Delegate Diary: It is enough

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

After I sent in my "What a Speech" post yesterday at 6 a.m., I flopped on the bed for a little nap and overshot the mark. The delegation breakfast started at 8 a.m., and I did not make it till about 8:45 a.m. I told the guy making eggs to put "everything you got" in my omelet. He did. After he put it on a plate I took it and walked into the back of the meeting room. Somebody was giving a speech. I didn't know whether he was important or not. I didn't know who he was. I had forgotten to get some coffee. "I would trade this speaker for some coffee," I thought. I hoped for some coffee really hard. But hoping for it didn't make it happen. After a while I gave up, went outside, and poured myself some coffee at a little kiosk.

The coffee made things clearer. "I am done with this speech," I thought. "I need to get my kids some souvenirs." So I went upstairs and changed into a sweatshirt and some shorts and then went over to the Minneapolis convention center to the exhibits they had set up. I had heard they had souvenirs there -- and that was what I needed.

They were right. They had lots of souvenirs there. I bought 10 political buttons, four little lapel pins in the shape of Wisconsin with "McCain" on them and one little pin in the shape of Florida with "McCain" on it. That was for my cousin in Florida. He is a teacher. His kids will like that. They need to see it.

After I made my selections, it was time for lunch. I had a hard time finding a suitable place to eat. In the end I wound up in a bar in the lobby of the Radisson hotel -- which was across the street from where I was staying. There were only a few people in the bar. They looked like security guys and sounded like it too. They were talking about all the work that they had been doing and that they were about to have to go back on duty for one last shift. "Thanks guys," I thought. I liked them. Having them around made me feel better.

When the bartender came back, he gave me a big menu. I had trouble reading it because I was tired and could not focus. Finally I gave up. "What do you suggest?" I asked. He gave me a couple of suggestions and then said "But what you really need to have is the lamb sandwich." I had the lamb sandwich, and he was right. It was a good choice. I also thought about drinking a beer. Instead I got a Coke. That was the right choice, too. I was happy eating my lamb sandwich and drinking a Coke and sort of half listening to the security guys. My friend Diane Robertson from Ozaukee County sent me an e-mail on my BlackBerry. She wanted some tickets to the big McCain rally there. I sent her back a reply "talk to Andrew Petzold, he is the McCain kingpin in Ozaukee County, not me." I copied Andrew on the email too. A few minutes later Andrew sent an e-mail back my way. They had gotten it taken care of. "That Andrew is damned efficient," I thought.

By now the afternoon was getting far along. I decided to go back to the hotel and sit in the steam room. I felt like if I went in there all the wine remnants that were floating around in my body would get sweated out and the lamb and Coke that was in my belly would replace them. I was right about that, too.

After I showered I put on my best Burberry suit. This was a big night and I wanted to look my best. I also pinned on one of the lapel pins that I bought at the civic center. It was a flat black Wisconsin pin with McCain on it in gold letters. It really looked sharp on my lapel. "That is nice," I thought. Good choice.

When I got off the phone with my Dad, I went down to get on the buses. Guess what? The guy I met from Xcel Energy on Wednesday during the boat ride was waiting in line to get on the bus. Brian was their jurisdictional communications manager. He had read this blog. He said, "It is kind of like in the stream of consciousness style." I explained to him that I had been reading some Fitzgerald and Hemingway and was sort of emulating it -- but adapting it for my own purposes. We agreed that everybody needs good models.

I also saw Michelle Farrow and Ashley from the Wisconsin delegation. They had some volunteers from their county who were coming along for the night. They had guest passes. I took off my credentials and gave them to one of the volunteers. "I will be content to sit up in the top tonight," I said. He gave me his guest pass.

It took us a while to get to the Xcel Center. Those ridiculous hooligans were at it again. But the security guys were smarter than them. They took us on a roundabout way, and we arrived safe. When we got to the center, I took Brian with me on the secret way in. We stopped along the way to talk to a cop from St. Cloud. We all agreed that we were tired and looking forward to going home. Brian and I thanked the cop for all his work.

After we went in the center, Brian and I split ways. I went up high to the guest areas and sat and watched the speeches. I was tired and had been working and had not been able to watch speeches much this week. It was nice to watch the speeches from here way up high. They did a good job.

Before John McCain went on, I got hungry. They had opened up some of the food stands, and I decided to buy a hamburger and fries. One of the volunteers manning the stand saw my lapel pin. He said, "That is a great pin. Where did you get it?" It turns out he was leaving in the morning and couldn't make it to the convention center to get a pin. I gave him the pin.

When I got back to my seat, Michelle called. She wanted to know if I wanted to come down on the floor. "Nah," I said. "I am content to sit up here."

The speech was a good one. Not too flashy, but good. Energy policy, reform, low taxes, security, COUNTRY FIRST! I think people from all walks of life and all political persuasions will rally to the standard. I like the speech better this morning than I did last night. It is growing on me, I think. GOOD JOB, JOHN MCCAIN. Somebody asked me whether I thought Palin would overshadow John McCain. "Nah," I said. "But I am pretty sure she will flourish." That John McCain sure knows how to build a team, I thought. CRAFTY!

When I got back to the hotel, some guys asked me whether I was going out. "Nah," I said, "too tired." Some other guys asked me if I planned to drive home for the rally Friday morning. I thought about that, too. I really was tired. Driving back last night didn't seem like a good idea. I might go to sleep at the wheel. I have got a family, and they don't need me to do some fool thing like fall asleep at the wheel. If it were something really necessary I could have done it, but in this case it didn't seem like a good idea. Too risky and not enough upside. Besides, Andrew, and Mark Gottlieb, and Mike Duffy, and all the guys in Ozaukee County can handle things on their end.

"It is good to be a part of a team," I thought. "They can do things without you."

I had a nice sleep. When I woke up this morning, I finished this blog. I think the McCain team is going to win in November. I am proud to be a part of it. I look forward to watching the Cedarburg rally on TV. I wonder who they are going to put on stage with John McCain? I guess I will have to watch and find out.

-- Mobley is associate professor of history & economics at Concordia University Wisconsin, a trustee in the Village of Thiensville and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Wisconsin closes convention in style

After John McCain's speech Thursday night, Wisconsin's delegates headed back to their Minneapolis hotel, then on to the 50th floor of the nearby IDS Tower for a late-night party to close out the convention. The party, scheduled to run from 11 p.m. until 2 a.m., was held at the Windows on Minnesota restaurant, which offers a panoramic view of downtown Minneapolis.

The event was sponsored by TransCanada, Canadian National, Wal-Mart, MilerCoors, Novartis, Amgen, the Forest County Potawatomi, We Energies, Xcel Energy and 3M.

Some guests were planning to stay out late then sleep in, but others didn't have that luxury. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and one of his staffers planned to leave around 2 a.m. for the drive back to Wisconsin. Their schedule would give the duo enough time to stop at Van Hollen's home in Waunakee before heading along to Cedarburg to attend John McCain and Sarah Palin's first post-convention campaign event.

-- By Mike Schramm

Wisconsinite gets brush with a protester

National TV viewers of John McCain's nomination acceptance speech tonight saw several interruptions by protestors who had gained access to the convention. The first interruption was by a man protesting the Iraq war -- within minutes, viewers could see a crowd member attempting to control the protester. As it happens, that man was Phil Prange of Wisconsin.

According to Prange, the man was sitting two seats away from him, wearing a gray sweater to conceal his "Iraq Veterans Against the War" t-shirt. Once the man began yelling and holding up his sign, Prange ran over to grab it, only to see the man drop it onto the convention floor below. According to Prange, the RNC has to deem someone an unwanted guest before any official removal process begins. As a result, several policemen hovered behind the man, waiting to get word on whether to remove him.

During the disruption, the convention crowd began yelling "USA, USA!" in order to drown out his protests. According to Prange, once the man was confronted by the police, he left peacefully.

-- By Christian Schneider

Schneider describes Palin as the GOP's trojan horse

Christian Schneider, who has blogged from the Republican National Convention this week for WisPolitics, has a new column up at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Web site.

Schneider describes Sarah Palin as the GOP's trojan horse -- in the sense her exterior doesn't match her bare-knuckled approach to campaigning.

