate Good Times" about Sarah Palin. Look for me on Conan O'Brien tomorrow night!
Insider tip of the day- I asked Mr. Smigel whether Tina Fey (ironically my favorite actress/comedian) would play Sarah Palin on SNL. His response- "Hopefully"
Tomorrow is McCain! Hopefully I'll snag a balloon! Night!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
wednesday convention
I'm headed off to the convention. Today is when the big guns come out. First is a trio of foes vanquished by McCain (Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee) then the Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
This could be the watershed moment of the campaign... Palin needs to kick ass and take names.
Also, tonight marks the first time in my 5 years of higher education that I have missed a College Republicans meeting... my thoughts are with the UNOCR's!
This could be the watershed moment of the campaign... Palin needs to kick ass and take names.
Also, tonight marks the first time in my 5 years of higher education that I have missed a College Republicans meeting... my thoughts are with the UNOCR's!
pictures!
Pictures from the day.
A picture of the stage. Jo Ann Davidson of the RNC initially introduced the Governor as Sarah Pawlenty. Freudian slip?
Caught an awesome picture during the Ronald Reagan tribute...
Some delegations decide to dress alike. Nebraska is doing this Thursday. I believe this group is Texas.
Styx! Honestly, I knew they were a band... outside of that I knew nothing about them. Apparently they played at the Nebraska State Fair the prior night.
My partner-in-crime for the night.
Mike Huckabee rockin' the guitar. Probably the only concert ever to have the final song be preceded by a speech on why we need to elect John McCain and Sarah Palin. Actually, the band was quite good.
A picture of the stage. Jo Ann Davidson of the RNC initially introduced the Governor as Sarah Pawlenty. Freudian slip?
Caught an awesome picture during the Ronald Reagan tribute...
Some delegations decide to dress alike. Nebraska is doing this Thursday. I believe this group is Texas.
Styx! Honestly, I knew they were a band... outside of that I knew nothing about them. Apparently they played at the Nebraska State Fair the prior night.
My partner-in-crime for the night.
Mike Huckabee rockin' the guitar. Probably the only concert ever to have the final song be preceded by a speech on why we need to elect John McCain and Sarah Palin. Actually, the band was quite good.
day one... or two... the first day anything happened at least
Today started with a whimper and ended with a bang. I made the critical mistake of taking the first shuttle to the convention. This got me to the Xcel Center at about 4 pm, hours before anything actually happened. I did get a bunch of reading and work done. Making the bad stop worse was the fact my shoe broke... I was left limping all night.
After nice speeches by Senator Norm Coleman and Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann the next 90 minutes were spent on mediocre speeches by a number of feel good stories providing background on John McCain. Yes, the reason 20,000 Republicans travelled long and far was to see the former superintendent of Arizona public schools.
Once they got back on track Laura Bush introduced her husband with a nice shout out from the White House. This night concluded with a solid speech from Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Not quite Zell Miller, but very good.
The surprise of the night was Fred Thompson. I asked the person next to me if this was the same guy that had ran for President. I met Thompson three times during his run for President and he was utterly lifeless each time. (funny story- Steve King was his opening act prior to the caucuses and once the speech was over, everyone flocked to King and Thompson stood alone) Thompson did an excellent job paving the ground for McCain and letting everyone know his story.
Following the speech I headed back with to the Nebraska delegation's hotel. After a whirlwind series of events I wound up spending the night with fellow Nebraska young person Lauren from Creighton. We wound up at an agriculture reception with the band Styx performing. While I had no strong feelings towards the band, there were a few members of our delegation absolutely loving Styx.... *cough*rickettsandquandahl*cough*
At the Styx performance I ran in to my friend George from Kansas. George gave us the inside scoop on another performance- this one sponsored by the Arkansas delegation featuring Mike Huckabee's band. We ran across town and made the very end of an amazing performance by Mike Huckabee and Capitol Offense.
Tomorrow I'm heading downtown and hopefully making it to the Palin rally in downtown Minneapolis.
Later!
After nice speeches by Senator Norm Coleman and Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann the next 90 minutes were spent on mediocre speeches by a number of feel good stories providing background on John McCain. Yes, the reason 20,000 Republicans travelled long and far was to see the former superintendent of Arizona public schools.
