Reporter's Note: I write to President Obama all the time. I’m sure we’re both tired of it. Ha!
Dear Mr. President,
I just wanted to run down a few of the odd moments I’ve encountered during my stay at the Republican convention here in Tampa. I’m sure I’ll get a whole new collection of them next week at your Democratic gathering too, but I thought I’d pass these along in the meantime.
-I went for a run along the waterfront and saw an osprey flying overhead holding a small fish which kept wiggling. (Who could blame it?) Moments later I spotted a wet, dirty Santa Claus hat on the shore. It was like jogging through a David Lynch film.
-While roaming around the convention hall, I was set upon by a man who wanted to hold an extended conversation about redistribution of wealth. No matter how times I assured him that I am a journalist and accordingly have no opinion that I’d care to share on the matter, he kept after me like a dog on a pork chop.
-I passed a giant fiberglass elephant in a hotel lobby, went into the men’s room, and while an attendant refreshed the towel supply, I heard Janis Joplin singing on the speakers overhead. “Take another little piece of my heart…” It just seemed peculiar.
-While waiting in line for a Cuban sandwich, I heard some woman in line behind me come completely unhinged about something that had happened in some behind the scenes meeting about the vote in Virginia. I have no idea what she was talking about, but she was really going at it.
-Kid Rock performed (at least so I am told) somewhere, and very late in the night as we headed back to our hotel we passed a river of very happy young Republicans who told us it was awesome.
-And last, but far from least, I saw some sort of protester… heaven knows what his cause was… wearing a rubber boot upside down on his head, and blowing into a plastic, inflatable bat. When it was full, he proceeded to yell some phrase I could not possibly make out and started whacking himself on the head. It was wild.
That’s it for now. As you can probably tell, after a week of talking politics, listening to speeches, watching interviews, and running into politicos around every corner, I’m getting balmy. Hope you are well. Call if you can.
Regards,
Tom
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Filed under: Letters to the President • Opinion • President Barack Obama • T1 • Tom Foreman |
CNN's panel of analysts and strategists talk about what they think Mitt Romney needs to do to win over the RNC crowd.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: 2012 Election • Mitt Romney • Raw Politics • Republican National Convention |
Anderson Cooper and CNN's political panel discuss whether parts of Ryan's speech were factual or not.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: 2012 Election • Keeping Them Honest • Paul Ryan • Republican National Convention |
Watch special coverage tonight from 7 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET. Anderson is reporting live at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Anderson will talk to CNN Correspondents throughout the convention hall previewing and fact-checking the speeches.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: 2012 Election • Republican National Convention |
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
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