The Republican candidate for vice president has been introduced to the nation as a tough, can-do female politician. And Sam Hardage is buying the image. Hardage is a long-time conservative Republican leader who chaired the local Republican party from 1995-1997 when its 1996 national convention, held in the San Diego Convention Center, nominated the ticket of  Bob Dole and Jack Kemp.

Hardage is a major funder of Republican campaigns and chairman of The Hardage Group where he earns his millions by developing hotels. His wife, Vivian Hardage, is a community activist who helped start a San Diego Republican women's club and the Vision of Children Foundation. The family's contributions to Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign helped assure her seat on the prestigious Del Mar Fair Board.

Just before the Republican National Convention began earlier this month, I phoned Sam Hardage to set up an interview at the site on the Convention's first day. Hurricane Gustav changed everyone's schedule that day when the convention was truncated to just two hours. But Hardage was punctual and found my space on radio row while I was checking out the convention floor and the schedules of some other San Diego delegates. It is uncharacteristic of me to be late for appointments and I was profuse in my apologies while he responded diplomatically. The interview began and I got my first in-person exposure to the official Republican delegate reaction to Sarah Palin.

Above: Click play to view the interview

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman was arrested earlier this week by riot police, and two of her colleagues were allegedly bloodied in an earlier fray.  We caught up with Amy afterwards and asked what happened.  She said police arrrested her without provocation, with her press pass in full view, and with nothing happening nearby that would put them in a highly defensive position.  Then Secret Service took her press pass, she said.

Above: Click play to watch the interview

As the Republican National Convention winds down, delegates and guests are taking in the last of the parties and arranging for transportation to the airport.  The estimated 15,000 journalists and media technicians are packing up their gear, preparing for the trip home.

Some can drive back to their stations in or near Minnesota.  Others fly as far as to coastal cities like San Diego and New York. Still others journey home to Pakistan or Kenya or Ireland.  Yes, there were large numbers of foreign print, web, and broadcast professionals at both conventions, including one team that shared our radio row spaces in Denver and St. Paul.  Generous and cooperative they were and I can't imagine better neighbors in tight quarters than the group from RTE (Radio Television Ireland).

So before we said goodbye, I couldn't resist doing my final interview with Fiona Hearst, the web writer for RTE, to find out why all this interest in U.S. presidential possibilities.

I think you'll find her responses candid, fascinating, and a charming window on the world outside of our borders.  Think "blood links" between candidates and the Irish, who has them and who doesn't, and why this is important to the Irish.  And when it comes to which issues interest an Irish audience, Fiona Hearst lists immigration, the economy, and, of course, the situation in the Middle East.  This definitely echoes some concerns right here at home.

Above: Click play to watch the interview

Former California Secretary of State Bill Jones had been out of public life for three years, but returned this year as the leader of California's delegation to the RNC because Senator John McCain asked him to take on this role.  He sees the tragic circumstances of Hurricane Gustav and the truncated first convention day as a sign of McCain's commitment to service above self.  But he acknowledges that the convention parties will still go on with some fund-raising efforts for hurricane victims added to the festivities.

Jones talks about the choice of Sarah Palin, the party affiliation of California voters, McCain's chances to take California, the candidate's position on illegal immigration, and President Bush's absence from the convention.  Bill Jones's recent hiatus from politics clearly has not tarnished his Republican credentials.

Above: Click to watch the interview

I caught up this week with San Diegan GOP delegate Patrick Ord, a long-time Mitt Romney supporter.  Ord has been behind John McCain since the senator's presidential momentum crescendoed, but he fundraised for Romney and still had his fingers crossed he'd be chosen as VP on the ticket. This of course before Sarah Palin was unveiled as the choice and confirmed last Friday, the day after Barack Obama's DNC speech.

One unique aspect of Ord's story is his intimate connection to a such a visible political figure: he was college roommates at BYU for three years in the mid 1990s with Mitt Romney's son, Matt, with whom he still regularly corresponds.

As a friend of the family, Ord has personal experience with a politician who ordinary citizens can only judge based on articles, videos, basic resume and legislative history.  This and Ord's shared Mormon faith with the Romney family contributed to somewhat of an upside-down path to political support: endorsement of character before policy.

We had a interesting chat about political messaging (what themes resonate), executive skills as they relate to governance, his thoughts on Palin, and faith's role in politics.

Approaching the RNC floor, I ran into Alaskan delegate Jason Rampton, who was fully decked-out in "Drill Now!" gear that I later discovered wasn't something he put together but was a uniform provided to him and other GOP guests.

Energy is a such a critical topic this election cycle. I was especially pleased to pick the brain of an Alaskan delegate, considering the issue's relevance to the debate over oil drilling and native Sarah Palin's recent anointment as John McCain's vice-presidential pick.

Said Rampton:

"They're going to love her, just like we do up in Alaska."

On energy reform:

"I don't think the government is the solution, I think the government needs to allow us as citizens, as companies, as corporations, to provide the energy and to kind of get out of the way and allow that to happen."