Once they got back on track Laura Bush introduced her husband with a nice shout out from the White House. This night concluded with a solid speech from Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Not quite Zell Miller, but very good.
The surprise of the night was Fred Thompson. I asked the person next to me if this was the same guy that had ran for President. I met Thompson three times during his run for President and he was utterly lifeless each time. (funny story- Steve King was his opening act prior to the caucuses and once the speech was over, everyone flocked to King and Thompson stood alone) Thompson did an excellent job paving the ground for McCain and letting everyone know his story.
Following the speech I headed back with to the Nebraska delegation's hotel. After a whirlwind series of events I wound up spending the night with fellow Nebraska young person Lauren from Creighton. We wound up at an agriculture reception with the band Styx performing. While I had no strong feelings towards the band, there were a few members of our delegation absolutely loving Styx.... *cough*rickettsandquandahl*cough*
At the Styx performance I ran in to my friend George from Kansas. George gave us the inside scoop on another performance- this one sponsored by the Arkansas delegation featuring Mike Huckabee's band. We ran across town and made the very end of an amazing performance by Mike Huckabee and Capitol Offense.
Tomorrow I'm heading downtown and hopefully making it to the Palin rally in downtown Minneapolis.
Later!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
back to business
It looks like tonight will go off without a hitch. The schedule is pretty much up in the air as the RNC is jamming four days worth of speakers in to three nights.
I'm about to pack up and head off for the convention. I'm hoping to get some lunch and then head off. There's a party for many of the Midwest delegations following the convention tonight, so I'll probably hit that up.
Talk to you all later!
I'm about to pack up and head off for the convention. I'm hoping to get some lunch and then head off. There's a party for many of the Midwest delegations following the convention tonight, so I'll probably hit that up.
Talk to you all later!
barack does denver
When I first found out I'd be in Denver for the DNC I called the Omaha "Office for Change" and asked if there were any community credentials available. I was told that they were incredibly difficult to obtain tickets if you were an active volunteer in the campaign and pretty much impossible otherwise.
But I did make it to Invesco Field on the day of the event. As someone who loves politics and loves history, it obviously would have been a dream to be inside the stadium. That said, the only place half as awesome to be would be outside protesting, standing up for my party and what I believe.
It was really a unique event. Most noticeable was the fact that the City of Denver felt dead. Denver felt like a Sunday morning, when in reality it was the city's shining moment. The area around the stadium was alive and vibrant as possible.
Getting to the convention was quite difficult. On Monday through Wednesday during the day, the area and the convention center was closed down. On Monday and Tuesday night a larger area and parts of Speer Boulevard (the main street- analogous to Dodge in Omaha) were blocked off. For Wednesday night’s “surprise Obama appearance” a much larger swath of downtown was closed as well as all of Speer. Thursday after about noon the entirety of downtown was shut down. The city of Denver literally told its residents to stay away from downtown, and most businesses not associated with tourism let out early.
Walking up to Invesco for Obama's speech was akin to walking up to any stadium before a major sporting event. There were numerous vendors selling Obama paraphernalia, although there were Obama vendors on virtually every corner around town selling "Change" and "Hope" themed garb. A major benefit to these entrepreneurs is the fact that Obama or Democrat logos are part of the public realm and anyone with a printing press can shoot off a thousand "Progress" shirts- If you tried to do the same with any sports team or university, said team would sue them for copyright infringement. My personal favorite shirt was the Che Obama shirt. The guy wore it with pride, although I believe it hurt his cause more than it helped. Ironically, the shirt advocating an anti-capitalist fighter probably made some capitalist a pretty penny.
Outside of an entrance to the stadium dozens of individuals stood with varying signs hoping to purchase tickets to the event. Many tried different pleading techniques- one sign read "COLLEGE STUDENTS DROVE FROM TENNESSEE TO SEE OUR HERO" In the time I was there, I didn't see a single person give up their seats. There were also a fair number of protesters for various causes. The ones below were from some sort of women's group.
