The view from Boston *

Roger Friedman, the gossip columnist at Fox News, wraps up his backstage view of the Democrats' gathering with this zinger:

Did we learn anything in Boston? Yes. For one thing, we found out that it's a much better venue for a convention than Los Angeles. The Boston police were warm, courteous and helpful, and there was a very laid back sense in the Fleet Center, no "culture of fear" and an absence of terrorism paranoia. One Boston cop explained it to me this way: "Our cops are hometown guys and they love the city. Los Angeles cops are trained to be paramilitaristic. They come from all over the country and have no allegiance to the city."

I think there's a lot of truth to that. Boston turned out to be a winner in every respect.

Also on convention getaway day: LAT Calendar does the blogger story everybody else already did.

* Related, sort of: Between jabs at Kerry and favorable mentions of Ann Coulter, Mickey Kaus describes his visit to the CNN stage:

My first TV interview was at the rooftop set of CNN. To get there I had to walk about a mile around portable black security fencing to the back of the Fleet Center, then meet an escort. Two checks of my laptop bag before I got to the actual building whose roof was where CNN had set up shop. To get in, my escort needed an escort. At each floor there was a guy in fatigues with a nasty-looking gun--and occasionally, when you caught a glimpse down an alley or corridor, it was like that scene in Wayne's World in which Mike Myers opens a random door to see dozens of black clad commandos practicing James Bond stunts. Impressive, but I doubt any of this could stop a half-skilled bomber.

Hat tip to Brooks