Sep 4, 2008 6:30 pm US/Central
RNC Crowds Stick Close To Xcel
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
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Unless you're a member of the media, a delegate or a guest of the RNC, you probably won't get into the convention. (File)
CBS
You've seen the pictures on television all week. Delegates packed the Xcel Energy Center, protesters marched from the Capitol toward "the X" and police used force to push back disruptive ones. There's more to the RNC picture than that.
The floor of the Xcel Center is the center of activity. During the day, you won't find many delegates there. You will find a lot of media. There are crews from all the big networks and newspapers, as well as journalists from around the world. Even Al Jazeera, the Arabic language news network, has a place staked out at the X.
Unless you're a member of the media, a delegate or a guest of the RNC, you probably won't get into the convention. You need a pass to get inside the gates surrounding the Xcel Center, and then you have to go through a security process similar to what travelers at the MSP airport experience.
Next door to the Xcel Center, Rice Park is open to anyone. There have been some protests there, but for most of the convention, it's a relaxing spot to kick back, people-watch and collect RNC freebies like red, white and blue elephant pins. You'll likely be hit up numerous times by street vendors too, trying to get you to fork over a few dollars for a McCain/Palin T-shirt.
WCCO-TV's Jeanette Trompeter couldn't resist. She spent $5 for a shirt that reads, "I was at the RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota. September 2008."
There's a perimeter around the Xcel Center where car traffic is limited to official vehicles, but you can walk anywhere you want. Two to three blocks away, it starts settling down, and just four blocks away, it's downright quiet. In fact, you may have a hard time believing there's a national convention going on just down the street.
"It's pretty dead," said Cathy Sleiter with a laugh. "It's pretty dead here at least."
The Stillwater, Minn. woman and her husband were heading toward the Xcel Center. They decided to check out the RNC while their car's oil was being changed.
Jay Sleiter was surprised by the sparse traffic. "Not too much, not too much," he said. "Maybe the city's handled it pretty well, hopefully that's what's happened."
It's a similar phenomenon to a lesser degree in Minneapolis. Sen. John McCain and some VIPs are staying at the Hilton, so security is tight. At one point Thursday, westbound traffic on 11th Street was down to one lane. A block away from the Hilton, on the Nicollet Mall, it was business as usual during lunch hour.
"It's very quiet here," said Barbara Gramigni, who was dining at Masa. Her lunch companion explained that if you pay attention, you can see signs of the RNC.
"We've been seeing lots of people with earphones, which has been kind of exciting," she said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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