RNC Backstage Pass: Farewell St. Paul

An attendee of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul sports a decorative button.

Rolando Arrieta, NPR

 

It was a long night and an early morning, and we're trying to get ourselves packed and ready to go.

But before we go ...

Thanks so much to Deborah Amos for sitting in the chair and holding it down while we were in St. Paul. I think she did a great job, don't you? And thanks again to Cheryl Corley, who guest hosted the week before ... and Lynn Neary the week before that.

Taking a step back and looking at John McCain's speech:

Was it too long on biography and too short on policy? Or, did McCain (and I am so sick of this phrase) "do what he needed to do"?

Will both candidates be able to keep the campaign on the issues they and the country all say are most important, which is to stay on fixing corrupt and special interest-dominated political systems, fixing a broken health care system, addressing economic growth at home and threats abroad ... as opposed to who is the bigger patriot, who loves the country more?

Both men say this is about you, not them. But will the blogosphere, and their supporters be able to contain themselves?

More random thoughts:

The protests? Dozens of people have been arrested here over the course of the week. We met one of the parents of one young man who was arrested. He says the police went too far to suppress dissent and arrest people long before their behavior crossed the line.

Hard to know without being there. We spent so much time in the convention hall that, half the time, we never knew what was going on outside until it was all over.

But if you spent any time in and around St. Paul this week, what were your impressions? Did you feel the police went too far, or did the protesters abuse the concept of peaceful protest?

Also, this convention does not seem to have been a big economic boost for the city. The restaurants were not full, the stores did not seem to be crowded -- at least not where we were. It was big change from Denver, where the place was hopping with vendors on every corner and a party in every watering hole.

What happened?

Real life did continue.

We came upon a lovely farmer's market here on seventh street -- gorgeous tomatoes, flowers, long beans and raspberries. Wish I could bring some home with me.

And, did the conversations heard on TMM about the political conventions these past two weeks serve a useful purpose? Or, is it all just too much hoopla for too little result?

Blog it out.

I'm outta here. As for me, this has been great but I miss my family, my house, my staff.

Please, weather, cooperate so we can get home!

See you Monday.

-- Michel Martin

Tags: DNC | John McCain | RNC

RNC Backstage Pass: Listening to McCain

Crowd members wave signs of "Service" for GOP nominee Sen. John McCain at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, Minn.

Rolando Arrieta, NPR

 

... Nearing the end of John McCain's speech.

Right now, I feel privileged to have been here to see it, and indeed privileged to have heard both his and Barack Obama's speech.

This one is as remarkable in its own way -- gracious, tough, leaving nothing on the table.

There are not so many tears here, there were moments of near silence, which is a remarkable thing in a hall of 20,000 people. There are many lumps in the throat as a room full of men used to holding things in heard their truth spoken out loud.

Both men (Obama and McCain) called this country and its people to its best self -- something grander and more remarkable than we might even imagine. They have very different visions about how to get there, but in the end they both offer a call to decency, a call to service, a call to put others above self.

Will we listen? ... And to whom?

-- Michel Martin

Tags: John McCain | RNC

The Rest of the World, Remember That?

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks on day three of the Republican National Convention (RNC) on September 3, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota

Rolando Arrieta

 

Rudy Giuliani reminded us in his speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) that the world is a scary place. But then he would say that, wouldn't he. While I don't completely subscribe to the former New York mayor's bleak world view, he reinforced, for a few moments, that the rest of the world is a complicated place and will test the skills of the next team that takes over the White House.

There have been some intriguing international news stories that may have passed under the radar with all the recent attention on a soccer (or hockey) mom from Alaska:

- American troops crossed the border into Pakistan for the first time to chase down Taliban targets. This is a major escalation and is likely to weaken the Pakistani government.

- The Bush administration upped the ante in the confrontation with Russia, pledging one billion dollars in aid to Georgia after Russian sent troops into Georgian territory. This is Middle East kind of money. Big problem money. Georgia is now one of the highest per capita recipients of U.S. aid in the world.

I talked to three international journalists this morning on Tell Me More to find out how the U.S. elections are playing in Mexico, in the Middle East, and in Russia. The good news is that the elections are closely followed in the rest of the world. The bad news is, "they" don't like us very much out there. But, still, there is an expectation that the United States has to take a strong role in the world, or the festering problems will only get worse.

We've had a bit of a vacation during this election season from the daily focus on the most destabilizing world problems. This is an American election after all, and we've been talking about the most pressing issues at home: the economy, education, the high price at the pump.

We are having a much needed American conversation, and while, as voters, elections are rarely decided on foreign policy, the rest of the world will reassert itself on the agenda in January, 2009.

-- Deborah Amos

-- Michel Martin

2:02 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Reports: Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Expected to Resign

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appears in Wayne County Circuit Court for a bond hearing on unrelated assault charges September 2, 2008.

Getty Images

Lee Hill, here ...

UPDATE: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has accepted a plea deal requiring him to resign from office immediately, pay $1 million in restitution, surrender his law license and serve four months in jail.

