Today marks the official start of the Republican National Convention. So, naturally, things become more serious in tone today, especially with Hurricane Gustav currently hitting Louisiana.The Connecticut delegation began the day with an 8 a.m. breakfast at our hotel, at which Connecticut Republican party chairman Chris Healy brought us up to date on the schedule for today. The convention session, he confirmed, will run a brief two hours today, to take in some of the committee reports necessary to legally convene the convention and nominate John McCain. These would include reports from the platform committee, credentials committee, and similar convention committees.
Once this is done, the rest of today's schedule will not go forward. Where that leaves the speech by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., which had been on the schedule for tonight, I cannot guess.
After being brought up to speed by Healy, there were three additional speakers at the breakfast. Michael Duhaime, a surrogate from the McCain campaign, spoke to the delegation. A number of people in the Connecticut delegation know Mike, as he was initially a Guiliani supporter (as was I in early 2008) and had been the Connecticut organizer for Guiliani. Mike set the tone for the somber nature of the next day or two, as convention delegates are being asked by McCain to focus on what is happening to the Gulf Coast more than on the political happenings of the convention.
Another informative speaker at the breakfast was Dorcas Hardy, who had been the head of the Social Security Administration in the Reagan admininstration. She spoke of some of the challenges that the Social Security program faces in the decades ahead, but generally was of the belief that with some minor tinkering (maybe raising the retirement age by a year), the program can be put on firmer ground and be there when I hit retirement age - some twenty five years from now. I think that's good news for everyone, those retiring soon and those whose retirement is decades out, that the money paid into the program will indeed be there when needed.
The breakfast speaking program was rounded out by a Captain Hudeck, one of a number of military veterans speaking on McCain's behalf. Like McCain, Hudeck was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and spoke of his experience as a naval pilot in the Korean war and some of the parallels between the Korean War and the Vietnam War, in which McCain fought.
We leave our hotel at noon, stopping for lunch on our way to the Xcel Center, where the convention takes place. I will further report tonight when we have returned from the convention proceedings.
After being brought up to speed by Healy, there were three additional speakers at the breakfast. Michael Duhaime, a surrogate from the McCain campaign, spoke to the delegation. A number of people in the Connecticut delegation know Mike, as he was initially a Guiliani supporter (as was I in early 2008) and had been the Connecticut organizer for Guiliani. Mike set the tone for the somber nature of the next day or two, as convention delegates are being asked by McCain to focus on what is happening to the Gulf Coast more than on the political happenings of the convention.
Another informative speaker at the breakfast was Dorcas Hardy, who had been the head of the Social Security Administration in the Reagan admininstration. She spoke of some of the challenges that the Social Security program faces in the decades ahead, but generally was of the belief that with some minor tinkering (maybe raising the retirement age by a year), the program can be put on firmer ground and be there when I hit retirement age - some twenty five years from now. I think that's good news for everyone, those retiring soon and those whose retirement is decades out, that the money paid into the program will indeed be there when needed.
The breakfast speaking program was rounded out by a Captain Hudeck, one of a number of military veterans speaking on McCain's behalf. Like McCain, Hudeck was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and spoke of his experience as a naval pilot in the Korean war and some of the parallels between the Korean War and the Vietnam War, in which McCain fought.
We leave our hotel at noon, stopping for lunch on our way to the Xcel Center, where the convention takes place. I will further report tonight when we have returned from the convention proceedings.
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