After the brilliant success of attacking her level of experience - and drawing uncomfortable attention to that of the Democratic nominee - the Axelrod Allies have decided to train their sights on McCain instead.

Showing him with Clark Rockefeller glasses, and some images of disco balls and 80's kitsch, the Omniscient Voice intones that McCain has been in the Senate since...1982! The Pleistocene!!

But at least McCain had somebody older and wiser to guide him in the dark, long-ago days. After all, Joe Biden was elected in 1972....

Never before have I attended such an historic event in the United States presidential election. Since the preliminary Convention activities began on Monday, August 25, I continue to be impressed by the historic significance of the 2008 Democratic National Convention (and I’ve had the honor of attending the Conventions since 1992!)

This Convention marks an unprecedented unity within the Democratic Party. At a time when skeptics questioned the Democratic Party’s ability to unite, the Party’s leaders joined forces. The extraordinary speeches delivered by Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Senator Joe Biden, Senator Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, and Senator Ted Kennedy have successfully crystallized the party’s vision and support for Senator Barack Obama.

On Monday night, United States Senator John Kerry, along with wife Theresa Heinz, hosted a thank you event for his supporters and activists in the Democratic Party. Amongst the attendees were Senator Michael Morrisey, AFSME President Gerald McEntee, Attorney General Martha Coakley, and even actor Chevy Chase!

The tribute to Ted Kennedy brought down the house with a powerful speech that reminded us that the lion of the Senate is still roaring. The Democratic Party has never looked stronger. Whatever the outcome in November, one thing is for sure: The democrats are in this together.

The real music in the ears of the delegates at the convention and hopefully the people at home came from Sen. John McCain’s speech. There was not a lot that was new in the speech. After two decades of straight talk it is hard to repackage the truth and McCain did not try. He did say, “I do not believe that I have come to save my country, I believe my country saved me.” McCain laid out that ambition was not his goal in running for president, but “serving a cause greater than [him]self.” He talked about helping people, by lowering taxes, giving parents in education, making the conditions right for job growth, and protecting American security. John McCain is no great orator. He is a man of judgment and action. Some may say that Sarah Palin outshined John McCain. I say every ray that shines from Sarah reflects on the intuitive judgment and courage and decisive action of John McCain.

Mavericks McCain and Palin were not the only ones “raisin’ McCain last night.” The Massachusetts delegation had Grand Old Parties fro the last night in the twin cities and one of the best was at the Warehouse where Rich played both “Raisin’ McCain”, but also “Save a horse ride a cowboy”. Today I head home, but I hope I come back soon to a place where everyone is “Minnesota nice.”

It is no secret at the convention that Tuesday's hottest tickets were for the Ron Paul rally. It was not just Ron Paul supporters who went from MA. Notably there was State Sen. Bob Hedlund from the Plymouth and Norfolk district who is the highest elected member of the MA delegation. By Wednesday night, the unity between the delegations was so strong that Paul some supporters were sporting Sarah Palin buttons and MA Republican Party Executive Director Rob Willington was wearing a sporty Ron Paul button.

Over three days, the Paul supporters, who are about a third of the delegation, have been talking about not only helping defeat Barrack Obama in November, but continuing to build the party from the inside after the election. They plan to run for local and state office (some already are), they plan to run for vacant seats on the Republican State Committee and rebuild there Republican Town Committees. Over the last three days Paul supporters who came to the convention as outsiders after credentials challenges and snide comments have largely been accepted as good Republicans who care about their country, their party and the Constitution of the United States. They have been embraced as much as any other wing of the party.

The MA Paul supporters proved their political prowess and mettle as well by shining light on National Convention Secretary Jean Inman, by delivering all 43 MA votes to Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin. If the Paul supporters started like the minutemen with rifles behind trees, they come home from the convention with experience lieutenants who have been able to bring new cannons to the fight.

If voters weren't sure about her before, they now have a full menu of reasons to vote for her in November. She's smart, experienced, confident, funny, and best of all - we can relate to her.

In speaking with surrounding delegates in Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Maine - all are saying the same thing - she's real, she's like us. Ok, so we all don't live in Alaska or have 5 children. That isn't the unifying quality we're picking up on. Instead we like Sarah Palin because she isn't talking down to us or telling us how we need 'change' or more 'hope' to make the world a better place. She doesn't know better than us, she wants better FOR us.

My enthusiasm is only tempered by the immediate onslaught of criticism and attacks she is now receiving. Democrats don't know what to do with a capable woman that isn't on their own ticket. Pregnant daughter didn't derail the Palin Movement (that backfired as America declared it a family matter) - now we're on to questioning her experience. Appropriate, and that should be a good discussion - perhaps we'll get to return the same pointed questions to Obama? I have no doubt Sarah will pass with flying colors. Obama may have to consult with a special council or something first.

Massachusetts had quite the spotlight as well - Mitt Romney spoke, MA's own Jean Inman did the roll call in her role as Secretary of the Convention, and MassGOP Chairman Peter Torkildsen and Kerry Healey took to the microphone to cast our delegation votes unanamously for John McCain! In true Boston spirit, atop the Massachusetts sign was a Boston Red Sox cap. Having a great time alongside my fellow State Committeemembers and MA legislators, especially Betty Poirier and Jay Barrows from my hometown area.

