Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Steward is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are his own.

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The swelling strings triggered associations of family, oil and … J.R. Ewing? Yes, the song bore a striking similarity to the theme song from “Dallas.”

Listen for yourself:

Sarah Palin bio (from about 0:35)

Dallas opening credits (from about 0:10)

After this video was filmed on Thursday afternoon, several hundred anti-war protestors had hoped to march to the convention hall to confront Republicans, but were blocked by police clad in riot gear on a bridge several blocks away.

Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up.

(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan)

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Jonathan Hunter, St. Paul

“This is not the world I live in.”

Rick Engman, Minneapolis

“I don’t mind a non-violent protest,  but when people start threatening other people’s freedom of speech like the Republican National Convention’s meeting … then there’s a problem.”

Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Nuxoll is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are her own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Republican National Convention.

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Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Steward is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are his own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Republican National Convention.

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“If we gotta worry about South Carolina, go ahead and fold up the tent — the whole match is over,” he tells Inside the Tent contributor John Steward. “No worries in South Carolina, and if they come, we got real problems.”

Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Steward is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are his own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Republican National Convention.

Click here for more Inside the Tent contributions.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 election coverage.

Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Steward is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are his own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Republican National Convention.

Click here for more Inside the Tent contributions.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 election coverage.

Intrade accepts trades on the probability of events such as whether there will be a recession, whether the U.S. Congress will lift the ban on offshore drilling or whether the United States or Israel will launch a military strike on Iran. It opened the Palin betting market on Tuesday morning after a series of revelations about the Alaska governor whom Sen. John McCain chose as his running mate, including that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant.

The market opened at 3 percent that she would have to withdraw as McCain’s running mate and climbed as high as 18 percent before settling down to 12 percent on 632 trades as of noon EDT. The markets are priced from zero to 100, with zero meaning investors see no chance an event will happen and 100 meaning it already has happened.

Separately on Hubdub.com , which offers virtual cash in exchange for correct predictions, various wagers were made , from the chance of Palin stepping down as the VP nominee (currently a 19 percent chance) to whether her biography video would mention her NRA membership (80 percent).

What do you think the chances are that Palin will withdraw? Put your prediction — from 0 percent to 100 percent — in comments. Read the full Reuters story.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta)

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Palin’s stance on same-sex partnerships is not entirely clear. The New York Times reported this weekend:

Ms. Palin said she supported Alaska’s decision to amend its Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. But she used her first veto as governor to block a bill that would have prohibited the state from granting health benefits to same-sex partners of public employees. Ms. Palin said she vetoed the bill because it was unconstitutional, but raised the possibility of amending the state Constitution so the ban could pass muster.

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Inside the Tent talked to four women in St. Paul — a Democrat, an independent, and two Republicans — about Palin’s impact on the GOP ticket . What impact do you think Palin will have? Submit your answer in the comments section.

Sandra Ross: “Some of the Hillary supporters, they’re aren’t convinced yet, but they’re leaning toward her because they feel a woman should be in a strong leadership position.”

Barbara Patchen: “I know two people who are considering the McCain ticket just because of (Palin), but personally I’m mystified.”

Amy Sawyer: “For me it’s more about the person and the issues than gender. But she seems like she would be friendly and brings energy to that ticket.”

Tiesha Powell:”She’s a superwoman to me … I’m working too, trying to prove myself, and Sarah just says, “this can be done.”

Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Republican National Convention.

Click here for more Inside the Tent contributions.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 election coverage.