The Minneapolis City Pages has been blogging the Republican National Convention from inside St. Paul’s XCel Energy Center, which is kind of a crappy gig. Not only is there little that could even generously be termed non-repellent happening in there, but it’s probably difficult even to see who’s onstage making sarcastic comments about community organizing because everyone’s wearing gigantic white cowboy hats. Every delegate I’ve seen looks like either a guy who owns a car dealership and is rude to waiters, a mean grandma, or a high school football coach who takes his job really seriously — none of them really look like cowboys.

But still, the City Pages folk are doing a good job of handling this thankless gig. Former Dodgers closer turned journalist Jeff Shaw provides some funny color in this post — and asks the reasonable question, of CSTB favorite Rudy Giuliani’s speech last night, “Is there anything creepier than a serial adulterer that looks like Count Chocula leading a chant of ‘drill, baby, drill?'” Even better, though, is the brief interview my very good friend Jonathan Kaminsky managed to get with one of those doofs in a cowboy hat: Vikings DE and DUI enthusiast Jared Allen, who’s also an enthusiastic Republican.

“As a professional athlete, I’m in a higher tax bracket,” Allen explained of his political leanings. “Also, I’m a big supporter of gun rights.”

Allen is also from Arizona, so McCain is completely his man. But we were curious: Does he ever talk politics with his teammates? “Sure we do. Of course. Everybody has an opinion.”

Who does he get into it with the most? “Gus Frerotte and I mix it up a lot. I think he’s a Democrat.”