Tonight - John McCain is in the house. Standing room only.

At our Mass. delegation breakfast this morning, we listened to Frank Donatelli, the Deputy Chair of the Republican National Committee, who reminded me of something that I knew but had forgotten. The Republican Party was the party of women’s suffrage as well as abolition, as Susan B. Anthony was a strong Republican and worked to get state laws passed that allowed women to vote long before suffrage passed in 1920.

All day long, even though we had some powerful speakers on the convention floor in Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, that buzz and the anxiety all centered on Sarah Palin. Was she the real deal? Most of us wanted to see her, to be able to check our own guts instead of being told what we think by sundry pundits.

Sarah Palin delivered. She was smart, sassy, comfortable and bright as a new penny. Personally, I was delighted with her matter-of-fact ideas on energy independence based on her experience in administering the largest fuel reserves in the nation. A collective sigh of relief and delight resonated through the Xcel Center and the cheering and applause were sincere.

I’m an older feminist who has always been annoyed that the movement for women’s rights and responsibilities has always been for one sort of woman – and not any conservative ones. Hillary Clinton, not Elizabeth Dole, was the ‘ground breaking’ candidacy. But one line resonated with all us fighters for women’s equality in her speech at the Democratic Convention – “My mother was born before women could vote. My daughter was able to vote for me for President.”

I thought of that line as I watched Palin’s small daughter, delighted with the attention but a little overwhelmed and tentative in front of over 5,000 people. As charming as Obama’s small daughters were, it somehow meant more to see Palin’s daughter look up at her mom with wonderment as the center of all this attention. Palin herself stood there with her baby on her hip, evoking a frontier wife who had casually shot a deer for dinner while plowing the field and running the ranch while her husband was away on a cattle drive – that same sort of matter-of-fact competence and femininity.

Meanwhile, in the audience was Margaret Heckler, the last Congresswoman from Mass. before Nikki Tsongas was recently elected. Congresswoman Heckler was a tough and experienced politician, and she was delighted with Sarah Palin and with McCain’s choice. It was a treat to hear her talk about winning this election, when her own election was one of the first cracks of that glass ceiling in Mass.

From the Grande Dame of Mass. GOP politics, to the first GOP woman nominated for Vice President, to the little girl seeing how far a woman can go, it was a great night to be a Republican woman and a feminist.

But it's still important to ask:

Are any Democrats willing to publically speak out against the shameful treatment of Sarah Palin, and address the blatant double standard with which she and her family are being attacked?

Is anyone on the Left ready to say that if Sarah Palin's husband's 22-year old DUI arrest is relevant, than Barack Obama's drug use is at least as relevant?

"I got high [to] push questions of who I was out of my mind..." said Obama. “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it."

What if Sarah Palin had spoken those words? Or John McCain? Or Todd Palin?

Does any member of the Leftosphere who is suddenly so interested in the pregnancy of a 17-year old who is not running for anything, any of those who see scandal in the strength of a woman Republican vice presidential candidate who dares to happily and energetically raise five children have any interest in asking a vice presidential candidate about something that really matters to our quest for political integrity? If so, that person could ask Joe Biden why he plagiarized a speech when he was running for president?

You say Todd Palin was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party? This is news? Does anyone who thinks this is news have any interest in knowing more about why Barack Obama chaired the multi-million Annenberg foundation for a terrorist named William Ayers?

Do any liberal members of the media or blogosphere have any interest in answering any of these questions? I'm just wondering.

With two broken arms and a broken leg, John McCain was held prisoner and left to die. He didn't, and when he didn't, he was tortured and tempted to betray the United States and his fellow soldiers - fellow POWs. He didn't, and when he didn't, he was placed in solitary confinement - for years. He was offered the opportunity to get out, if only he cooperated with the Vietnamese, and still he did not.

As Sen. Thompson pointed out so eloquently last night, this is a true testament to John McCain's character. Faith in God, his family and his country got him through, but not without an amazing will, loyalty and personal integrity.

This morning at breakfast, we heard from former RNC Chair, Jim Nicholson, who shared with us a story from many years ago. After campaigning all day long for a fellow Republican candidate (not himself) in Colorado and driving from Denver to Pueblo and back, John McCain made a special request and a special trip to the local VA hospital in Denver to visit with some Veterans. This was a late night trip, with no press and no political purpose. John McCain made this trip simply out of true care and concern.

It's true that his time as a POW and his military service alone do not qualify someone to be President, but it's also true that the character that John McCain has shown is certainly a quality desired in a President.

What's also true, and one of the reasons that I feel so strongly about needing Senator McCain now, is his understanding and compassion for fellow Veterans. This is a time when we are creating a whole new generation of Veterans. We NEED someone who can relate to them and the struggles they face when they come home from war. John McCain is that someone.

