Lions and tigers and anarchists, oh my!

"Make sure you put these credentials in your pocket as soon as you step out of the convention center. The protesters are going through the streets looking for people who are here for the convention. Wearing your credentials around your neck will make you a target."

These were the stern words that the man handing out floor passes had for me yesterday afternoon. And he was not the first or the last person I heard worrying about violent protests. To hear the talk inside the Xcel Center, the leftist protesters were roaming the streets like packs of angry wolves, chanting "f**k Fox News" and having their way with Republican women who stepped outside unescorted.

OK, that might be a bit of an overstatement, but the delegates I talked to were honestly convinced that the protesters were slashing the tires of the delegate shuttle buses and maybe trying to set them on fire. I wasn't present on every shuttle bus in the Twin Cities yesterday, so I can't say for sure that no bus assault happened, but if it did the paper of record here never caught onto it.

It just goes to highlight the difference between the two conventions. The DNC had its share of protests, but it really felt like we were reporting on a city-wide wonk party. Being here feels more like reporting on a siege.