or those who believe in fortune-telling, there are two new signs to consider while waiting to see whom Vice President Al Gore chooses as his running mate.
First, the announcement will take place Tuesday at Nashville's War Memorial, an idyllic spot with elegant columns and an expansive terrace. The spot should underscore Gore's military service and perhaps his running mate's, in contrast to those, lacking, of Texas Governor George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Two potential candidates would fit the setting - Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, both Vietnam veterans like Gore.
Second, the Internet's only legalized gambling site - www.intertops.com - is taking bets on Gore's pick, and Kerry is leading the pack, ahead of Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Senator Bob Graham of Florida. (Globe Staff)
A blessed event trumps the worldly coronation
The absence seemed suspicious at first: Had Rob Gray, Governor Paul Cellucci's chief political adviser, skipped the convention because he had changed his mind about supporting George W. Bush?
Last night, Gray confessed that he had indeed found another priority: his wife, Sharon, who was in labor as of last night, about to give birth to the couple's first child. ''I decided tending to the home fires was the prudent course,'' Gray, a primary liaison to the Bush campaign during primary season, in a telephone call. (Globe Staff)
Nader gets cold shoulder in appearance on floor
The buzz moved swiftly through the delegates: Ralph Nader is here! And it was true: The Green Party nominee for president, decidedly not a Republican, had found his way onto a far corner of the convention floor last night, apparently using a press pass. Television cameras seemed to train on him instantaneously, and the delegates nearby decided they had to counterattack. First, they started chanting cheers for the Bush/Cheney ticket. And when that didn't seem to get rid of the gadfly, they broke out in song, instead: ''Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey hey hey, goodbye.''
(Globe Staff)
From Bay State delegate, a thought for protesters
Massachusetts delegate Arthur Larrivee of Dartmouth has been getting some attention this week, with his novel idea for how to deal with the protesters streaming past the Wyndham Hotel.
As a crowd moved loudly past a group of delegates on Tuesday, Larrivee said he was so angered by their language that he decided to shout out his plan: ''This gives us reason to want to reinstate the draft. Put these little suckers in the Army.'' (Globe Staff)
