AUGUST 15, 1996
| News from Home | Paper Chase | Payola | Being Bob |

News from Home
FOR THE RECORD, the Minnesota delegation is keeping close tabs on what's being said about them back home. Every morning, hardworking Republican Party assistant Paul Braun posts copies of the articles in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis Star Tribune that are faxed to him . It's the first place delegates look when they enter the party's temporary office.

Paper Chase
REPORTERS LOVE FREE THINGS. The Bell-South media lounge is a hit. Number two is the Republican Party media center where several small forests have given their lives so that thousands of copies of virtually worthless press releases can be distributed.

The funniest one so far was headlined "Republican Party Unites Behind Bob Dole!" We knew that! I saw a colleague of mine (not from MPR) grabbing hundreds of them and shoving them into his briefcase. Then he added more official biographies of some speakers at this convention. "What are you doing? Those things are worthless," I said. It turns out he's using the blank backsides for his laser printer back home.

Payola
HERE'S THE LIST OF GOODIES Republican delegates were given in the official welcoming kit :
Canvas Bag
Plastic beer mug with a line in the middle of it to indicate that 43% of the cost of every beer is hidden taxes.
Quart-size bag of Hefty storage bags
Computer disk of Eudora email software
San Diego pop-up map from AT&T
Sprint calling card with 10 free minutes
Computer disk of United Airlines Connection software
Fun with fruits and vegetables kids' cookbook from Dole
Bag of Dole raisins
San Diego zoo pin
AST computer key chain in the shape of a mouse
Polo shirt with embroidered name of Nicholas Applegate financial services company.

Being Bob
I GOT MY EXERCISE in today. When I finished getting what I needed at the Faith and Freedom rally, I headed for the parking lot to get a cab so I could write and produce a story for last night's "All Things Considered". I only had a dollar in my pocket. No cab. I walked the seven miles to the Convention Center. Fortunately, as I walked down a fairly deserted side-street, the Dole motorcade came along. I waved, he waved. Whenever you're in a strange city by yourself, you can always find a "Bob" to give you a wave.