It had originally been thought that more people watched McCain's acceptance speech than Obama's. Turns out, that's not true. And we'll never actually know the true count because CSPAN doesn't GET counted.
But if the presidential vote is this close on Nov. 4, it will be a long night.
No matter how you look at it, seemingly the pundits who said the conventions would NOT be news were wrong. It is thrilling to see so many people interested in politics, and by extension, what really happens to our country.
Assuming half of the audience watched one convention, and half watched both (just a guess) it means that 60 million Americans (give or take) saw at least the acceptance speeches. And remember, as you plan your week, elections are won one voter at a time. Go get one!
So tonight's theme is PEACE. Yes... the Republicans are basing their final night on a concept they do everything they can to stay away from. The only way I can wrap my mind around this is to refer to the Republican Field Manual... you may have read it before. War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The 2008 Republican National Convention today announced the full program of events for Thursday, Sept. 4. The evening’s program will feature John McCain’s speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency. Among the other speakers participating in this evening’s program are Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.), former Gov. Tom Ridge (Penn.), U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Mrs. Cindy McCain. The speakers’ remarks will reflect the convention’s overall theme, "Country First,"and the theme for Thursday’s events, which is "peace." Participants are organized by hour of participation:
5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
* Entertainment (Music): Al Williams * Entertainment (Monologue): James McEachin * Call to Order, Introduction of Colors: Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan * Presentation of Colors: Fort Snelling Joint Services Color Guards * Pledge of Allegiance: Olympians Ryan Berube, Mitch Gaylord, Brittany Hayes, Barbra Higgins, Larsen Jensen, Elle Logan, Marcus McElhenney and John Naber (Dems had 1 so they got 8) * Singing of the National Anthem: Trace Adkins * Invocation: His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
* Speaker: U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.) * Speaker: Erik Paulsen * Speaker: Jay Love * Speaker: Charlie Summers * Speaker: Aaron Schock * Speaker: David Cappiello * Speaker: U.S. Sen. John Ensign (Nev.) * Video: "Country First: Peace," with narration by Robert Duvall * Statement of Rule Regarding Vice Presidential Nomination; Recognition of Delegates Making Motions; and Adoption and Announcement of Nominee: U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) * Speaker: Maria Cino, President and CEO of the 2008 Republican National Convention * Speaker: U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) * Speaker: The Honorable Rosario Marin
7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
* Speaker: Joe Watkins * Speaker: U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.) * Speaker: Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.) * Speaker with Video: Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) * Speaker: Lt. Gen. Carol Mutter, USMC (Ret.) * Speaker: U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) * Speaker: U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin (Okla.) * Video: "World Stood Still"
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
* Speaker: U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) * Video: "Vice Presidential Nominee Governor Sarah Palin" * Speaker: Former Gov. Tom Ridge (Penn.) * Video: "America’s Place in the World" * Speaker: Mrs. Cindy McCain
9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
* Video: "Senator John McCain" * Speaker: Presidential Nominee John McCain
10 p.m. to Conclusion
* Floor Demonstration, Balloon Drop, McCain and Palin Families on Stage * Introduction of Presiding Officer: U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio) * Benediction: Pastor Dan Yeary * Introduction of Delegate for Motion, Adoption and Adjournment: U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio)
Last week, we heard the media report over and over that the Democratic Party was experiencing this massive divide, and that the Party would not be unified heading into the general election. Naturally, the news media need the drama to up the ratings. Only to be disappointed when the DNCC saw Clinton make the decisive motion in putting Senator Obama over the top to claim the Democratic nomination. Dang, the massive divide turned into a massive hug-out.
Yet less than one week later, we see a Republican convention that is not only thinly attended, but sees an entirely separate convention of GOP followers take place a few minutes down the road. The Paultards have been begging for this kind of attention. There's drama! There's suspense! There's people wearing crazy hats! This, my friends, is a division of the good ol' fashioned sort - the critical kind. We're talking news that could have been as big as that "Phish" break up a few years ago.
Where, may I ask, are the media inquiries to this split in the Party? Surely ratings must still mean something.
Or maybe there aren't enough press to cover the divide because the RNC only has half as many press who were banished to St. Paul compared to those who willingly went to Denver.
