After a while it got to be an inside joke at the RNC...at least among some of us "media types". 

Bash the "liberal media" or better yet bash the "liberal main-stream media".  It got to be a blood sport of sorts in speeches and media interviews.

• [editor's note: is "liberal main-stream" a contradiction in terms?  Does it really mean that the "main stream" is actually "liberal"?]

Sarah Palin took a few shots at "the media" in her acceptance speech. It made her seem like even more of an outsider...more of a fresh face taking on the establishment.  Here's an example from the Palin speech:

"...And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country..."

There from the podium was a collective in-your-face-letter-to-the-editor that united an entire party. Just take a look at Mike Huckabee's speech:

"I'd like to thank the elite media for doing something that quite frankly I wasn't sure could be done: and that's unifying the Republican Party and all of America in support of Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin."

"The reporting of the past few days has proved tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert."

Great line from Mike. But is asking a critical question about any candidate being biased, or is it part of the media's job? Both parties seem to get a little thin skinned during a campaign and it's become easier and easier to blame the "liberal media".

I'm convinced that blaming the media is a way to deflect from some of the real questions that voters need to ask and politicians don't want to address.

Does Sarah Palin have enough experience to be a "heart beat away" from the Presdency? Does Barack Obama have enough experience to sit in the Oval Office? Our job is to ask. If voters are satisfied with the answers, then so be it. At the very least they need someone to pose the questions.

I was on the floor of the Xcel Center trying to track down former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean for a quick interview when I heard the crackle of a security radio. Kinda' odd since the security guys usually wear those ear pieces so no one can hear what they're doing.

The message came through loud and clear.

"Demonstrators have delegate credentials nd they're scattered around the floor," the voice on the radio said. "We don't know where they are---they're scattered all around. We think they're gonna' protest during the speech."

I turned in the direction of the radio, caught the security guy's eye. Seeing my press pass, he cranked down the volume on the radio.

"What's going on with that?" I asked.

"What?"

"The radio traffic about the protestors," I said.

"Uh...nothing," he mumbled as he walked away trying to look busy.

>>>>>Fast Forward to the McCain Speech<<<<<

John McCain was just about half page or so when the isolated yelling started, somewhere behind the camera tower way in back of the Alaska delegation. You couldn't understand the protestors...barely could hear them. But the delegates started shouting them down.

"U.S.A.---U.S.A.---U.S.A."

It caught McCain in mid-sentence. He looked up a little curious, but then figured out what was going on as the protestor was ejected.

Then it happened again at the opposite end of the center, and then a few minutes later a third time somewhere in the upper deck. Every time we heard shouts of "U.S.A."---U.S.A." another protestor bit the dust. T-V audiences at home were none the wiser. The right to free speech fighting the right to louder free speech. Final score: Delegates 3, protestors 0.

Tonight John McCain gets his chance in the spot light. He's going to have to offer some specific solutions for the country. More importantly, he's going to begin forging a coalition of voters, trying to prove that he can offer even more of a change than Barack Obama.

Sarah Palin already painted herself as a Washington outsider. McCain's play is casting himself as a maverick...someone who wasn't in lock-step with the Bush White House.

Republican strategists that I've talked to agree on one thing. McCain will have to snag significant pieces of groups that, in the past, may not have embraced Republican candidates. Such as:

• Unions...he can't get all of them but he stands a chance of getting some of the firefighters, police, possibly the building trades.
• Women...Sarah Palin made her pitch to Hockey/Soccer Moms last night. The theory goes, if some Hillary holdouts can agree to disagree on the abortion issue, McCain can get another block of votes.
• Swing votes...lots of folks wait until the last minute to decide for whom they will vote. McCain's message has to sound a drum beat with these voters so when they go to the polls, they'll go for McCain.
  

Forging a coalition won't be easy. It's a delicate political balancing act that requires McCain to reach to the left without turning his back on the right. Tonight he has to achieve a town-hall meeting kind of tone that's in a sharp contrast to Barack Obama's State of the Union style speech a week ago at Invesco Field in Denver.

Here's part of the speech, released just a few moments ago:

"The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause, it's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you.
Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix what needs to be fixed. That's how I will govern as President."

Of course the crowd here will go wild tonight, but will the folks at home be as captivated as they were last night with Sarah Palin? It would be ironic if he got upstaged by a political outsider when tonight is supposed to be his night to shine.

Everyone said it would be the political speech of her career. And it was. Everyone said she needed to come out swinging. And she did. She had to hit it "out of the park". She did.

