Washington, DC, USA. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty cruises around in a stolen van like a rock star. Half of Florida’s delegates are actually “honored guests.” And Hurricane Gustav knocked Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman out of a primetime speaking spot, but he delivered his speech anyway. In case you missed those stories from the Republican National Convention this week, Worth Noting fills you in.

 

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, while campaigning for Sen. John McCain in Pennsylvania on Sunday (Aug. 31), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty rode around in a stolen van. And not just any van — a touring van used by the band Everclear, with an LCD video screen, an Xbox and a six-speaker stereo system. The theft was the result of a mix-up by Pawlenty’s driver, who was told to pick up the keys to the governor’s actual ride at a Holiday Inn and then went to the wrong Holiday Inn. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the driver thought it was strange the governor’s van had beer cans in it.

 

They look like delegates, but that’s not what their credentials say. Instead, half of the Florida delegation is actually an “honored guest” — they can’t vote or participate in floor debates, but still can access the convention hall. Though the honored guest designation is to punish Florida for being one of five states that broke the Republican National Committee’s rule not to hold a primary before Feb. 5, the honored guests don’t seem to mind, The Palm Beach Post reports. “Being an honored guest is an honor,” said one Floridian.

 

Hurricane Gustav bumped many a speaker off the schedule Monday night, including Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. But he’s not one to waste a good speech. With the chance to address a national audience gone, Huntsman instead delivered his speech to the Utah delegation’s breakfast meeting Wednesday, telling the group that Sen. John McCain represents “authenticity,” the Deseret News reports.

 

In other Utah news: The state’s Democratic Party released a statement that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is a member of the Wasilla Assemblies of God, a congregation of the Pentecostal faith and, apparently, an “anti-Mormon” denomination. The only problem? Palin left the church in 2002 — and the church doesn’t have a policy on the Mormon religion. The party had to take back the statement, The Salt Lake Tribune writes.

 

 

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