While Johnny McCondo formally accepts the Republican nomination this evening, the lingering question remains: what will you be doing? The tempting answer is to follow Matt's post and say "watching football," which at any other time I may be doing.
But the fact is that I've never been more motivated to work for a candidate than I am in 2008. Not just to work for Barack Obama and see him elected as President, but because I truly believe that eight more years of Republican rule could cause irreparable harm to our country. I've mentioned before that I think the composition of the Supreme Court and the impending retirement of three justices is of particular concern to me. But also the economy, healthcare and our relationships with other nations are all items that cannot continue down the same path.
Which brings me to tonight.
Volunteers will be walking door-to-door in their communities, during the McCain speech, to offer information about the Democratic platform and important issues pertaining to the fall campaign. Some state parties are holding watch parties in the form of "More of the Same" bingo. According to a press release issued by the Colorado Democratic Party:
Bingo cards will feature boxes with GOP rhetoric favorites like “whiners,” which is what McCain’s senior economic advisor called the American people struggling with the Bush-McCain economy, and perennial GOP classics like “private accounts,” which is the Bush-McCain code for privatizing Social Security.
Personally, I'd prefer it if the state Party did something a bit more productive such as take these volunteers and hit the phones or the doors rather than play a gimmicky card game. BUT...the fact that they are doing something that generates some earned media could be worthwhile.
The bottom line is - just because the Republicans will be speechifying again this evening, doesn't mean that the world stands still. Plenty of work to do and only a mere 61 days left to do it...
Super Bowl Champion Giants. Division Rival Redskins. East Rutherford, NJ. 7:00 ET. NBC.
It should be a great game. Very close. Probably go to overtime. Finish about 10:45 or so.
Enjoy. I checked the TV schedules and there's nothing else of interest on tonight.
Update: Some guy named McCain is apparently interested in the game ending on time for some reason.
McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said yesterday the prospect of an extra-long game has caused some concern: "I had talked on background with a Republican convention planner a couple of weeks ago who said, 'Don't mention overtime. Overtime is our rain-in-Denver scenario.' "
So it remains unclear what the candidate will do if Jason Campbell is still slinging passes at 10:30. But people in the television business speculated that McCain would delay his speech until NBC starts its convention broadcast. NBC was among the top-rated networks during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Its coverage of Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech last Thursday attracted 6.1 million viewers -- the kind of audience that Republicans don't want to lose.
The NFL and NBC said they have no plans to speed up play in tonight's game. However, the league has encouraged faster play in recent years, in part because games scheduled at 1 p.m. on Sundays often overlapped games starting at 4 p.m. This year, for example, the league has eliminated the five-yard penalty for incidental holding of face masks, which could lead to fewer game stoppages.
NBC's telecast of the NFL season opener last year attracted about 17.8 million viewers in prime time. The network will remind viewers of McCain's speech during halftime, when NBC News anchor Brian Williams will host a brief preview segment. - WaPo
What seems like years ago, but was only a little over a week, I wrote a post on the demographics of the attendee make-up at the Democratic convention. I have tried to find comparable number for the GOP convention.
In Denver, almost a quarter of the attendees were black. Hispanics were not broken out by race, but surely, the number of people of colour is higher than the number cited by USA Today as "black."
And on to St. Paul. There are 2,380 delegates. Want to guess how many are black?
Drum roll: 36.
By my calculator, that's like 1.5%, although I've been known to put the decimal in the wrong place.
Oreo wrote about the difference between the Democratic and Republican conventions, and I certainly agree with everything he said, except, there actually was this other convention. Okay, a Rally for the Republic, but a convocation nonetheless.
That picture is Jesse Ventura giving his speech, intimating that he might run as an independent in 2012. He, and many of the speakers, believe that both the Democratic and Republican parties have co-opted government by making it to big, and too centralized, compared to the States Rights doctrine of the Constitution. They want practically no government beyond print the money, secure the borders, and run the Judicial branch.
Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign brought in almost $33 million, and ticket sales for the Rally were over $175,000. (Each ticket was $17.76, and estimates say that more than 10,000 people bought them.) For all that, not much came out of it.