There's no doubt that Sarah Palin has galvanized the Republicans. She's been able to coral the prickly conservative wing of the party and bring them back into the McCain tent.

But the buzz...well, some of the buzz ...around the Republican National Convention this morning is, can she do it without a TelePrompTer? What happens during an unscripted moment?

Back in the 80's Sarah Palin had a gig in TV as a sportscaster. It's an instant You Tube hit and you can check it out here.

Call me a part of the media elite if you like, but it doesn't hurt to pose a few questions:

• What will she be like in a debate?
• How will she do in a no-holds barred news conference?
• Who's going to be granted the first sit-down "one on one" interview? (Oprah, please put your hand down.)
• Will there be a bidding war for the first pictures of her daughter's wedding?
• What will Saturday Night Live do on Palin?
• What New York eatery will be the first to offer a Moose Burger?
• How many fake pictures of Sarah Palin in a Hooters T-Shirt, French Maid outfit, or an N.R.A. jacket will you get in your in-box this week?

Joe Biden had 24-million viewers tuned in for his speech last week in Denver.

TV Week is reporting that the Palin Speech was the highest rated speech of any of the speeches at the DNC and the RNC. Ratings on the three major networks were up.

You've gotta' hand it to the Bush family. They really know how to put their best foot forward. First Lady Laura Bush took to the stage last night for an elegant introduction of the President of the United States, who was busy at the White House.

But the act that really brought down the house was the intro of "Forty-One"---shorthand for President George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States. (Another shorthand is POTUS.) The crowd went wild. Only to be matched by the intro of Barbra Bush.

And where was George? Back at the White House addressing the delegates via satellite. He'll go down in history with Lyndon Johnson. LBJ was the last sitting president who decided to skip his party's convention, but he did it because he wasn't running again, not because of a hurricane.

The best line of President Bush's address may have been his reference to John McCain as told the delegates, "He's not afraid to tell you when he disagrees. Believe me, I know."

The crowd fluttered with laughs, but the sub-text of the remark was clear. It's OK to move on...we're making a split here. POTUS 43 will hang out at the White House while you meet a new candidate and as a bonus "Meet the Parents".

Politicians talk about a "Convention Bump". It's an increase in the poll numbers that both candidates usually get during or right after their conventions.

Now there may be a different kind of bump. (And I'm not talking about the Sarah Palin revelation of yesterday...I'm not going there, well, yet.)

As the schedule at the RNC gets back to normal, the powers that be at the RNC will have to make some tough decisions. Some of the prime time speakers are going to be bumped and egos will be bruised.

Right now Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Fred Thompson have prime time spots for Tuesday night. President Bush will speak by satellite at 9:30 EST. But some of the original speakers will have to be rescheduled to a speaking spot that is less than prime time. There's just not enough space on the contracted schedule.

We've heard Mayor Rudy Guiliani's speech has been delayed until Wednesday (an even better spot than before), but others may not be so lucky. The Republicans are taking the convention day by day, and you can bet lots of potential speakers are keeping their cell phones close, waiting for word about a "convention Bump" they'd rather avoid.

Eyes on Gustav

They were keeping their eyes on the big screen outside of the Fox News tent at the Republican National Convention. Fox originally thought, however, that delegates would be watching coverage of their own show. Mother nature had other ideas.

Gustav changed the entire tone of the convention and gave the administration the opportunity for a "do over" down south. All of the Governors along the Gulf coast are Republicans. They had a chance to show real leadership in responding to a crisis. They all checked in via video tape at the convention. It played extremely well in the conventional hall on the big screen.

Pay to Party

Delegates were asked to open up their wallets. My sources tell me delegates are being asked by their state leaders to cough up at least $100 bucks...not for the McCain political coffers, but rather for the relief effort along the Gulf Coast. Virtually every convention party last night had a money jar which delegates stuffed with cash.

McCain has turned his campaign web site into a portal for directing Republicans to the Gulf State's relief efforts. The candidate has a chance to live up to the slogan of the convention, "Country First".

The GOP says it's taking the planning of the convention day by day, much like the hurricane victims along the Gulf coast.

The untold story at the sessions this afternoon at the RNC is that there are sighs of relief that President George Bush is NOT showing up here.

I've spoken with a handful of delegates and popped the question, "Is the President's canceling his appearance a blessing in disguise?"

They smile...think for a moment...and ask, "You gonna' quote me? Don't quote me now..."

It's no secret that President Bush has been a political challenge (many say liability) for the Republicans. John MCain must make a clean break with the administration if he's going to beat Barack Obama in November. McCain has to do the "clean break" sooner rather than later. What better time to look Un-Bush-like than the RNC.