News reports coming out of Detroit indicate that embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is expected to accept a plea deal this morning requiring the mayor to resign from office immediately and serve jail time.

Tell Me More has been following the situation in Detroit since earlier this year when Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, were charged with perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and misconduct related to a police whistleblower case that cost the city $8.4 million. Perjury charges stem from testimonies by Kilpatrick and Beatty during court proceedings in the whistleblower case in response to allegations that the two had had an extramarital affair. (Details of the alleged affair were later uncovered through text message records obtained and published by the Detroit Free Press.)

More to come as we know it ...

-- Lee Hill

Tags: Christine Beatty | Detroit | Kwame Kilpatrick

RNC Backstage Pass: Random Impressions

This convention comes across as both more business-like and less emotionally engaged than the Democratic convention.

Why might that be?

Because it's more of a conventional campaign run by political professionals, and less of a "cause"? Because there are fewer first-timers? ... And fewer women? ... Is it because the people are older?

... Are things different here because there is less of an undercurrent of the kind of intense sibling rivalry that haunted the first few days of the Democratic convention last week?

Also, there seem to be fewer journalists here, although I have seen more of my friends in St. Paul than in Denver (probably because of the time difference -- I'm not so dog tired -- since we tape in the morning). I know that a couple of the black media outlets that covered the Dems were not scheduled to be here, or are leaving early -- BET and Radio One, for example.

On the other hand, all of the big name Republicans who did the Democratic reaction are here, along with some of the Democrat counterparts, like Donna Brazile.

To answer some questions from listeners:

Why aren't the evangelical and social conservative Christians more upset about Sarah Palin's pregnant teenaged daughter?

Our unscientific reporting showed a split both inside the hall and out:

Texas delegate Fred Farias says it proves she's human, families go through this, and that it makes Palin more authentic.

"It's a family matter, and we like that fact that she's walking the walk, she's keeping the baby," said Farias.

Fellow Texan Cynthia Jenkins (one of the few African-American delegates here) agreed.

"Families go through this. I think people can relate to her and what she's going through," she told me.

But not so fast, says voter David Clough. He's not a delegate, he's just a guy we met on our way home who says he is a Christian (make that conservative evangelical).

"It is an issue," he says. "If she [Palin] can't run a moral household, she can't run the country, if it comes to that. I don't understand why John McCain is saluting that. It just shows how corrupt we've become. It's an issue to me because I'm a Christian."

Clough says he is not sure he will vote for anybody now, he's so disappointed.

Switching gears, we've been hearing that the Democrats are still battling rumors that Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim. And this isn't just idle internet chatter.

Texan Margaret Ann Lopez, a guest of her delegate husband's this time (last time, she was a delegate and he was her guest), says she is absolutely convinced Obama is a Muslim.

"He's a liar," she says. "He lies about so many things. He lies that he is qualified."

How does Lopez feel about Palin and the baby?

Palin, she says, "is tremendously qualified ... she has done more service in those years than he [Obama] has in the years he has been there [serving in the U.S. Senate]."

Obama, she is convinced, is a "dangerous person."

I asked Lopez why the Palin matter is any different from the rumors in 2000, claiming that McCain has an illegitimate black daughter?

"This is different," she says. "There was no evidence of that."

-- Michel Martin

Tags: Barack Obama | John McCain | RNC | Sarah Palin

Watching Palin And Taking Notes

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) listens as presumptive Republican vice-presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at a rally at T.R. Hughes Ballpark August 31, 2008 in O'Fallon, Missouri.

Getty Images

 

After talking politics non-stop for the past two days, I realize that much of this election is riding on a woman ... again. This is another interesting twist in a political contest that has been unpredictable from the start. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin seems like the very opposite of Hillary Clinton, in terms of her policy choices and the causes she advocates. Of course, Palin is younger, and takes more risks when it comes to her public presentation. But, like Hillary, she's billed as "tough," a reformer, a champion of conservative causes.

But the more I think about it, we really don't know much about Sarah Palin. So far, it's all media projections and official campaign statements. After all, it was the McCain campaign staff that made the announcement that Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

On Tell Me More today, I interviewed three women -- Ellen Moran, Janice Crouse and Ambassador Swanee Hunt -- who don't agree on much when it comes to politics, but they all agreed that it is "exciting" to have a woman in the race. Part of that excitement is the novelty.

I interviewed Nancy Pelosi a few weeks ago. When she first became Speaker of the House of Representatives, she said that "the first woman" distinction was often attached to her job description. There came a time, she said, when most people dropped the extra definition because, well, it seems her role had become a normal part of politics. She was defined by her stand on issues, not by her gender.

Tonight is the first step in this direction for Sarah Palin. For the first time, she will speak to a national audience. And for the first time, we will get to know her beyond the media hype and campaign spin.

I am looking forward to settling in tonight in front of the best "reality show" on television. I plan to listen very carefully to Sarah Palin's speech. I want to know what she stands for. I want to know how she thinks, not as a woman, but as a politician.

And by the time this election is over, I hope having a woman in a presidential race is just a normal part of any campaign.

