ST. PAUL--After Monday's big RNC protest march, I had kind words for the comportment of the police. "Despite their scary-ass outfits," I said, "they ultimately proved to be a pretty restrained bunch."

That description still applies to the police I saw in action that day. It's clear, though, that there's been some deeply troubling behavior by law enforcement during the RNC--including the arrests of Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, Nicole Salazar, and Sharif Abdel Kouddous.

ST. PAUL--In an email, a DQM reader takes vigorous issue with my assessment of Mitt Romney's speech to the RNC:

A B-plus my ass! You won't see or hear a worse speech all year than Mitt's. I was sitting on my couch practically covering my eyes. I don't like him, but I was touting him for VP.

Real quickly, here's my response.

Photo credit: Joeff Davis

DOWNLOAD: Sarah Palin, RNC 2008 Convention Speech [mp3]

ST. PAUL--Here's what really stood out about Sarah Palin's RNC speech tonight:

1. The woman has ice in her veins. This was the biggest moment of her political career to date, probably the biggest moment she'll have during the '08 campaign, and she didn't look nervous.

ST. PAUL--Spent some time this afternoon in "The Fox Experience," which is basically just a great big Fox newsroom located across the street from the Xcel Energy Center. After going through security, delegates and other visitors can pick up some free Fox memoribilia and watch Fox's journalists do their thing. It all happens underneath a great big projected American flag (or something reasonably flag-esque):

ST. PAUL--Like conspiracy theories? Try this one: John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin wasn’t the result of poor vetting or poor judgment. Instead, it was a crafty, forward-thinking move aimed at turning Palin into a martyr and then using her martyrdom for political benefit.

If that sounds far-fetched, consider what transpired earlier today during a pro-Palin conference at the Xcel Energy Center.

ST. PAUL--Last night I dropped by “Political Chicks a Go-Go,” a women-in-politics shindig sponsored by the Lifetime network and RightNow!, an organization for women who share a belief in “common belief in free-markets, limited government and personal responsibility.” I’ve been fascinated for a while by the possibility that disgruntled female supporters of Hillary Clinton might end up voting for John McCain, and I wanted to see what women there had to see about that scenario—particularly in the wake of McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate.

ST. PAUL--Before today's big RNC protest march started, a few smaller groups--most of which seemed to be from the hard left--made forays from the MN State Capitol into downtown St. Paul and the vicinity of the convention. One of these resulted in the only convention-related injury I've seen with my own eyes, though there seem to have been others.

After the RNC winnowed itself back yesterday afternoon due to Hurricane Gustav, I considered the political ramifications and suggested that McCain could benefit--but only if his campaign displayed caution and sublety.

So much for that. From Politico's Jonathan Martin:

John McCain's campaign manager today accused Barack Obama of practicing politics as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast.

ST. PAUL--Just got back from the press conference where John McCain announced, via video, that the RNC will be radically altered due to Hurricane Gustav. After McCain spoke, both Republican Party Chairman Mike Duncan and McCain campaign manager Rick Davis offered a bit more detail on what would and wouldn’t happen.

MINNEAPOLIS--There’s a weird lack of anticipatory buzz at the Minneapolis Convention Center, where RNC delegates (and the press) are currently picking up their convention credentials. Chalk it up to a few factors: it's a Sunday morning; it's Labor Day weekend; the convention’s actually in another city, ten miles away.