You can read it here:
http://www.wpri.org/Commentary/2008/9.08/Sc9.5.08.html

Wisconsin Republicans for Obama

Former GOP Wisconsin state Rep. Tom Ourada told reporters today that he's supporting Barack Obama for president because John McCain took a "hard-right turn" in his 2008 bid for the presidency.

Ourada, who represented the 35th District while in the Assembly from 1985 to 1999, and Jennifer Lord-Kouraichi, a Wisconsin native who served as a GOP congressional staffer, spoke with reporters today as part of a Republicans for Obama teleconference.

"Unfortunately, the John McCain of this election is a far cry from the maverick that I had seen before," Ourada said.

Lord-Kouraichi, who described herself as a born-again Christian, said she doesn't agree with Obama on all of the issues. But she appreciates Obama's position that if people can't agree on abortion, they should still work together to reduce how many are performed. She said his other stances on things like daycare and affordable, accessible health care, while she mocked McCain's inability to remember how many homes he owns.

"It's clear that he's simply not in touch," she said.

-- By JR Ross

Day Three: The hockey mom throws a haymaker

Christian Schneider
Commentary

For the Wisconsin delegation, Wednesday morning began with a murderer's row of breakfast speakers: Paul Ryan, Tommy Thompson, John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, New York Congressman Peter King and pollster Frank Luntz.

Luntz, who showed up late, said he was confused by the schedule and invited delegates down to a joint event with the New York delegation he was having. Apparently this New York event featured "celebrities" who wanted to put together a focus group to know what "real people" think about Hollywood's involvement in politics. (Tomorrow, Luntz will hold a focus group on an even more important topic to the public -- "Why is hotel orange juice always so darn pulpy?")

When I asked one of the attendees which celebrities were there, I got the following answer:

"Well, there was that guy from 'Wings.' Tim Daly is his name, maybe? Wasn't he on that 'Wings' show? Oh, and the guy from one of those CSI shows was there."

That's one of the downsides to attending a Republican convention -- no celebrities. Go to a Dem convention and hang out at all the events, and you're bound to see Tom Hanks or Natalie Portman or someone else famous. At the parties last night, the biggest name there was Congressman John Boehner of Ohio. Seriously. If John Boehner walked up to me at the bar wearing a sign that says "I AM JOHN BOEHNER," I'd say "I'll have a gin and tonic" and hand him five bucks.

I did, however, have one run-in with fame the other day. At our hotel, I jumped in an elevator, only to have a security guy come in and ask me to leave the elevator. You see, it was reserved for the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was here speaking with Newt Gingrich (you read that right) at an education event.

Speaking of elevators, one of the most enduring memories I'll have of this convention is the number of times I've been trapped in a crowded elevator with a group of elderly female GOP delegates. I don't know if toxic perfume is an exclusive characteristic of Republican seniors, but the pungency is debilitating. I'm pretty sure when the chemists got together to devise new chemical warfare tactics, they just stuck a bunch of stars and stripes hat-wearing GOP women in an elevator and ended up with napalm.

On Wednesday afternoon, most of the Wisconsin delegates took a trip to Hudson, for a riverboat ride arranged with alacrity by state Rep. Kitty Rhoades. When the buses pulled up to the riverfront, most of the cars lined up in the parking lot were adorned with Obama paraphernalia. Some suspected it may have been Rhoades' likely Democratic opponent in the upcoming election that organized the display. From what I can tell, none of the GOP delegates were convinced to change their vote.

After a somewhat awkward group singing of the national anthem in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant, the first group of delegates piled on to the large boat. Most of them milled around and talked inside the boat for the entirety of the cruise -- which, one would think, kind of cancels out the effect of being on a boat. Apparently, for white people, just the act of eating, drinking and talking while floating on water enhances the whole experience.

Running alongside the large boat was a smaller boat with some law enforcement aboard. The line of the day occurred when I asked someone who it was on the little boat. "That's Jack Voight's security team," they said, which made me spit out some of my Diet Pepsi.

Following the boat trip in Hudson, delegates returned to the hotel and relaxed until they headed over to the Xcel Energy Center at 6 p.m. Speaker after speaker enthusiastically praised John McCain's heroism and independence. From what I hear -- and this may be just a rumor -- McCain may have been a prisoner of war. I know I might be breaking a little news there. In fact, every speaker is required to mention it at least 34 times per speech, perhaps in an effort to give us a small taste of the torture McCain endured.

I took my place in press row, where it appears someone had taken my seat -- but that was OK, because there were standing areas that had a better view anyway. It was, however, somewhat of a bummer that I was surrounded by political reporters, who generally look like they're about 15 seconds from burying an axe in their own head.

I was situated behind the speakers, to their left. It was a unique perspective, as you could see the back of the speaker, the crowd's reaction to them and the teleprompter directly in front of them. This made Rudy Giuliani's speech fascinating -- as he completely ignored the teleprompter for 90 percent of his speech. He essentially ripped up his prepared speech and went off the cuff -- and some of his best lines were on the fly. After his speech, I was thinking to myself, "That guy totally should have run for president."

Then, having dispersed with the undercard, the GOP's undisputed heavyweight champion of the world appeared. Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin emerged from the back of the stage, waving and smiling to an adoring crowd. The sound level was deafening -- no one would have been surprised if the roof tore off the Xcel Center and flew away.

Palin's speech careened between tender moments talking about her family, moments of bitter sarcasm when mocking Obama's record and almost Garrison Keillor-esque reflections on small towns. She, unlike Giuliani, stuck to the teleprompter religiously -- but her more deliberate delivery didn't damper the electricity pulsing through the building as she spoke. While the speech has been almost universally praised, it did seem to end a little awkwardly, with John McCain making a "surprise" appearance onstage afterwards. He almost seemed to shrink under her star power -- he uttered one sentence, then smiled and waved for a good 10 minutes while the crowd was a little confused about what to do. (I'll have more on the actual speech in a WPRI column later.)

After Palin and McCain exited the stage, the crowd began filing out. Many of them looked as if they weren't sure what they just saw -- almost punch drunk. A group of women behind me expressed their desire for Palin's husband to ... ahem ... provide them with a child -- as long as he shaved his goatee.

On the bus back to the hotel, I sat near Congressman Paul Ryan, who has been ubiquitous throughout the convention proceedings. Seeing him in action has given me a whole new perspective on what being a congressman is like. You always have to be "on" -- always willing to converse with strangers that know everything about you. I could never do that; 80 percent of the people I talk to, I secretly dream of taking off my shoe and beating them in the head while we're chatting. And imagine always having to talk to people who can criticize you, but you know nothing about them. Imagine if the tables were turned and you had a congressman that came up to you during dinner and started criticizing you for the way you mow your lawn or for washing a red T-shirt with your wife's underwear. I might vote for that guy.

The night ended with a small delegation of Wisconsin GOPers going to a party at a large warehouse downtown. At the same party a couple of nights before, I saw a regular looking guy walking around the party with a personal videographer, which seemed absurd. Why would you want to have a record of what you did at a bar the previous night? Can you imagine sitting down to watch the tape, then realizing you got shot down by 34 girls in the span of an hour? All that work, and you still ended up getting the Spectravision back at the hotel? I don't know who that guy is, but I'll remember that face come Academy Award time.

-- Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. He can be reached at christian@wpri.org and will be appearing on "UpFront with Mike Gousha" this weekend to discuss the GOP convention.

Delegates get front-row seat to protests

Wisconsin's delegation had a couple of run-ins with the protesters that hit the streets of Minneapolis Wednesday night.

Some concert-goers who attended a Target Center show by Rage Against The Machine Wednesday night took to the streets afterwards; the police ended up making 102 arrests. The Target Center is about two blocks from the Marriott City Center hotel where Wisconsin's delegation is staying.

One bus ferrying delegates back from St. Paul after the convention was stopped about six blocks from the hotel. Riders were told to wait inside a nearby hotel, but some headed on toward the Marriott anyways.

