I spent the past hour seeing where my badge could, and could not, take me. The answer is that it can take me just about anywhere other than some parts of the floor, directly behind the stage (I can walk there, but not stay there), and into places like the Governor Cloakroom, Senate Cloakroom, etc. (although I’m free to roam the hallways outside and between these places).

This is a very different situation than the DNC, where we were free to roam the main halls of three levels of the Fleet, but had no access to the radio/TV press areas (the entire 3rd floor of the Fleet), no access to the floor, and only limited access to the lower “bowl.”

This access, combined with the greater liaison attention I noted here, cements my previous inkling: the GOP, while only inviting 15 bloggers to the convention, is treating those bloggers a hell of a lot more legitimately than did the Democratic Party.

And whatever you may think of their policies, for this they deserve credit. It’s almost as if the DNC said “we’re going to act like you’re legitimate, but you’re really not,” and the RNC is saying “we’re going to treat you like you’re legitimate, and it’s up to prove whether you are or not.”

You may draw your own conclusions if this reflects a refrain that may be familiar from last night:

In this country, it doesn’t make any difference where you were born. It doesn’t make any difference who your parents were. It doesn’t make any difference if, like me, you couldn’t even speak English until you were in your twenties.

America gave me opportunities …

The GOP is giving the folks on Bloggers’ Corner the opportunity … it will be interesting to see what we make of it.