We walked over and watched the Chris Matthews circus across the street, then decided to get over to the Convention Center a little early. There were a few protesters, and I was glad to see the Pink Army working at a very minimal manpower. They are the very aggressive protesters who get in your face.
Had a quick dinner in the Members Only room:
The big excitement today in the convention was the press. The big dogs. The ones who have a job on a national level. Buster and I got many great pictures between the two of our cameras, and we were texting back and forth “I got Wolf Blitzer!” “I got Katie Couric!”
At one point, Cindy McCain and the kids came out onto the floor to greet people. Then I noticed that the Arizona Delegation had cleared four seats in their front row. It was for Cindy and the kids to sit with them. So Buster got to sit only a few feet away from Cindy. She abruptly got up and walked over to the other side of the Convention when George and Barbara Bush came in. She joined them in the balcony below me and I got to sit and stare at the back of their heads.
Buster was kind enough to switch credentials with me so I could come down out of the balcony and sit in his spot on the floor. That was a great experience, to be out there with the press and the others chanting and waving the McCain signs. The atmosphere was very electric, and everyone was pumped up.
Fred Thompson is obviously a very powerful speaker, he put his all into his speech. We noticed that when he was done he actually looked a bit tired!
Lieberman was fantastic, he had a great welcome from the crowd.
Laura Bush of course was well loved.
Ann Curry from NBC was right next to me for a while. I stood with the press during much of my time down on the floor.
Newt Gingrich walked down the red carpet and sat right in the middle of the Arizona Delegates. I stuck around after the convention to get some pictures.
But you have to agree with me, the best picture was definitely Triumph the Comic Insult Dog.