Another group of Wisconsinites was at a private party in a rooftop restaurant about a block from the Target Center. One party attendee reported an "enormous" police presence, including police in full riot gear and others on horses trying to manage the crowd. They also watched as bicycle police dismounted then formed an impromptu wall of bikes and used that to turn the protesters back.

The only printable chant they reported hearing was when protesters started yelling "Wall Street! Wall Street!" upon seeing the party-goers watching them from above.

-- By Mike Schramm

Steele: Time for Republicans to 'get over' differences with McCain

Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, this morning urged the Wisconsin delegation to adopt a positive attitude and "have fun with this election."

He urged all in attendance to work for hard for McCain, telling them if they had differences with him to "get over it."

Their reward, he said, could be waking up next January, turning on MSNBC and "watching Chris Matthews choke down the words 'President John McCain.'"

He also praised vice presidential pick Sarah Palin, saying she had delivered a powerful speech despite several days of getting "more scrutiny than Barack Obama has received in 19 months on the campaign trail."

He also had a warning for those looking to take her on.

"I know Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin's a friend of mine," he said. "You don't want to mess with Sarah Palin."

Listen to audio of Steele's address

-- By Mike Schramm

Van Hollen praises Palin

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen praised Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to GOP delegates this morning, saying she "may look like Barbie, but if anybody questions if she's going to fight like G.I. Joe they weren't listening last night."

Van Hollen told this morning's breakfast meeting that Palin reminds him of his wife, Lynn, who he said can be a "wonderful, wonderful woman, but be tough as well."

"If I were Osama Bin Laden, I wouldn't want to meet my wife in a cave with the Glock .45," Van Hollen said.

-- By Mike Schramm

Delegate Diary: What a speech!

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

Political consultants might tell you politics is about fundraising, focus groups and professionalism. I might even tell you that myself -- when I am talking foolishness. The truth is politics is about character, courage, faith, pitching in and helping for no good reason whatsoever, friendship with people you don't even know, and good old-fashioned fun. If you want to have a political career, pray for faith. It doesn't necessarily come naturally.

My own faith got tested this last couple of weeks. Like most people who mess around in politics, I have political ambitions. I am not sure exactly what I am ambitious for. I guess I am ambitious to rise -- whatever that means. But what does it mean? I already have just about everything I need: a three-bed room ranch, a red 7-year-old pick-up truck, a steady job, two fine, young healthy sons, and a pretty wife. What more could I want? If I were "to rise," where would I go? Alaska? Detroit? Someplace that required me to do more work and have more troubles? Who wants any of that?

Still, I spend a considerable amount of time and energy fooling around in politics. I donate to politicians here, I donate to them there. I put up yard signs. I "politick," and by doing so add substantially to my already pretty substantial rolodex. I can and do make calls. I work on getting "credibility," that golden elixir in politics that springs from hanging around for a long time, and making good choices, and either serving the public good, or appearing to -- and getting noticed for it.

Over the last few weeks I gambled what little credibility I had on some woman from Alaska. When I started agitating to get her put on the Republican ticket, I did not know her from Adam's housecat. From my perspective, her greatest asset was her pretty face -- and the fact that hardly anyone else was backing her. Not very good reasons, is it?

When she actually got picked to be on the Republican ticket, I still did not know Palin from Adam's housecat. But my credibility rose nonetheless. And that, after all, was the whole reason I had agitated for her selection in the first place. When news broke that her kid was pregnant, I almost popped a gasket. My credibility fell -- and along with it the perceptions I had of my own self advancement. "Good, God," I thought. "Here I am at my first convention and I hitched my wagon to a shooting star, and the fool who picked her to be his VP." (To make matters even more distasteful, I wasn't even in a situation to call him a fool -- since I was one of the fools who advised him to pick the woman in the first place.)

So, instead of doing the wise thing, and cutting my losses, I did the foolish thing (or maybe I have uncertain notions about what is wise and foolish) and instead doubled down on this woman, Palin. Check it out for yourself.

Go to http://www.wpr.org/ideas/programnotes.cfm and listen to the radio show with Joy Cardin that aired on Wednesday the morning. You will hear me sounding pretty damn confident about the capabilities of Sarah Palin and the man who picked her to be his VP.

In fact I was not confident at all. I was something -- bluffing, sticking with my word, trying to save my own neck, reluctant to change the direction of my inertia -- I don't know what. But I hung in the breach. I kept my story mixed up with theirs. I had a little faith.

As the day progressed having a little faith got harder and harder. I tried to think or talk about other things. For example, I went on a boat ride on the Mississippi with a bunch of Xcel Energy folks. Great folks. We talked about music, and snacks, and wine --and then we talked about Barack Obama's speech in Denver. It turns out the Xcel guys were present at Obama's speech in Denver. One of them commented, "Great speech." That made me feel worse. I glowered at him but didn't brain him. He is lucky.

When I got back from the boat ride, I wanted to take a nap. Unfortunately, I had to choose between taking a nap and going to meet at a bar an old friend who lives in Minneapolis. I made the right choice and went to the bar. My friend has been living through some family troubles of late and we talked about wives, and kids, and divorces, and jobs and life. In short we talked about things that are considerably more important than politics -- but that are often sort of like politics. I love my friend. When he told me he was going to vote for Obama and gave me a list of reasons why it was that Palin was the absolute worst VP choice that McCain might have made, I almost killed him. But there were a lot of cops on hand to handle the stupid hooligans who have been rioting of late. I saw that if I killed my friend, the cops would catch me. So I spared him. Isn't it ironic that the hooligans saved my friend? Do you think they knew what they were doing? Or were they just instruments of Providence?

Anyway, as I rode the bus down to the Xcel Center, my funk kept getting deeper. To be sure, it was momentarily offset by a conversation with Gary Tauchen, one of Wisconsin's finest legislators. We talked about one of my favorite topics -- trade policy. But it is late, and I am not going to relay that conversation. Too much minutiae.

When we climbed off the bus, I saw Liz Orella, another great friend. Liz told me about a faster way to get in the arena. IT WORKED! I am not going to explain it because if everybody who reads this blog tries it, it won't be faster anymore -- now will it?

Once inside the arena, I went down to the floor. I tried to walk around and talk to people, but my heart was not in it. So I sat in a chair. I fiddled with my BlackBerry, but I didn't read anything. I was just fiddling so people would not bother me. I thought I was doomed and wanted to be alone.

When Rudy started to talk, I perked up a bit. When you are down on the floor and look toward the speakers, it is like they are an emanation of THE PEOPLE. They are a little bit above you, but not too much. They really can't escape the people's mass and if they try they will disintegrate. Still, they can lead a little bit.

Rudy started to make a bunch of sense. Mainly it was the humor. When he started talking about how little Obama had actually done in contrast with either McCain or Palin and called him Senator "Nada" I yelled "Ouch." Honest I did. If you listen close to a replay of the speech, I swear you can hear me yell "Ouch." I think Rudy heard me because he grinned in my direction. The delegation was really enthralled with what Rudy said. I think he was sort of speaking for us all.

Then when Sarah came out, it was almost too much. Everybody was slapping one another on the back, waving signs and yelling things like "whooooaaa" and "yeahhhh." When she told the joke about the Hockey Mom and the lipstick (a joke I told you guys to expect) I thought to myself -- "maybe everybody who reads this blog will think that I wrote the whole damn speech!" And maybe I did. Funny things happen in America.

Anyway, Sarah's speech was great. I forgive her, I forgive her kid, I forgive all the nitwits who attacked her in the press and I am just happy. I think she is going to be the next VP of the U.S.A. I hope she forgives me for the fact that my faith wavered. When I get done with this stupid blog, I will pray for more faith.

Once Palin's speech was over, I was back on form. For example, I went over to the New York delegation and yucked it up with Congressman King and Christine Sculti from Yonkers. (Christine Sculti is hot -- but don't tell my wife I said that.)

King, Sculti and Mobley all agreed that the speech was a knockout. Somebody in the group (they will remain nameless) went on a tear bashing Barack and Joe Biden. This person pointed out that Joe Biden speaks as if he has no coherent thought processes. His words jump around like popcorn kernels in a hot air machine but never have the decency to germinate into anything that you can actually digest. We almost turned purple laughing about that one.

