The Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. wrapped up last night as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney accepted his party’s nomination for president. Patrick Mara is a delegate to the convention representing the District of Columbia, and an elected member of the D.C. State Board of Education. On Thursday, Mara gave a bunch of interviews and partied it up with Journey. And, oh, yeah, that Clint Eastwood thing happened.
Thursday, the last official day at modern presidential nominating conventions, is typically a day of rest. At breakfast, we received an insiders’ briefing from D.C. delegate Ben Ginsburg, who served as general counsel for George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns. I’d tell you what he said, but the information is obsolete now.
Also in the morning, I did three interviews for D.C. audiences: NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt, WPFW with Eugene Kinlow and Chuck Thies and The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU, which was in Tampa but not near the convention site. The trip to the studio was a $50 cab fare, but luckily DCist agreed to reimburse along with my limousine ride from Baltimore-Washington International Airport back to Columbia Heights today. (Editor’s Note: Only if you bring us Clint Eastwood’s empty chair!)
The evening was dominated by three things: Clint Eastwood, Mitt Romney and Journey. You might have heard something about Eastwood’s speech. I was keeping up the reaction on Twitter. It wasn’t as bad in the convention hall, because people were cheering and laughing every 30 seconds.
And no offense to our nominee, but the Journey concert was the highlight of my evening.
I hadn’t seen the “new” Journey, with lead singer Arnel Pineda taking over Steve Perry’s vocals, before and I was lucky enough to score a VIP pass to the show. VIPs have access to a better bar and a buffet that included pulled pork and Rice Krispies Treats.
The concert itself consisted of Journey’s greatest hits. It was great. “When lights go down in the city and the sun shines on the bay.” Tampa Bay that is.
Patrick Mara is a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. and an elected member of the D.C. State Board of Education.
