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September 5, 2008 4:52 PM

The Notebook: Convention Overview

The Republican convention is over, and surprisingly enough, the most dramatic part of this convention came not from the acceptance speech of the nominee, John McCain, but from his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

That has energized a reluctant evangelical Republican base, promising that in the fall they might turn out in greater numbers than thought. It has put the change issue more on the side of the Republicans than we had thought. And it has made the prospect of a female vice president a potential appeal to former Clinton supporters.

However, the historical markers still favor the Democrats. People identify themselves as Democrats more than Republicans by 10 points. But, the outcome of this election is still as hard to predict as any.

Just click on the monitor to hear the rest of Jeff Greenfield's thoughts on the convention.

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Notebook
September 5, 2008 12:39 PM

"Alaska 90210?"

Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention drew a lot of praise. But none sounded quite like what Mo Rocca told Katie last night on her Convention Webcast. You'll want to watch the clip below, but in short, he said he's become "obsessed with" the Palin family … and loved when they all appeared on stage "like the cast of 'Alaska 90210.'"

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mo rocca ,
sarah palin ,
video ,
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katie couric ,
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Culture Watch
September 3, 2008 5:56 PM

Katie Couric's Notebook: Palin's Big Night

This will be the biggest night of Sarah Palin's political life. The woman few Americans outside Alaska had heard of a week ago, will have an audience as big as her home state tonight. She's been governor less than two years, and voters want to know a lot more about her.

Katie Couric's Notebook: Palin's Big Night
John McCain says he picked Palin to help him fight the same old Washington politics, and she does help solidify his image as a maverick. Palin appeals to conservatives who see McCain as too liberal. She may even bring in some Clinton supporters, although Palin and Clinton differ on everything from abortion and gay marriage to gun control and Arctic drilling.

Tonight's speech is critical because first impressions are so important. But it will be totally scripted; her audience here in the convention hall – very friendly. It may not be until she hits the campaign trail and does endless rounds of media interviews that we really get to know Sarah Palin.
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katie couric ,
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sarah palin ,
alaska ,
governor ,
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Katie Couric's Notebook
August 28, 2008 5:17 PM

Surviving The Conventions 101

On Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention, fatigue is setting in for some of the 15,000 members of the news media. But our CBS News staffers in Denver have a few tricks of the trade – and share their survival tips.

Byron Pitts, national correspondent: Covering conventions is a lot like covering hurricanes. I take green tea extract drops three times a day; I take cough drops because reporters are always losing their voices in these situations, and I always chat with my Bible a few times a day.

Jessica Hanks, associate producer of broadcast marketing: First of all, you have to position yourself to be first on the lunch line so that you are guaranteed a hot meal. Also, I stole a golf cart key for four hours the other day, so that I didn’t have to walk anywhere.

Zev Shalev, Early Show executive producer: Cat naps.

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dnc convention ,
barack obama ,
survival ,
tips ,
news ,
reporting
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Behind The Scenes
August 28, 2008 1:29 PM

Daily Convention Wrap-Up: Gimme A Sign!

A signature lyric from the one-hit-wonder Five Man Electrical Band really sums up much of the view from the floor of the Pepsi Center: "signs, signs, everywhere there's signs."

And in last night's live Convention Cast, the plentiful signage became a bit of a hot topic. For example:

(CBS)
CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts: One thing I want to show you, there are no, or very few, spontaneous moments at these conventions. All the signs they put up, volunteers go around at different points and hand them out. For instance, when Biden came out, volunteers ran around and they handed out these signs … and when Obama came out and joined Biden on stage made his surprise appearance, they handed out there, "Obama – For The Change We Need."

Katie Couric: You should save some of those, Byron! They'll be collector's items.

Pitts: Now is that stealing?

Couric: No, no, no, they're on the floor! I think they're everybody's.
And…

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katie couric ,
webcast ,
convention ,
democratic ,
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Politics
August 27, 2008 5:01 PM

Katie Couric's Notebook: The Military Vote

One of the highlights tonight at the Democratic Convention will be a salute to the military. In recent campaigns, we've come to think of military families as more closely identified with the Republican candidate than the Democrat.

Four years ago, exit polls showed those who had served in the military voted overwhelmingly for President Bush over John Kerry. But Kerry actually edged out Mr. Bush among those with no military experience.

This year it might seem a no-brainer that John McCain, a war hero, and former POW, would get the military vote. But it's Barack Obama who's being promoted. The non partisan Center for Responsive Politics says campaign donations from troops overseas are going to Obama six to one.