The police presence was deceiving. When we walked up to the entrance we saw nothing but two young volunteers asking to see credentials. Beyond them is where the big guns were. Literally. Heavily armed cops stood and lead searches of bags, put people through metal detecters, and patted down each and every individual.
The police also paid special attention to us. One of the areas we protested in was in the shadow of I-25. Within moments, a number of cops flooded over to watch us.
Something I didn't get a picture of was how people got to Invesco. Most of the state delegations and media were transported to and from the center by buses, as they are at the RNC. But having Obama's speech at the football stadium meant at least 30,000 people not associated with the DNC were there. With arriving by car a virtual impossibility, people had to get resourceful.
While the stadium was flanked with portable barriers, the sections of barriers near the gates were loaded with bicycles. Every inch for at least 100 yards had bikes stacked upon each other. In addition to these bikes, bike taxis were making a killing. They cost 2 dollars a block, so it was actually more expensive than a real taxi. Cabs were also popular- this worked against me as I almost could not find a ride back to my hotel, every cab in Colorado was busy downtown.
In retrospect, we showed up at the Obama speech late. We planned on arriving about half an hour before the event started. But due to a delay at dinner, a long walk to Invesco Field, and gates opening earlier, we arrived at a time too late to do much damage.
We did gain a lot of press coverage, primarily in our afternoon protest session. Either way, we gained a lot of earned media and had a great time doing so. Denver was a success- and an amazing opportunity to boot.
But I did make it to Invesco Field on the day of the event. As someone who loves politics and loves history, it obviously would have been a dream to be inside the stadium. That said, the only place half as awesome to be would be outside protesting, standing up for my party and what I believe.
It was really a unique event. Most noticeable was the fact that the City of Denver felt dead. Denver felt like a Sunday morning, when in reality it was the city's shining moment. The area around the stadium was alive and vibrant as possible.
Getting to the convention was quite difficult. On Monday through Wednesday during the day, the area and the convention center was closed down. On Monday and Tuesday night a larger area and parts of Speer Boulevard (the main street- analogous to Dodge in Omaha) were blocked off. For Wednesday night’s “surprise Obama appearance” a much larger swath of downtown was closed as well as all of Speer. Thursday after about noon the entirety of downtown was shut down. The city of Denver literally told its residents to stay away from downtown, and most businesses not associated with tourism let out early.
Walking up to Invesco for Obama's speech was akin to walking up to any stadium before a major sporting event. There were numerous vendors selling Obama paraphernalia, although there were Obama vendors on virtually every corner around town selling "Change" and "Hope" themed garb. A major benefit to these entrepreneurs is the fact that Obama or Democrat logos are part of the public realm and anyone with a printing press can shoot off a thousand "Progress" shirts- If you tried to do the same with any sports team or university, said team would sue them for copyright infringement. My personal favorite shirt was the Che Obama shirt. The guy wore it with pride, although I believe it hurt his cause more than it helped. Ironically, the shirt advocating an anti-capitalist fighter probably made some capitalist a pretty penny.
Outside of an entrance to the stadium dozens of individuals stood with varying signs hoping to purchase tickets to the event. Many tried different pleading techniques- one sign read "COLLEGE STUDENTS DROVE FROM TENNESSEE TO SEE OUR HERO" In the time I was there, I didn't see a single person give up their seats. There were also a fair number of protesters for various causes. The ones below were from some sort of women's group.
The police presence was deceiving. When we walked up to the entrance we saw nothing but two young volunteers asking to see credentials. Beyond them is where the big guns were. Literally. Heavily armed cops stood and lead searches of bags, put people through metal detecters, and patted down each and every individual.
The police also paid special attention to us. One of the areas we protested in was in the shadow of I-25. Within moments, a number of cops flooded over to watch us.
Something I didn't get a picture of was how people got to Invesco. Most of the state delegations and media were transported to and from the center by buses, as they are at the RNC. But having Obama's speech at the football stadium meant at least 30,000 people not associated with the DNC were there. With arriving by car a virtual impossibility, people had to get resourceful.
