US convention 08

"Abysmal" says Republican Fred Thompson on the Palin affair

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:07:33 +0200

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's admission that her single, 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant has kicked up a media storm that threatens to rain on the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. At a breakfast meeting on the sidelines of the convention, former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson ripped into the US media for seizing on the story.

The mood at the GOP convention: Depressed? What depressed?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:43:11 +0200

Photo: AFP

With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on Louisiana and other US Gulf of Mexico states, the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minneapolis, opened with a truncated schedule with an opening address by US President George Bush being blown off course by the storm. But despite media reports of a somber mood at the convention, our Observer Tim Demuth says the mood at the Xcel Center is anything but gloomy.

Michael Moore’s Gustav is 'proof there is a God' kicks up a storm

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:02:15 +0200

Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker Michael Moore has never been one to mince his words. Neither has Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Like Moore, Olbermann has made stinging attacks on prominent Republicans and raised eyebrows when he advised US President George Bush to "shut the hell up." So, when the two of them get together, it's not really party time for the American Right. But when Moore, in a "Countdown" interview, said Hurricane Gustav's landfall on the first day of the Republican convention is "proof there is a God in heaven," it kicked up a Category 5 storm.

Democrat's gaffe caught on camera

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:30:39 +0200

Unknown to him at the time, Democrat Don Fowler was being filmed when he made a joke about Hurricane Gustav, which today reached Louisiana. Republicans have hit out at the politician, who dared to say that if the catastrophe struck when the Republican Convention was due to open on Monday, then God must be on their [the Democrats'] side.

A conservative blogger shot the video, on a plane travelling back from the Denver convention (Colorado) to Charlotte (North Carolina) on Friday. Don Fowler apologised for the gaffe on Sunday. He explained that the joke was made in reference to a speech given by reverend Jerry Falwell, who blamed the September 11th attacks on gay, lesbian and pro-abortion Americans.

On the table: Obama's foreign policy

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:26:17 +0200

It's not just razzmatazz at the conventions. On the sidelines of the Democratic convention, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a Washington DC-based think tank, held a panel on what a Barack Obama presidency could mean for US foreign policy. The answer, according to our Observer Julissa Reynoso, who attended the panel, could be a focus on development - a term that turned distinctly unsexy during the Bush years.

Hitting the blog big time in the Big Tent

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:16:21 +0200

Not far from Denver's Pepsi Center, but far enough from the heavy politico and media hitters at the Democratic convention, is the Big Tent. A two-story, 8,000-square-foot temporary structure, the Big Tent offers facilities for bloggers to work out of. And unlike the Pepsi Center, which has no wireless for security reasons, the Big Tent is completely plugged in. Our Observer Joe Sudbay is all praise for the alternate blog-spot hotspot at the convention.

Dreyfuss jaw-jaws at the convention

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:43:07 +0200

The roster of celebs, both political and cultural, checking in at the Democratic convention just keeps getting thicker by the day. A day after her encounter with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, FRANCE Observer Anne Bottaro, one of the youngest volunteers at the convention, brushes up with Oscar-winning actor, Richard Dreyfuss, star of Hollywood epics such as "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

In the booth with Hillary’s school friends

Ségolène Team Observers — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:49:14 +0200

Our Observer Julissa Reynoso calls herself a "ferocious Hillary supporter". So it was only fitting that on Hillary Clinton's big night at the Democratic convention, when the former First Lady took to the floor to support Barack Obama's White House bid, Reynoso got a leg-up in the Pepsi Center seating order. In short, Reynoso was given a seat in an exclusive, private booth earmarked for close friends and supporters of Clinton - including her school friends and high school sweetheart.

Where Italian Americans meet – and greet Nancy Pelosi

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:46:30 +0200

Another political celeb hook-up on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention. This time, it's Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Our Observer Anne Bottaro was at an event for Italian Americans at a Denver restaurant, when the first female House Speaker showed up. For 17-year-old Bottaro, who is volunteering at her first-ever political convention, it was a meeting of a lifetime.

Forget PUMAs, Latinos are saying no to 'Nobama'

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:25:13 +0200

During the long, bitter Democratic primary season, Latinos overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton. Despite the senator from New York's strong endorsement of Candidate Obama, there is still a small, die-hard group of Clinton supporters. In the lead-up to the convention, they were derisively dubbed "PUMAs" (short for Party Unity, My Ass). And they could be spotted in the crowd with their Hillary T-shirts and "Nobama" buttons. But in Denver these days, Democratic delegates - including the die-hard Hillary supporting Hispanic delegates - seem to be coming around to display some much-needed party unity.

At a Latino Leaders Network event at the Denver Arts Center Tuesday, around 400 prominent Hispanic American figures gathered to commemorate Frederico Pena, former Energy Secretary during Bill Clinton's presidency. Pena now serves as Obama's National Campaign Co-chair. Last year, Pena's endorsement of Obama over the wife of the president he once served under, raised eyebrows. But that acrimony, according to our Observer Julissa Reynoso, who was present at the Latino Leaders Network event, is all in the past now.