CONVENTION NOTEBOOK

Bristol Empathy, VIP Misspellings, And More Protests

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008


She's Backing Bristol

Meghan McCain, daughter of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, says she knows firsthand the pressures of being a political child and is standing behind Bristol Palin, the pregnant 17-year-old daughter of GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"I just wanted to let it be known that I support Bristol and the entire Palin family," the younger McCain wrote on McCainBlogette.com. She said that when she was 14, a reporter asked her father about the possibility of his daughter having an abortion if she were pregnant, and references to that question continue to pop up years later.

"It's a rough go being the son or daughter of a politician," she wrote. "I have not known Bristol Palin very long, but there is a certain kinship I feel to her as I do other political daughters," including Chelsea Clinton and Jenna and Barbara Bush. "You can't fully understand it unless you have lived it."

-- by Adam Aigner-Treworgy

How Soon They Forget

Elephants are said to have long memories but apparently the producers of the "Official Media Guide" for the Republican convention do not. The evidence can be found at the bottom of page 52, where the chairman of the Mississippi delegation is listed as "The Honorable Hayley Barbour."

Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, is a longtime, in-the-trenches warrior for the Grand Old Party, having served as White House political director for Ronald Reagan in his second term, working on the campaign of the first President Bush and serving as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997.

Under his watch, Republicans took control of Congress for the first time in 40 years, making him a hero of sorts among party faithful.

So you'd think the folks that work for the committee he used to run would at least spell his name right.

It's H-A-L-E-Y.

Lost And (Not) Found

Kids everywhere are taught to look for a police officer if they get lost. But some convention-goers are finding out that following that advice doesn't necessarily work in St. Paul.

When asked for directions the other day, one sheepish officer admitted he was from Washington, D.C., and didn't have a clue. A closer look at his uniform showed he was a member of the Uniformed Division of the U.S. Secret Service.

Down the block, another officer said he was from Minneapolis and didn't know much about getting around in his sister city.

So even in a city swarming with cops and security guards, if you get turned around in St. Paul, you might be on your own.

-- by Elaine S. Povich

Turning The Tables

GOP Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, who lost his party's primary in Maryland's 1st District to state Sen. Andrew Harris, is endorsing the Democratic candidate in the race to succeed him, Queen Anne County State's Attorney Frank Kratovil.

Gilchrest was scheduled to appear with Kratovil today at two locations in the district. Tony Caliguiri, the long-time chief of staff to Gilchrest who is now supporting Kratovil, confirmed the endorsement when contacted by the Associated Press.

In a five-way GOP primary in February, Gilchrest, a moderate who opposed the war in Iraq, ran second to state Sen. Andrew Harris, a conservative who is a physician at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, following an often bitter campaign.

Democrats are hoping to capture the district for the first time since Gilchrest ousted his Democratic predecessor in 1990.

While Democrats hold a narrow majority in party registration, Gilchrest won re-election repeatedly by appealing to moderate Democrats in the general election. Kratovil is a moderate Democrat who has won election as the chief prosecutor in a Republican-leaning county.

Praise For A Maverick

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona today said home-state colleague McCain cemented his maverick status by picking Palin to be his running mate. Kyl said the selection was a win-win for McCain because he was also able to polish his conservative credentials.

"I saw a glint in his eye when he introduced her," Kyl said. "She is a very authentic person who appeals to the base of the party, so he not only gets someone that appeals to the base, which helps him, but a soulmate who is a reformer."

An early McCain backer when there were few in his party, Kyl noted with some amazement the journey McCain has taken.

"I remember when we attended the meeting and it was, 'OK, we got $1.80 in the bank, we're going to have to fire everybody, we've got one shot, we got to put all our eggs in New Hampshire and win that race,' and they did," he said. "This nominee is the one nominee that has the best shot for Republicans to win this year, because of his qualities. And part of those qualities is not always agreeing with the establishment."

The congressional GOP leadership is expected to be at full-strength later today when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky arrives in St. Paul, although a spokesman at presstime said the timing was not quite locked down.

-- by Peter Cohn

More Protests Expected

The streets around the Xcel Center were largely quiet this morning, but protesters and self-described anarchist groups were hatching plans to make things interesting as delegates arrive for the convention this afternoon.

A peaceful march of several thousand protesters --dominated by anti-war demonstrators but including advocates for a variety of causes -- is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. from Mears Park in St. Paul to the convention center, organizers said.

Police are more concerned about two factions threatening to "crash the convention" and block access for delegates: the RNC Welcoming Committee and a group called "Funk the War." Members of the groups were huddling this morning, plotting random mayhem and mapping strategies for "lockdowns" in areas where buses arrive.

Nearly 300 arrests were made Monday as police cracked down on violent acts, including window-smashing, rock-throwing, tire-slashing and traffic-blocking.

-- by Chris Strohm

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