It's not clear why. Perhaps because Obama promises to end an unpopular war that McCain is supporting. But whatever the reason, those who have served our nation are sure to be a key, and perhaps surprising, voting block come Election Day.
Tags:
katie couric ,
military ,
barack obama ,
convention
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Katie Couric's Notebook
August 27, 2008 1:29 PM

Tuesday Night Convention Cast Highlights

(CBS)
Last night on our DNC Convention Cast, Katie and our host of political gurus – Bob Schieffer, Dan Bartlett, and Joe Trippi, to name a few – shared their impressions of Hillary Clinton's headlining speech. They also answered questions from readers like you.

The highlights: Morgan Fairchild ponders Hillary Clinton … and Denver nightlife. A man falls through a folding chair. Jeff Greenfield wonders what Edward R. Murrow would think of our Webcast. Byron Pitts snags an interview with Wendell Pierce of "The Wire." Katie discovers the secrets of televised wrestling.

If you missed it, you can watch it right here.

And if you'd like to try to be a part of tonight's live Webcast, send us a question about the convention. Just click the submit button below.

10 - 11pm ET: Live Simulcast
Live simulcast of the CBS News Convention Special from Denver, Colorado.
11 - 11:30pm: Live Webcast
Katie will be asking our CBS News political roundtable questions submitted from users like you.


Tags:
katie couric ,
dnc ,
convention ,
webcast
Topics:
Hot Links
August 26, 2008 11:53 AM

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?

In case you missed it, our DNC Convention Webcast debuted last night, and what a cast it attracted.

In between answering CBSNews.com readers' questions with a little help from "crack political consultants" Joe Trippi, Mark Ambinder (the extremely knowlegable Atlantic associate editor) and Dan Bartlett (whom Katie called "the bravest man in the room" for being a lone Republican in a sea of Democrats) a lot of big-name guests dropped in. After Katie exclusively interviewed Caroline Kennedy and Susan Eisenhower (yes, the granddaughter of that Eisenhower), we got an impromptu visit from an Obama supporter who's never attended a Democratic convention before: Cyndi Lauper.

Why'd she show up to support Barack Obama? "I saw it on TV and thought, 'look at those crazy people with the signs.' Now I'm a crazy person with a sign!"



Sadly, it seems no brilliant musical collaborations will come out of this chance meeting. Cyndi didn't act on an offer to sing with Bob Schieffer's band (yes, the man can jam!) and Katie politely stayed mum after an invite to "sing sing" with Cyndi ... even after the pop icon dropped the obvious line: "come on, girls just wanna have fun!"

And remember, we're doing all of it again tonight. To join in, follow the links below.

11 - 11:30pm: Live Webcast
Katie will be asking our political roundtable questions submitted from users like you.


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Tags:
katie couric ,
cyndi lauper ,
webcast ,
convention ,
politics
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Culture Watch
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August 25, 2008 12:46 PM

On The Lonely White House Beat In Crawford

Posted by Mark Knoller
Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.
CRAWFORD, Texas – Maybe you can explain it. I can’t.

In Denver, there are 15,000 members of the media covering the Democrats formally designating their candidate for president. Fair enough. It’s a legitimate story – though a strong argument can be made that it’s being way over-covered.

Meanwhile, 700 miles away here in Crawford, the media count of those covering President Bush is about 30 (of which barely 12 are reporters).

Sure, he’s on vacation – though I’ve stopped using that word with respect to American presidents. The job is always with them. They can never escape ...

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convention ,
president bush ,
crawford
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Field Notes
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August 22, 2008 3:12 PM

Paying To Party ... With The Parties

Posted by Sharyl Attkisson
(CBS)
Sharyl Attkisson is investigative correspondent for CBS News.
Back in 1972, a Republican convention corporate contributions scandal shook things up. Executives from the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. had allegedly met secretly with Nixon administration officials – and offered to underwrite the Republican convention. In return, the Justice Department was allegedly urged to "go easy" on ITT in a pending anti-trust lawsuit. ITT ended up with what was widely regarded as a favorable out-of-court settlement.

To eliminate the appearance of tainted funding, election law was changed. The idea was to provide public funds for the conventions and limit corporate contributions. But things haven't really worked out that way. Here's why.

Corporations are still allowed to donate money through convention "host committees" (committees that presumably help promote the locality that's holding the convention). But the "host committee" exemption has become a giant loophole exploited by corporations seeking influence – and politicians eager to provide it. Corporate contributions have soared from just $1 million in 1980 to an estimated $112 million for 2008.

Tonight on the CBS Evening News our Follow the Money story will talk about what some corporate donors "get" in exchange for their generous contributions ...

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attkisson ,
money ,
democrat ,
republican ,
convention ,
big business
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Follow The Money
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