politics

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- After two boisterous national political conventions and two powerful acceptance speeches, which largely succeeded in rallying the party faithful, Republican and Democratic insiders agree both Barack Obama and John McCain must do a better job of convincing swing voters they have a plan for prescribing steroids for the weak economy.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has decided to stay out of public view until after the election, saying he doesn't want the controversy surrounding his extramarital affair to harm the candidacy of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Snapshots from the Republican National Convention:

The Republicans went to great lengths to make sure everyone noticed that the podium from which John McCain accepted the party's presidential nomination Thursday was far simpler and more humble than the Parthenon-meets-the-White-House-columns in front of which Barack Obama appeared for his speech.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- GOP-ANARCHISTS (Pheifer, Minneapolis Star Tribune) -- ST.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- When presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate last week, the Arizona senator emphasized her role as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Floridians attending the Republican National Convention convention were so taken with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, speaking to state delegates Thursday morning, sounded almost critical when he said, "Sarah Palin was good last night. Very good." 600.

Now you've seen Sarah Palin, and now, I'm guessing, a lot of you are more confused than ever.

Whatever your expectations, Palin passed her first test. She was confident. She was occasionally funny. She was reliably very, very, extremely conservative.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- After a night when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rocked the Republican-packed Xcel Energy Center with a message of small-town can-doism and mockery of alleged Democratic elitism, Democrats demanded her specifics on national issues.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lorraine Marshall of Las Vegas is one of only 36 African American delegates at the Republican National Convention, and the only one in the Nevada delegation.

But Marshall doesn't feel alone.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former eBay chief Meg Whitman is one of the fastest-rising stars in the GOP universe, and her stature as national co-chair for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign was highlighted this week with her speech at the Republican National Convention on economic reform.