Salon today has a story about the Republican strategists in Denver who have "established a position behind enemy lines."
Two dozen GOP operatives have taken over an accounting firm's office for the week, barricaded themselves in behind a gate monitored by security guards and revved up for a few news cycles' worth of 24-hour rapid response during the Democratic convention. (The office is, even by Republican standards, pretty nice; Republican National Committee communications director Danny Diaz was reveling in the massive wooden desk in his office, usually devoted to spreadsheets instead of spreading opposition research. There's a ping-pong table, too.) RNC staffers arrived on Friday, and some of John McCain's campaign aides will land Sunday night. "We're here to tell the other side of the story and set the record straight," RNC chairman Mike Duncan told me. They don't feel there's any time to let Barack Obama bask in the glow of the convention. "We're going to be sprinting to the finish those final 60 days."
With a satellite hookup ready to beam GOP surrogates to the world, nine flat-screen TVs tuned to cable news and a live video stream on their new Web site for the convention, the Republicans are going to try to get themselves into as much coverage as possible during the week. They're bringing in some heavy hitters -- Mitt Romney on Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday, Tim Pawlenty on Thursday. They've made up some signs that borrow the graphic design look of the convention, with the slogan "A Mile High, An Inch Deep." The idea is to stay relevant and visible in the media coverage of the convention; they're basically hoping for some moments they can pounce on to embarrass Barack Obama.
The New York Times' blog covering the presidential race also features a piece on the RNC "war room"
The "Citizens for McCain" press conference, as the Republicans are calling it, will feature R.N.C. victory chairwoman Carly Fiorina, Former Democratic Congressman Tim Penny of Minnesota, Wisconsin Hillary Clinton delegate Debra Bartoshevich, and Women for Fair Politics organizer Cynthia Ruccia. According to the R.N.C., the event will showcase why "many Independent and Democratic voters are supporting John McCain's positive vision for America."...
The Democratic National Committee has plans to set up its own counter-programming operation when the Republicans gather for their convention in Minnesota next week.