Convention Hall

WHENEVER Democrats gather to pick a presidential nominee, two conventions take place -- the one in the hall and the other in the streets. The one in the street is the one worth watching -- and the one that usually costs the party of the people the White House.Television follows the action. When the gasbags in the meeting hall crank up the oratory, television tunes out, turns off and takes to the streets where the parliament of squeaky wheels and the free-lance loonies assemble to make their points.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, one of the most prominent Democrats in the country, was a given a dream slot Tuesday night at the party's national convention, speaking from 9:55 to 10:05 p.m. when prime-time viewing was likely to be near its peak. I cannot tell you how his speech played in the convention hall in Charlotte; you'll have to read the accounts of the Sun reporters on the scene for that. But I will tell you this: It was not a very good TV speech, and I suspect it played poorly in many living rooms around the country.

NEW YORK -- One thing obviously different inside the Democratic convention hall this year is the color scheme. The "watermelon pink" of four years ago in Atlanta has been replaced by "blood-in-the-streets red."I haven't seen any actual blood in the streets, thanks to the fact that a newspaper thoughtfully published a map of Manhattan showing how to avoid that riot neighborhood.Some Democrats opposed having the Democratic convention in New York, fearing that there might be violence. But Democratic National Chairman Ron Brown was raised here.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley offered pointed criticism of Republicans in an address to the Democratic convention on Tuesday, arguing that President Barack Obama is best suited to right the U.S. economy while GOP nominee Mitt Romney's policies would only move the nation backward. The Democrat said Obama's policies have helped the middle class despite recession and stubbornly high unemployment - to a crowd that chanted with him, "forward, not back. " Though he never mentioned President George W. Bush by name, the address was clearly an attempt to tie Romney and vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan to the former GOP administration that ended a second term with low approval ratings.

CHICAGO -- With supreme self-possession, an air of quiet defiance and a touch of humor, Hillary Rodham Clinton took on her critics last night, defending her belief that "it takes a village" to raise a child, and rocking the convention hall.As Mrs. Clinton stepped up to the podium here in her hometown, the convention hall exploded in a thunderous ovation -- with the crowd waving "Welcome Home Hillary" signs, chanting and stomping their feet -- that lasted almost five minutes."I'm overwhelmed by your warm welcome," she said.

PHILADELPHIA - With its name alone, Pseudopolitics.com might seem to be thumbing its nose at the campaign establishment gathered here for this week's Republican National Convention. But the youth-oriented Web site, which will chronicle the event with live audio feeds and interactive chats, is after something else altogether: Its very own place on the mainstream political scene. This week, Pseudo's pierced and tattooed commentators will sit in a skybox overlooking the convention floor, nestled among the corporate media giants covering the event for the television networks.

OCEAN CITY -- When Roland E. "Fish" Powell and his childhood chums played ballgames on the dirt side streets of Maryland's only Atlantic beach village, barely 500 people lived in town year-round.Today, Ocean City has almost as many people on the full-time municipal payroll. The town has grown so much since Mr. Powell, who is 65, was a youngster that builders have run out of undeveloped land to acquire. The action these days is in redevelopment -- expanding existing buildings or tearing down structures for bigger and taller ones.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, one of the most prominent Democrats in the country, was a given a dream slot Tuesday night at the party's national convention, speaking from 9:55 to 10:05 p.m. when prime-time viewing was likely to be near its peak. I cannot tell you how his speech played in the convention hall in Charlotte; you'll have to read the accounts of the Sun reporters on the scene for that. But I will tell you this: It was not a very good TV speech, and I suspect it played poorly in many living rooms around the country.

BOSTON - The convention ran with precision and message-control, following a script that barely changed all week. When the delegates got tired of talking about the need for civility, they talked about unity. and when that got old, they talked about harmony. Who were these people, and what did they do with the real Democrats? "The Democrats have done a better job of acting like the Republicans than the Republicans," said Eli Beckerman, 27. Beckerman was among the protesters who gathered in Boston this week only to find themselves penned inside designated areas for detractors.

NEW YORK -- Gov. William Donald Schaefer demanded and won the right yesterday to announce on television the vote of Maryland's Democratic delegates for Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton -- and then coyly withheld his own endorsement.Refusing resolutely to be swept away by the party's growing optimism and excitement, the governor left himself in sharp contrast to the unanimous backing given to the party's ticket by the Maryland delegation.All 85 of Maryland's delegates voted for the team of Bill Clinton for president and Tennessee Sen. Al Gore for vice president.

