7:20. Everybody gathers, 5 minutes after a nice young girl rehearses the national anthem.
Madison Square Garden: I try to remember the last time I was here, in 1969 for a Rolling Stones concert, on their tour that ended with the concert at Altamont, which is recorded in the movie Gimme Shelter. Then, I sat way more to the left.
Seats are more empty than full at the moment, on the floor as well as the guest seats. The American Samoa seats are still empty, though I volunteered.
Big banner: Fulfilling America’s Promise: A Safer World, A More Hopeful America. Capital letters at the beginning of each word, so you don’t miss a thing. Not as snappy as the Democrats’ “Hope is on the way,” but it’ll do.
A guy wanders by in a hat with an elephant on it. I wish I could think of a good comment for this.
Above my section of seating is the skyboxes, which have been allocated to the television networks. Al-Jazeera has even had the effrontery to show up, and claim a box. They’re right between Bloomberg and FOX 5 News. Conservatives of all stripes, I guess.
A Muslim preacher gives the invocation. All delegates, alternates, guests, and press people stand out of political correctness. I sit myself down in a huff, and glare at nobody in particular until the invocation is over. This is going too far, I think. It’s as if we’d had Hitler’s personal minister give the invocation at the ’44 convention. Hey, we’re at war with these guys. You don’t think we’re at war with them? Okay, maybe not. But they think they’re at war with us.
Smokey Robinson and James Brown blast through the speakers until the main part of the proceedings gets underway. In 1968, these, and their fans, were the people whom the nominators of Richard Milhous Nixon were battling against. Now, they entertain the delegates as they find their seats.
Dick Cheney arrives accompanied by wife and granddaughters, to much applause and singing and sign-waving.
Then, a tribute to George HW Bush (current president’s dad, for the easily confused). Bush I arrives to the strains of Van Halen’s “Jump.” The Cheneys clap along.
Buck and I have our genuine homemade painted sign: one side, “BUSH 2004,” the other, “Action not Words.” Stacks of these things were handed out en masse. I had to wave my hands around a lot to get one.
Ron Silver, the actor, then gave a great address. On 9/11: “We will never forget, we will never forgive, we will never excuse.” I love that guy.
I wave my sign. Many pontifications. I keep waving the sign, careful to display both sides. I’m a working blogger, after all.
Oh, the nominations. Yes. What we’re all here for.
A sufficient amount of states passed on their voting so that the final count, and nomination, will take place on Wednesday night, and not tonight. It was planned this way, and always is, according to my husband. Certain states plan to pass so that the vote will be delayed. It’s more dramatic, after all, if the nomination takes place the night before the acceptance speech, instead of three nights before. Otherwise, it’s too difficult for 50 states’ (plus territories’) delegates to look meaningful for the whole week.
It was obvious, by this time, even to me, that there wasn’t going to be much of interest happening for the rest of the evening, except for more speeches, and songs by artists I’ve not heard of before. Time to head back to the ranch.
white pebble 