Forget the balloon drop...

...the real convention story is the name drop. Where else will you find big stars from so many fields - press, politics and show biz, for instance - in one place at one time (have I mentioned, for instance, the night in '92 when I was chatting with Brian Lamb, Dick Cavett and Christopher Hitchens in a Madison Square Garden alcove when Sen. Jay Rockefeller passed by to say hello?).

Scanning the blogs, Arianna is the clear leader at this point, managing to slip Toni Morrison, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Uma Thurman, Barack Obama and Wonkette into a single post.

The bar is set, and set high, con-bloggers. Get to work.