Republican storm watch

Everyone here in the Twin Cities is talking about two things: the storm on the Gulf Coast and the storm caused by John McCain's VP choice. The pundits are saying that the social conservatives are energized by the choice of Sarah Palin. I have yet to run into any Republicans who fit that description. Most people I spoke with are not happy about it.

Bea Horwath, 81, and her husband Lou Horwath, 91, were at the Marriott lobby bar in Minnetonka, Minn., after attending a wedding reception. Bea's cousin, Ray Allen, is the co-owner of Summit Brewing Company. They are a local Minnesota brewery and maker of Summit Pale Ale, which I highly recommend. Allen's granddaughter was getting married. Bea said she was hoping Mitt Romney would've gotten the nod. "I like his appearance, especially his hair," she said. Lou wasn't wild about Palin either but hoped that maybe she'd steal some of Hillary's votes. "McCain picked her so he could get to that oil in Alaska," he explained, grinning.

I also spoke with a younger couple, Angie and Tony Tesch, from South Dakota. They were both in the area to attend the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. (That's it! We'll settle this dead-heat election with a jousting tournament!) Both Tesches work in the environmental field and are opposed to drilling in Alaska. They also both support McCain and like his experience, but are lukewarm about the Alaskan governor. Angie is pro-choice and and says she can't relate to Palin's ideology.

Hurricane Gustav is pounding the Gulf Coast but its effects are being felt right here in Minnesota. The Republican National Convention has been put on hold to assess the damage. It will still be taking place, no doubt, but some of the key players will be missing.

Bush has decided to concentrate on the storm and forgo his opening night speech at the convention. There is still a possibility he will speak from a remote location. Some Southern politicians are staying home to clean up the damage. How will this affect the GOP's party in Minneapolis/St. Paul? Too soon to tell.

I don't get to use use color in the paper very much since the Post-Gazette's editorial page is printed strictly in black and white. Here is a full-color close-up of today's cartoon. You can see more of my non-blog cartoons by clicking here.

Minneapolis Airport

When I'm traveling to a destination like a political convention I try to keep my eyes open for VIPs. You never know when you might catch a glimpse of a famous celebrity or politician on the plane or in the airport. I stepped into the men's room at the Minneapolis airport and I saw a white-haired gentleman checking out the stalls. He was looking into each stall and then turning away with a dismayed look on his face. "You're not Larry Craig, are you?" I asked. He looked at me with digust, obviously not flattered at being compared to the Minnesota congressman who was busted for soliciting sex in the airport men's room.

As it turned out, the gentleman, who did look a little bit like Craig, was only checking the stalls because most of them were flooded with water from an overflowing toilet. The poor guy just wanted a dry stall and I was giving him a hard time. He left in a huff. Despite being in "guerrilla cartoonist" mode, I didn't pull out my sketchbook in the men's room. With my luck, I would've gotten busted for soliciting caricatures. Instead of a new sketch, I am reaching back into the archives for a cartoon I did in 2007.

McCain Mutiny

McCain has gone off the reservation! He has chosen a woman as his vice presidential running mate! Nothing against Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. I am sure she is very nice. But just because she has ovaries doesn't make her Hillary Clinton.

McCain obviously believes that any ol' gal will do when it comes to wooing those disgruntled Hillary voters. That is an insult to women. The GOP is not a party with a good record of championing women's causes. This VP pick sounds like a gimmick to me. One that will probably backfire.

Today was a travel day for me. Tomorrow I will be exploring Minneapolis/St. Paul and preparing for next week's RNC blowout. I will post again on Sunday.

Celebrity future president

Remind me if I ever run for president to give my keynote address in a football stadium. Whoever thought of that was genius. Oh, right ... it was JFK. He switched his address to the LA Coliseum during the 1960 Democratic convention. If this were a baseball stadium I would say Barack knocked it out of the park. You really haven't lived until you've been sitting next to 75,000 oxygen-deprived fanatics screaming "Yes we can!" The bleachers were vibrating just from the chanting. When people started stomping their feet, the whole stadium shook. Hard to argue with McCain's use of the celebrity label when Obama gets a reception like that. I guess JFK was a celebrity too. I managed to move a few rows over so I had a clear sight of the podium. It was merely a psychological victory, though, because from where I was his head was the size of a gnat. I watched most of his speech like everyone else --- on the big screen.

The Dems know how to put on a good party. What a great way to celebrate MLK's famous speech. The fireworks were also a nice touch. The pundits all gave Obama high marks for his speech. That should give him a nice post-convention bump in the polls. I have to agree with the pundits. I felt like I was watching the next president of the United States in action. It gave me a chill. The last time I felt that chill was when I was in New York City's Madison Square Garden watching Bill Clinton deliver his keynote address.

He was strong, confident, passionate and inspiring. Tonight Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination and gave the American people a "fist bump" of hope.

