THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

Saturday is usually a day for lighthearted human interest stories, and this Saturday will contain my sacred annual National Football League analysis (in a separate post) where I make my predictions that end up quickly being off the mark. I try to avoid politics. However, the heat of the moment from a pair of back to back conventions has my blog taking an approach that is anything but conventional.

This wrap up will actually not be the last word on the subject. I conducted so many interviews with so many politicians and media personalities that I will have enough material to get through the election already. It might get to the point where I am offering the predictions of others on Election 2008 after the election itself. Nothing benefits a blog like obsolete material.

Before giving out letter grades to the speakers, warm fuzzy memories can be offered before Monday, when the politics heats up again (Sunday is NFL time).

I also made friends I will have for life, and that is more important than any political event.

Even the politicos that could not grant me an interview on the record either due to legal and contractual reasons or time constraints were kind towards me when I told them things they may not hear on a daily basis.

Actor Stephen Baldwin gave me a hearty handshake when I pointed out that I knew nothing about the entertainment industry, but loved him on “The Apprentice.” I admired his ethics.

Correspondent Andrea Mitchell is not somebody I know much about, but she is married to Sir Alan of Greenspan. I told her that in my mind, her husband saved this country 20 years ago. People do not realize that the 1987 stock market crash could have wrecked our economy. Greenspan’s quick action staved off a financial meltdown.

Jim Angle of Fox News was very friendly, but was unable to be interviewed. The same was the case with Bill Schneider of CNN. I told them I was a republican blogger, and their positions require a neutrality that they cannot compromise. Others did the interviews but would not state preferences, only analysis.

Alan Colmes of Fox News was a decent enough guy. I say decent enough because it was midnight, and he was exhausted. I told him that I was a republican blogger who disagreed with him most of the time, but that I found him to be a decent and thoughtful man. He was being accused of taking cheap shots at Sarah Palin and her family. This was not the case. Many liberals do get vicious, and Alan Colmes had criticized them. He appreciated my defending him, although I again reminded him that I was on the other side.

Brett Baier of Fox News was genuinely touched when I offered prayers for his family. He and his wife had a newborn baby daughter that barely survived, and thankfully the child is better now. May God bless the Baier family.

Of all the people who had an impact on me during the experience, radio legend Hugh Hewitt topped the list. Hugh Hewitt is also the preeminent blogger in the country, the father of political blogging.

I did an interview with him that I will publish in several days. However, I did not want to wait any longer to publicly thank him for giving a lesser known blogger a shot at the big time.

Mr. Hewitt allowed me to be a guest on his radio show for 2-3 minutes to promote my blog. After I was done, my email inbox was flooded, and not just with people trying to sell me the key to refinancing my viagra purchases to be used while playing online poker with no money down.

I have a reputation for being sophomoric, but I played it serious and professional on his show.

Mr. Hewitt even went one step further. He provided a link to my column yesterday on Sarah Palin being the second coming of Margaret Thatcher. This time it was my blog traffic that exploded. I had my third best day of hits ever. I hope Mr. Hewitt forgives me for getting 5 more hits from a Mark Steyn link, although I can always demand a recount. My best day was from Super Tuesday just after the Superbowl when I compared Barack Obama to Eli Manning, bringing in sports nuts and the politicos.

I am grateful for Mr. Hewitt’s willingness to risk his entire brand on a maverick in the blogging world.

I hope that by providing a link to him, I can increase his traffic as well.

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog

I would also like to extend a hearty thank you to radio personality Armstrong Williams.

http://www.armstrongwilliams.com/

Armstrong is an unapologetic conservative, and has a great sense of humor to boot. I will publish my interview with him in several days as well.

He allowed me on his radio show as well, and he gave me about 10 minutes, a staggering amount of time for a neophyte. On this one I was a little more lighthearted, but did not say or do anything that ended his career. He is still on the air. He has talked about checking in with me from time to time about having me on again. Whether or not time allows for that, he was wonderful to give me the boost to begin with.

One person that I did not see at the convention, which was a tad disappointing, was Biff Henderson from the Late Show With David Letterman. I do not agree with his politics, but from a comedy standpoint, I love Dave. I do not like when he takes his shots at republicans, but otherwise, his New York edge is enjoyable. His stagehand Biff Henderson is “everyman,” and I hope to interview him one day. Then I hope they have me on the show. That is a hint Dave.

Yet of all the things that I will take away from this convention, the friendships I made with fellow bloggers and others was what was paramount. I had communicated with them on the internet, and in rare cases by telephone. It was nice to meet them in real life.

Chad Everson of the Grizzly Groundswell Network organized an entire group of republican bloggers together and unleashed us on the world, or at least Minnesota.

www.grizzlygroundswell.com

Doug Welch, also known as Stix, is now a friend for life. Hanging out with him was awesome.

http://stix1972.typepad.com/

It was Stix, and Tygrrrrs, and Bears, oh my!

It would be impossible to talk about these guys without talking about where we slept. 30 years from now I will smile and tell people that for an entire week, I slept in a sports bar. Yes, you read that correctly. Stix and Grizzly slept on the floor of a designated area, one guy had access to sleeping on the stage, and I slept in the loft with the Chicago Cannonball. My views do not express hers. She went home after 2 days as scheduled, and I slept alone in the loft the last 3 nights on her air mattress.