As for Obama, the idea was that, without a teleprompter, the man is completely inarticulate. We thought it would be a bad idea for voters to forget that one. I mean, what would they do if Obama wound up someplace that had no power? He would not know what to say.

We agreed that we loved both these opponents. Anyone who reads this blog should have the sense to recognize that it has degenerated into a partisan attack. But for Pete's sake this is America, and who can blame us for having a bit of fun from time to time? Sometimes humor is the best way to communicate important truths.

Anyway, I still don't know Sarah Palin personally, but I think she will make a fine VP. She has as much experience as Obama and Biden, and she has a twinkle in her eye that I find appealing. If she needs a chief of staff or something, I have some ideas for her. JUST LOOK ME UP ON THE INTERNET, MS. PALIN. I AM JUST ONE OF YOUR MANY ADMIRERS. I HAVE FAITH IN YOU. CALL ME WHEN YOU GET TO DC.

It will probably be a while before I get back with the next blog. After the big speech tonight (I almost said tomorrow night but I am wrapping this up at 6 am -- no sleep you see) I am driving back to Thiensville. It has been great blogging with the WisPolitics guys and hats off to Reince and the RPW staff. See you next time -- maybe

-- Mobley is associate professor of history & economics at Concordia University Wisconsin, a trustee in the Village of Thiensville and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Feingold says hard to think of Lieberman as Dem these days

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold said it's going to be hard for Joe Lieberman to maintain his role in the Democratic caucus if he continues to support John McCain the way he has so far, including last night's speech at the Republican National Convention.

The caucus has 51 members, counting Lieberman.

"It is kind of hard to think of him as a Democrat these days," said Feingold, who was in Madison to announce legislation to expand federal funding for small businesses that he plans to introduce.

Feingold also told reporters McCain is "a very, very conservative man who does not focus very much on the day-to-day needs of American families."

"That doesn't mean he's a bad guy," Feingold said. "I think he's a good guy, but he's not focused on this enormous pressure that American families are feeling, and that is what the test should be for the next president."

Feingold also said he feels the Obama campaign is "doing great" after a successful convention, but believes it will still be a close race in November.

Feingold and McCain will forever be linked by their landmark campaign finance reform legislation, and Feingold said they share the belief that unlimited campaign contributions are corrupting. Other than that, they "have very different views of the world."

Feingold also said GOP veep candidate Sarah Palin a "very impressive person" but said the Democratic ticket is more qualified to run the country.

"In my view, the kind of change that Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden are proposing actually addresses the problems of American families such as health care issues, getting away from dependence on oil instead of moving toward more dependence on oil, and really getting serious about protecting American jobs by not having unfair trade agreements," said Feingold.

-- By Matt Steingraber

Ryan curious to watch Palin tonight

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, is as curious to watch Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin deliver her vice presidential acceptance speech as anyone else.

In an interview with WisPolitics.com on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Ryan described Palin's selection by John McCain to be his running mate as "risky" but "exciting."

When asked if Palin would help McCain defeat Barack Obama and aid Republicans down ticket, Ryan said: "I don't know. Ask me tomorrow." Ryan said a lot depends on how her scheduled Wednesday night address to GOP delegates in the Xcel Energy Center is received.

See more from the interview with Ryan in Friday's WisPolitics Report.

-- By David M. Drucker

Thompson, Ryan give pep talk to delegates

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan gave Wisconsin delegates a pep talk this morning as the campaign turns to its final two months.

Thompson told delegates it was absolutely crucial for Republican to hold the Assembly, taking a swipe at Gov. Jim Doyle in the process.

"It's crucial to control the state Assembly so Michael Huebsch can continue to be speaker and we can maintain one house of the Legislature against that Democratic governor, who I don't want to mention his name because I do not particularly think he's that ... well," Thompson trailed off to applause.

Thompson also took swipes at Barack Obama for voting present while in the Illinois Legislature, saying he used to laugh at lawmakers who would vote present.

"Now how can you have a leader who doesn't even have the courage to vote yes or no?" Thompson said, adding later, "I'm here, but I'm scared to vote."

"I'd much rater have Sarah Palin with a 30-30 in her hands looking at a bull moose in the eyes saying I'll put the trigger."

Listen to Thompson's full comments.

Ryan warned delegates not to allow themselves to fall for the reasoning coming out of "Obama-cons," who think it would be best for Republicans to lose the presidency this fall so they can come back four years from now with a new Reagan revolution.

He said too much was at stake to buy into that notion, ticking off everything from the war against terrorism to the tax burden Americans pay.

"We cannot afford to lose four years," Ryan said.

Listen to Ryan's comments.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., and the Wall Street Journal's John Fund also addressed the delegates.

Listen to King.

Listen to Fund.

-- By Staff

Ron Paul backers gather in Minneapolis

Blogger Brad Vogel, a former UW-Madison student now studying law at Tulane University, evacuated from the hurricane and headed up to the Twin Cities to cover the Republican National Convention. On Tuesday he visited Texas Rep. Ron Paul's "shadow convention" in Minneapolis, which culminated in a day-long rally featuring speakers like Grover Norquist, Tucker Carlson and former Minn. Gov. Jesse Ventura.

An excerpt from Vogel's coverage of the event:

it soon became clear -- the crowd was by and large anti-UN, anti-IRS, anti-Federal Reserve ('F the Fed!' was the cry issued by Howard Phillips of the Conservative Caucus), and hardcore anti-North American Union. Everyone seemed to be enamored with Ron Paul, and people were unabashedly self-referencing Constitutionalists. In fact, a pile of copies of the Bill of Rights flanked the doors of the convention hall.

Overall, the gathering demonstrated the difficulty still faced by any libertarian political effort moving forward at the national level -- how to appear legitimate given all the divergent tensions within the movement and the smattering of fringe groups that latch on whether invited or not. Barr, for one, seemed to represent -- concretely, seeing him there in person -- a somewhat more promising way forward.

Come back across the river, one speaker said. Come back, GOP, to your roots. It was an interesting call, one that set the crowd roaring.

Read more from Vogel

Day Two: What a gas

Christian Schneider
Commentary

As the bus carrying Wisconsin's delegates to the national GOP convention pulls up to the Xcel Center in St. Paul, the Fox News tent rises above all else. As soon as convention goers get off the bus, they have the opportunity to duck into the massive tent to get the full Fox News experience. Presumably, they can play "Be Greta Van Susteren for a day" to see who can spend the most time screeching about missing blonde co-eds. Or, to your left is the Dick Morris Experience, where contestants have to hire as many hookers as they can in 60 seconds. Some Wisconsin delegates actually walked out with -- and this is not a joke -- Hannity and Colmes hand sanitizer.

As you make your way to the Xcel Center, delegates must dodge a maze of large, black iron barricades and a sea of security checkpoints. Someone remarked that the convoluted path the convention sends you through seemed more like a behavioral experiment than an actual attempt at security.

Inside the convention hall, it is a maze of confusion, especially in the press area. Everyone is walking quickly and talking in hurried breath on cell phones, presumably in the middle of the most important call of their lives. Young staffers are leading their bosses around by the arm, making sure not a second is wasted in doing as many interviews as possible. Michael Barone walks by me on the left, Joe Klein on the right. Over in radio row, where talk radio hosts are jammed into 3-foot-by-3-foot stables, conservative talkers from all over the country are intensely delivering their convention diatribes to the folks back home.

Just as Wisconsin's delegates settled into their spots on the convention floor at 5 p.m. it was time to head over to a reception sponsored by the Minnesota Wild hockey team. Of course, the Wild are owned by Wisconsin delegate Craig Leipold. The event was held at 317 on Rice, a tony hotel adjacent to the Xcel Center. The old-style hotel, with its high ceilings and dark cherry wood aesthetic, hosted both the Wisconsin delegation and a party for the NFL owners sponsored by the Minnesota Vikings -- which, really should have been on a house boat, if you think about it. I was wondering if my $125 bid to buy the Toronto Argonauts qualified me to pay the owners a visit.

