Dems Offer Survival Kit for GOP Confab

DENVER—The Democratic National Committee has spent much of its time in Denver skewering Sen. John McCain (look for a snarky birthday ad when McCain turns 72 Friday). Well, as the convention nears an end here and the press gets ready to move to St. Paul, Minn. for the Republican National Convention, our pals at the DNC—Brad Woodhouse, Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza, and the rest of the team—have injected some humor, putting together "A Survival Kit for Reporters." Woodhouse and Buckwalter-Poza delivered mine to the U.S. News filing center at the Pepsi Center. "You guys are going to need this kind of help in St. Paul," says Woodhouse.

Inside the kit we found our very own press pass to the DNC's war room in St. Paul, decorated with that famous picture of McCain hugging President Bush. "DNC at the RNC," reads the pass. "Get the 4-1-1 at 411 Main, St. Paul, MN." There are also two packages of Tylenol Extra Strength, two packages of Tums, a $100,000 Grand and Payday candy bars, and a fancy button reading: "Ask me how many houses I own." And the pass came with a flash drive that includes all the opposition research on McCain from the DNC. The kit even came with a bribe: A promise of breakfast every day at DNC's "More of the Same" HQ in St. Paul to get reporters to attend daily news briefings. "No," noted the accompanying press release, "we're not too proud to lure you with food!"