| Jamie Dupree |
Lunching With GOP Bigwigs
There's nothing like lunch with your dog tired colleagues, some wine for Belinda, an aptly named dessert and then some surreptitous photographs to help liven up Day 3 of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After finishing our work with Neal Boortz on Wednesday, we decided to head back to the historic St. Paul Hotel, just across Rice Park, where MSNBC is doing its live convention broadcast outside.
It was there that we saw a steady stream of familiar faces coming in to enjoy some food, with credentials dangling from their necks, and probably some great stories as well.
Now it's one thing to say that we saw this Congressman or that Senator, or that famous person, but it's another to get a picture, right?

In order to get those pictures, I had the able help of the wife of Neal Boortz, the Amazing Donna, who kept fiddling with her own credential long enough for me to get the perfect shot.
On the left, you can see Donna posing most expertly, while your reporter shifts the camera at the last second to get the arrival of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert on the right, and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on the left.
For those who might not remember, DeLay left the Congress under a legal cloud, and remains under scrutiny in the investigation involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Earlier on Wednesday, both former leaders attracted a huge amount of attention as they walked through Radio Row over at the convention site.

A few minutes later, Donna was called into action again, as Karl Rove, former Presidential Counselor to George W. Bush entered the restaurant and made a beeline for the DeLay-Hastert table.
You can see the top of Donna's hair in this photo, as she again mimed for the camera, acting like we were taking the best photograph ever attempted in the St. Paul restaurant.

While the trio of DeLay, Hastert & Rove made for some interesting chatter, there were other big wigs who made their appearance as well.
At one point, Belinda swore that she had just seen "that ABC News guy." She finally refined that to "Ted Koppel," who no longer works there.
But upon further review, I saw it was Sam Donaldson. We quickly realized the reason why Belinda was having some difficulty determining who was a few tables down.
Just take a look at this picture! I do have to say on behalf of Belinda, she was in pretty good shape a few hours later....

Being that we were at the St. Paul just hours before the acceptance speech of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, we were a bit suspicious when the waitress told us that the dessert special was "Baked Alaska."
But they insisted that it had been on the menu for a few weeks, even before the Governor was added to the Republican ticket.
Belinda was very happy to have the restaurant chieftain come over and light the thing on fire, because her hands were a little chilly in this Minnesota climate.
What others are saying
- jamiethank you,this was delightful to see. you are the one newsman that i can depend on to give me the straight scoop daily.
- BelindaIf I were Belinda and had to put up with Boortz I'd get blitzed too. Just kidding. Love it when Neal gets the Mooney into thin air and Belinda brings him back to earth. Happy landings to Neal, Belinda, Royal and Jamie. The best on radio. Neal lighten up on Sarah's daughter.
- BelindaAhhhhhhh Belinda fairest of the fair.
- belindayou go girl! Have fun!
- I saw Delay at the airportAs I was waiting in line for my boarding pass last Saturday at the Minn-St. Paul airport, I noticed that Tom Delay was ahead of me in line.
I approached him, shook his hand, and told him I was glad to see him there.
Why was I glad? Because Delay is an
old-school conservative, one who actually walks the walk, one who knows who the enemy is and fights to defeat him. And what happened to the Ronny Earle inquisition in Austin, Texas? Why has this Democrat hack prosecutor been allowed to string Mr. Delay along for two years without bringing him to trial? We all know...simply accuse a Republican of a dirty deed and watch what happens. Accuse a Democrat of a similar deed and NOTHING happens.
Remember, the liberal game has three rules:
1. Distract the dumb masses with bread and circuses (movies, video games, mindless TV shows)
2. Dumb down the school children using Democrat-controlled NEA instructors
3. Deceive the masses through East Coast communication outlets (New York Times, AP, CBS News, ad nauseum)
It's not that hard to figure out. - Belinda?Where's Royal?!?!? LOL...atleast she looks like she sounds. I've gotten used to Neil's voice...I've just never seen Royal. Sounds like a hunk...IS HE???
- Donna!! Momma Mia!Who is that sexy Donna? No way a woman like that would be attracted to Neal! Hahaha
- Queen B.Give me your keys Belinda
- belindaA'int been drinking, but help me out here folks. Give Belinda a haircut and put her in a sixities marine corp uniform and she looks just like Gomer Pyle. God help me.
- Ms SkeltonAnd they say consevitives arn't any fun.
- BelindaSomebody should have warned Belinda about the effects of the high altitude of Minnesoooh-ta.
- Toasted, pickled and assuredly a non-stop conversationalist.
- BelindaWhere is the pic with Belinda with the lamp shade on her head?
- BelindaYup, you were right this morning on your show Boortz - Belinda was blitzed!
- HammeredHahaha Belinda looks hilarious !
- Jamie Rocks!Jamie Dupree is the only REAL journalist left in the USA. I trust him and only him for straight, unbiased information - just the facts. What a classy guy. He makes Boortz's show that much better.
- DeLayIs it my imagination or has DeLay put on some serious pounds?
- The 'Happy' BelindaNeal, please keep Belinda supplied with Red Wine anytime she is working. Your show is my Fav, but hey, a 'Happy' Belinda could add some interesting moments.
- I love it!What a hoot! How wonderful that Donna is such a willing participant for your roving camera. She looks like such a fun person.
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