I was pretty much all conventioned-out by the time Day 4 rolled around and only ventured into the Xcel Center when John McCain was about to speak. His speech is here. I’m just posting pix and video.

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(Above) Looking down from the daily press gallery’s fourth-level eyrie onto the floor of the Xcel Center in St. Paul just before going to pick up my temporary floor pass.

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(Above) Thinking that if I just stuck behind the big guy with the NBC television camera I’d be able to get somewhere down on the floor, I got jammed just like he did in the midst of the standing delegates watching an introductory video about John McCain.

I didn’t have my higher quality camcorder with me this time, so the following video is shot with a phone camera. It shows the crowd at the time of McCain’s entrance onto the stage.

Back up in my eyrie, I could at least see the candidate as they had built the stage out so McCain would be in the middle of the delegates, especially the ones from states crucial to his winning the November election.

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(Above) McCain is turned towards the Florida delegates as he speaks. The Pennsylvania delegates are directly in front of the podium.

Okay, so all I was really there for was the balloon drop after McCain finished speaking!

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(Above) Palin and McCain wave to the crowd.

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(Above) The balcony containing the three fixed cameras directly opposite the stage became swamped with balloons. The teleprompter on the balcony wall shows this shot was taken just at the end of the benediction and before the Chair of the Convention called for a delegate to propose the motion to adjourn till the next convention.

In Part Two, outside and a little surprise!

rosalea.barker@gmail.com

--PEACE--