The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
Talks by Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana have fired up Democratic delegates.
DENVER — To hear Democrats around the Pepsi Center tell it, a new superstar has emerged and he wears a bolo tie and cowboy boots.
"That Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been the real surprise,'' enthused Louisiana state Rep. Herbert Dixon. "His speech really nailed it, and he got the crowd on their feet fired up for Hillary."
The folksy first-term governor proved his stuff again Wednesday morning, when he prodded Florida Democratic delegates to bark like dogs after predicting Barack Obama would win Montana.
"Florida is a big dog. Are you going to let a tail like Montana wag the dog? Or are you going to stand up and bark?'' he challenged.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" responded the delegates.
Aside from the big headliners like the Clintons, Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama, Schweitzer has been the clear standout among dozens of featured speakers. Others getting high marks for unexpectedly strong speeches include Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey.
The reviews for Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's keynote speech? Not so hot. And Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a vice presidential finalist? Let's just say she didn't command the attention of the crowd.
Schweitzer, 52, is an infectiously enthusiastic rancher who prefers jeans and cowboy boots to business suits, but he's no hayseed. He has a master's degree, worked for years developing irrigation systems in Europe, Asia and South America, and he speaks Arabic.
He told the Florida delegates that when you're governor of a state with a population as small as Montana's, you jump at every speaking offer that comes up. He said he's a regular on the eighth-grade speech circuit.
"This is the pinnacle of my career,'' he said during the delegation breakfast at the Red Lion Hotel. "This is the state that decides elections. And you've been doing a damn poor job lately!"
Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@sptimes.com or (727)893-8241.
[Last modified: Aug 28, 2008 02:50 PM]
Comments on this article
by JB
Aug 28, 2008 2:50 PM
If you're a Democratic Governor with a Master's Degree who prefers jeans and cowboy boots to suits, you're a "folksy" ranching enthusiast. Fascinating!
by Jim
Aug 28, 2008 2:21 PM
He pounds his chest about the great job he has done but if the oil boom in easter Montana dives as it has in the past he will sing a different tune I d see very little he has do to inprove our state
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