Republican National Convention- Sunday

Today there were a lot of rumors going around about the convention. For most of the day we were really unsure about what was going to take place tomorrow because of Hurricane Gustav. Right now it looks like only official convention business will take place and no speeches. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and our US Senator, Mitch McConnell were slated to speak. Our thoughts and prayers are with those in the New Orleans area. Hopefully everything will be fine tomorrow and the convention will be back on schedule for Tuesday.

Today, we went to the Xcel Energy Center...it looks awesome! There are a ton of balloons! A McCain staffer explained to us the process of sign distribution.


We also went to the Minnesota State Fair, where I tried some interesting fried foods!


Tonight I got to put on my lovely page uniform for the first time, and went to the Welcome Party for the Delegates. I got to hang out with the Kentucky Delegation, including Secretary of State Trey Grayson, National Commiteewoman Gail Russell (and Murray native!) and other KY Republican Party leaders. They arrived today and have very busy schedules.This is quite a different setting than the last time I saw these folks, at the Fancy Farm picnic! Secretary Grayson will actually be speaking to the page class with the Harvard Institute on Politics. Hopefully I will be able to keep you updated on our delegates. They have front row seats during the convention thanks to Chairman Duncan.


Tomorrow my group will participate in two community service projects before going to the convention center. We will work on a river clean-up project, and a house built for a veteran.

~Caroline

Republican National Convention- Saturday

I have arrived in the Twin Cities!

Today we had some great speakers just for the pages, including Maria Cino, CEO of the convention, and Kentucky’s own Mike Duncan, Chairman of the Republican National Convention. (He is a big deal!) Chairman Duncan has a great story. He is from Inez Kentucky and has been involved in every convention since 1972. He became friends with Karl Rove through College Republicans many years ago, and this helped lead to him becoming Chairman of the RNC. We are proud he is one of our own!

After the speakers we had some training and then went to the Mall of America. The Xcel Energy Center, where the convention is being held, is being swept through by secret service. We will get to tour it tomorrow morning. I can’t wait!

BTW- Everyone here is super excited about Governor Sarah Palin!

~Caroline

Update from Memphis

A staffer for Florida Governor Charlie Crist is on my flight to Minneapolis. She is very excited because Governor Crist was on Larry King last night and did a great job. (He was considered to be on the VP shortlist) He is also going to be on Letterman this week. She is nervous because he is going to be speaking right before Senator McCain on Thursday night. There office is also worried about the hurricane!

~Caroline

Republican National Convention- Saturday

Hey Everyone!Hello from Memphis! I left this morning from the Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah. My flight will be here in an hour to take me to Minneapolis, Minnesota, home of the 2008 Republican National Convention!
Just to give you some background information, my journey to the convention began back in the spring when I applied to the convention page program. With the help of Kentucky's RNC members, I was one of 100 students across the country to be selected to be a page! It will be exciting to meet so many other young people who are politically active. I feel very fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity...it is definitely a dream come true!
The main role of the pages is to assist with the operations and organization of the convention. I will find out what exactly I will be doing later today during training. A neat part of our program is that we have additional speakers just, including Newt Gingrich and Mary Matalin. We will be busy from the time we wake up until we go to bed! The convention itself begins on Monday.
I was so excited last night I could hardly sleep. I stayed up watching coverage of Senator McCain's Vice Presidential pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I think this was an excellent choice for many reasons. I am so excited to get to hear her speak in person as the country watches along!
I will do my best to update regularly and post pictures.~Caroline

Road to the White House: DNC 2008-Day 1

August 25, 2008 Monday

Good Morning!!!! As you can imagine the excitement level is as high as some of the mountains that I can see from my hotel window! The hotel lobby seems to be what I imagine the inside of an ant colony looks like. BUSY BUSY BUSY!!! Everyone is greeting one another and their voices are buzzing with anticipation. The Tennessee Delegation is sharing the Marriott Tech Center with a couple of other delegations, so it is fun meeting new people and seeing how excited they are about the convention.

Once downtown there were people everywhere! Some watching the protestors, others buying souvenirs from vendors and then there are those just soaking up the sites and sounds. As far as protestors go, there are plenty here but not as many as I thought there would be. Mostly, the people are protesting the war, but there are some people here from PETA dressed like a pink cat (???? Yes strange), and those who are against Democrats in general. There is security EVERYWHERE equipped with plenty of blue flex plastic handcuffs, and full riot gear. Overall I did not feel threaten with them around.


The opening night of the Convention will highlight Barack’s life story, his commitment to change, and the voices of Americans who are calling for a new direction for this country.

Some of the speakers on Monday Night:
Former President Jimmy Carter, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Edward Kennedy, Barack Obama’s sister, Michelle Obama’s brother, Jesse Jackson Je. Denver Mayor John Kickenlooper, among others ….

Prime Time Speaker : Michelle Obama

More on Monday to come........

Road to the White House: DNC 2008

I arrived in Kansas City, where I have a 2 hour layover, and I met several delegates. One delegate, a teacher, from Kansas City and while running for her delegate position she used the theme “A soldier’s momma for Obama”. Her son is currently serving in Iraq. We talked for a while and she shared with me thoughts on why she ran. She thought Senator Obama was what this country needed to get us back to where we need to be as a nation, economically, globally, and lastly overall. This was her first DNC as well and she was ready to as she put it, “Rock and Roll”! As we were talking an older lady wearing an Obama button was being wheeled in our direction. She was from Kansas City as well and she told us that she had been a delegate since 1968 (WOW) and was just as excited today as she was then. This election was important to her because she hoped to see change happen so that her grandchildren could live safely, get a good education and be able to afford it, and live in a better world in general. She said it was her part to make this world a better place than she found it! Her energy and enthusiasm was contagious.

Sitting next to me was a 19 year old delegate from the state of Kansas. He is the youngest delegate for his state, and he said he wanted to be a role model for his friends to get involved with politics. He thought that this would be a very historic election, with a woman and an African American man being key players, so he wanted to do his part to make sure change happened.

We board the flight, go through the usual instructions, and as we take off the pilot comes over the intercom and says, “Let’s get to Denver so that we can make history!”

After landing in Denver and being greeted by volunteers waving Obama 08/ welcome signs, I spotted several celebrities while waiting on my delegate from Tennessee.
Diana Sawyer…no makeup
Judge Mathis….Television Court Show
Spike Lee…..need I explain?


Please stay tuned….

Road to the White House: DNC 2008

Denver, Colorado

August 24, 2008

I am at the airport waiting at Gate 16 to go to Denver. It is 7:00 am in and everyone looks a little groggy, but not me!!!! There is a spring my step, smile on my face, and a hope in my heart! I could hardly sleep last night I was so excited. Attending the DNC is a dream come true within itself, but especially now!!! It is my hope that I learn a lot, see a lot, and do a lot this week. My prayer this leading up to this week has been, “God make me a sponge, I want to be a sponge!” I have a layover in Kansas City, Missouri and I’m sure I will have more........