By G.R. Anderson Jr. | Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008

Two polls show John McCain getting an expected — if traditionally fleeting — nationwide lift from the Republican National Convention. (Then again, other polls show no bounce at all.) But what about everything else connected with the RNC? Who won? (Hint: It starts with a "P.") Who lost? (Also starts with a "P.") Who simply got bounced around? (Just about everyone else.) Here's our completely unscientific, highly opinionated assessment of winners and losers.

By Doug Grow | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

It's hard for any place to compete with a scenic setting like the Rocky Mountains, but here's the scorecard from the MinnPost reporter who was on the scene for both the Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican gathering here.

By Jay Weiner | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

Move over, soccer moms. Sarah Palin has put their replacement in the spotlight. Hockey moms — the newest political demographic — are active and overly busy. Hockey moms are politically skillful, and hockey moms are featured in their own specialty publication and website — and even idolized in song (by a group called the Zambonis, of course).

By Joe Kimball | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

"Nothing burned. No one was badly injured," Police Chief John Harrington said. And Mayor Chris Coleman declared victory: "Our goal was to have a safe and successful convention, and clearly we have done that."

By Roxane Battle | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

As the spotlight fades on the Republican National Convention, there's a must-have souvenir delegates are scrambling for as they leave the convention. The bad news is that it's all sold out — well, sort of.

Analysis by Steve Berg | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving problems "isn't a cause, it's a symptom," said Sen. John McCain Thursday night, echoing the theme of fellow Republican George W. Bush in 2000 — yet casting himself as an outsider.

By Marisa Helms | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

GOP delegates from the 10 states that border the Mississippi River got an up-close look Thursday at St. Paul's recent efforts to balance its riverfront activities by preserving pristine areas, increasing recreational opportunities and maintaining its history as a working river. 

By Michael Metzger
Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

Local community organizers take issue with Republican Sarah Palin's dig at Democrat Barack Obama's leadership experience. 

By Sharon Schmickle | Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

Savvy listeners know political speeches should be taken with a grain of salt. So let's fact-check some of the statements from this week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

By Doug Grow
Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

Sen. John McCain, a survivor of a POW camp and numerous political skirmishes, claimed the Republican nomination Thursday night, taking mostly the high road as he frames the race between him and Sen. Barack Obama.

Thank you. We're so glad we're in Minnesota. How do we measure the content of a person's character? How do we recognize their fitness to serve? Barack Obama gives a good speech...

By every measure, the surge of troops into Iraq has worked. Sectarian violence and coalition casualties are at record lows. 15 of the 18 political benchmarks have been met. The Iraqi's have a larger, more capable Army. Oil production is dramatically increasing...

By G.R. Anderson Jr.
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

No longer the VP candidate, Tim Pawlenty gives a less-than-rousing speech in the shadow of Sarah Palin.

Thank you. Tonight I speak to you with a grateful heart and enormous pride. I speak to you as one friend about another. About a proven leader... a world statesman... an untiring and effective public servant. I speak to you about a warrior...who has sometimes stood alone... or shown the way... in fighting for the most vulnerable of our citizens... for the country he so dearly loves... and for the founding principles we all so deeply cherish...

Thank you all very much. Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans -- the privilege of accepting our party’s nomination for President of the United States. And I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence.

Thank you everyone. John and I are so proud of [our family] and so happy to have them here with us tonight. Nothing has made me happier or more fulfilled in my life than being a mother...

By Dan Haugen | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

The party's Log Cabin Republicans say they're standing with the guy who stood with them in opposing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Even so, they're more focused on a broad conservative agenda and hope that the campaign does not come down to such wedge issues, particularly since none of the leading presidential candidates had supported gay marriage.

By Doug Grow | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

From firsthand experience, Walter Mondale's right-hand man knows that media attention to Sarah Palin's qualifications stems not from sexism but from her being a new player on the national political scene. That's what happened to VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, says David Lillehaug. Deep investigations always have been done on any relatively new political face, he says.

By Cynthia Boyd | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Many Republicans obviously think so, rising to her defense just hours before her big speech. There's little agreement, however, in the world of warring bloggers and pundits about Palin herself and about the standards and boundaries that apply to her unique situation.

By Roxane Battle | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Sarah Palin's hockey-mom, small-town roots hit the right notes with women in the Minnesota delegation.

By Joe Kimball | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Although some downtown St. Paul businesses were telling employees to go home early Thursday afternoon, officials said they have not asked anyone to close up or even suggested leaving the downtown area. Several hundred anarchists remain in town, police say, and at least three planned and permitted protests are scheduled for today.

By Marisa Helms | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

"Gorgeous" and "classy" are two words often on the lips of her GOP fans when describing the woman who could be the nation’s next first lady.  A wealthy woman, she helps run the distribution arm of the Anheuser-Busch beer company and, in recent years, has become a prolific philanthropist who serves on the boards of many nonprofits.

