The devil's in the details

From colleague Michael Cass:

Bill Phillips has been around a big political event or two.

Phillips, 64, managed the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988. Last month the former Republican National Committee chief of staff — who also worked in President George H.W. Bush’s administration — helped maintain order backstage at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Phillips, who was Nashville’s deputy mayor from 1999 to 2007, has had a consulting contract with Belmont University since January to help the school get ready for Tuesday’s presidential debate. He sat down over coffee with a Tennessean reporter this week to talk about preparations for the university’s and city’s moment on the national stage.

Click here to read the full story.

Fisher watching everything around tonight's debate

I'll be a little AWOL this afternoon as I work on one of those paper-edition stories, but I'll leave you for now with some comments from Belmont President Bob Fisher on the school's final preparations for the debate. You can see more from my interview with him at our YouTube page.

Road closures for the debate

Courtesy of Metro Police and my friends at Nashvillest, here's what you'll be looking at as you try to navigate Debate Day:

A number of streets in the Belmont vicinity will be closed in order to enhance security. The following street closures will be in effect Tuesday between 4 p.m. and 12 midnight:

• Belmont Boulevard from Compton Avenue to 18th Avenue South;
• Bernard Avenue from 15th Avenue South to Belmont Boulevard;
• Acklen Avenue from 18th Avenue South to the entrance of the Fidelity Hall parking lot;
• 15th Avenue South from Compton Avenue to Wedgewood Avenue;
• Acklen Avenue from East Belmont Circle to 15th Avenue South will be closed from 4 p.m. Monday through 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Also, you can check out a Belmont map of the closings here.

Early lunch links: Biden and what's-her-name debate tonight

I don't know if you've heard, but tonight there is the Vice Presidential Debate feat. Gov. Sarah Palin. Oh, and that Joe Biden guy is showing up, too! On PalinWatch, Nashvillians sure are interested, reporters are being blamed for her slips, and independents are playing the skeptics. And Baptists? Well, they're not quite sure what to do about her.

And the general consensus: The winner of tonight's debate will be the candidate who screws up less. Didn't the campaigns have months to pick these two?

Also:

The Senate OK'd a revised, "sweetened" (earmarked?) bailout plan, and the Dow still dropped 200 points this morning. Doh!

(Photo credit: Associated Press)

Belmont opens its doors today

Belmont has its Open House for students, faculty and the community at the Curb Event Center until noon today. Come by if you want to see where the candidates will be (although the stage doesn't get here until tomorrow) and the gargantuan media tent where all the media types like me will be hanging out on debate night. C-SPAN also has an exhibit up on all of the presidents. You'll remember that at one time, we had a president named Chester. Maybe it will make you feel better.

Gore fundraiser may convince Obama to stop by

From colleague Theo Emery:

Al and Tipper Gore may finally get the chance to open the doors of their home to Sen. Barack Obama.

On the night of Tuesday’s debate at Belmont University, the former vice president is hosting a $2,500 per person/$5,000 per couple, “post-debate dessert reception” at the Gore residence, according to a copy of the invitation.

The event benefiting the Obama Victory Fund is clearly intended for deep-pocketed donors. The invitation specifies that the first $2,300 each individual contribution will go to the Obama for America fund. The next $28,500 of each person’s contribution, the invitation says, will go to the Democratic National Committee.

The reception is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. There’s talk in Democratic circles that Obama may come by after the debate, but there was no word from the campaign on Wednesday afternoon that that was the case.

Over the summer, the Gores had set in motion tentative plans for a Nashville fundraiser for Obama, but the efforts sputtered until now.

Obama’s arrival in Nashville for the debate will mark the first time that he has made a public appearance in Tennessee in over a year.

Polls have generally put McCain ahead of Obama by a wide margin in Tennessee; the most recent, a Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of 500 likely voters, gave John McCain at 58 percent to 39 percent edge over Obama, a 19-point lead. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Belmont students rocking at the airport

As mentioned previously, Belmont students and faculty will be playing at Nashville International Airport as guests arrive from Thursday's vice presidential debate in St. Louis. Here's the lineup, just in case you know these fine talents:

Friday, October 3, 2008

Baggage Claim Stage Area:

1:00pm-2:00pm
Stephen Duncan
Taylor Begert

2:00pm-3:00pm
Greg Bates
Brooke Annibale

3:00pm-4:00pm
Stephanie Lambring
Blake Mundell

Concourse C Stage Area:

1:00pm-4:00pm
Southbound Ensemble
Henry Smiley, Director