While the stadium was flanked with portable barriers, the sections of barriers near the gates were loaded with bicycles. Every inch for at least 100 yards had bikes stacked upon each other. In addition to these bikes, bike taxis were making a killing. They cost 2 dollars a block, so it was actually more expensive than a real taxi. Cabs were also popular- this worked against me as I almost could not find a ride back to my hotel, every cab in Colorado was busy downtown.
In retrospect, we showed up at the Obama speech late. We planned on arriving about half an hour before the event started. But due to a delay at dinner, a long walk to Invesco Field, and gates opening earlier, we arrived at a time too late to do much damage.
We did gain a lot of press coverage, primarily in our afternoon protest session. Either way, we gained a lot of earned media and had a great time doing so. Denver was a success- and an amazing opportunity to boot.
the office(s)
You may be wondering why I'm back to talking about Denver tongiht. With the RNC cancelled for the night I have some free time for the first (and likely only) time during my two week odyssey. So I decided to catch up on a few posts I meant to write but never got around to. So here we go!
When I first got to Denver I tried to delineate the difference between the two McCain offices in Denver, but as things got crazy, I laid back on it.
The first office I visited was the McCain campaign headquarters in Centennial, a southern suburb of Denver. Ironically, it is located at the same exit off the interstate as the one I used the last time I was in Denver (lonnnnnnnggggg story).
It was pretty much a generic campaign office, not really any different from the Ricketts, Johanns, or Terry offices in Omaha, save for the fact it was larger. A big room with a bunch of phones, a room to eat pizza in, a few offices. My first day there we made signs to be used at rallies at the RNC.
An interesting aside about the McCain office occurred a week before I arrived. One of the campaign staffers opened a letter sent to the office addressed to Senator McCain (sending letters to the Senator isn't uncommon; sending them to a campaign office rather than D.C. or Arizona is).
The letter was simple. It read "IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD" After reading this the office was evacuated and the three people inside were sent to the local hospital, which was promptly evacuated as well. I ended up spending my first night in Denver with one of the staffers that was "contaminated" He said all tehy essentially did was hose them off.
They quickly realized it was a hoax, and the man who sent it was "not well" and actually already in prison for sending threatening letters.
The other office was far more interesting. Located probably a mile from the Pepsi Center on Speer Boulevard (Denver's main corridor) the site was nicknamed the "war room" The building looked like a very modern builing from the outside and the area around the front door was adorned with "NOT READY '08: A MILE HIGH, AN INCH DEEP"
Immediately to the right inside the front door was a long rectangular room with hardwood floors taht had been converted in to a proess conference room. At one end stood a podium and a "NOT READY '08" backdrop. In front of it was a row of seats that media occupied during the press conference and behind them was a row of large television camperas. Off this room was a small professional office where the major GOP dignitaries did personal interviews.
After walking in the front door you ran in to a secretary's desk. Behind that was a glass room with every inch of wall space featuring flat screen televisions tuned to every imaginable news sources. A long glass table stood in the middle of the room, and every inch of desk space was covered with files and laptops. This was where the big wigs planned, maneuvered, and coordinated. (someday hopefully I'll have a job like this!)
Upstairs is where I spent most of my time. There were a series of offices for campaign officials, and in the middle was a large room with a ping-pong table in the middle. A large map of downtown Denver was strewn across the table. Across the map were small toys, the type you receive in a kids meal at a fast food restaurant. Each of these represented a place where a Democrat event was taking place. Also on the board wer a number of red markers, each signiying where GOP forces were. Lastly, a Yoda doll stood where the McCain office was.
My job on day one was to coordinate where the red markers went in relation to the fast food toys. My job was to find out where and when every event was taking place (a difficult chore- there is no master list of everything) and to plan which events were worth going to and how to get our forces to all of them in as effective a matter as possible. It was incredible fun. I was a little disappointed that I got the entire task done the first day and had to head out of the office later in the week (although I found everything else I did that week fascinating)
When I first got to Denver I tried to delineate the difference between the two McCain offices in Denver, but as things got crazy, I laid back on it.
The first office I visited was the McCain campaign headquarters in Centennial, a southern suburb of Denver. Ironically, it is located at the same exit off the interstate as the one I used the last time I was in Denver (lonnnnnnnggggg story).