The break isn't easy;

• He can't look like he's dissing the president.
• He can't appear to be rude.
• He can't alienate the ultra-conservative wing of the part by keeping the President at arm's length.

But any convention photo-op with McCain and the President arm-in-arm could send the wrong message to swing states and undecided voters. McCain can't be branded with "Bush III" or four more years of the Bush administration. (The party faithful won't care.) Guess who solved a sticky political problem?

Gustav.

The President has to go to the hurricane. The administration wants to make sure they get it right this time...no slip-ups. Mr. Bush won't be at the RNC (at least for Moday's session). The president cancelled his appearance at Monday's session at the RNC and there are many Republican insiders who couldn't be happier. (But don't quote them).

As I'm headed to the RNC, I just got off the phone with a Republican strategist. He says the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate was the perfect "head fake" to Barack Obama's defensive line.

Of course, in sports a "head fake" is the use of your head to fake out your opponent, motioning that you're going one way when you really plan to go in another direction at the last second.

All last week the McCain camp floated Mitt Romney's name as a possible running mate. Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota was supposedly on the short list too. Even Indy Senator Joe Lieberman was floated as a long shot. All the names were part of the "head fake", says the strategist.

We could go on with the sports analogies.

• The Palin announcement caught the Obama camp "flat-footed".
• John McCain called an "audible" at the line after Barack Obama when for the "2 point conversion" at Invesco Field at Mile High on Thursday night.
• The dems (and perhaps some Republicans) may say Palin was an "ineligible receiver."
• Bringing up Palin's Moose-Burger cuisine could be called "unnecessary roughness."

Nonetheless, Team-Obama won't be reeling for long. It's a simple matter to re-cut the attack ads the Obama campaign reportedly had ready against Romney and others in the Veep-stakes.

The GOP may have a few more tricks up their sleeves as well. If the Dems. shout Sarah Palin doesn't have the experience to be "a heart beat away from the Presidency", the Republicans are standing by with a mirror pointed straight at Barack Obama, the strategist says.

If former Hillary supporters are looking for a place to cast their vote, Republicans are hoping the gun-toting, hockey-mom, Sarah Palin fits the bill. (The strategist says the Pro-Life/Pro-Choice differences may not be a "deal breaker" with all women.)

So here we go, first down, Blue team's ball with the Red team looking for a key interception with perhaps a few "head fakes" of their own this week.

(Bloggers note: typos due to turbulanceeeeeeeeee @ 36-thousand feeeeet)

The Republicans were ready for a celebration. They were ready to party. They were anticipating a week-long infomercial for their party, their presidential candidate and their newly found winner of the Veep-stakes, Sarah Palin.

Unfortunately mother nature had other ideas. The Republicans will have to deal with an uninvited guest named Gustav. (The name means "staff of the Gods", an ironic translation if there ever were one.)

As the storm churns away in the gulf, with it's sights set on a section of the country that is still reeling from hurricane Katrina, the Republicans are gathering in the Twin Cities for their convention.

From a political stand point, the storm is both a potential landmine and a political windfall. Look for President George Bush take a pass on the RNC in the twin cities and instead opt for a visit to the ravaged hurricane target. Look for John McCain and Sarah Palin to change the tone of their appearances and speeches on the heels of their visit to the storm area.

For the convention itself, RNC officials are coming up with "Plan A"," Plan B" and even" Plan C" depending on what Gustav tries to do. Speakers are changing, and speech writers are cranking out alternate scripts.

The theme of the Republican National Convention is "Country First". At this convention political figures won't just be able to talk about putting "Country First" they'll also have an opportunity to show voters how they would do it. The opportunity comes as a result of an uninvited guest named Gustav.

They'll dissect every sentence of Barack Obama's speech in the coming days. I'll study the content in print, and as I'm writing this I'm listening to the replay of the acceptance speech on television.

I was privileged not only to be at Invesco Stadium the night Barack Obama accepted the nomination for the Presidency of the United States, but I was proud to be a journalist covering the story.

Putting politics aside, being there, was a moving experience. Not only was Barack Obama the first African American to be nominated to be president of the United States, he did it on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

While covering the event, I was lucky enough to interview Rev. Jesse Jackson, live on our 10 O'Clock newscast. (OK, Rev Jackson has had his share of controversy with Barack Obama, Jackson has had his share of media controversy as well).

Rev. Jackson was there 45 years ago when history was made in the March on Washington, D.C. He was there tonight when history was made again.  (You can see the interview on my VIDEO Blog on the left).

