First in the nation

Convention crowds gather around people of celebrity. For a person who watches little to no television and pays limited attention to the mainstream media, these characters are often unidentifiable save for the cameras swarming around them. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a notable exception. Some of the Convention’s ostensible celebrities, like actor Janine Turner […]

Tea Party Patriots litter the crowd, causing the occasional minor stir. Small groups leave the convention hall in protest chanting, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.” Despite best efforts, their shouting is inaudible and, essentially, impotent. Ron Paul brought the national debt to the awareness of young supporters AND he’s contributed to the dictionary. […]

One convention video featured talking heads repeating the phrase, “I am an American, not a bump on the road.”  

“It began with a perfect Triple-A credit rating for the United States; it ends with a downgraded America,” Ryan laments. He adds anecdotes about small town America, family life on the street where he grew up (and still lives), and about back when he had to dirty his soft hands just to make a buck.

Gov. Chris Christie explains, “Tonight we’re going to choose respect over love.”

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside I’ve got the month of May. I guess you’d say What can make me feel this way? My girl…talkin’ ’bout my girl.

Mass-produced, handmade signs created by Convention operations staff proclaim, “We <3 you Ann” and “Women love Ann,” appear just in time for Mrs. Romney’s Tuesday night marquee speech. In response, mid-presentation Mrs. Romney exclaims, “I love you WOMEN!”

“Tonight I want to talk with you from my heart about our hearts,” Ann Romney gushes. She discusses her husband’s kind heart, their children, and her love for women.