01 September 2008

Dateline: Eagan, MN

Turns out the Excel Center is in Eagan, MN, a suburb of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. And this is where I'll be until Friday. This is my first convention and I'm not quite sure what to expect. With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on Louisiana, it looks like no one else knows what to expect either.

A few thoughts:

- My prayers and thoughts are with the residents--evacuated and not--in Louisiana. I hope the hurricane loses steam and causes as little damage as possible.

- It will be interesting to see, from a purely electoral perspective, what effect the hurricane has on the campaign. The RNC has already announced that convention activities will be curtailed. Some big names have already canceled. First impression: lack of a convention and opportunity to present John McCain's "Country First" message will hurt him. Second impression: what says "America First" better than putting the needs of Gulf States' residents before his party's convention? Of course, he has to be careful not to appear too opportunistic.

- Iowahawk: The Idiossey

- Debating who has more experience--Obama, Guitar Hero, or Palin--is a winning discussion for the McCain campaign. With any luck it will wake people to Obama's lack thereof. What better prepares a person to be President? 8 years as a mayor + 2 years as Governor OR nebulous community organizer (anyone care to try to explain this occupation in a way that gives it some heft? anyone? anyone?), sometime lecturer, part-time state legislature who mostly voted "present," US Senator who produced no major legislation but has spent most of the time campaigning for President.

What just boggles my mind is that people think that Obama's 18 months campaigning for the presidency was somehow a great prep course for the presidency.

Come on folks, if that were the case, Jesse Jackson would make a great POTUS.

And remember, this is a debate comparing Dems' ticket topper and Reps' undercard.


*Over-the-top performance, no real skill or experience.


If you have tips, questions, comments or suggestions, email me at lybberty@gmail.com.

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