There was little press coverage, which means that most people don't know about what went on there. The Times has a brief video, Seattlepi claims it was a distraction, Reuters had a few paragraphs. Read more... I had hoped for more. While I'm certainly not a Libertarian, I have an interest in what they have to say, and their relationship to the Republican party. Bob Barr (currently on more than 40 ballots, with the potential for more) has accepted that Ron Paul won't make an endorsement, but was at the Rally none the less, in an attempt to capture votes of Paul's followers. But precious little news filtered out, and I cannot find any polling data on how Ron Paul supporters plan on voting in November. I have taken a non-poll of the 8 Paul supporters I personally know, and 7 are planning on writing in Ron Paul's name, and the last is undecided.
The on-line ad for the Rally has high production values.
Procedural Activities Required for Nomination of the Presidential Candidate: U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio)
Roll Call: Sec. Jean Inman, Assist. Sec. Connie Nicholas, and Assist. Sec. Rosie Tripp
Palin's actual nomination is not on the schedule. Maybe on Thursday? Doing things a little backwards are we? I wonder if she ever says "I accept your nomination"?
Update: She said "I accept your nomination". Hard to do when you're not yet nominated.
Update 2: Her actual words, listening to it again:
I will be honored to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United State"
Interesting use of the future tense here. Here is how the remarks as "prepared for delivery" went:
I am honored to be considered for the nomination for vice president of the United States.
Looks like a last-minute rewrite to me.
Update 3: Roll Call for McCain is done, and they're done for the night. I assume she'll officially be nominated tomorrow. And no, she does not have to appear again to accept. There are no rules that state how nominees can "accept" the nomination.
Update 4: She was officially nominated on Thursday by acclimation.
Seems RNC officials have asked all the male delegates to hand their seats to female alternates to provide the impression of vast female support for Sarah Palin during her speech.
This is going to be interesting... Rudy Giuliani speaks on a night that's supposed to be about reform? I'm sure he'll find a way to mention 9/11 at least 50 times. Indecision 2008 has a drinking game to help you get through the night.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008 Reform
The 2008 Republican National Convention today announced the full program of events for Wednesday, Sept. 3. The evening’s program will feature remarks by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican Party’s nominee for vice president. Among the other speakers participating in this evening’s program are former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The speakers’ remarks will reflect the convention’s overall theme, "Country First," and the theme for Wednesday’s events, which is "reform."
Participants are organized by hour of participation: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
* Call to Order, Introduction of Colors: U.S. Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) * Presentation of Colors: Law Enforcement Memorial Association (Minn.) * Pledge of Allegiance: Sharon Clahchischilliage and Mary Leavitt * Singing of "America the Beautiful": John Shillington and Ruby Brown * Invocation: Father Edward Reese * Speaker: U.S. Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) * Video: "Country First: Prosperity," with narration by Robert Duvall * Speaker: Anne Beiler * Speaker: U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.) * Speaker: Renee Amoore * Speaker: State Sen. Abel Maldonado (Calif.) * Speaker: Carolyn Dunn
7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
* Speaker: Dr. Elena Rios * Speaker: Ruth Novodor * Speaker: Christy Swanson * Speaker: Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams * Speaker: Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuno * Speaker: Meg Whitman, former President and CEO of EBay * Video: Sen. McCain’s Economic Reform Package * Speaker: Carly Fiorina, former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard * Prayer: Bishop Thomas Wenski
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
* Speaker: GOPAC Chairman Michael Steele * Speaker: Former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) * Speaker: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) * Musical Performance: John Rich, Gretchen Wilson, and Cowboy Troy
9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
* Speaker: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (N.Y.) * Speaker: Gov. Linda Lingle (Hawaii) * Video: Sarah Palin * Speaker: Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin
10 p.m. to Conclusion
* Procedural Activities Required for Nomination of the Presidential Candidate: U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio) * Roll Call: Sec. Jean Inman, Assist. Sec. Connie Nicholas, and Assist. Sec. Rosie Tripp * Benediction: Rev. Eva Rodriguez * Adjournment: U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio)
You can see this leaving the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport:
and here's what Sarah Palin has to say on the subject:
Q: Back to the running-mate question. Say the Democratic ticket is Clinton-Obama, a woman and a black man. You can see why the party might approach you.
Sarah Palin: That’s diversity right there, isn’t it? Wow! And who do the Republicans have? Good old rich white boys. - Politico
It's official: Sen. John McCain will speak from a reconfigured stage in the round on Thursday night. He'll have regular folks (delegates, I presume) behind him instead of a static background. - Ambinder
Unlike the Democratic National Convention, almost all of the Republican delegates will be on the floor.