-- Deborah Amos

-- Michel Martin

Tags: Hillary Clinton | John McCain | Nancy Pelosi | Sarah Palin

RNC Backstage Pass: Don't Mess With Texas

Finally, some fashion to report!

The TEXAS delegation wins. I'm sorry they just do -- color coordinated shirts and ten gallon hats EVERY day. A DIFFERENT ONE FOR EVERY DAY.

Denim shirts were Monday night, red polos for Tuesday. Many fabulous boots. There were even some color coordinated painted fingernails that I saw.

Rolando, show the people what a convention fashion statement is all about:

Members of the Texas GOP delegation mix politics with style at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul.

Rolando Arrieta, NPR

 

-- Michel Martin

8:53 AM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

DNC Snapshot: TMM Represents

Lee Hill, here ...

Here's a nice screen grab of Michel Martin doing her thing while representing TMM last week at the DNC in Denver.

TMM host Michel Martin offers on-air analysis from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) floor during BET News' special convention coverage with Jeff Johnson, pictured left.

BET News

 

Watch the video, including more of BET's coverage from last week, here.

Stay logged on. More from TMM at the RNC to come ...

-- Lee Hill

Tags: DNC

RNC Backstage Pass: Signs of Normalcy, Star Power

Members of Florida's Republican delegation participate in RNC morning sessions at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Rolando Arrieta, NPR

 

It seems that the proceedings are getting back on track. The hurricane damage does not seem to be as severe as feared, and convention organizers are planning a program tonight that will return to a more normal agenda of political speeches.

According to the wires, the convention will resume tonight at 6:30 central time (7:30 eastern time). I'm not sure where all the big name anchors who flew off to the Gulf Coast will be broadcasting tonight. I know we'll be back on the air with our NPR special coverage. (I don't know, at this writing, whether I'll be participating. That's part of the deal; things have been so much in flux that we media types are reacting to events just as the convention goers are.)

Celebrity sighting:
Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee is here in St. Paul to do a hurricane relief benefit event. The Latin Grammy-winning artist is endorsing John McCain, too. Rolando saw him and got a picture:

McCain supporter and recording artist Daddy Yankee enjoys some time outdoors while attending the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 2, 2008.

Rolando Arrieta, NPR

 

Teshima, I WIN!

Continue reading "RNC Backstage Pass: Signs of Normalcy, Star Power" »

-- Michel Martin

Tags: Daddy Yankee | RNC

The Word on Sarah Palin ... From A 'Mocha Mom'

Presumptive Republican vice-presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin waits to be introduced at a rally at T.R. Hughes Ballpark August 31, 2008 in O'Fallon, Missouri.

Getty Images

Lee Hill, here ...

So with the latest news of the family drama surrounding John McCain's vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, we also wanted to get buy-in from our Mocha Moms. Jolene Ivey, co-founder of the Mocha Moms, was unable to participate in today's conversation, but she did want to share her thoughts.

Take it away, Jolene ...

Thanks, Lee. Jolene Ivey, here ...

I was in the airport in Denver, on the way home from the Democratic Convention, still on an emotional high, when I first heard that John McCain had chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. I'm a committed Barack Obama supporter, and am actually afraid about our country continuing our current course, so there's no one McCain could have chosen who would have persuaded me to vote for him. I was curious, though.

Turns out, Gov. Palin and I have a lot in common. We're both mothers of five children. We're both in elective office. I'm 3 years older than she is, but we're both in our 40's. And from what I've heard, she's very independent and determined to do what she thinks is right. Having been accused of having those qualities myself, I appreciate them in others.

But there the similarities end. Sarah Palin and I could probably have a lovely chat over tea about motherhood, but on policy, it would be a strained conversation. As a state delegate, I'm extremely aware of how our everyday lives are affected by government policies, and the ones that Gov. Palin supports don't make common sense.

She's anti-choice, which I understand, but disagree with. And abstinence-only education obviously doesn't work. Sarah Palin doesn't need to look any further than her pregnant 17 year old daughter to see that.

And want to waste some money? How about that "Bridge to Nowhere," Ketchikan's Gravina Island bridge in Alaska? Palin supported it while she was running for governor. She's singing a new tune today.

Sullying the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with drilling for oil is okay with Palin, which isn't surprising since she also doesn't believe human behavior contributes to global warming -- not exactly the kind of ideas that lead the government to be good stewards of the environment.

She also believes in creationism, which baffles me totally. Would she work to get evolution struck from our science curriculum?

I'm afraid John McCain may be a male chauvinist. Going with a woman made sense. But of all the extremely qualified women in the political world he could have tapped, why pick one who admitted herself --quite recently-- that she doesn't even know what the vice president does?! Seems he doesn't want a true equal. Just someone who can get him in office, then go away.

That's unless, of course, that most important function of the vice president should unfortunately come to pass, and Sarah Palin becomes our president. In that case, I hope she can figure out what the president does. But let's not put her -- or us -- in that position. Please.

-- Jolene Ivey

-- Lee Hill

9:33 AM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post