It was pretty much a generic campaign office, not really any different from the Ricketts, Johanns, or Terry offices in Omaha, save for the fact it was larger. A big room with a bunch of phones, a room to eat pizza in, a few offices. My first day there we made signs to be used at rallies at the RNC.
An interesting aside about the McCain office occurred a week before I arrived. One of the campaign staffers opened a letter sent to the office addressed to Senator McCain (sending letters to the Senator isn't uncommon; sending them to a campaign office rather than D.C. or Arizona is).
The letter was simple. It read "IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD" After reading this the office was evacuated and the three people inside were sent to the local hospital, which was promptly evacuated as well. I ended up spending my first night in Denver with one of the staffers that was "contaminated" He said all tehy essentially did was hose them off.
They quickly realized it was a hoax, and the man who sent it was "not well" and actually already in prison for sending threatening letters.
The other office was far more interesting. Located probably a mile from the Pepsi Center on Speer Boulevard (Denver's main corridor) the site was nicknamed the "war room" The building looked like a very modern builing from the outside and the area around the front door was adorned with "NOT READY '08: A MILE HIGH, AN INCH DEEP"
Immediately to the right inside the front door was a long rectangular room with hardwood floors taht had been converted in to a proess conference room. At one end stood a podium and a "NOT READY '08" backdrop. In front of it was a row of seats that media occupied during the press conference and behind them was a row of large television camperas. Off this room was a small professional office where the major GOP dignitaries did personal interviews.
After walking in the front door you ran in to a secretary's desk. Behind that was a glass room with every inch of wall space featuring flat screen televisions tuned to every imaginable news sources. A long glass table stood in the middle of the room, and every inch of desk space was covered with files and laptops. This was where the big wigs planned, maneuvered, and coordinated. (someday hopefully I'll have a job like this!)
Upstairs is where I spent most of my time. There were a series of offices for campaign officials, and in the middle was a large room with a ping-pong table in the middle. A large map of downtown Denver was strewn across the table. Across the map were small toys, the type you receive in a kids meal at a fast food restaurant. Each of these represented a place where a Democrat event was taking place. Also on the board wer a number of red markers, each signiying where GOP forces were. Lastly, a Yoda doll stood where the McCain office was.
My job on day one was to coordinate where the red markers went in relation to the fast food toys. My job was to find out where and when every event was taking place (a difficult chore- there is no master list of everything) and to plan which events were worth going to and how to get our forces to all of them in as effective a matter as possible. It was incredible fun. I was a little disappointed that I got the entire task done the first day and had to head out of the office later in the week (although I found everything else I did that week fascinating)
Monday, September 1, 2008
conventioning
While Day One of the RNC was greatly shortened, it provided a nice dress rehearsal for the week to come. When I first heard that the day would only be procedural business, I considered skipping it. I quickly and fortunately changed my mind.
Ater arriving at the Xcel Center I went through a surprisingly light security check- they actually are letting people bring laptops in to the arena.
I quickly realized that the Xcel Energy Center wasn't nearly as impressive as I expected. When I first heard the MSP area was getting the convention, I assumed the Target Center would host the event. When I learned it would be at the Xcel Center, I figured that it must be new and ritzier. Honestly, the building itself is not as nice as the Qwest Center. That said, it is still a nice arena, and they have done an amazing job of equipping the Center for the convention.
The guest section of the arena was almost completely barren, so I sat down in the best seat. Quickly the convention officially started, and quickly it became mundane. Chairman Mike Duncan led the group of delegates through a series of perfunctory motions, followed by an hour long caucus meeting, and another set of perfunctory motions. During this I read a Newsweek, Weekly Standard, plus the lengthy New Yorker article on Obama's roots. Fascinating. (thanks for letting me borrow it Scott!)
As I was nearing the end of the Obama article, everything changed. The announcer announced First Lady Laura Bush was speaking. Without music or fanfare Mrs. Bush gave a brief talk about donating to charities for the South. Following this the governors of the region (save Jindahl) gave video addresses. The session ended with Laura Bush and Cindy McCain imploring everyone watching to donate to charities.