The Wisconsin delegates spent around two hours at the Wild party (unfortunately, the ethos of the party didn't match its name.) Conventioneers, resplendent in their various access passes, chatted while a jazz band played in the background. The professional politicians, adept at the art of greeting people, breezed easily between delegates, their feet barely touching the ground as they shook hand after hand. One delegate launched into a story about how he once cancelled an Easter egg hunt at his house because he thinks the Easter Bunny is a liberal -- handing out treats to those who haven't worked for them.

My appearance here at the RNC was scheduled fairly late, so I have what they call a "Limited Pass" to the convention. It means, basically, I can stand in the lobby of the Xcel Center, but not go into the actual convention hall. As a result, I can file 3,000 posts about how I stood near the doors saying things like "Oooh -- there's Orrin Hatch!" or "Norah O'Donnell is drinking a Diet Pepsi!" Seeing as how I also managed to get sick in the past day, I decided to find a bus back to Minneapolis to rest up.

On the way out of the secure area, we passed the MSNBC set, where Chris Matthews and guests were sitting, ready to go on air. Almost immediately, the contrast between inside the convention and outside the gates was jarring. Whereas everything inside the gates was comfortably positive, outside the gates it was reminiscent of Beirut. Helicopters watched closely from above. Hundreds, if not thousands, of cops in riot gear lined the streets as tattooed, dreadlocked protestors sneered at them. A woman of about 60 walked past the cops, giving them a double middle finger. Many of the protestors carried hand-held video cameras, just waiting to play amateur Spielberg as the inevitable conflict ensued.

As Mike Schramm from WisPolitics and I tried to get to our bus, it was clear that we couldn't get anywhere near the convention center anymore. The police and protestors had filled in behind us, blocking our path back. We ran into Wisconsin's own Brad Vogel (of the Letters in Bottles Blog), who is going to law school in New Orleans, but figured he might as well evacuate to Minneapolis to escape Hurricane Gustav. He mentioned a group of protestors had just been maced a block over. We asked him if he could do us a favor and go get maced himself, so we could write a story and give it a local angle. He politely declined.

What ensued was a two-hour death march to try to get back to the convention center. At first, I thought I had underdressed (jeans, no tie in traditional reporter fashion) for the night's events, but it turned into a blessing, as I could navigate through thousands of malodorous protestors without being harassed. It was unclear to us what exactly they were protesting (and likely unclear to most of them as well), but they should have been demanding universal access to Irish Spring soap.

Just minutes after leaving a large group of protestors, we heard four or five loud explosions that sounded like bombs going off. Cops from our street started scrambling to find out what happened -- but our noses and eyes said it all. Clearly, the group we had just seen had been tear gassed -- and we could feel the effects just a block or so away.

If you think about it, the RNC really is like the Super Bowl of protesting. If you're a professional protestor at the national GOP convention and don't get tear gassed, you really have failed in your attempt to draw attention to your cause. These people probably go home to their parents to lectures like "I was at the RNC in '68 -- we REALLY got tear gassed! You're a shame to our family name! Now smoke this with me."

By the time we were able to make it back inside the gates, it was 9 p.m. and the bus was about to leave. I watched Fred Thompson's speech on a giant outdoor umbotron as I sat on a curb outside the Fox News tent. On the bus ride back to Minneapolis, I found out I missed the day's genuine big event, the Ron Paul Experience at the Target Center. Speakers included Bob Barr, Jesse Ventura and Paul himself. I think in order to gain entrance you had to have some kind of proof that you have killed a man with your bare hands.

The evening ended with another Wisconsin event at Brit's Pub, about five blocks away from the hotel. People seemed to like the cheeseburgers there. The predominant talk still remains Sarah Palin and how excited people are to see her respond to the negative press she's received this week. Today's pre-Palin events for Wisconsin delegates include a Mississippi River boat excursion, hosted by state Rep. Kitty Rhoades.

-- Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. He can be reached at: christian@wpri.org

Delegate Diary: Everybody plays a role

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

After dispatching the "Winds of Change" post I thought about going out to politick. Then I decided to take a nap instead. It was the right call.

When I woke up around 2:45, I went down in the lobby, met up with Jennie Frederick and we split the cost of the cab over to the "Life of the Party" party in St. Paul. Sarah Palin was supposed to be the headline speaker, but she got booked before her VP selection. On the off chance that she might show up, tickets for the event got a bit difficult to procure.

When I wandered in, I found a bunch of the Louisiana delegation (I went to school in Baton Rouge) and checked to make sure they were OK. Their spirits were good but many of their hometowns were still out of power. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Then I linked up with Bob Dettmer, a state rep from Minnesota, and his wife, Colleen. It turns out that Colleen is from Alaska, and she has a bunch of family in Wasilla. They love Sarah Palin, and Colleen was really talking her up.

According to Colleen, Palin likes to tell a joke that goes like this, "What is the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?" Answer, "Lipstick." Sounds a little apocryphal to me -- but I will take that back if I hear Palin say it on the stump.

When it got close to time for the program to start (at which time it would be revealed whether or not Palin was going to show) I pushed my way up to the podium (no mean feat) and saw that Phyllis Schlafly was sitting on the edge of the podium. Everybody was standing about four feet back from the podium leaving a gap between the crowd and Ms. Schlafly. This space seemed a little bit overly respectful to me. I worried they were making the Grand Old Lady feel like she was in a fishbowl.

So I stepped across the intervening space, stuck out my hand, and said, "It is good to see you, Ms. Schlafly."

She made a motion for me to sit down beside her (which I did) and then it was the two of us in the fishbowl. Some people were taking pictures, and it felt a little odd. Ms. Schafly and I both sighed. Then she patted me on the forearm and said, "Van, would you go check to see if the microphone is on?"

"Yes ma'am," I said.

I checked and guess what? It wasn't on. Furthermore, when I tried to turn it on it wouldn't work. "I'll go see if I can get somebody to fix it," I said. Ms. Schlafly nodded appreciatively.

By the time I had kicked the hotel staff into gear and got the audio working (it actually did not take much kicking, they were quite efficient) the crowd was too thick for me to get back to the front. Sarah Palin didn't show up either. Instead Laura Ingraham was the stand in. Ingraham did a good job, but it was still a let down.

On the way out, I swung by the back of the press room and yucked it up with some press guys and gals. Here's to you Brady from the St. Paul Pioneer Press and a CNN guy whose name escapes. (I gave him my card though and he promised he would send me an email -- we will see if he comes through.)

Then it was off to the afternoon party of the Wisconsin delegation. This party was put on by Craig Leipold who is a delegate and owns the Minnesota Wild, I think. It was a top-notch party. They had a goat cheese concoction that was really choice. I thanked Craig then and would like to thank him again. Any time you want to throw another party, count me in.

There were a bunch of new people (guests and that sort of thing) at Craig's party, and it was a good thing. So far everybody in the delegation has been great, and I love them to death. But if we didn't have some fresh people periodically, we would run out of conversational material. Who wants that?

I worked the room methodically. Some lobbyists from Wal-Mart were there and I said, "You need to do a better job sourcing your products out of Wisconsin."

"We try," they said, and handed me a "Wal-Mart: We Buy Local" pin. "But some stuff is just cheaper if we source it overseas."

"The problem is overseas is not Wisconsin," I said. "Try harder."

After scuffing up the Wal-Mart guys (I meant what I said, but I hope they took it as constructive criticism) I yucked it up with some other lobbyists. The most interesting were some guys who worked for Coca-Cola. We talked about the point at which it would be cheaper to switch from using corn fructose in soda to sugar. It is a vexed question. I couldn't run the calculations in my head and didn't have a napkin. So I still don't know.

Finally the time came to go to the Xcel center for the convention. I got delayed talking to a woman who works for GM and was standing in the entryway to the arena showing off some sort of fancy hydrogen car prototype. She was pretty and smart and interesting. Maybe they ought to make her CEO.

When I finally got on the floor it was a scrum. The energy was oozing out all over the place. After taking it in for a minute, I wandered around cornering press guys. For example, I cornered Al Hunt. "Are you Al Hunt?" I asked. He said, "Yes."

I gave him a card, pointed out that I lived in Ozaukee County, and then went on to point out that McCain and Palin were scheduled to make their first campaign stop after the convention in Ozaukee County.

"Do you think that is an accident?" I shouted over the din.