I asked if he ever dreamed if he'd see a night like Thursday night, 45 years ago when he stood near Dr. King during the "I Have a Dream" speech. I could barely hear his exact words, the cheers and the music were so loud in the stadium. But I could see his eyes well up for a moment. Perhaps it was the hour of the night, perhaps it was the smoke from the fireworks, perhaps he was exhausted. Perhaps it really hit him. The Democrats have really nominated an African American for president of the United States.

I'll never forget that sliver of time. The night I was privileged to be a journalist and to share a unique piece of United States history with 75,000 other Americans at mile high in Denver.

The buzz around Denver this morning is Hillary Clinton's speech last night. Did she go far enough to bring the Clinton faithful into the Obama fold? The reviews are just coming in...most of them strong about the senator's speech. "One of the best I've ever seen her do," says former Clinton advisor Dick Morris. But the healing has just begun.

The New York Delegation held a unity breakfast this morning, making sure that everyone knew that the Democrats were united, even though there were some hurt feelings along the primary campaign trail.

Will all Hillary supporters have a magical overnight transformation? Highly unlikely. It's a process. Last night's speech was a framework on which the process can begin and on which he Democratic party an hang campaign "talking points".

Obama supporters are working the phones right now at the convention. Calling many of the delegates who supported Hillary. Some say the courtesy calls should have begun much sooner, but better late than never.

The real wake up call may be the polls. With the latest Gallup poll showing John McCain pulling away from Obama, some new wounds may be forming even before the old ones can completely heal.

Tonight all eyes will be on former presidential hopeful, Senator Hillary Clinton, and her prime time speech at the Democratic National Convention. The speech was designed to bring her most ardent supporters into the Obama fold, and unite the Democratic Party.

Convention insiders tell me, however, that the rift between the Clinton Camp and the Obama campaign is far deeper and much wider than previously publicized. Not only are there some hard feelings among supporters, but some are saying the Clintons feel "dissed" because Obama never consulted them about his Vice Presidential choice.

Former Clinton, Communications Director, Howard Wolfson told me today the rift between the two Senators is "really not that bad", and "tomorrow at this time (Wednesday morning) everyone will be talking about her great speech and how she wholeheartedly supports Barack Obama."

Former Clinton supporter and Fox News Contributor Dick Morris told me, "he's not so sure" about tonight's speech mending this massive fence. You see there's the matter of a dinner that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were supposed to have after Hillary bowed out of the race. The dinner never happened. Wolfson explains that, "Obama hasn't had a lot of free time." The former President is apparently waiting for a time and a place.

Still the rift remains...something state delegates are working furiously behind the scenes to mend. Something tonight's speech from Hillary Clinton may only begin to fix.

The last time Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention was 100 years ago.  It was a much easier time when we didn't have to worry about email, tech support, ring tones, and texting.

This year the Democratic Convention will be staged at the Pepsi Center (Denver's version of Madison Square Garden). F.Y.I. in 1908, the Pepsi company was just a few years old and was busy perfecting a revolutionary distribution system for it's new soft drink: using motor vehicles instead of horse drawn carts. 

While the democrats were meeting in Denver for the first time, here are some of the other things the world was doing:

• Henry Ford cranked out the first Model T. 
• William Durant founded General Motors Corp.
• Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock took 32 days to travel from Los Angeles to New York City in a car. No one had ever done a cross country road trip before.
• Wilbur Wright took the first female passenger for a "controlled flight" in his aero plane.
• Jack Johnson became the first African American heavyweight boxing champ.
• Billy Murray hit the charts with his new song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".
• Wireless Radio Broadcasting was patented by Nathan B. Stubblefield.
• Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid headed for their "last round-up" and were reportedly killed in Bolivia.
• The Springfield race riots boiled over in Illinois, and ultimately planted the seeds to start an organization devoted to solving racial problems in the United States. (The NAACP was formed a year later in 1909.)
• President Theodore Roosevelt was wrapping up his third term and was busy doing some Republican arm-twisting to have the GOP nominate his buddy William Howard Taft.
  

The last time the Dems were in Denver they gave the nomination to William Jennings Bryan, one of the most popular speakers in American History. 

Despite his oratorical prowess, Bryan got slammed in every presidential campaign he tried to win. He got smoked in 1896 and 1900 by Republican William McKinley and went down to defeat in 1908, suffering the worst loss in his three presidential campaigns. William Howard Taft won the election in 1908. 

So, Denver did not hold any political "lucky charm" for the Democrats one hundred years ago but this time they're hoping history won't repeat itself.