Political Souvenirs Galore

By Justin Deck / Washington Bureau Producer

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Political memorabilia in St. Paul has been tough to find at times… until today. Vendors rolled into St. Paul and set up shop selling everything from t-shirts to tote bags to buttons.

Just yesterday, Rice Park, just a few blocks away from the Xcel Energy Center, was the center of protests. Today, some protesters were still lingering as people crowded around vendors trying to claim their piece of political history.

One couple from New Hampshire, who just happened to make a stop at Rice Park, were eager to pick up some McCain/Palin swag. They spoke about their loot, the convention and Sarah Palin’s speech Wednesday:

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Although convention fanfare has been around all week, everything is about Sarah Palin, with people on the streets casually talking about her speech Wednesday. From the word on the street to the trinkets for sale, its clear that she is a focal point of this convention, at least so far.

Guantanamo Bay In St. Paul

By Justin Deck / Washington Bureau Producer

ST. PAUL, Minn. — In an effort to bring attention to treatment of prisoners, Amnesty International has brought a replica of a cell from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Members of Amnesty International from around the country have come to St. Paul to bring awareness to detainee treatment issues.

The stop in St. Paul is just one of many on the Guantanamo Cell Tour that is traveling around the country. Previously, the cell made a stop at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The cell measures 10 ft x 7 ft x 8 ft and weighs 1650 pounds.

The cell consists of a steel toilet, floursecent lights and a sliding metal door. After being closed into the cell as a mock “prisoner” I must say, the space is unusually small, but not much different than what comes to mind when I think of a prison cell.

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It’s worth mentioning that there’s no way I would have found this event if I had not seen the street crews around the Xcel Center sporting orange jumpsuits.

Sarah Sighting

By Dana Brown / Washington Bureau Producer

This morning, Sally Kidd, photographer Eric Jensen and I were working our way through about 50 live shots.  We were knocking them out, one right after another.  Then, we had a quick break, so I peered over the edge of the skybox to see what I could see.

That’s when I saw her.

Cream colored skirt suit.  Tall black pumps.  Hair perfectly pulled into that now famous up-do.  The glasses.  The smile.  The whole bit.  Could it be?  At 6:30 in the morning?

Sarah Palin?  The Republican nominee for Vice President?  Right before my eyes?  I was in desperate need of caffeine, so I wasn’t 100% trusting my own judgement.  Sally and Eric turned and looked as well.

It WAS her!  Eric and I jumped to get our cameras. (our digital cameras – Eric’s fancy shmancy television camera was of course perfectly framing Sally’s live shots)

We snapped a couple of shots as Sarah Palin toured the stage where she will speak at the GOP Convention tonight.

Palin Takes the Stage

 

Word certainly traveled fast.  Within minutes, the media swarmed the stage.  She is after all, “the big get” right now as we media types like to say.

The Media Gathers Around

She stepped up to the microphone.  Are you ready for her words this morning?  I heard them with my own ears…. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”

Yep.

Mic check.  It worked.  You can bet the Xcel Center will be booming when her voice hits that microphone tonight!

Ron Paul’s Party

By Justin Deck / Washington Bureau Producer

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Ron Paul for President campaign rolled into The Target Center in Minneapolis Tuesday amid a throng of supporters. After two days of celebratory events, Paul is throwing a large convention just a few miles away from the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.

Ron Paul supporters from all around the country have converged on Minneapolis for the “Rally for the Republic”. The campaign sold all of the 10,000 seats in the arena for a price of $17.76, a nod to Paul’s Constitutionalist principles.

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The arena was packed with people of all ages from young children to some who have followed the figure for decades. Along with people who had purchased tickets, thousands waited in lines snaking through the venue over the sky walk and into the neighboring mall, for a chance to get into the arena.

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As the  convention hall was prepped for opening, Paul waited with supporters and listened to his campaign band. Those who were not ticket holders or wishful ticket holders lined the streets around the arena. Even without the attendance numbers finalized, it’s clear that the Twin Cities are also Ron Paul territory.

Political Memorabilia Around St. Paul

By Justin Deck / Washington Bureau Producer

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Amid the abbreviated launch of the Republican National Convention, retailers are featuring a variety of political memorabilia.

Rock and roll merchants, candy stores and souvenir shops have been converted to one-stop convention shops with pins, t-shirts and pretty much anything else emblazoned with political images. The only thing missing were quirky street vendors or people setting up makeshift shots along the roads.

