Twin Cities promise double fun for GOP

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By Andrea Billups

A $525 shot of rare 55-year-old Scotch. A three-day biking, swimming and cycling triathlon led by the hyperfit host mayors. A concert by country crooner Steve Earle and eight football fields' worth of media outlets reporting from dusk till dawn.

These are just a few of the experiences that await politicos heading off to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 2008 Republican convention Sept. 1 to 4.

While Democrats gathering in Denver in late August have dealt with a host of concerns, including fundraising, organizers in the Twin Cities say that at just a month away, they have met all goals and it feels like smooth sailing for the 39th Republican National Convention, which will draw 45,000 visitors to Minnesota, bringing with them an estimated $160 million in revenues.

"All along, we've run this convention like a business," said Joanna Burgos, press secretary for the convention. "We've built a Fortune 500 company here in 18 months. Our planning has been very detailed, and we have a lot of convention veterans working on this who know what works."

Local residents are being encouraged to gussy up not only their homes, but also their business storefronts, planting flowers, adding a fresh coat of paint, removing graffiti and picking up trash along with displaying the American flag.

The "Spruce Up Spirit" campaign will offer awards, including a Red Carpet convention package with party tickets to those families and offices who do the best job of adding new sparkle to their surroundings. Volunteers are even gathering to wash cabs in an effort to show visitors the area's best face.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We haven't had a political convention in 116 years," said Teresa McFarland, spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-St. Paul host committee. At that convention, the Republican faithful of 1892 nominated President Benjamin Harrison for a second term, but he lost in November to Democrat Grover Cleveland.

"We like to say even though we are middle of the country, we're hardly middle of the road. This is an opportunity for four days to really show that," she said, noting that residents are bracing for the onslaught, but also excited and "phenomenally busy."

About 10,000 area residents have signed up to volunteer.

"It isn't about the politics. It's about the business of putting these cities out there and to showcase what they have to offer," Miss McFarland said of the partisan event. "We're going to be under the national and international spotlight."