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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 outside table next to what appeared to be a couple of locals (male, about 35 years old, appeared to be your typical "independent" voters) and then made my wife sit with her back to the street. (Actually, I didn't really make her sit with her back to the street. She said, "I have got to sit where I can watch the football game through the window.") Susan's preferred arrangement left me with a clear view of those passing to and fro.

Once we had ordered and settled in I directed a few grimaces and sighs at some of the Republican delegates walking by on the sidewalk, but at an angle that ensured my neighboring diners could see it, but not the delegates. The one with dark hair and a red T-shirt produced his own grimace and said, "I am about ready for them to get the hell out of here."

"Me too," I responded, "and I am one of them."

It took him a few seconds but after the import of what I had said sunk in he blushed just a bit. Rather than leave him hanging I laughed softly, and said, "I am not sure I can take a whole week of drinking wine, eating munchies, and listening to speeches."

His friend, a blonde guy with a white T-shirt, piped in with something to the effect that, what with the hurricane and all, we might get a lot fewer speeches than we had earlier anticipated. "Damn straight," I declared, "this Republican convention is all about change -- and that starts with our own schedule." We all laughed grimly and then, with the ice broken, I moved in for the kill.

"I need some information from outside my bubble. What do you guys think about the Palin pick?" I asked directly.

"What do you think?" queried the blonde guy.

"I pressed for it before it happened for a variety of reason, many of which you probably already know, and the rest of which I have no intention to divulge," I responded. "And further more it doesn't matter what I think anymore, because I have already pledged my support."

"Well," responded Mr. red T-shirt, as his eyes narrowed just a bit. He wasn't sure whether he liked me or not. "I find the pick intriguing." He then went into a wide ranging soliloquy which questioned whether Palin had enough experience to be president, included a soaring statement apprising me of the value of diplomacy and praised the deftness that Barack Obama had shown in this area. The guy with the red T-shirt then concluded with the confession that he had decided to vote for Obama long ago and had made that decision because he thought we would not be so isolated in the world if we had Obama at the helm. "There is just something about him that makes people in other nations like us."

"I see," I said after he finished. Then I leaned back, took another sip of wine and caught Mr. white T-shirt in my cold unwavering gaze. "And what about you?"

He didn't seem the least bit intimidated, and instead leaned back and locked his eyes on mine. "I don't know yet," he said. "She did a hell of a job in the first speech. There is a lot of pressure on her, but I guess I will just wait and see."

"Wise man," I thought to myself, as we turned to a discussion of the Brett Favre saga.

On the way home from dinner we had the most excitement of the night. Susan and I wandered over to look at a Masonic Temple that now houses the Hennepin Center for the Arts. Once there we saw the outskirts of a huge crowd around the Target Center. There were wall to wall people milling around, and young girls were jumping up and down excitedly. "What is going on?" I asked after we walked over to a young woman who had climbed part way up a light pole to get a better view.

"It's American Idols," she responded without taking her eyes off whatever it was she was seeing over the top of the crowd.

My wife and I laughed heartily and headed back for the hotel -- but as we approached the outskirts of the main body of the crowd we noticed another, smaller crowd of teenagers. As we approached them a melee broke out on the sidewalk and the crowd spilled into the street. Its components were hitting, kicking and gouging one another.

"Not that way," I grabbed my wife and spun her back around the way we had come. In about 10 quick steps we had reached a bar. I darted in the entrance, caught a waiter's eye, and said, "A melee just started in the street outside, call the police right now."

He looked at me blankly for a second, thought about blowing me off and then thought better of it. Instead he made a dive behind the bar, picked up the phone and started the call. I gave him a wave, grabbed my wife by the arm and stepped back outside the door. We quickly circled the block and came out on the hotel side of the melee. With an open escape route to our backs, we were perfectly positioned to watch what came next. A cavalcade of mounted police thundered by, quickly followed by about 10 to 12 police cars. In minutes, mounted and dismounted policeman had herded the melee's participants out of the street and back on the sidewalk. It had to be one of the most abbreviated near riots-in history.

"How ironic," I thought as we rode the elevator up to our room, "that a near riot at an American Idol frenzy got squashed by extra policemen on hand for a political convention." This ain't 1968.

-- 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.

Delegate diary: Minnesota corn, chicken and wild rice at the media party

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

By the time we made it to Minneapolis on Saturday it was 7:30 p.m. The media party along the riverfront ended at 8:30 p.m. and, since rumor had it there was free food and wine, we didn't bother to carry our luggage up to the room or change into something more reputable than the shorts and polo shirts we had on for the drive. Instead, we just went to the party.

