And with that the Republican National Convention officially got started, and then it took a little pause: a one day delay due to concerns about severe weather means the convention is really going to get started today. We are going to spend the next two weeks covering these events. First, the Republicans, then the Democrats. Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley breaks down what the conventions are all about.

 

There is a lot of party that goes on. There is some really mind-numbing business that goes on. So it`s a little bit business, and it`s a whole lot show. These party conventions are two different animals, really. The first is, to do the business of the conventions, which is getting a nominee out there. Yes, we all know who it`s going to be. But they have to do that, that`s under the party rules and the way they`ve set it, and how it all works, they`ve got to go, and they`ve got to vote. So, that`s the official business. The rest of it is about putting on a face that voters will get an idea of who this candidate is, and what this party is about. The fact of the matter is, these are important, for these candidates, whether it`s the president or the challenger, to say this is what I am about. The party is presenting itself, be they Republicans or Democrats, to the general public. Number one, it helps excite their base, the people who are going to vote anyway, or who might say, well, it`s too cold, it`s too hot, I`m not going to the polls. So, it`s about their base, but it`s also about that minuscule number of swing voters that are still trying to figure out who they are going to vote for. Delegates are chosen depending on the state either through a caucus, sometimes they are picked at state party conventions. Generally what happens is, a delegate runs in a primary, and they say, I`m Matt Smith and I want to be a delegate for Mitt Romney, and if they win, they go and cast their vote for Mitt Romney.

 

So, what can we expect during this week`s Republican convention in Tampa? Well, each day has a theme. Today`s is "we built it," tomorrow`s is "we can change it," and Thursday`s theme, the last day of the convention is "we believe in America." There are speeches throughout the convention that each day wraps up with some big ones. Tonight, it`s Ann Romney, the presumptive nominee`s wife. Then, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie closes out the day, tomorrow night Representative Paul Ryan, Romney`s vice presidential pick takes the stage, and on Thursday, Mitt Romney accepts the nomination to officially become his party`s presidential nominee.

 

The reason for the delay in Tampa is the reason why three Gulf state governors have declared a state of emergency. It`s Tropical Storm Isaac, it`s getting some comparisons to another infamous storm, the rotating red circle you see in your screen is Isaac, the white area is it`s projected, it`s possible path. The blue line to the left that was the path of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Similar path and similar time too, Katrina hit seven years ago tomorrow. One major difference, Isaac isn`t nearly as powerful as Katrina, still, people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are preparing for Isaac, some of the emergency plans they are using were created as a result of Katrina. Rob Marciano looks at one difference between then and now.

 

They are much more protected now than they were seven years ago. What is behind me was not here seven years ago. This massive structure, the flood gates here basically at the 17 Street Canal, and on either side of those 11 flood gates, each of which weighs 20 tons, by the way, are eight massive pipes connected to pumps, that each have the ability to pump out water over 8,000 gallons per second. From the other side of that into Lake Pontchartrain where it should be. Because this is where the surge came because Katrina missed New Orleans just to the east, and the surge came this way into the canals, and that`s what made that levy breech.

 

We want you to check out this home video from Brawley, California. That was one of about 300 earthquakes that hit Southern California on Sunday. Officials said there were reports of some minor damage. The strongest quake had a magnitude of 5.5. One expert described the event as an earthquake swarm. This area is what he called a zone of transition between two fault lines, the Imperial and San Andreas. The expert says these zones tend to get more earthquake activity than other parts of the state.