TAMPA, Fla. - Former Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. rushed through a convention hall that holds more than 15,000 journalists to get to an interview about why Republican nominee Mitt Romney should be elected president. Across town, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley was telling a room packed with cameras and national political reporters why that same nominee would be a disaster for the nation's economy. As delegates went through the formal process of nominating their candidate at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, much of the messaging that will actually reach voters back home was taking place offstage as an army of political surrogates threw jabs and deflected counterpunches under the glare of studio lights.

Maryland Republicans converge on Tampa this week to cast their ballots for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and get energized for the November election against President Barack Obama. "There's just a huge enthusiasm for the Romney-Ryan team, and we're glad to be a part of that," said state Del. Kathy Szeliga, a member of the Maryland delegation to the Republican National Convention. "Even though it's very tough for Romney to get elected here in Maryland, we feel like across the country his message is right: 'It's the economy, and we're the party that's going to turn it around.'" As Szeliga notes, the GOP ticket is likely to be a tough sell in Maryland.

BOSTON - The convention ran with precision and message-control, following a script that barely changed all week. When the delegates got tired of talking about the need for civility, they talked about unity. and when that got old, they talked about harmony. Who were these people, and what did they do with the real Democrats? "The Democrats have done a better job of acting like the Republicans than the Republicans," said Eli Beckerman, 27. Beckerman was among the protesters who gathered in Boston this week only to find themselves penned inside designated areas for detractors.

LAS VEGAS - Much like the landmarks of Paris, Venice and New York that dot this desert town, the beach at the glitzy Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino has been created for the benefit of tourists, with a wave pool, a lazy river and 1,700 tons of sand spread across an 11-acre lagoon. The beach, a popular hangout for the resort's gambling-bound vacationers, is increasingly playing host to another set of guests - those attending trade shows and meetings at the hotel's 1.8 million-square-foot convention center.

Baltimore could get a Hilton, a Westin or another large hotel next to the city's convention center by 2006, according to development teams that include such heavyweights as actor Will Smith and Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson in proposals submitted yesterday. The bids will be reviewed and a development team chosen in coming months by the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development arm that requested the proposals for a city-owned parcel between the Camden Yards sports complex and the Baltimore Convention Center.

Warning that the Baltimore Convention Center risks becoming a "white elephant," hospitality industry leaders and a key legislator say the agency charged with bringing conventions and trade shows to the city should be examined and brought under the same umbrella as the Convention Center itself. There is sharp disagreement, however, over whether the Convention Center should be expanded again and whether the city needs a headquarters hotel adjacent or nearby. "If we're not attracting conventions, we ought to find out why," said Mary Jo McCulloch, president of the Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association and the Maryland Tourism Council.

In the sweltering summer of 1948, those attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia made political history by taking part in the first convention to be broadcast on television."

ATLANTIC CITY -- Dismissed as a "cheese champion" by critics who said he had never won a meaningful fight, England's Lennox Lewis proved himself worthy of the heavyweight crown last night with a devastating 95-second knockout of Poland's Andrew Golota at Convention Hall.Referee Joe Cortez said Golota had suffered a seizure in his dressing room after being knocked out in the first round of the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship bout. He was removed from the Convention Hall on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the Atlantic City Medical Center.

LOS ANGELES - "The new generation!" the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson shouts to her on the floor at the Democratic convention. "Watch out for that Kennedy!" calls Sen. John B. Breaux of Louisiana, tossing an arm over her shoulder. "Kathleen!" yells William M. Daley, campaign chairman for Al Gore, offering a salute from the hall's bleachers. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest child of Robert F. Kennedy, is a star at this West Coast gathering of Democrats. So what if some folks outside the convention hall mistake her for a tourist - even when she stands by a larger-than-life mural of her father, or if her speaking style requires a little more polish to keep her own constituents from chattering during her delegation speeches here.

PHILADELPHIA -- Now that John McCain has paid his dues to the Republican establishment and to George W. Bush with a convention speech lauding the man who beat him, the self-described "distant runner-up" will spend the rest of the summer further buffing up his party credentials by campaigning for fellow Republicans who want to tap into his appeal to independents. The effort will include, according to Todd Harris, his press secretary, some joint appearances with Mr. Bush in October. Mr. Bush told the Republican National Committee's big fund-raising lunch Wednesday that "I can't wait to campaign with John McCain all across America together."