Al laughed and put the card in his coat pocket. I hope he calls.

Then I wandered over to about two feet from where Andrea Mitchell was shooting a report and scrutinized her closely. She seemed a bit standoffish to me. But perhaps I am biased. In my view, her husband Alan Greenspan did a pretty poor job in the last few years of his term as chairman of the Fed. Worse yet, now he refuses to shut up. LEARN HOW TO BE QUIET, AL. YOU HAD YOUR TURN. NOW SHUT UP.

W., Laura Bush, Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman all did a good job. But don't take my word for it -- watch their speeches for yourself. They understood that it was not their job to get the independents and Democrats to vote for McCain and Palin. It was to loosen them up so McCain and Palin could move in and seal the deal.

Tomorrow will be a big night. Don't miss it!

-- Mobley is associate professor of history & economics at Concordia University Wisconsin, a trustee in the Village of Thiensville and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Serious security in St. Paul

Protesters again took to the streets in St. Paul Tuesday night, resulting in three arrests by police, plus the use of tear gas and flash-bang grenades.

Police line one street in downtown St. Paul


Security fences line the perimeter of the Xcel Energy Center

'Wild' party for Wisconsin delegates

Before heading into the Xcel Energy Center for Wednesday night's convention program, members of the Wisconsin delegation stopped next door to the arena for a cocktail party hosted by the Minnesota Wild (the National Hockey League team owned by Wisconsin businessman Craig Leipold) and several other companies.

After enduring a convoluted route that involved passing through Xcel Energy Center security, then leaving the secured area, then re-entering another secured area, Wisconsin's delegates found themselves at 317 on Rice Park, a St. Paul landmark since 1914.

On one side of the building, Wisconsin's delegates were treated to an open bar and a selection of appetizers. On the other side of the building, the Minnesota Vikings were hosting a gathering of NFL owners.

The Wisconsin party was sponsored by the Minnesota Wild , S.C. Johnson, Johnson Diversey, Johnson Bank, Coca-Cola and Miller-Coors.

-- By Mike Schramm

Commentary: Who will the midgets support?

Christian Schneider
Commentary

There's a scene in the movie "In Bruges" where an inebriated character predicts a future race war in the U.S. between whites and blacks. After an awkward silence, Colin Farrell's character asks the indelicate question: "Whose side do the midgets fight on?"

And so we have the 2008 presidential election -- a contest to figure out which candidate can swing very specific slivers of the electorate to their side. Is Obama unpopular with Latinos? Does the Sarah Palin vice president selection win McCain the "Hillary Voters?" Does Joe Biden lock down the plagiarist vote?

In Day Two of the GOP convention here in Minnesota, Palin remains the star of the show -- far outshining McCain in candle power. (Suggested name for Palin's most ardent supporters: The Palin-drones. No? Palin-tologists?) In fact, the renewed invigoration delegates have for McCain is almost solely attributable to his selection of the Alaska governor as his running mate.

Yet Palin has taken some shots in the last couple of days -- undoubtedly, McCain will be asked repeatedly if he has any misgivings about his running mate's lack of experience (a question that will never be posed to Joe Biden.) But it's clear that questions regarding Palin's 17-year old daughter's pregnancy have only solidified her support among delegates, who are protecting Palin as if she were a family member of their own. The bunker mentality has set in, with Republicans simultaneously wondering how cruel hearted someone can be to drag a pregnant 17-year-old into a campaign, and how in the world the Bush daughters stayed baby-free for eight years.

So why are Republicans so quick to defend an obscure Alaska governor, who they couldn't have picked out of a police lineup of "Governors from States that Start with 'A'" a week ago? It's because she allows them to play the demographic game. Conservatives who normally abhor gender and race politics can now use those same tactics to taunt the Democrats. "You got an African-American candidate? We'll call you and raise you a woman with a disabled child." Obviously, nobody likes it when the race or gender card is played, until they get to do it themselves.

And, of course, it doesn't hurt at all that Palin is attractive. In fact, she could become the hottest VP since Spiro Agnew. She has that librarian look about her -- like at any minute, she could whip off her glasses, let down her hair and sing into a shampoo bottle. Someone needs to do some research on YouTube -- there's an even money chance she appeared in a Whitesnake video at some point. This may just be enough to earn the GOP the much sought after "guys who wear sleeveless '80s band T-shirts" vote.

But perhaps Palin's greatest strength is also Obama's, as well. Since both candidates have slim records of public accomplishment, they remain blank slates on which voters can project their hopes and dreams. In both cases, the candidates aren't necessarily running on who they are, but on who the voters think they can be.

Now we'll see if that appeals to midgets.

-- Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. He can be reached at: christian@wpri.org

Rove apologizes for 'getting weepy' in front of Wisconsin delegation

Former Bush adviser Karl Rove joked with Wisconsin's delegates this morning that Scandinavians don't show emotion.

But by the end of his talk, he couldn't help himself.

Asked about his most memorable experience in the White House, Rove told the delegates the story of a Reno, Nev., family. One son was killed in Iraq and the other was so inspired by his brother that he joined the Marines as well and was preparing to go off to war himself.

While meeting with the president, the father, an orthopedic surgeon, asked for a special waiver so he could join the Navy, which provides medical service to the Marines. The president asked Rove to work on it, and the former adviser said one of his last acts before leaving the White House was writing a letter to the father to tell him how inspiring he was. After getting home to Texas, he realized he needed to write a letter to his wife as well considering she had lost a son, had another going off to war and was getting ready to turn her life upside down so her husband could join the Navy.

Rove said about six weeks later, he received an invitation to the father's Navy commissioning ceremony.

Rove said as wound up as people get about elections, one thing he learned was as long as America continues to produce people like them, "we're going to be just fine, no matter what happens in this election because it is an example of why this is the greatest country on earth," he said before apologizing for "getting weepy."

"It's completely impossible for me to do anything that's useful for these people, but there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about them. Not a day," Rove said.

Rove warmed up the crowd by recalling his ties to Wisconsin, noting his father was born there. He said he returned to Wisconsin a couple of years ago to carry out his father's last wish of having his ashes spread at a rock on Pike Lake, where his parents' ashes had been spread as well.

The delegates greeted Rove with a standing loud ovation and he asked them several times to sit down before joking, "Don't you know our Scandinavian heritage? We're not supposed to show emotion."

Rove also talked politics with delegates, telling them he still believes Bush won Wisconsin in the 2000 election despite officially coming up just more than 5,000 votes short and loved how the trend lines are going for 2008. He also sang the praises of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, telling them that Palin, a member of the NRA and an outdoorswoman, she "can shoot it, gut it, filet it and fix it for you."

"We've got a ticket of a maverick and an independent, and if you can't sell that in Wisconsin, I don't know what," he said.

He also joked with the delegates about the make up he was wearing, something he said was required for his gig at Fox News.

"Men, don't worry. I'm not going to be grabbing the man purse," Rove said. "This is just what I'm required to do."

Listen to Rove's remarks

Delegates heard from former Calif. Rep Steve Kuykendall, a former U.S. Marine, before Rove spoke.

Listen to Kuykendall's introduction

-- By Staff

Walker looking for Harley-riding, tax-cutting governor

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the honorary chair of Wisconsin's delegation for the day, said this morning he had "a little personal bias" in favor of the address Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels gave to the Wisconsin delegation on Monday.

"He talked about how great it was to have a Harley rider who lowered property taxes," Walker said. "I thought 'Wow, that's a great governor' and it is in Indiana too."

Walker also talked about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and took a friendly shot at Vice President Dick Cheney: "Now with her on the ticket, I can safely go hunting with the vice president again."

Listen to Walker's remarks

Delegate Diary: The winds of change

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

This morning Susan left to go back home. With my better half gone, things won't be the same. Still, soldiering on seems to be the theme -- so soldiering on it shall be.

The delegation was all abuzz about the Karl Rove visit this morning and the McCain-Palin visit to Cedarburg on Friday. This might call for an all-night drive. Will the wonders never cease?

Actually, probably not. After breakfast, I wandered downstairs to see what was billed as a talk by Newt Gingrich. What I got instead was AL SHARPTON waxing eloquent on education reform.