Signal for change

Well, Al Gore just finished. I lost my signal during his whole speech. Down to 25% battery.

I have a bone to pick with cable news and it isn't just the blocked view of the stage. Wolf Blitzer must think he is better than the rest of us because he sits with his back to the speaker. All the time. Bob Schieffer doesn't do that. He was watching Al Gore the whole time he was on stage. CNN likes to call itself America's best political team. America's most arrogant political team is more like it.

They are doing the wave in the stadium. Awesome. Barack is on his way up any minute and I am out of juice. So I will sign off now.

With any luck I will be back to file later tonight. At least I hope I will. Dare to hope.

I'm happy to be here, really ...

OK, I apologize if that last post sounded too whiny. I just spent two hours getting to the stadium and 45 minutes getting through security so I am a little cranky. The sheer number of bodies in this place is amazing. When people say mile-high I think they mean the seats because it looks like those people on the top row are a mile away.Stevie Wonder just broke into "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." No one can be cranky when that song is being sung. Maybe I AM here for a concert! It isn't ideal for using a computer but it is an unforgettable moment in history. 

The place just went wild. Did the Steelers just come out on the field? Oh, no. It was Al Gore. I forgot where I was for a second.

Mile-high frustration

I just listened to Sheryl Crow sing and it was great. Unfortunately, I am not here to see a rock concert. If I was I wouldn't mind that this isn't set up for the media. Or at least the lowly print media. First of all, there is no AC in this cramped stadium seat so I will run out of juice long before Barack hits the stage. Second, the blasted TV people have their giant scaffolding right in front of the rest of us so we can't see the stage. Third, I can't seem to hold a signal in here. I lost 10% battery just waiting for my air card to find a signal.

I will file for as long as I can but there is definitely no room to pull out my scanner and send sketches during the event. I did that during the Super Bowl and I was looking forward to doing it again. But my knees are hitting the seat in front of me and I have to stand up every time someone wants to get in or out of my row. But I will soldier on because that's what Obama would want me to do. I will strain my neck to see the stage, bruise my knees and run out to the stairwell to try and find a plug.

I will definitely file later tonight with drawings but for now it will just be text. And only for as long as my battery holds out. I am already down to 66%. Yikes. Bill Richardson is on. I'll be back.

Scranton boy

The Pennsylvania delegation got a surprise with their corn flakes this morning. Joe Biden stopped by for breakfast. The ballroom at the Denver Tech Center Marriott came alive when Obama's running mate entered. After a standing ovation Biden gave a short impassioned speech about how important Pennsylvania is going to be for the Democratic ticket. He also did what all politicians do when they give a speech. He reflected on his roots as a way of connecting with regular folks. Biden was born in Scranton. He said, "Scranton never leaves you." Then he joked that when he met Scrantonians Bob Casey Sr. and his son he decided to move away. Biden said he knew there couldn't be more than one great person coming out of a town like Scranton. That's when he moved to Delaware. Last night in his speech at the DNC, Biden recounted how his two-hour commute home every night gave him a chance to contemplate humanity. Come on. Anyone can ride the train from D.C. to Delaware. If he really wants to contemplate humanity, let's see him come to Pittsburgh and ride the 54-C.

Po' boy security

"The security here is off the hook!" said a delegate as he was going through the metal detector. He's right. Bus loads of SWAT teams poured into Denver and locked down the city this week. Today they are taking it up a notch. But it isn't just the Pepsi Center. I was walking through downtown yesterday (I am still looking for a protester) and I was getting hungry. I spotted a place called Bubba Gump. No, Bill Clinton hasn't opened a restaurant in Colorado. If the name sounds familiar you probably saw the movie "Forrest Gump."

Paramount Pictures franchised the shrimp house that gets its name from the business started by Forrest and his buddy in the movie. In the movie Forrest magically shows up at all the important events in U.S. history. If I remember correctly he was even at the "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Since today is the anniversary of that speech, and because the food smelled really good, I decided to give it a try. Easier said than done. Before being allowed in, someone asked if they could search my bag. That's when I noticed two large security guards in uniform. They searched my bag, giving me suspicious glances while they worked. They even opened my pencil case and checked out my pens and markers. I understand the security at the Pepsi Center, but what are they afraid of at Bubba Gump? Did they think I was going to smuggle in my own shrimp or sabatoge their po' boy sandwiches with rancid tartar sauce? Off the hook, indeed! Off the fish hook ...

Bubba's back

Nobody gives a speech like Bill Clinton. He still has it. His oratory skills have a hypnotic effect. He can make us forget all the things he and Hillary said about Obama in the primary. He just bites his lower lip, squints his eyes and says with a slight southern drawl, "John McCain: bad ... Barack Obama: good." Joe Biden, although not quite as hypnotic, followed with even stronger words. He said, "John McCain: really bad ... Barack Obama: really good."