I think Massachusetts Democrats who put Country First will give a lot of thought to supporting Sen. McCain just like they did Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Some already are. On the floor with us last night was former Democrat Massachusetts State Rep. Brian Golden who is fully behind Senator John McCain. It was an honor to sit with a veteran of Iraq like Brian. I remember thinking to myself during the Denver convention, what are all those Democrats crying about. I have to admit with the tributes last night to vets of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as President Gerald Ford there were a few moist eyes at the Excel Center.

Country First was the message last night and today we will live it as members of the MA delegation put care boxes together for hurricane victims and our soldiers overseas.

Thompson also brought the national political conversation (hopefully) back to the issues and the candidates (not the candidates' families).

If Thompson 'laid down the law" with a delightful fire and brimstone delivery, Joe Lieberman could be viewed as restoring order. Quietly and with great resolve, Lieberman outlined the very simple and obvious reasons that he - a respected Democrat- even agrees that at this moment in history, given our economy, national security - we just can't take the chance on Obama.

Today, Massachusetts delegates will return early to the Xcel Center to assemble hurricane relief kits for gulf coast residents before heading into the hall to hear what is the most anticipated speech this week - Gov. Sarah Palin.

Protestors - not as many as they might make it seem like on TV. There were a few small groups scattered on a few street corners, but there was only one Ron Paul group that became particularly violent and force had to be used. Local police were prepared and in good force. In fact, some young demonstrators were actually asking delegates where the parties were.

Organization - very well done by the RNC and by our own State Party led by Peter Torkildsen and Rob Willington. We're meeting as a delegation each morning, arriving together and on time for the sessions.

Venue - Xcel Energy Center - perhaps a bit smaller than some previous venues, but simple, impressive stage and good seating for all. Easy to get around and we're all having fun meeting people from other states. A fellow delegate and I went around to our native states of NJ and PA and met the party chairmans and even former Gov. Tom Kean who has MA roots!

Host City - Minneapolis and St Paul are indeed the twin cities located across the river from one another but learning they distinct in their own right. Both however are clean, very metropolitan in terms of restaurants and tourist attractions. Haven't explored them all just yet, but impressed with our welcome so far.

In lieu of the convention activities for the evening, we attended a reception for the American Red Cross that benefited those along the gulf coast. We thought that was a fitting way to spend our time. No matter how caught up in the political activities of the day,we still remember as the convention theme reminds us "Country First."

ALABAMA
Governor's Emergency Relief Fund
www.servealabama.gov
(877) 273 - 5018

FLORIDA
Florida Disaster Fund
www.FloridaDisasterFund.org
(850) 410-0696

LOUISIANA
Hurricane Gustav Relief and Recovery Fund
www.braf.org
(877) 387-6126

Aidmatrix Foundation
www.aidmatrixnetwork.org
(866) 881-8882

MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund
www.mississippirelief.com

TEXAS
Texas Responds
www.texasresponds.org
(512) 473-2140

To donate by phone:
The Aidmatrix Foundation at (866) 881-8882

This is as a result of the potential damage that Hurricane Gustav may produce on the Gulf Coast. Here in Minnesota, the sky is clear and the sun is out. It's a beautiful day. We watch the effects that the Gustav is having on Louisiana, and it's hard to grasp how devastating this storm might be. Our hearts are with those affected by this storm.

Back here in Minnesota, we wait in anticipation of what will come next both in the Gulf and in the coming hours in Saint Paul as we begin the convention.

There is excitement in the air. We just came from the Mass GOP's welcoming brunch which was teeming with media - print, tv and radio. This was also the first time we were all together as a delegation. What a group - state representatives, sheriffs, city councilors, state committee members and hardworking grassroots activists. It's fantastic to come together as we begin the official part of this journey!

If you looking for a good movie that will reinforce conservative values, I would skip An American Carol and go see Traitor with Don Cheadle. You will never question the Patriot Act again.

Let's keep in mind WHY we all have this unusual schedule of back to back conventions late in the summer. Howard Dean was trying to be clever again.

The party which does NOT hold the White House gets to declare is convention date first, and the incumbent paryy musy hold theirs afterward. Last year, Dean saw a plethora of GOP candidates, and hoped they'd savage one another while Hillary ascended to a peaceful nomination and could campaign all summer while Republicans bickered. We all know how that turned out. I don't know if Dean was unable to follow this idea through to its logical conclusion, but as soon as he announced that late August date, it was inevitable that the GOP pick would be made right after the end of their convention, thus 'stealing' their limelight.

The GOP convention is being held Labor Day week for the same reason it cannot be postponed. In many states, there are legal requirements for ballots and candidates to be posted a certain time before the election. Dean forced us into almost the last possible dates to hold the convention and nominate our candidate and still be able to appear on the ballot in November.

Set aside the hotel, airplane, vacation time arrangements, etc., for 45,000 people. We are already getting bulletins about changes in speaking schedules, events, etc. Our convention will be curtailed out of respect for the situation in LA. The President and Vice President will not be able to attend, and WE are really disappointed!

But really, we aren't ready to postpone or eliminate our convention just so Obama can appear alone on the ballot in November. Better luck with the timing next time, Mr. Dean.