He did a hell of a job and got two standing ovations.

The line that brought the house down was more or less as follows

"A very nasty and hard-nosed liberal activist asked me this morning: Why I would appear at an event associated with the Republican National Convention, which also featured Newt Gingrich. I looked at him in the mirror and said there must be something we can come together on!"

In fact Newt and Al said we had to be willing to put partisanship aside and forge new alliances to get the kind of change we need in education. Al in particular said there was "No greater civil rights issue than education reform."

After Al got done talking, I wandered over and shook his hand.

"Good to have you here Reverend Sharpton," I said. I think my eyes had the same twinkle that they had last night when I spoke with the potential McCain voter who was a Polish-American waitress and happened to be married to an African American.

You know what? That John McCain guy can really stir up some change. As Hillary said at the Democratic Convention, "Don't look back. Keep going."

I will be very proud to tell me grandkids, "Yes, I was at the 2008 Republican Convention."

-- Mobley is associate professor of history & economics at Concordia University Wisconsin, a trustee in the Village of Thiensville and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

State GOP Chair: McCain, Palin to stop in Cedarburg Friday

John McCain and Sarah Palin will make their first post-convention stop in Cedarburg Friday, state GOP Chair Reince Priebus said this morning.

Priebus, who announced the stop to state delegates during a breakfast at the national convention in St. Paul, said he didn't have full details yet. But early word out of the McCain campaign was that it would start about 10 a.m. in the community north of Milwaukee on its Main Street.

"It's obviously goes to show you where Wisconsin is on their map," Priebus said. "I think Wisconsin is the bulls eye for them. If McCain wins Wisconsin, he wins the presidency."

-- By JR Ross

Convention day two: Putting together a fundraiser on short notice

Christian Schneider
Commentary

The Wisconsin delegates to the GOP national convention are in for a big morning today, as Karl Rove has been scheduled to address the group during breakfast at 8 a.m. The state Republican Party initially had booked Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, but Barbour had to back out to attend to Hurricane Gustav-related affairs in his home state. As late as 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, Wisconsin state GOP leaders were still scrambling to find a speaker, and getting Rove at such a late hour appears to be somewhat of a coup.

Many of the Wisconsin delegates spent Monday night at a fundraiser for Hurricane Gustav victims held at The Shout House, a bar right around the corner from the hotel that features dueling pianos. Initially, no event had been planned for Monday night, but on Sunday national leaders allowed state delegations to put together small gatherings if they raised money for the hurricane victims. Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus had been to the bar that night and decided on the spot to have the fundraiser there. At about 11 p.m. Sunday, he began making calls to get the event set up and within hours the whole shindig had been planned.

To get a taste of The Shout House, check out this YouTube video.

Attendees included Wisconsin Attorney General J.B, Van Hollen, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, and state Reps. Kitty Rhoades, Don Pridemore, Scott Newcomer and Robin Vos. Also in attendance was former Wisconsin Treasurer Jack Voight, who some delegates told me is floating his name as a possible lieutenant governor candidate in 2010.

While no final fundraising total is available, GOP staff had told me about an hour into the event that they had raised over $2,000 for the hurricane victims.

-- Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. He can be reached at: christian@wpri.org

Delegate Diary: Aftermath of the hurricanes

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

The delegation was braced for one hurricane today. Instead it got two.

In the end the one we had prepared for (i.e. Gustav) was considerably less destructive than we had feared. The people on the gulf suffered a great deal -- but it could have been worse and most will recover. As for me, I made out OK as well. I would tell you about the free munchies I had today -- except I failed to procure a single free munchy today. Indeed, the convention center had such Spartan accommodations that I could not even find a single (open) concession stand selling bottled water. We were all pretty thirsty.

Still, no one complained. We rode in on buses that showed up exactly on time, dropped us off at the Excel Center on time, picked us back up on time and deposited us back at the hotel on time. When we were in the convention center, the proceedings were dignified and efficient. The session lasted maybe two and 1/2 hours in total with a little over half of that time consumed by a recess. During the recess I wandered around on the floor and talked to whoever seemed willing to give me the time of day. The most loquacious of the lot was a guy named Jay Love, who is running for a congressional seat in Alabama. He seemed nice, and I promised to send him a donation. Since I admitted it publicly on this blog I guess I will have to do it.

Shortly before the convention went back into session I went up to the top floor of the arena and gave my credentials to a nice lady who was somebody's guest in the Wisconsin delegation. She went down below to my seat and watched Laura Bush and Cindy McCain give some nice, brief remarks from far below. My wife Susan and I watched them give their remarks from way up high. They looked like a couple of ants on the shiny black stage. I said to Susan, "You know, it must be pretty damned hard to be a politician's spouse."

She said, "It's hard to be a spouse."

The other hurricane was the "Palin's daughter is pregnant" story. It really bugged me when I first heard it. As a matter of fact, it threw me into a funk. Here it was, my big first day at a national convention, and that woman I had opined should be the VP pick was selected as the VP pick and turned out to have a kid who got pregnant. THE INDIGNITY OF IT ALL!

So I stewed and simmered and fretted and snarled. Then at dinner my wife said (I paraphrase), "Oh for Pete's sake get over it. You're just mad because you have to stop gloating. So the family is imperfect. Do you know any perfect families? She might still make an excellent vice president, and that is probably why John McCain selected her to be his partner on the ticket. They were always going to have to demonstrate her qualifications, and they are still going to have to demonstrate her qualifications. The only thing that has changed is that you have to stop gloating. Eat your salad and have a little faith."

Our waitress must have overheard our conversation because the next time she came over she said, "Are you two Republicans?" She had sort of the same detached tone I had assumed when I had been commenting upon the ant-like Laura Bush and Cindy McCain.

"Yes," I snuffled.

"You know," she said, "I like that John McCain, and I like that he put a woman on his ticket."

I was stunned. "Where are you from?" I asked. She had sort of a funny accent.

"Oh, I'm from Poland," she explained.

"Don't stop," I encouraged her. "Give me your analysis of the race."

"Well," she continued on, "my husband is an African-American and he really wants me to vote for Obama. But I am not sure. I like McCain, I like the woman VP, and I come from a union family. I feel lucky to have two such good options."

"You don't say," I smiled mischievously. Maybe this thing will blow over after all.

-- Mobley is associate professor of history & economics at Concordia University Wisconsin, a trustee in the Village of Thiensville and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Convention day one: Getting this party started

Christian Schneider
Commentary

The convention has barely been going on for a half a day, and Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is already pregnant. Man, that girl sure knows how to party. Still no word on John Edwards' whereabouts.

Of course, Bristol Palin's fetus has become the big newsmaker of Day One, when only the most basic of convention business took place on the floor. Some delegates told me they were unaware of the story altogether until they got back to the hotel after floor action. One would think the story will fade quickly, as it deals with a family member of a candidate, not the candidate themselves (Roger Clinton could not be reached for comment). But since Palin is a Republican, some will feast on the supposed "hypocrisy" of her daughter's pregnancy. After all, aren't Republicans those crazy God people that we always hear about?

But it seems those types of criticisms would ring hollow among the general public, as the whole "controversy" will likely humanize the Palin family somewhat. I mean, who doesn't know someone whose family situation was altered due to a surprise pregnancy? In fact, due to Bristol Palin's insistence on having the baby, this could actually make the Palin family seem like they practice what they preach with regard to valuing human life. If the whole situation does end up helping the ticket seem a little more human, don't be surprised to see the fetus giving the keynote address on Wednesday night.

Of course, as everyone has now heard, the convention has been scaled back in deference to the victims of Hurricane Gustav. On the drive up to Minneapolis, I talked to my Dad, who lives in New Orleans and evacuated to Birmingham. I told him the news said the hurricane wasn't too bad, and he chuckled. "Easy for you to say, you'll have a house to go home to," he said. He joked that saying a hurricane wasn't that bad is like saying someone is having "minor surgery." It's only minor if it's someone else having it.

