Illinois and the Republican National Convention--and my upcoming radio appearances

Blogging from the Republican National Convention, Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Time for some local business--local for me that is.

Up on the left is the spot where Illinois' 70 delegates will be sitting tonight when John McCain accepts the GOP nomination for president.

It's a bad location, there are as far as possible the stage. Illinois is of course Barack Obama's home state, and has not voted for a Republican president since 1988. If you're watching the coverage on television tonight, and you see the ABC Television booth, just below that is where the Illinois GOP is.

If you didn't know there was a political convention going on in St. Paul, you would be forgiven if you thought a police association meeting was taking place. The St. Paul police are quite visible in town, but their force--which is formidable--is supplemented by cops from all over the Twin Cities metropolitan area, as well as Minnesota state troopers, Minnesota conservation police, and county officers from all over the state. There are many Duluth cops here, too.

But I've also seen US Capitol police, officers from Arlington, Texas, and county sheriff officers from Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois. I mentioned to the Will cop that I saw his brother officer from the county south of him, he said, "Oh, yeah, they're part of our contingent."

Speaking of Illinois, in less than an hour, I'll be a guest on a Chicago radio show on 89.5, aka Vocalo.org. It should be around 2:30pm Central, but I'd tune in as early at 2:00pm, just in case.

Later this evening, I'll once again appear on Andrea Shea King's Florida-based BlogTalk Radio show. That will be after 8:00pm Central. Click on Andea's BTN logo on the upper-right hand side of her home page.

I will be on the floor of the Xcel Center at that time, overlooking the reconstructed main state where McCain will address the delegates--and the nation.

As well as the world. There are many members of the international media in St. Paul.

Technorati tags: Politics Chicago RNC St. Paul twin cities illinois police