I told you yesterday we stumbled upon two McCain staffers who were just seen on TV defending the Sarah Palin choice for VP.  Sam got on the case this morning and tried to find out who they were.  Our research team has discovered the following:

I was sitting next to Mark Salter.
Salter crop 

Mark Salter, who likes to sit next to the McCain’s (as good friend and top advisor).
Salter & McCains

“No advisor is closer to John McCain than Mark Salter.”

Mark was sitting next to Steve Schmidt…
Steve Schmidt 

…who is John McCain’s Chief Strategist.

So this was serendipity at work.  And it was perfect how it shaped up.  Sam told me he’d just seen them on television and, just as he did, a stool opened up next to Mark.  Sam and I go up to the bar and sit beside them.  Just as I go to take the stool, Mark turns and looks at me.  I ask, “is this seat taken?”  He says no. Then I do a double-take and say “hey, didn’t I just see you on TV?”  He was like “you probably did.”  I introduced myself, as did he, and I tried to make small talk from there.

The conversation was a bit strained.  Mark was nice enough but I think he was just drained.  He seemed a little deflated too, I dunno.  I offered to buy them a round but they declined and went back to their blackberrys.

In the end, I turn to him and tell him that I’m a blogger from Georgia, that we’re big supporters, and have come to Minneapolis/St. Paul to experience the convention.  I said we’d LOVE to go watch John’s speech on Thursday and asked if there was anyway he could help us get in.  He said “that wasn’t really his department” but he took my information anyway.  I wrote my email and phone number on the back of someone else’s card (not mine) and he put it in his pocket.

I don’t really expect much to come of it but I’m going to do a bit more research.  I’m going to try and hunt down his email (or at least the format of the McCain campaign emails so I can plug in his name) so that I can follow up with him directly.  I’d love to be invited into the convention hall directly by a McCain staffer. Wouldn’t that just kick ass?