If Stix and Grizzly are reading this, please mail her the mattress so she does not shoot me.

We had full access to the bar. I drank diet coke and ate pizza at 2am. It was like going back to college. In fact, it was like the movie “Old School,” with Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, and Luke Wilson. The whole weekend I kept saying, “Blue! You’re my boy Blue! You’re my boy!” I also at least once a day turned to Stix and Chad and said, “Can you believe we are living in a sports bar?”

This truly was fantasy camp. I would like to thank Brad the owner and his son Josh. If you are in Downtown Minneapolis, go there and get some excellent tasting pizza.

http://www.linwoodpizzamn.com/

Some other blogger friends that hung out with us included Dr. Bill from Arkansas. He is a genuinely nice and fun guy.

http://arkansasgopwing.blogspot.com/

Pastor Ed Boston, aka Cyber Pastor, and his wife showed up. They are both lovely human beings with good hearts. Sheridan Folger is Irish, and proud of it. He is also highly entertaining.

http://dotherightthing-cyberpastor.blogspot.com/

Steve at No Runny Eggs drove for hours to meet us, and I regret that I only got to see him for a few minutes. I was having a private romantic dinner with the Chicago Cannonball, which trumps politics.

http://norunnyeggs.com/

This probably would have turned into a fraternity party (actually it did most of the time) were it not for the civilizing influence of a lady blogger. Howard Stern has Robin Quivers. We had Skye from Flopping Aces. She is a master of photography and blogging.

http://www.floppingaces.net/

She also shot a video of me taking on a couple protesters, one for Code Pink and the other for Ron Paul. I kicked rumpus of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQWAUao-SSY

I also got to meet Miss Texas. She is competing in the Miss America pageant.

http://www.misstexas.org/home.html

The funny thing is that she approached me in the convention hall. She heard me verbally taking down the protesters, and came up to me to thank me. She was very pleasant, and I will publish my interview with her in the coming days. Although I took a picture with her, I let everybody know that my girlfriend was and is my Miss America.

Another beautiful and smart woman that I finally got to meet was Townhall reporter Amanda Carpenter. I have interviewed her before, and was glad to finally meet the incredibly nice person behind the solid reporting.

http://townhall.com/Columnists/AmandaCarpenter/

A great guy I had the pleasure of getting to know was Richie at Hip Hop Republican.

http://www.hiphoprepublican.com/

The Minnesota people were awesome, and the Minneapolis Police Department had some really cool cops. One of them gave me and Stix a ride home when the bus didn’t show up. We had a convoy of safety. Brad did what he does best, which was make sure they had pizza.

Yet beneath all the partying was politics. Below are my letter grades for the main candidates.

Denver Democrats:

Joe Biden–I was shocked. He is usually a gasbag, but this speech was warm and poignant. A+

Mark Warner–If the democrats ever learn how to be pro business, they will become normal. Mark Warner is pro business. A

Michelle Obama–Her job was to convince people she was a nice person, and not an angry hostile America hater. I felt she went way too far in the other direction. Her speech was so sugary that it would have killed a diabetic. However, it served its purpose. B

Bill Clinton–I gave him an A- in 2004. This speech was just not as good. His heart may not have been in it. B-

Barack Obama–I gave him an A+ in 2004. This time he did not live up. His speech was simply too negative. Vice Presidents and Keynoters can attack. Presidents have to be positive. C+

Bill Richardson–He has an impressive resume, but was terrible on the stump. He does not inspire, and in this case he did not fail to disappoint and underwhelm. C

Hillary Clinton–She could not bring herself to tell us why Barack Obama should be President. The only praise she gave him was that she favored something, he agreed with her, therefore he is right, because she was. Do not be fooled. She was selfish to the end. C-

Minnesota Republicans:

Sarah Palin–A star is born. The second coming of Margaret Thatcher is from Alaska. A+

Rudy Giuliani–I gave him an A+ in 2004, and he is as great as ever. Slash and burn is his approach, and he does it brilliantly. A+

Fred Thompson–He comes across as so laid back, but his biting wit just works. A+

President George W. Bush–I gave him an A- in 2004, and he was solid again. His line decking the angry left was the highlight. A-

Linda Lingle–The Governor of Hawaii is another rising star. She was effective and personable. A-

Mitt Romney–He was quite good, but there were so many great speeches that he might be downgraded on this arbitrary curve. B+

Cindy McCain–Her speech was harmless. She loves her husband. She is a good human being, but not a compelling speaker. C+

Joseph Lieberman–This man knows how to calm down a crowd. He is a good man, a fine human being, and a colossally boring speaker. He simply puts people to sleep. D

There were no Fs this year. In 2004 John Kerry got a D and Theresa Heinz Kerry got an F. The Bush twins got an F for their routine that had Grandmother Barbara displeased.

Anyway, that concludes my temporary wrap up of the 2008 Republican Convention.

I say temporary because this blog is topic driven when there are no events, and event driven when appropriate. The next couple months will be almost totally event driven. I will have tons of interviews to publish.

So consider this the wrap up for the day.

eric

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 3:42 pm and is filed under POLITICS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.