Well, the rigmarole for blogger access continues. So how did Matthew Yglesias, formerly of The Atlantic and now at Think Progress, who wrote yesterday morning that he didn’t “have the credentials necessary to go to the actual convention,” spend RNC day 2.5?
He took a couple of hours to comb over the Republican Platform, before heading to a Politico panel for a post or two. Midday he noted: “It’s hard to know what to say about one’s anecdotal quasi-reporting from talking to people at a convention.”
By evening though, someone had waved a magic wand, and he got a bit closer: “I suppose I should say that I was able to gin up a ‘limited access’ credential that’s gotten me, well, not inside the XCel Energy Arena per se to watch the convention, but inside the Arena’s basement to watch the speech on TV. Like I could back at the motel. Except other journalists are around.”
And are increments of proximity—and professional camaraderie—worth it? According to Yglesias: “People in the basement seem very interested in the open bar sponsored by Diageo. Beyond that, I’m not sure what the benefit of having come here was. So far Palin’s speech seems . . . okay.” Yes! A vote of confidence for the motel.
Jane Kim is a writer in New York.