Getting there and back was remarkably easy. The cabbies knew exactly where to go and the one who drove us back was a real gem. An Algerian who had come to the United States after having been "snatched by an American woman," this particular cabby had, at some point in time, developed a number of fascinating theories about the differences between German and Irish women. Oddly enough, my wife Susan, who grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, was more interested in these theories than was I. While we drove back to the hotel the two of them (i.e the Algerian cabby and my wife) had a grand old time discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the cabby's Irish/German hypotheses. I, on the other hand, stared out the window and thought to myself, "So this is the fruit of globalization." But I digress.

The media party itself was attended by people who appeared to be somewhere between the early thirties and late fifties. There was no order whatsoever in the assemblage. Some of the attendees were black, some of them were white, some of them were yellow, and some of them were a pale brown. Some of them were dressed to the nines, and some of them were wearing shorts and t-shirts. My favorite, perhaps, was an attractive brunette woman in a blue business suit who was wandering around with a cardboard sign across her chest that read "Sarah Palin." Looming over this grand American melting pot, in all its glory, was a massive neon sign that flashed "GOLD MEDAL FLOUR." That flashing neon sign symbolized something, I think. But darned if I know what.

Excellent, and free (perhaps there's a linkage in these two attributes?) food and beverages awaited us after we fought our way through the crowds to a couple of rows of tables overflowing with the earth's bounty. I had an ear of roasted Minnesota corn, some wild rice with chicken, bell peppers, and almonds, a bit of grilled portobello mushroom on toasted sourdough with parmesan cheese (the cook was squirting the cheese out of a big tube with the same relish that my youngest son squeezes his toothpaste), and a helping of black bean and red potato salad – all washed down with a couple of small cups of $8-a-bottle cabernet.

While we were eating our meal around one of the little stand-up tables that littered the scene, four extraordinarily well dressed people carrying heaping plates of food wandered by. Thinking they must be well-connected Republicans, and seeking to ingratiate myself with the in-crowd, I waved them over, scooted over next to my wife, and assured them that we would be eager to share our table. They seemed suspicious but, since there were no other options, they gathered around.

"So how did you get your credentials?" an attractive young woman asked me as she gazed down her long, thin nose.

"I, I am an alternate delegate," I stuttered. I felt pretty lousy about being only an alternate delegate, dressed sort of like a tourist from Wisconsin (which of course is sort of what I was).

"Hmmmm ..." Was all I could get in response.

"My name is Van," I went on awkwardly, "and this is my wife Susan. We're from Wisconsin."

"I'm -------" she replied, as she turned her head aside. And then, each of our newfound friends, in sequence, turned their heads to the side as he or she said his or her name, thereby defeating all my efforts to actually catch their names. Stymied on that track I then took out some business cards and passed them around, hoping that I would get a card in return. But they were having none of it, and refused to pick up mine or generate any of their own.

"Well," I asked in desperation (I was really working hard at this networking business), "how did you all get in?"

"Oh," one of the women replied, "I work for the company in Minneapolis that organizes conventions -- including this one."

"And how many of the people here are locals who somehow got a ticket and just wandered in to enjoy the show?" I wondered.

"Probably more than you would think," speculated a male.

I sure hope they remember come November.

-- 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.

Delegate diary: Savoring the Palin pick over a hearty breakfast

Van Mobley
Delegate diary

Seasoned veterans never start a campaign without making sure the home front is rock solid. And so it was that before my wife and I packed our bags and started for the Twin Cities we called my mom. As always she stepped into the breach and even decided to bring along my aunt to help look after the kids while we were away.

The thing about moms is that they always go above and beyond the call of duty. For that reason I wasn't surprised when my mom got up early Saturday morning before we left and fixed the whole family a magnificent breakfast of eggs, homemade biscuits, sausage, and more.

It tasted great. As I munched it down, and contemplated John McCain's announcement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP pick (a pick I had eagerly anticipated and encouraged on WisOpinion earlier in the week) a feeling of unrepentant and unchecked jauntiness swept over me.

My mom noticed and commented upon the fact. "Don't let your head swell just because you guessed who John would pick for VP!" she declared.

"Maybe I didn't guess," I responded. "Maybe I knew it was going to happen or even actually helped ensure that it did happen."

"Whatever happened," she laughed with a twinkle in her eye, "gloating isn't attractive."

"Yes ma'am," I acknowledged dutifully (Mom is almost always right and it is pointless to resist the force of her logic).

"Thank God for strong women," I thought to myself. "I wouldn't be going to the convention without them and the ticket I support wouldn't be going to the White House without them either."

McCain-Palin 2008. I can't think of a better ticket.

-- 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.