As an aside, it was quite noticeable was the fact that swing states get pandered to immensely, as well as the home states of the nominees (this is true of both parties). Additionally, virtually everybody making any sort of procedural motion was made by somebody from a state that was in play this November/ Arizona.
As for Day Two- All that I (or anyone) was told that unless anything was announced, things would go on as planned. So far haven't heard anything! Yay!
Ater arriving at the Xcel Center I went through a surprisingly light security check- they actually are letting people bring laptops in to the arena.
I quickly realized that the Xcel Energy Center wasn't nearly as impressive as I expected. When I first heard the MSP area was getting the convention, I assumed the Target Center would host the event. When I learned it would be at the Xcel Center, I figured that it must be new and ritzier. Honestly, the building itself is not as nice as the Qwest Center. That said, it is still a nice arena, and they have done an amazing job of equipping the Center for the convention.
The guest section of the arena was almost completely barren, so I sat down in the best seat. Quickly the convention officially started, and quickly it became mundane. Chairman Mike Duncan led the group of delegates through a series of perfunctory motions, followed by an hour long caucus meeting, and another set of perfunctory motions. During this I read a Newsweek, Weekly Standard, plus the lengthy New Yorker article on Obama's roots. Fascinating. (thanks for letting me borrow it Scott!)
As I was nearing the end of the Obama article, everything changed. The announcer announced First Lady Laura Bush was speaking. Without music or fanfare Mrs. Bush gave a brief talk about donating to charities for the South. Following this the governors of the region (save Jindahl) gave video addresses. The session ended with Laura Bush and Cindy McCain imploring everyone watching to donate to charities.
As an aside, it was quite noticeable was the fact that swing states get pandered to immensely, as well as the home states of the nominees (this is true of both parties). Additionally, virtually everybody making any sort of procedural motion was made by somebody from a state that was in play this November/ Arizona.
As for Day Two- All that I (or anyone) was told that unless anything was announced, things would go on as planned. So far haven't heard anything! Yay!
meandering in minneapolis
Day Two in Minneapolis was spent doing more non-touristy things in the Mini-Apple. As my mom lived here for many years, I generally am able to go to a few of the better shopping centers and find a shortcut or two.
Sunday we first went to Ridgedale Mall. If you've seen the movie Juno, a few scenes are set and filmed there. Most notably was the part when Vanessa feels the baby kick. Later in the day we headed down to downtown to pick up my credentials (yay!) and afterwards had a few minutes to burn so we went to the Nicolett section of downtown. Another little bit of Hollywood- this is where the opening part of the Mary Tyler Moore show was filmed, the part where she flips her beret in the air.
That night I went to CivicFest- I don't really know how to explain it. The only thing I've been to comparable was Atlanta Braves FanFest. It was essentially a giant traveling political museum with such items as a model Air Force One, a C-SPAN political bus, replica of the Oval Office and museum style display of political memorabilia. As it was put in by the Convention and Visiters Bureau, it was pretty much non-partisan.
The other part of CivicFest was a political flea market of sorts, which was 100% Republican. All sorts of memorabilia dealers sold every manner of GO Paraphernalia. Buttons, pins, and shirts were the most common items, but there was everything from pillows to end tables to purses to breath mints.
The select few memorabilia dealers with Sarah Palin memorabilia were the cream of the crop. In part because of the universal support for Governor Palin (literally have not found a person who isn't thrilled with her on the ticket) but mainly because the event started roughly 55 hours after she was picked, Palin related items were hot sellers. Literally having her name on something made the price triple. After realizing their scarcity, I scrambled and swiped up the last two "TICKET FOR AMERICA" buttons I could find. The vendor selling them had two signs above his buckets of buttons- "Buttons: 10 for 10 dollars- all Palin buttons: 3 for 10 dollars"
Surprisingly, I heard nary a complaint about Day One of the being cancelled. While I know that everyone was disappointed and that everyone realized that this was the right thing to do, I expected a grumble or two. But I couldn't find a single one.
Sunday we first went to Ridgedale Mall. If you've seen the movie Juno, a few scenes are set and filmed there. Most notably was the part when Vanessa feels the baby kick. Later in the day we headed down to downtown to pick up my credentials (yay!) and afterwards had a few minutes to burn so we went to the Nicolett section of downtown. Another little bit of Hollywood- this is where the opening part of the Mary Tyler Moore show was filmed, the part where she flips her beret in the air.