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The convention site has been mostly quiet due to the abbreviated slate of events on Monday. However one owner of a rock-n-roll turned political humor shop said business is great, mostly due to the massive staff that is required to execute an event of this magnitude.

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Even though delegates are only meeting briefly for official business, retailers said business is constant and restaurants around the site had a steady stream of visitors who were out to see the sights.

Protests Sweep Across St. Paul

By Justin Deck / Washington Bureau Producer

ST.PAUL, Minn. – Various groups led protests through the streets of St. Paul on Monday. The mood ranged from peaceful to downright violent, with some protesters popping tires, smashing windows and setting small fires.

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Convention Signage 101

By Justin Deck \ Washington Bureau Producer

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The television crews are finalizing their shots, the convention staff are confirming the seating charts and a group of young Republicans are being trained in the vital task of distributing signs and materials at the convention.

RNC Page Training

A team of one hundred Republican National Convention Pages are responsible for distribution of schedules, party platform books, rules and the highly coveted signage during primetime speeches.

At the actual site of the convention the RNC has constructed a printing press to handle last minute changes along with using three other printers in the Saint Paul area. High school students from around the country are assigned to target areas to distribute rally signs for primetime speeches.

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The training resembled visions of an obstacle course as pages were told what areas to avoid and how to get the signs out quickly. The process is very synchronized which explains how they are able to transform an entire arena, in a matter of minutes.

The Scene…

By Sally Kidd / Washington Bureau Correspondent

This is the view from our skybox-turned-studio at the Xcel Energy Center

Our Bird's Eye View

We’ve already seen a few famous faces.  We ran into comedian and political commentator Al Franken in the parking garage.

Parking Garage Portrait

Franken, a Democrat, is running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Sen. Norm Coleman here in Minnesota.

Greetings From St. Paul!

By Dana Brown / Washington Bureau Producer

We’re here!  Correspondent Sally Kidd, producer Justin Deck and I arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul Saturday.  We’re all looking forward to covering the GOP Convention – and we’re anxiously awaiting news of how Hurricane Gustav will affect the RNC’s plans, and in turn, our plans as well!

WDSU Reporter "Going Live" on CNN

Gustav is definitely top of mind.  Eyeballs across Ronald Reagan Airport were glued to the TVs, including ours.  We saw a live update by reporter Taslin Alfonzo, of one of our Hearst-Argyle Television stations, WDSU.

We all hope for the best for the people on the Gulf Coast!

Here in RNC land… my eyes are almost exhausted already from taking all of the sights in!  I’m afraid to blink in case I miss something!  There are interesting people, politicians and big league journalists and pundits everywhere!  It started before we even left DC!  

For example, look who Sally and I ran into right before went through security at the airport:

Sally Striking a Pose

 This is a prime example for a rule I try to live by:  Never leave home without a digital camera.

My Turn

So, we’re getting settled in at our quarters in and around the Xcel Energy Center.  

 

Downtown St. Paul is sparkling clean, the city looks great and the people are warm and welcoming.  We ran into this guy on our way to dinner:

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Right after I shot the video of this guy, he said “This better be on YouTube by tonight!”  They’re getting into the spirit!

I think that’s it for now.

Oh, I do hope at some point to shoot a throwback to one of my personal inspirations, Mary Tyler Moore. (How could we not, being here and all?)  As soon as I find either Laurie or Sally a hat to toss into the air, it’s on!  ”You might just make it after all..”

Check back for that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Reviews Are In…

By Nikole Killion/Washington Bureau Correspondent

WASHINGTON – As the attention turns to St. Paul and the Gulf Coast, the reviews are in from Denver. I spent the day traveling back to the nations’ capital and got an earful from delegates as they made their way back home. 

Here are just a few of the adjectives they used to describe the week:  “Once in a lifetime event”, “Amazing”, “Inspiring”, “Historical”…

It was quite a show…and with that I leave you with a few images from the final night at Invesco Field as Sen. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for President.

Stevie Wonder performs a special tribute to Barack Obama.

Former Vice President Al Gore addresses the crowd.

Vice Presidential Nominee Joe Biden speaks.

Sen. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

The Obamas and Bidens share the stage.Fireworks light up the sky over Invesco Field.