The Cub Reporter Clocks In

Greetings from Rep. Robbie Wills, Under the Dome's official "cub reporter" for the Democratic National Convention in Denver! My flight leaves at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow for what will be my first national party convention. Thank you to Rep. Steve Harrelson for asking me to help contribute during the week. Also, thanks to Steve for sharing a room with me! It seems our need for privacy is outweighed by our frugality. Basically, we're both cheap!

While Steve has been pedaling his way through the Hotter'n Hell 100-mile bike race in Texas, I've been out running this weekend, trying to improve my endurance to keep up with Steve as he continues his marathon training while we are both in Denver. This won't be the first time I've run with Steve. While we were in Turkey two months ago, I could outpace him as long as we kept the route under 5 miles. However, as any faithful Under the Dome reader knows, Steve has lost 30 pounds since then and increased his mileage while training for the upcoming Marine Corps Marathon. Basically, between his increased speed and the thin air in Colorado, I'm in for it!

My instructions from the "boss" regarding Under the Dome's gavel-to-gavel convention coverage is to circulate outside the convention venue picking up any extra tidbits that dedicated politicos may find interesting. I anticipate interviewing protesters, party faithful, rogue delegates and the many, many young Democrats who have flocked to Denver for the convention. This will, of course, involve the unenviable task of attending the numerous social events that I hear take place during these conventions. Oh well, someone has to do the hard work while Steve is having fun on the convention floor. I'm also packing the digital camera so I hope to bring you video and pictures too. I may not be exactly "under the dome" of the Pepsi Center most of the time, but hopefully I can add a little to the blog this coming week. Stay tuned!