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Ari Fleischer's 8 things to look for at the convention

By Ari Fleischer, CNN Contributor
updated 3:46 PM EDT, Mon August 27, 2012
Confetti remains on the floor of the Republican National Convention after presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered his acceptance speech on Thusday, August 30. Photographer Zoran Milich wandered around Tampa this week during the convention. Look back at his view of the action. Confetti remains on the floor of the Republican National Convention after presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered his acceptance speech on Thusday, August 30. Photographer Zoran Milich wandered around Tampa this week during the convention. Look back at his view of the action.
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Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
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Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
Unconventional: Postcards from Tampa
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Republican insider Ari Fleischer offers tips to navigate the convention
  • Fleischer was press secretary to President George W. Bush
  • He also runs a sports communications company in New York

Editor's note: With the 2012 Republican National Convention about to begin in Tampa, CNN asked veteran insiders Ari Fleischer, Republican communications expert and former press secretary for President George W. Bush, and Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and former campaign chairwoman for Vice President Al Gore's presidential bid, for their tips on how to navigate a political convention. Fleischer's list is below. Brazile's tips can be found here.

Tampa, Florida (CNN) -- 1. If you're a delegate, whoop and holler and live it up! Conventions are a thrill, and they are meant to bring out your yelling side.

2. If you're an attendee or watching at home, find the next candidate with whom you'll fall in love. Someone other than the major speakers is going to light a fire or be exciting. They could be the next "who knows what." Find that person while they are young.

3. If you're on-site, keep your eye on the Secret Service. Watch what they do, how they do it and why they do it. It's a thrill!

4. If you're at home watching Obama's or Romney's speeches on TV, be judgmental. Take your measure of each man. Figure out what you like and what you trust, what you believe and don't believe. Candidates can't fake it. You really do get to see what they are like.

Tampa, by the numbers

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers his acceptance speech on the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday, August 30. See the best photos from the Democratic National Convention. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers his acceptance speech on the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday, August 30. See the best photos from the Democratic National Convention.
Republican convention: The best photos
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5. If you're a local, get out of town. Your sidewalks are taken away, and the traffic is terrible. So just rent your house out and make a lot of money.

6. If you're in the media, pay attention to the big things. That's what the country is depending on you to do: tell it to them straight. But, because it's a convention, there are a million little things to watch, too. Find those that are interesting and novel and tell those stories. They can be just as revealing.

7. If you're inside "the bubble," stop and smell the roses. It's a rare thrill and a privilege very few people have. And it's tremendously exciting. You're next to the candidate. You hear and see things no one else can hear or see. The Secret Service has their backs to you, watching others. Being on the inside is a rush.

8. For everyone, enjoy September! Try not to watch too many commercials. Instead, tune in for the debates in October; they're important, too!

Donna Brazile's 10 ways to navigate the convention
Share sights and sounds from the RNC on CNN iReport

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