Missouri delegates say Paul Ryan's speech Wednesday hit all the right themes -- but some believe women are taking the toastmaster trophy at the Republican National Convention.
They think Ann Romney bested Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday, and Condoleezza Rice outdid Ryan Wednesday.
Not to mention Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico, an out-of-prime time hit.
"They have so much passion," said Missouri alternate Zoe Soto-Gilbert at Thursday's caucus breakfast, referring to the female speakers here.
“I just thought Condi Rice was so knowledgeable and hard-hitting,” said Janet Murfin of Wichita, a guest of the Kansas delegation.
Added Beverly Caley, a Green, Kan., delegate, “Everybody was moved by what she had to say.”
There's already chatter about 2016, of course, and Rice's stock is rising. Christie's shares resemble Facebook's.
Gov. Sam Brownback told his “best” Paul Ryan story at Thursday morning’s Kansas delegation breakfast.
Turns out that when Ryan worked as Brownback’s legislative director when Brownback was in the U.S. House in the mid-90s, he showed up at a Saturday morning staff meeting dressed in hunting attire. Ryan, as almost everyone knows now, loves to hunt.
A colleague noticed something else about Ryan that morning – a strong odor.
“What’s that smell?” the colleague asked.
“Deer urine,” Ryan responded.
Hunters, doncha know, have to mask the human scent to have more success on their hunts.
Said Brownback of the story, “Does that win you votes or lose you votes?”
The Romney campaign has done a remarkable job in tamping down any displays of anger or frustration among delegates. The less emotion, it seems, the better.
It's hard to turn emotion on and off like a light switch, though, which is why delegates have seemed slightly listless at times.
That changed a bit Thursday morning when Missouri auditor Tom Schweich, of all people, lit into Missouri Democrats at the GOP breakfast.
"Our governor right now is the governor of photo ops and cronyism," he said, referring to Gov. Jay Nixon. He called Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Susan Montee a "zombie."
He pivoted to the secretary of state race. "By the way, isn't it great not to have any Carnahan on the ballot anywhere in Missouri?" he asked, to applause. "When was the last time that happened -- the War of 1812?"
Chris Koster took a blow too. Schweich accused him of "the worst kind of conflict of interest you can have" because of campaign donations from attorneys who got contracts with the A.G.'s office.
Schweich urged support for Mitt Romney and the defeat of Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Rep. Todd Akin's name was not mentioned.
Akin, of course, was a no-show here. In fact, several members of Congress decided to take their business elsewhere this week.
We never saw Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Rep. Sam Graves is here but did not meet with the Missourians during their morning breakfasts.
Rep. Billy Long did attend, and Sen. Roy Blunt dropped by Monday.
The caucus speeches, though, did not feature candidates on the ballot -- a rarity at a national political convention.
That bus snafu from Tuesday night that had some delegates arriving back at their hotels at 2 a.m. – or even 3? (One report from another state mentioned, if you can believe it, 5 a.m.)
Consider it solved.
Kansas delegates heaped all kinds of praise on transit officials for their performance Wednesday night.
“110 percent better,” said Jane Alexander of Parsons, Kan. “Everybody was organized last night.”
Tampa police told some that they had taken over the operation from a private company. (Yes, there’s a little irony there as GOPers tend to say the private sector trumps the government any time).
Alexander got back to the Kansas hotel in about an hour Wednesday night. The day before? Two hours, 15 minutes.
Unofficial results are in: The St. Louis Cardinals are more popular in Missouri than the Kansas City Royals.
Several delegates have worn cardinal red this week, and chatted about the team's upcoming series and prospects. The Royals? Not so much.
It could be that the Kansas City area delegates, all for Ron Paul, are not huge baseball fans.