Due to the truncated convention schedule, President Bush's appearance in St. Paul today was cancelled -- which, if they were being honest, most delegates would agree helps the GOP. While the party line says he'd be welcome here, with Bush's approval rating only slightly higher than "paper cuts," keeping him away seems to be the best course of action. Republicans would be better off letting David Koresh speak at their convention. Plus, Bush has a little fence-mending to do with regard to hurricane relief. If he were smart, he'd be hauling a bucket around New Orleans for the next three weeks.

In other convention news, First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain -- dressed like Ming the Merciless -- briefly addressed conventioneers.

And tonight's events for the Wisconsin delegation include a fundraiser for Hurricane Gustav victims at a piano bar close to the Target Center. Delegates will show their compassion for the displaced by drinking to excess and singing Billy Joel songs with way too much intensity.

-- Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute who's writing his own brand of analysis from the GOP convention for WisPolitics.com. He can be reached at christian@wpri.org

TGT uses recent skin cancer surgery for lesson on preventive health care

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, wearing a bandage on his nose after recent skin cancer surgery, this morning lectured Iowa's convention delegates about the importance of preventive health care.

"The nice thing about what we're talking about today, chronic illness and prevention, it fits right in with our philosophy," said the former Bush administration HHS secretary. "Taking care of things before they get so bad that you can't fix it."

He also discussed the importance of preventive health care in reference to his own cancer

"I had to go in and have some minor surgery for cancer," he said. "It's a good lesson: Don't tarry, don't wait, don't wait until something gets more serious. ... I saw I had something wrong on my nose and I went down and had a little surgery and took care of it."

Read more about Thompson's morning remarks on the IowaPolitics.com Convention Blog

Listen to audio of his remarks

-- By Mike Schramm

Delegate Diary: Labor Day breakfast

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

Change blew in with the hurricane this morning. Of course, hurricanes come in all different forms. This morning, in addition to getting the official word that the convention schedule would see drastic alteration because of the emergency on the Gulf coast, we also got the dreadful news that a woman who was a member of our delegation (a close friend of mine whose name I won't mention to protect her privacy) was diagnosed with breast cancer late last week. She will be having surgery this week and won't make it to Minneapolis. Someone else will step up and take her place. That is the way we do it here in America. We never quit and we play as a team. But as we moved forward, the team said a prayer for our friends on the coast and our special friend back in Wisconsin. I know all of you will too.

This morning's line up of breakfast speakers was a good one. Besides our in-state leaders, we heard from Rick Davis, the campaign manager from the McCain team; Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana; Carly Fiorina, a prominent female business leader on the McCain team; Congressman Hoekstra from Michigan; and Lt. Commander Charlie Plum, who was a POW with John McCain in Vietnam. I listed them in order of appearance, not importance. Everybody did a fine job and nobody talked too long.

There was one theme running through everybody's talk -- and it resonated. "COUNTRY FIRST." John McCain has made a career of putting "COUNTRY FIRST" and, while he has already begun to usher in a lot of change, he is too old to start changing his No. 1 priority. So on that he is immovable and inflexible, like a rock.

Everybody agreed that, in addition to taking care of the business of the convention, we all would do our part to help out the folks on the gulf. I will be sending along more information concerning how we (and you all if you want to too) can do that in some later posts.

All the speakers stressed the importance of judging character with reference to actions, not soaring rhetoric. They all pointed out, quite rightly, that talk is cheap. John McCain's character, intelligence and moral courage have always manifested themselves in action, not words. His pick of Palin as his VP speaks to his character, intelligence and moral courage. McCain also knows that it is the team, not the individual, that wins the prize. McCain-Palin is a better, stronger ticket than McCain alone. Rick Davis related that with each passing day, the size of the McCain-Palin rallies was beginning to grow. First 12,000, then 15,000, then just yesterday in St. Louis 22,000 strong. Indeed, Davis told us that when he spoke with John McCain after the St. Louis rally, the boss laughingly informed him that the crowd responded to their stop with chants of "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah." It takes a strong, confident, capable man to share a stage with such a strong, confident, capable woman. McCain and Palin make good partners. And as men and women from all walks of life and from all parties, or no particular party, flock to this inspiring and path-breaking ticket, it will rally those forces from the hinterland that must be mustered for us to reform DC.

Finally, everybody talked about the importance of doing the right thing. It is the right thing to remember that our fellow citizens on the gulf are in trouble and lend them a hand -- even if that means we alter our own routines and expectations. It is the right thing to remember that the Democrats are our opponents, not our enemies. It is the right thing to remember that, as Carly Fiorina noted, (and I paraphrase because my pen ran out of ink) "We can't let those who are enraged that this woman is the VP candidate belittle her or her rich, deep experience -- or the excellent judgment of the man who had the good sense to put her on the ticket."

So far so good. John McCain may not be the greatest speaker to ever grace the planet, but he sure knows how to act. And his actions have changed the dynamics of this race. The delegation is beginning to sense that things are on the right track.

UPDATE 9/2/08: John McCain has always been about "Country First." Sometimes his supporters fall down on the job.

As I was about to leave my room and head out for some more politicking, I remembered that I had forgotten to send along some Web sites for those who would like to pitch in and help the hurricane victims. I know John McCain wants you to have them, and I know I promised to send them. Please forgive my imperfections. Better late than never.

For general info about the disaster relief effort, go to http://www.causegreater.com or call 1-866-775-2008.

For a variety of state specific relief funds check out the following:

http://www.servealabama.gov

http://www.FloridaDisasterFund.org

http://www.aidmatrixnetwork.org/fema/states.aspx?ST=Louisiana

http://www.MississippiRelief.com

http://www.TexasResponds.org


-- Mobley is associate professor of history & economics at Concordia University Wisconsin, a trustee in the Village of Thiensville and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Van Hollen says one fraudulent vote too many

J.B. Van Hollen tells the "UpFront with Mike Gousha" statewide TV show that he's "very concerned" about voter fraud -- and not just in Milwaukee.

The Republican AG, who has expressed disappointment with the Government Accountability Board's moves to prevent fraud, says one fraudulent vote is too many.

In other parts of the interview late last week in advance of the national GOP convention, Van Hollen told Mike Gousha:

-- He's "very confident" of his controversial personnel decisions. "I'm very confident that these will be upheld by anybody that looks at them," he said, adding: "What we are concerned about is professionalism, and I'm not concerned about politics."

-- Repeated that he had no knowledge of staff discussions earlier this year about a security detail at the St. Paul convention. "I've never had security. I don't intend to ever have security while I'm attorney general, and we certainly won't at this convention."

-- John McCain is "perhaps more capable of anybody" to change D.C. politics, adding that his 2006 election as AG in a Dem year showed that people want bipartisan actions.

-- McCain's veep choice has "more applicable" experience than Barack Obama. "With regards to ... Gov. Palin, you're looking at somebody who perhaps has just as much experience as Sen. Obama but perhaps more applicable experience by virtue of the fact that she's been an executive versus a representative."

Veteran GOP delegate Ginny Marschman also talks to "UpFront" about the national GOP convo.

Find an Aug. 31 "UpFront with Mike Gousha" show summary plus audio, video clips

Delegate Diary: Fight in the street

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

My wife Susan and I spent most of the day drinking wine, eating little munchies, (about now I am sick of little munchies and am not going to bother describing them) and chatting it up with the party regulars. After talking it over with people like the Walkers, Buestrins, the Kings, the Neumanns, J. B Van Hollen, Mike Huebsch, Reince Priebus, Tommy Thompson (who gave me a couple of hearty claps on the back) and a sizeable chunk of the Tennessee, California, and Georgia delegations, I can report that the Republicans at the convention are all convinced that the McCain-Palin ticket is a magnificent combination sure to win the prize. Not much news there.

In search of a more kaleidoscopic perspective, Susan and I decided to ditch the evening delegate parties and instead try to unearth some real live Minnesota voters. Political sleuthing requires a great deal of tact (cunning might even be a better word for it) and really ought to be left to the professionals. Your diarist is a professional.

The first thing we did was lose the Sunday clothes and pull on some shorts and T-shirts. Then we left the Marriot City Center Hotel (where we are shacked up), and wandered down Nicolet Mall (a very nice little street, I might add), past the statue of Mary Tyler Moore, and into a sidewalk cafe. I made sure to pick an out