Capitol View: September 2, 2008 Archive

Bush may speak

Posted at 7:10 AM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

President Bush may address the convention in person of via video conference tonight.

Palin backed bridge to nowhere in 2006

Posted at 9:57 AM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

As they say in politics, she was for it before she was against it.

Question of the day: Does this undermine her so-called "Reformer image?"

RNC is back on

Posted at 10:14 AM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

McCain's campaign manager just said tonight's theme will be service. He says there will be a video tribute to President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Former GOP Sen. Fred Thompson and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman will be the featured speakers.

Update: President Bush will speak via a live feed from the White House...

Breakfast with the delegates

Posted at 10:43 AM on September 2, 2008 by Molly Bloom

MPR reporter Curtis Gilbert sat in on the Minnesota delegation's breakfast meeting this morning.

They heard short speeches from all of the non-incumbent Republicans running for U.S. Congress -- Brian Davis (running in MN 1st Congressional District), Erik Paulsen (3rd CD), Ed Matthews (4th CD), Barb Davis White (5th CD), Glen Menze (7th CD) and Michael Cummins (8th CD).

Ron Carey, chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, announced that tonight's convention would start at 6:00. And, showing that not even the home state delegation is safe from vandalism, he said that the tires had been slashed on two of their buses and that might delay some of their activities scheduled for the day.

Fool me once...

Posted at 5:01 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura hinted (again) that he may run for president in 2012.

His words to the audience at Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic at the Target Center were:

"Maybe in 2012."

Ventura (who has flirted with possible funs for office in the past) told the audience that he would consider a run for president in 2012 if he sees a credible independent movement:

"Chanting and yelling aren't going to do it," Ventura said. "If I see it in 2012, I'll give them a race they'll never forget."

Ventura hustled off the stage as the crowd cheered. He then ran back to the podium to remind the audience that his good buddy Dean Barkley is running for the U.S. Senate as an Independence Party member. He's challenging GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and DFLer Al Franken.

"I almost forgot to mention that," he said.

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A tongue in cheek look at the RNC

Posted at 5:43 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Christopher Buckley's look at the convention.

Defining Palin

Posted at 7:08 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Sarah Palin is an open slate to most voters. They have no idea who she is, where she stands, etc. That can be a benefit and disadvantage for the campaigns. The benefit for the McCain campaign is they can highlight her positives. The downside is that she can be defined as the news media scrambles to find out her track record, her history, etc. It appears that both campaigns are giving us a helping hand.

Here's what the Democrats have sent over via e-mail:

Palin's pork requests confound reformer image - AP

Palin dragging her feet on probe - Talking Points Memo

McCain cancels a CNN interview - TPM

Bridges to Fairview Fannie - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Palin and Stevens - CBS

Palin's stopover - Politico

Palin's Lobbyist Has Abramoff Ties - TPM

Palin Was a Director of Embattled Sen. Stevens's 527 Group - Washington Post

Here's the info from McCain's camp:

McCain sent out this video introducing Palin.

They also released this photo (with First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain)

Ignore the Chauvinists - Wall Street Journal

They also released McCain's comments to Fox News.

Question of the Day: Who is Sarah Palin?

Oops!

Posted at 8:33 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

When talking about the VP nominee, Republican National Committee co-chair Jo Ann Davidson made a major boo boo. She mistakenly referred to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Sarah Pawlenty.

UPDATE: Here's the video

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Norm Coleman to RNC

Posted at 9:38 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

Here's his speech:

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Michele Bachmann to RNC

Posted at 9:43 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Here's her speech:

Bulls on parade

Posted at 9:57 PM on September 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

As Republicans meet inside the Xcel, police outside the hall fire chemical irritants on protesters. Do the Republican delegates inside the hall know what's going on outside it?