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.

The calm before the storm, literally.  Somehow appropriate alongside the air of uncertainty surrounding what this week's RNC will shape up to look like considering Hurricane Gustav, much of St. Paul seemed like a ghost town on Sunday (though there were protests, and much activity leading into the start of the week).

Buzz surrounding Monday's march(es) seems to be growing but for the most part the streets were empty on Sunday, almost to a point that you'd peer around for tumbleweeds to roll by -- or whip, rather, because of the gusty, shifty wind that served as a constant reminder of Gustav.

We ran into our first visible activist as we were getting credentialed and scouting downtown, and though we were on a tight schedule, we found some wind shelter in the form of a parking garage enclave and I chatted with he and Gloria (recording and instantly uploading our conversation to Utterz via my iPhone).

Jim, a St. Paul (New Brighton) native whose father served during Word War II, said he was very concerned about McCain's voting record regarding support for veterans, despite the Republican candidate's military background. He claimed that across the board, veterans groups like Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans have given Barack Obama much better ratings.

Jim, if you're reading this, feel free to fill in the blanks in the comments section.

To all other readers: ironically check the records for yourself via Project Vote Smart, which McCain helped found in 1992 alongside 40 other national officials.

Also: which candidate do you trust more to support our troops via pay/pension, tour-length, benefits, armor, political decision-making, etc. -- and why?

This week, as I was reflecting on Friday's grim news that Tim Russert had died and thinking about how nothing is forever and about how will my mother now spend Sunday mornings at 9 o'clock (she adores Russert and Meet the Press, and unfailingly watches the show), Scott McClellan was about to prove me right. Yes, Scott McClellan, the erstwhile presidential press secretary whose recent book about his experiences in that exalted position causes hives to erupt on Bush loyalists.

It seems that Scott McClellan, in his never-ending book tour to promote the tell-all tale, was scheduled to stop by KPBS for a quick interview with These Days host Tom Fudge, and it further seems that the only slot into which the interview would fit was the one I usually fill for a weekly political chat with Tom. But I'm a team-player and although I had reservations about relinquishing my Wednesday gig, I agreed. After all, nothing is forever!

And now I'm having second thoughts and this isn't sour grapes. I'm thinking about McClellan who worked for President Bush for almost three years and who said to the president upon resigning as press secretary, "I have been honored and grateful to be a small part of a terrific and talented team of really good people." And then he wrote his book accusing Bush of self-deception and of selling the Iraq War with a political propaganda campaign rather than the truth. When did McClellan see the light?

And I'm also wondering when that light does go on during a three-year job with a newsworthy boss, whether it's OK to stay on and gather material for a book that's sure to sell.