After I walked away from the conversation, I realized I should have pressed him more on a variety of issues, including the tension between how we could cultivate alternative energy sources while still not wanting the government to take the lead on energy reform. What do you think?

Above: Click to view the full, 20-minute interview with Pete Wilson

Republicans made it easy for me to get to the floor of their national convention.  All I had to do was turn in my media pass to a special desk and there it was – complete access to the floor.  So different from the Democrats where I never was admitted to the space where delegates congregated.

After a fairly long search of delegate neighborhoods, I found the California group rather far back from the stage, certainly not in prime territory.  I wonder why.  Could it be because California has a blue state history, despite its Republican governor?  At any rate, I was delighted to mingle with folks from my state and found familiar faces from past interviews and earlier life experiences. 

In the crowd was former San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, who catapulted his sleepy 1970’s city into a modern metropolis.  This accomplishment combined with his reputation as a moderate Republican set the stage for his successful bid for the U.S. Senate and then the California governor’s seat.  His terms as the state’s top official were politically turbulent, with much of the turmoil centered on his support of Proposition 209, which ended racial quotas and preferences.  He also was involved in the deregulation the state's energy market, and angered California’s Hispanic population by backing taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants.

However, my early memories of Pete include sharing social moments with our former spouses on Mission Beach, at the nascence of his political career and the threshold of my journalistic journey in San Diego. I remember him as a young man grounded in ideals and humor.  The years make changes in all of us.  But often, there are hints of the past in what we have become.

I've been doing mostly web stuff at these conventions, but we're also aiming to be as elegant as possible by reusing good content. I submitted part of Gloria's chat with Pete Wilson yesterday as a short news item for the radio this morning; the audio is above and the transcript below.  Hoping to do more of this this week.

Pete Wilson, the former Governor of California and Mayor of San Diego, was at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul on Monday.

In a one-on-one interview with KPBS Political Correspondent Gloria Penner, Wilson described America as benefiting greatly from legal immigrants -- including three out of four of his grandparents -- and said he and John McCain's views are now "pretty much in harmony" when it comes to border security.

"If you're going to try and get people who want to line up in front of the U.S. Embassy in Guadalajara or Mexico City and go through all of the hoops -- all of the rigorous requirements to become a naturalized U.S. citizen -- you are undermining that process and putting them at a terrible disadvantage if you allow illegal immigrants to jump the line."

Wilson said if elected to office McCain has pledged not to drag his feet in taking measures to secure the border, which they agree is an essential aspect of immigration reform.

Above: Click to watch the Rick Santorum video

Minneapolis, MN -- We were gathering up our press credentials in Minneapolis on Sunday, and waiting for word about whether and how the Republican National Convention would proceed.

Hurricane Gustav was hurtling towards the Gulf Coast on this the third anniversary of Katrina.  The focus of interest was shifting from what was supposed to be happening in the St. Paul convention city to what could happen in New Orleans.

Across the lobby, a small crowd formed and eagle-eye KPBS web developer/producer Joe Spurr spotted the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum.

Conservative Santorum was defeated in the mid-term elections and Pennsylvania is considered a battleground state in this presidential election.  But Santorum’s political career may not be over.  For some conservative Republicans, Santorum would have been the right choice for John McCain’s running mate, as a conservative, a Catholic, and a Philadelphian.  Just to be under consideration for the Vice Presidential nomination could jumpstart another run for public office.

Meanwhile, as you can see in the above video, Santorum is loyal to his party and praised John McCain’s choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Above: Click to watch the interview with Bob Rubin

Sustenance at conventions is not always easy to come by.  So the conventional wisdom is to eat when you see food.

I was grabbing a sandwich from a kiosk at Minneapolis’ grand Convention Center when I overheard a man say "San Diego."  I had no idea who this person was, although he did look familiar.  But I was there to ask questions and he was willing to be interviewed.

Turns out he is his wife's guest and she is an alternate delegate from San Diego’s 52nd Congressional District (Rep. Duncan Hunter's district).  She is Christine Ribieros Rubin, District Director for State Senator Mark Wyland who represents the 38th State Senate District. She has served in the Schwarzenegger Administration and worked for John McCain’s campaign in 2000 and again in his current bid for president.

So, she is well-connected politically.  But what about Bob?  Just an ordinary helpmate, accompanying his spouse to a convention?

Not exactly.  After I did that totally unplanned, spontaneous interview with him (video above), I found his website thanks to a fast Google search. Here's a bit about the company he owns and founded:

"Program Advancement Group, Inc. is a Veteran-Owned Small Business located in San Diego, California. For the past 14 years, we have been dedicated to providing the most superior analytical support available. Our province is in the areas of operations research, solutions to government operational & logistics/business problems, and technical consulting applied to the management of science and engineering endeavors."

Bob Rubin’s Specialties:

"Assist commercial firms with technical capabilities in forming new liaisons with State and Federal Government.  It’s always good to have some background to put a frame around what folks have to say."