By Roxane Battle | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Big events attract all sorts of characters and interesting looking people. In this video report, MinnPost catches up with some of the famous and flashy folks attending the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

By Sharon Schmickle | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Although the Alaska governor sidestepped social issues in her speech, one of her roles in the campaign is to light a fire under social conservatives who were lukewarm on McCain. Palin didn't need to stoke them in her speech.

By Christina Capecchi | Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Sen. John McCain's young supporters may not rival Sen. Barack Obama's in numbers or noise, but they do exist, and they're in plain view here during the Republican National Convention, actively participating in many roles.

By Doug Grow | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

GOP delegates embraced VP nominee Sarah Palin even before her speech tonight. Now, they adore her. Two state women with long political pedigrees — DFLer Joan Growe and the GOP's Kris Sanda — came away impressed, too.

Almost exactly one year ago during a Republican presidential debate in Durham, N.H., I said that if I weren't running for president myself, I'd be supporting John McCain. Well, I'm not, and I do...

For decades, the Washington sun has been rising in the East. Washington has been looking to the Eastern elites, to the editorial pages of The [New York] Times and The [Washington] Post, and to the broadcasters from the coast.

As much as I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight, I really was originally hoping for the slot on Thursday called the acceptance speech. But I am delighted to speak on behalf of my second choice for the Republican nomination for president, John McCain — a man with the character and stubborn kind of integrity that I want in a president.

Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored to be considered for the nomination for Vice President of the United States... I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America. I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election... against confident opponents ... at a crucial hour for our country...

By Dan Haugen | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

Minnesota long was considered "the very finest laboratory of democracy," according to think tank president Dane Smith. Although Democrats often get the credit, he says, moderate and progressive Republicans also played an important role in making this "The State That Works."

By Joe Kimball and Cynthia Boyd | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

Five Republican women leaders today took on the media, Democrats and bloggers in a presidential campaign version of the war of the sexes.

By John Camp
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

As a veteran journalist and long-time riot aficionado, here are my rules for covering a riot without getting hurt.

By Roxane Battle | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

While the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s father was a Republican before the Kennedy-Nixon campaign, some continue to insist that the younger King was at one time tied to the Republican Party, including several black Republican congressional candidates attending this week's convention.

By G.R. Anderson Jr.
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

An all-star lineup greeted the Minnesota delegation with red-meat Republican talking points — and a clear picture of the strategy that the McCain-Palin ticket will employ this fall.

By Joe Kimball | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

Authorities are preparing for trouble at tonight's concert by Rage Against the Machine, a political rap metal band appearing at Target Center in Minneapolis. In 2000, a riot erupted in Los Angeles when the band played a free concert near the Democratic National Convention.

By Doug Grow | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

The governor seemed at peace with losing out on his chance for the VP spot. One delegate summed up the group's widely held view of his future: "Nothing bad can happen to Tim Pawlenty out of this. No door has been shut on him.''

Five days after Sen. John McCain's surprise announcement of his running mate, the Alaska governor addressed the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. It's been a whirlwind of news coverage — and controversy — about her, her family, her strengths and weaknesses, and also what it says about McCain's judgment and vetting process. For a wide-ranging look at Palin and some of the issues swirling around her, check out these MinnPost offerings:

Hours before Palin's big speech, GOP women launch 'gender war' attack
By Joe Kimball and Cynthia Boyd
Rare Palin book suddenly a hot item, so paperback version is due shortly
By Joe Kimball
Minnesota's female anglers and hunters embracing Palin
By Christina Capecchi
International press looks for clues of Palin's foreign-policy views
By Sharon Schmickle
Delegates (and nation) await Palin's coming-out speech
By Steve Berg
Other Palin coverage

For a wide-ranging look at Palin and some of the issues swirling around her, check out these MinnPost offerings

When Sarah Kay, 23, got the CNN e-mail update, she screamed. Her colleagues rushed into her office, concerned. What had happened? Sen. McCain had chosen a moose-hunting dark horse as his VP.

A short book about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — a testimonial, more than a biography — has become a hot item days since she was picked as the Republican vice-presidential running mate for Sen. John McCain.

By Sharon Schmickle | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

Sarah Palin is mystifying the foreign press at the Republican National Convention as they seek answers to their questions about her positions on foreign policy, but can't find answers.

When several hundred people gathered in St. Paul's Mears Park to march to the Republican National Convention under the banner of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, few of them had any idea that they were about to set out on an odyssey through St. Paul's concrete wilderness.

RELATED SLIDESHOW: Rally and march photos by Terry Gydesen

By Steve Berg | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin prepares for her national coming-out speech tonight, discussions over Sen. John McCain's judgment in selecting her stayed front and center.

By David Brauer | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

An AP photographer's arrest is typical of the dangers working journalists — particularly photojournalists — face covering demonstrations.

By Beth Hawkins | Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

After 10 hours of cheering and speechifying in Minneapolis, Ron Paul's followers seemed divided as to the new movement's ultimate goal.

Related: Craig Westover on Ron Paul's message