I could get with doing this for the Democratic Party instead of blogging a convention
GOP 'war room:' primer in convention combat
A few hundred yards from the Democrats, Republicans parse every word of every speech, then launch rebuttals.
By Sara B. Miller | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BOSTON - The picture could have been just one more still in the millions of photo ops that are the stuff of presidential carnivals: an image of John Kerry donning a spacesuit during a visit to Cape Canaveral in Florida, hours before the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Boston.
But for Republican researchers and aides, it "reeked" of opportunity. Within minutes they'd accessed photo archives dating back to 1988, when Michael Dukakis peered out of a tank, helmet on head, an image later judged a major election misstep. In less than 90 minutes, the crew had juxtaposed two photos of two Massachusetts liberals and sent off an e-mail to thousands of media members, activists, and campaign workers. It was 6:24 p.m. and the subject line read, "Earth to Kerry."
Welcome to the "war room," the office space of Republican operatives working to reelect President Bush. Inside, they listen to speeches that no one else bothers to record and take copious notes, seeking contradictions, discrepancies, and vulnerabilities at every turn of phrase. They use e-mail, satellite feeds, and surrogates to drive any message that they see as viable and valuable.
Now that it's convention time in Boston, some 30 of them have relocated from their Arlington, Va., headquarters to a satellite bunker only blocks from the FleetCenter, this week's epicenter of American politics. They are helping launch an offensive, the "Extreme Makeover" of John Kerry. Their mission: to expose 19 years of Kerry's Senate record. The group is holding press briefings in the mornings to counter any Democrat buzz, and is hosting a variety of Republican speakers, including former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, in their makeshift television studio.
