Would you stay for this?  It was kinda dead.

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So I left. I met the crew on the outside, did a bit of elephant watching (a term coined by Justin, thank you), and then we went and took the drama-free bike ride we intended to on Monday.  It was nice.  St. Paul and Minneapolis are actually pretty cool.

Now the only thing that’s left is seeing what the protesters are up to.  Apparently they’re causing quit a stir downtown so we’re gonna see what’s up!  With everything shutting down we don’t know if it’s over-reaction or they know something is definitely coming.

I’ll let you know.

The word on the street is that the city of St. Paul is calling local businesses, bars, and restaurants and telling them to shut down early tonight. They don’t know what to expect but apparently they’re not taking any chances. If the city is willing to lose out on an entire night of business then they must be expecting something potentially major, right? I don’t know if I want to be playing around with cops and secret service on extra-hyper-sensitive lookout.  We’re not trying to get arrested again. (We weren’t trying to get arrested the first time!)

Anyways, I will update soon and let you know what we do. At least I should be able to get in and will hopefully update from the inside. We’re headed down now so we’ll see!

We have Justin in-toe (camera guy extraordinaire) and Sam, who is a local showing us around.  He’s been a rockstar.  So we shall see what happens.

For the RNC, however, I’ve decided to take a different approach.

I wonder, might the Republicans “one up” the Democrats by allowing us access from the start?  What if they did and I were then able to focus on the people, the interaction, and the events instead of the path to get there?  I think it would be a pretty compelling story to tell.

A friend of mine gave me the contact information of the person in charge of giving credentials to Special Press (i.e. bloggers).  So I’ve sent her an email to see what she says.

Either way, we hit the streets tomorrow!

Otherwise, I have a lot to tell the rest of you but it’s 6:47am and we’re off to find elusive Obama tickets.  We’re heard conflicting reports on how to get them so we’re going to go try.

As always, more sooooon.

The Basic Credential: Perimeter
The Pepsi Center is surrounded by a huge fence.  The gaps in the fence are guarded by a secret service agent.  That’s where you enter.  That agent is checking your credentials and if you don’t have the right one, they probably shoot you.  So, a Perimeter credential gets you past the fence and onto the grounds.  This gives you access to the media tent.

The Next Level: Arena
The Arena Credential let’s you into The Pepsi Center and let’s you access the main hall.  You can go pee as well as go up into the seats to watch the action.  

Getting Closer: Hall
If you get a Hall Pass, I mean a Hall Credential, that means you’re pretty much livin’ in style.  A Hall Credential, according to our sources, gives you the right to go stand in line and get the NEXT level of credential, which is next.

This is the only credential picture I could find online.
 

We’re Almost There: Floor
The Floor Credential is for delegates, media, and other special people.  This badge let’s you down onto the convention floor.  This is where you see all the state delegations and people having a generally good time.  This is pretty kick ass access.

There’s Nothing Better Than: Backstage
The ultimate in credential credentialling is the Backstage Credential.  As you’d assume, this gets you in everywhere.  I’ve only seen one.  The rest of my crew hasn’t seen any.  So, these are pretty exclusive.

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So this is what we’re workin’ with folks.  It’s tough.  Real tough.  But I believe.  Stay tuned.