"It's time to open our hearts..."

Well, the press conference just ended. Sen. McCain spoke by video hookup and said the GOP will suspend most of its convention activities while Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast. Here are some highlights.

About that storm...

We're still waiting for the press conference to begin. Earlier, I asked some of the Pennsylvania delegation what they thought about possible changes to the convention schedule. Here are (in order of appearance) Janet Garner and Mary Shorley. Both are from Montgomery County.

Pennsylvania delegation: we've got great seats

Welcome to St. Paul. Right now, it seems certain Hurricane Gustav will force some major changes to the Republican National Convention. I'm sitting in a hotel ballroom, awaiting the start of an RNC press conference. We'll know more shortly. Meantime, here's Montgomery County delegate Alma Jacobs discussing the Pennsylvania delegation's great convention floor seats -- six rows back and right in front of the podium.

Obama on Iraq, Bin Laden

I'm sitting in front of a television, watching Sen. John McCain. He's in Dayton, announcing Sarah Palin as his running mate. This should make next week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul very interesting. I'll be leaving Denver tomorrow, headed to the Twin Cities. Meantime, here' s Sen. Obama from last night, talking about Iraq and Bin Laden.

Al's big entrance

I'll make a few more posts from last night before wrapping things up here in Denver. Here's a look at the reception received by former VP Al Gore. This is what the convention looked like for much of the Pennsylvania delegation. Shortly after I shot this, a fire marshall moved me back about 75 feet.

In the beginning...

Here's some unedited video I made the moment Sen. Obama was introduced at Invesco Field. It's shaky and a bit confusing to watch, but it shows the intensity of the moment fairly well. Shortly before Obama took the stage, volunteers began passing out big blue signs that read "Change we can believe in." I knew that was trouble. Delegates tend to stand and wave things in the air when their candidate is introduced. That's exactly what happened. The result: the moment Obama strode onto the stage, my view was one not of a presidential candidate, but of blue signs. I quickly tapped a Utah delegate on the shoulder and asked if I could stand in his chair. He said, yes (I think). So I climbed up, held the camera high over my head and zoomed in as much as possible. The result isn't pretty, but it's more real than the slickly choreographed photography from perfect angles that you saw on the networks.

Enough, he says

One of the themes of the convention has been connecting McCain with Bush. Here, Obama does his best to lash the two together. By the way, I started out the afternoon with a pretty good view of Obama, only to be moved back by DNC staffers. I found another position, further back, near the Pennsylvania delegation, only to be moved back once again, this time by a fire marshall. If this keeps up, I thought, I'll end up covering Obama's speech from somewhere in the midwest. Finally I found a spot between the Utah delegation and an MSNBC tent where Joe Scarborough was taping a TV segment. Covering big events like this is difficult for journalists from smaller metro papers like the PG. Choice locations go to the big guys (AP, New York Times, LA Times, Reuters). The rest of us are left dodging security personnel who often seem determined to root out journalists, where ever they are.

Obama on government, personal responsibility

I'm sitting in my hotel room, watching CNN commentators discuss the Obama speech. None has so far mentioned this line, which got the crowd on its feet.

The big ending

Biff Henderson sighting

I've not had time to videotape many celebrities this week, but I couldn't pass up Biff Henderson. If you watch the Letterman show, you know who he is. He's been in the lobby of the Pepsi Center the past few days, with a film crew in tow.