Four weeks until election day

It’s been a really busy week for me, which would explain my lack of a post yesterday and the fact that today’s post is not regarding men’s fashion. I apologize; Menswear Wednesday will be back next week with a great post regarding a lesser-known male fashion designer. Because I’ve become practically obsessed with the presidential campaign, my week has consisted of attending political events.

At the last minute on Monday, my friend and I decided to go see Dick Morris speak at a nearby university. Morris was the political advisor and campaign manager for President Clinton during his administration, but has since become a hard critic of both Bill and Hillary Clinton.

    

My friend and I somehow wound up getting asked to go watch Morris tape a segment for Fox News’ Hannity show, and while we were in-studio Morris asked us to dinner downtown afterwards! The entire night was completely surreal, and my friend and I had the most amazing time picking his brain on politics, Washington, and the campaign. Dick Morris is truly a genius. Without a doubt, he would make an amazing professor.

Yesterday, we attended Gov. Romney’s rally in Cuyahoga Falls, and I was blown away by the amount of people in attendance. He was on stage speaking and there were still people coming in. My friend and I were lucky to have on-stage seats, so we could see the large crowd from where we were sitting, which made for the best pictures.

xxo

Swing state

Only about 40 days left before the election, and I can say with confidence that Ohio is the most important state. I'm lucky that I come from not only a swing state, but the most pivotal one in almost every election.

Since I have been back from the Convention, I've been volunteering every weekend with the campaign, and regardless of your politics, I think it is one of the most exciting elections we'll have in my generation's lifetime. My friend and I were given VIP tickets to a rally in NE Ohio this week to hear Gov. Romney speak about manufacturing and small businesses in Ohio.

Republican National Convention, Part 3

Today is the last day of the Convention, but I'm recapping yesterday's events. I swear, every hour that goes by is exciting, and as a whole I underestimated how incredible this experience would be. I wanted to write a quick post to sum up the past 24 hours, before tonight's events.

Today I met my greatest role model in television, Megyn Kelly, who I have been watching almost every day since I was a fifteen year-old high schooler. She was everything and more than I expected, and it was amazing watching her tape America Live while a chorus of singers was rehearsing in the background... I don't know how she didn't lose focus!

When we were waiting for her to come out, someone asked me if I was her sister! Could I ask for a better compliment? I don't think so. :)

It's crazy to think that I've met so many important people, and it's all been by chance for the most part. They'll be just walking around inside of the "perimeter," which is the area the city has blocked off for security purposes for the Convention. We met Newt Gingrich yesterday, and former Chairman of the RNC Michael Steele.

Newt Gingrich

Michael Steele

After Paul Ryan and Condoleeza Rice spoke last night, a few other volunteers and I were lucky enough to have tickets for the Kid Rock concert, which was hosted under the biggest tent in North America, or so we heard. As we were going in, my roommate and I saw that Luke Russert, the son of the late Tim Russert, was ahead of us, so we snagged a picture with him.

Luke Russert

Kid Rock toward the end of his concert

I am BEYOND excited for the events that are about to happen tonight, and I cannot wait to share it tomorrow!

xxo

GOP Convention, Pt. 2

Saying this week has been one of the most exciting of my life is a complete understatement. I've crossed paths with more influential people than I could have ever imagined, met some of the most powerful individuals in Republican politics and the media, and witnessed one of the most important events of a political campaign.

The best person I've met thus far (besides my favorite Fox News-ers) has to be Karl Rove, Bush '43s senior advisor. It was refreshing, because minutes before I had just met Chris Matthews, who lived up to every negative comment I've heard about him. The man was clearly not enthused to be there, and he had no problem showing it when I walked up to meet him. Luckily, Karl Rove was coming down the stairs with a huge smile on his face, excited to be there and to greet anyone and everyone eager to meet him.

Diane Sawyer was walking around the floor... at first I mistook her for a young 30-something reporter. She's just looks that great. 

Starting ceremonies, Reince Priebus rallying everyone.

Volunteers

Craig Romney

The official first night. We have the best view in the house!

Ann Romney, Mitt Romney and Condoleezza Rice are all here... can you spot them?

Post Convention Hardball taping. Matthews was ripping apart Gov. Chris Christie's speech. I had to restrain myself from booing.

Menswear Wednesday: "The Romney Boys look"

I wanted to revolve the majority of my posts this week around the GOP Convention because I'm here, so when it came to Wednesday's post, I wanted to do something relating to men's fashion at the Convention. From what I've seen, everyone dresses very nicely here-- Lilly Pulitzer dresses and seersucker suits are everywhere. However, the Romney sons seemed to have perfected the jeans, button-down and blazer look.

My roommate and I have seen the five boys every day (and their beautiful wives/children) throughout the past few days, and they're always in a relaxed, jeans + blazer look. I'm sure that'll change once they're in the Forum for the Convention events, but as of now, they've perfected the style.

Four of the five Romney sons with Gov. Chris Christie. 

Menswear Wednesday: Paul Ryan's endorsement of gingham

The New York Times' Cathy Horyn is telling Rep. Paul Ryan to savor all of the attention he's garnered lately as Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential pick. TMZ released a photo of Ryan and his trainer, dubbing him the "hottest vice presidential candidate ever," and political website Politico wrote an entire "Ryan hot sheet." But after telling Ryan to "savor" it, Ms. Horyn goes on to note that most V.P.'s are forgotten before the next election.

Please. She couldn't be more wrong. Regardless of your politics, I think it is evident that Rep. Ryan will come back and run for president in the next election if Romney doesn't make it into office this year. I can't tell you how many people have said they'd rather have Ryan as the presidential pick over Romney in the first place.

Still, that's besides the point of this post, which is to point out just how much Rep. Paul Ryan likes his gingham/check button-downs.

The look originated in the 18th century in Manchester, England and the southern US when their factories were going through a financial slump. They began production of the shirts, and eventually it caught on with London bankers and Southern literary types, according to an article by GQ.

The gingham look is predominantly for the spring and summer, so how does Paul Ryan plan on changing it up once September starts?

Did they consult one another about matching outfits for this event?