(Click on picture for full size)
Both arenas have about the same size floors. So what's the difference? Republicans have about half as many delegates but many more alternates.
Millions of people around the world will be watching as the Republican Party convenes its 39th nominating convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The roughly 2,380 delegates and 2,227 alternate delegates elected to represent their states and territories will play a critical role in our nation’s democratic process – and secure a place in political history. - RNC
Democrats in Denver had about 4440 delegates and just over 600 alternates.
Needless to say, Illinois is so far back you have to squint to see them:
The cancellation of the first night of the Republican National Convention marks the renewal of the rivalry between George W. Bush and John McCain. Since their bitter contest over the Republican nomination in 2000, they have taken years to make peace. But now McCain's last chance has collided with Bush's legacy.
Hurricane Gustav was "a big blessing," according to a source close to the McCain campaign. Facing a Katrina level wipeout--the landfall in St. Paul of both President Bush and Vice President Cheney--McCain felt trapped. How could he prevent the President and Vice President from appearing at the convention? Only an act of God could intervene. Suddenly, a hurricane whipped up in the Gulf and looked headed for New Orleans. Like a divinely inspired miracle, a storm to blow away Bush and Cheney had been conjured.
The McCain campaign and the Bush White House negotiated terms that unfolded as a script over the past several days, several sources told me. First, Bush announced he must oversee the preparations for dealing with the hurricane. He would not be able to attend the convention. Cheney, too, would drop out. In order that Bush and Cheney not seem to have been humiliated, McCain cancelled the entire proceedings for the first evening.
Almost certainly, Bush had to cancel his planned speech while Gustav loomed. But the sources say he didn't like the idea and felt pushed. Bush is described by sources as "furious" at McCain for being deprived of his last appearance before his party, which nominated him twice, as a sitting president. He believes he is being treated disrespectfully.
...Once the hurricane passed, Bush asserted his primacy as president and forced his way back on the schedule to deliver a satellite speech to the convention. - Huffington Post
The current President has to "force himself" back on the convention schedule? Sounds like a united party to us...
I have still not been able to find any information from people who are at the program. But hopefully, someone there today will write about it tomorrow.
To give you an idea of what the whole Rally is about, this is their Mission Statement:
The Campaign for Liberty events planned for August 31 - September 2 will be a celebration of our movement and our supporters, a launch party for the Campaign for Liberty, and a clear call to the Republican Party to return to its roots of limited government, personal responsibility, and protection of our natural rights. The event will run in conjunction with the first two days of the Republican National Convention and will feature top conservative speakers, musicians, and organizations. It will also have an organizational and training function for the Campaign for Liberty and the Freedom Movement.
All tickets sold out, with more than 10,000 sold. TPM is on the scene:
Service "Love of country, my friends, is another way of saying love of your fellow countrymen." --Sen. John McCain
John McCain’s commitment to his fellow Americans, a commitment forged in service to his country, is one of the defining hallmarks of his life. Tuesday’s events will highlight John McCain’s record of service and sacrifice and reflect his commitment to serving a cause greater than one’s own self-interest. Speakers will include:
U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio)
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.)
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.)
Robert M. "Mike" Duncan, Chairman of the Republican National Committee
Jo Ann Davidson, Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Chairman of the 2008 Republican National Convention Committee on Arrangements
First Lady Laura Bush
President George W. Bush (via satellite) (9:51 pm to 9:57 pm ET)
Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) (10:10 pm to 10:30 pm ET)
U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) (10:42 pm to 10:57 pm ET)
Michelle Bachmann is the one I'm looking the most forward to. This woman is nuts.
Update: The RNC has asked the networks for more the standard hour of TV time:
Senior party officials and strategists for Senator John McCain acknowledged that the storm-shortened first day of the convention had cost them a valuable chance to present their case for Mr. McCain to voters, and they were racing to recoup on Tuesday, and encouraging the television networks to air more of the proceedings than planned. “Obviously, we lost a lot of opportunity,” Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager, told reporters Tuesday morning as the McCain campaign and the party sorted out the line-up for the rest of the week. - NY Times
I hereby give the networks permission to give the Republicans 10 minutes of extra time tonight to show George Bush live across the nation.
del.icio.us
