The Chronicle Covers The Conventions

ST. PAUL, Minn.–President George W. Bush spoke for less than 10 minutes via satellite Tuesday night in prime time, re-telling John McCain’s life story.

Introduced and followed in-person by Laura Bush, he extolled McCain for his perseverance as a prisoner of war, moving the message straight from Hanoi to the White House: “If the Hanoi Hilton cannot break John McCain’s resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be assured that the angry left never will.”

Laura got in on the attacks, too: referring to her husband’s efforts to combat malaria and AIDS in Africa, she mocked the Barack Obama campaign slogan by saying, “You might call that change you can really believe in.”

–Samuel Rubenfeld

MINNEAPOLIS– Here is full video of Jesse Ventura’s speech:

–Samuel Rubenfeld

MINNEAPOLIS–During a speech to the “Rally for the Republic” for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) held in the Target Center, former wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said he might run for president in 2012, should the “revolution” need him.

“If I see it start to rise up and this country shows me that it’s worth it for me to do it, then maybe in 2012,” Ventura said, and cheers of “Run! Jesse! Run!” erupted.

–Samuel Rubenfeld

ST. Paul, Minn.–New York GOP chairman – and University alum – Joseph Mondello on the floor of the Republican National Convention, where he said Democrats talked about putting a woman on the ticket but Republicans did it.

And a report indicates Mondello offered to make peace with former New York Gov. George Pataki, both of whom have been feuding for years; Pataki sacked him from the Republican National Committee during his last term in office to install a loyalist.

–Samuel Rubenfeld

By Samuel Rubenfeld

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

ST. PAUL, Minn.–Thousands of protesters descended here Monday to protest the Republican National Convention.

One independent activist, Jeff Nygaard, estimated the crowd at about 10,000 after saying he counted all of the protesters at the beginning of the march.

The protesters’ biggest cause was against the war, but others wanted immigration reform, some sported GLBT pride flags and others protested government inaction on global climate change.

Most of the protest was peaceful, and I personally did not see any arrests or violence, but there were reports of assaulted delegates, of anarchists arrested and burning dumpsters used as weapons.

One Twitter user reports Monday’s arrest totals in Ramsey County as of 10:30 p.m.

Also, the end of the route was changed by police due to what police called structural damage to a few buildings and scattered violence on the road of the original route. The march went a few blocks further away from the XCel Energy Center and zigzagged back up to the state capitol, where the march began.

Scenes from the protests:

View the slideshow

And video:

–Samuel Rubenfeld

DENVER–Young voters here tell The Chronicle what inspires them in 2008.

Troy Timmer, 22, a senior International Business and Finance major at The George Washington University, describes how Barack Obama inspired him long before the presidential candidate sought national office:

–Samuel Rubenfeld

DENVER–In what will become a running feature throughout this blog, young voters willing to talk to The Chronicle describe what inspires them.

Marie Roda, 20, a political science major at SUNY Albany, explains how her work with organized labor led her to politics:

–Samuel Rubenfeld

DENVER–On the convention floor Monday night, Nassau County Legislator and Presiding Officer Diane Yauturo, a Hillary Clinton delegate from Glen Cove, New York, supports Barack Obama “without hesitation.”

–Samuel Rubenfeld

DENVER–After meeting a Hillary Clinton delegate from Harlem, New York, on the street near the Colorado Convention Center, she explained how the Democratic National Committee is looking at changing the rules as to how it chooses a nominee for president.

See here:

–Samuel Rubenfeld

DENVER–Iraq Veterans Against The War dressed in their fatigues and reenacted an occupation on the streets of downtown Denver in front of the Colorado Convention Center. See here:

–Samuel Rubenfeld