Sunday Convention Blog

Minneapolis-St. Paul has done a wonderful job in rolling out the welcome wagon for the delegates. I am impressed by the number of volunteers. It seem wherever you go, there is a volunteer to greet you and make certain you know where you are going.

To welcome the delegates, they hosted a welcome reception tonight. This was held in conjunction with their Civic Fest.

At the Civic Fest they have a number of exhibits devoted to the history of the Presidency and the history of Minnesota. Highlights included a replica of Air Force One, Presidential China and Presidential Limousines. One interesting fact was that Reagan had his limousine made taller than regular limousines so that he could wear his cowboy hat.

Also as part of the exhibit they had an exhibit of Lincoln’s life. One of the more sobering aspects of the exhibit was on the Civil War. On a day by day basis, it showed how the war was going for each side. In the lower right hand corner it had a ticker on the number of causalities on both sides of the war. It boggles the mind how many were killed and injured on each side.

After the Civic Fest, I attended a delegate reception for those in the party who want to promote freedom and more personal responsibility in the party. It was refreshing to see so many first time delegates in attendance (out of the approximately 300 in attendance only one had previously been a national delegate).

While many in the group have not been John McCain fans, his selection of Sarah Palin for the vice presidency has a chance to energize this group. If McCain and his campaign are smart (and thus far they have run a very good general election campaign) they will use Palin to reach out to this group of voters.

In critical battleground states they could represent the swing votes the party needs to win. Thus far the party has largely ignored this group. In my discussions with conservatives, Palin’s nomination has gotten many to reexamine the Republican ticket.

If Republicans are smart they will use this time to reach out to them.

On Monday, delegates will listen to Governor Mitt Romney and visit History Fort Snelling prior to the start of the convention. Due to Hurricane Gustav, Monday night’s session which was to feature President Bush has been cancelled. The Utah Republican Leadership has planned a humanitarian project for the delegates.