That night I went to CivicFest- I don't really know how to explain it. The only thing I've been to comparable was Atlanta Braves FanFest. It was essentially a giant traveling political museum with such items as a model Air Force One, a C-SPAN political bus, replica of the Oval Office and museum style display of political memorabilia. As it was put in by the Convention and Visiters Bureau, it was pretty much non-partisan.
The other part of CivicFest was a political flea market of sorts, which was 100% Republican. All sorts of memorabilia dealers sold every manner of GO Paraphernalia. Buttons, pins, and shirts were the most common items, but there was everything from pillows to end tables to purses to breath mints.
The select few memorabilia dealers with Sarah Palin memorabilia were the cream of the crop. In part because of the universal support for Governor Palin (literally have not found a person who isn't thrilled with her on the ticket) but mainly because the event started roughly 55 hours after she was picked, Palin related items were hot sellers. Literally having her name on something made the price triple. After realizing their scarcity, I scrambled and swiped up the last two "TICKET FOR AMERICA" buttons I could find. The vendor selling them had two signs above his buckets of buttons- "Buttons: 10 for 10 dollars- all Palin buttons: 3 for 10 dollars"
Surprisingly, I heard nary a complaint about Day One of the being cancelled. While I know that everyone was disappointed and that everyone realized that this was the right thing to do, I expected a grumble or two. But I couldn't find a single one.
day one of the convention
While it was far less than planned, Day One was an interesting event. I have some pictures of Cindy McCain and Laura Bush, but honestly, if you want to see those, go to FOX News or somewhere similar. There's will be of a higher quality than mine. My hope is to give you a little bit of an insider view of the conventions.
The Xcel Center during the day.
A glimpse of the Convention Hall
A section of television news broadcasts and open internet access for people affected by the hurricane.
Not only is St. Paul home of the RNC, it's home of a passion of mine, "Peanuts" I'm picturred with Linus!
I always wondered where they kept all of the balloons... they are hanging from the rafters waiting to fall. Not quite sure how they stay inflated all week. My hope is to steal one once they fall Thursday.
This is the convention theme that is all around the hall. Notice how the seats are all empty.
This is the view walking out of the Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota State Capitol is probably two blocks straight out the front door.
The Xcel Center during the day.
A glimpse of the Convention Hall
A section of television news broadcasts and open internet access for people affected by the hurricane.
Not only is St. Paul home of the RNC, it's home of a passion of mine, "Peanuts" I'm picturred with Linus!
I always wondered where they kept all of the balloons... they are hanging from the rafters waiting to fall. Not quite sure how they stay inflated all week. My hope is to steal one once they fall Thursday.
This is the convention theme that is all around the hall. Notice how the seats are all empty.
This is the view walking out of the Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota State Capitol is probably two blocks straight out the front door.
first pictures from minneapolis
Some pictures from Minneapolis...
A bar rented a fake elephant to put outside. Judging by the crowd, I'm guessing that this was a safe investment.
And they call this a Republican Convention! Actually, CivicFest was awesome. Wasted a bunch of money on McCain/Palin crap.
So I'm wandering around CivicFest and a woman walks up to me and asks "Do you want to have your picture taken with a bald eagle?" And I'm like, "Uh, YEAH!" I love the RNC!
My credentials as well as some buttons I bought. My favorite is the "FROM THE COLDEST STATE COMES THE HOTTEST VP"
My loot.
Me ready to head off to the convention
A bar rented a fake elephant to put outside. Judging by the crowd, I'm guessing that this was a safe investment.
And they call this a Republican Convention! Actually, CivicFest was awesome. Wasted a bunch of money on McCain/Palin crap.
So I'm wandering around CivicFest and a woman walks up to me and asks "Do you want to have your picture taken with a bald eagle?" And I'm like, "Uh, YEAH!" I love the RNC!
My credentials as well as some buttons I bought. My favorite is the "FROM THE COLDEST STATE COMES THE HOTTEST VP"
My loot.
Me ready to head off to the convention
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