Politics

If you missed some of Tuesday's action at the Republican National Convention, we were live blogging here and you can always read through it to see how the day and evening went.

But if you'd like to save some time, here are five things that struck us:

On Tuesday, NPR's Frank James hosted a live chat during the GOP convention. He was joined by Neal Carruth, NPR's election editor; Peter Overby, NPR's power, money and influence correspondent; Melody Crowder-Meyer, assistant professor of political science at Sewanee: The University of the South; and Bob Ingle, senior political columnist for Gannett New Jersey newspapers.

Read below to see how it unfolded.

Alexander Reber may not be the youngest delegate at the Republican convention — that honor goes to his fellow Virginia delegate, 17-year-old high school senior Evan Draim.

But Reber, 21, who is an alternate, is certainly doing his part to lower the average age in the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the convention opened Tuesday.

For hat aficionados, a political convention can be a thing of beauty — or at least a thing of interest. Here are some of the head wear highlights from Day 1 of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says America will have a different view of Mitt Romney by the time he accepts the Republican nomination for president.

Rubio will introduce Romney on Thursday, the final night of the Republican National Convention. He may have provided a preview of his speech to a gathering of Florida delegates Tuesday.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Georgia. 72. Romney.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

All the states answer the call of the roll tonight at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and the District of Columbia and some territories that don't even vote for the president.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Guam. Nine votes.

CORNISH: But when the campaigns plan their candidates' itineraries and when the superPACs make their media buys, not all states are equal. My colleauge Robert Siegel is in Tampa, where he has visited with the delegation from one key battleground state.

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It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

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And I'm Melissa Block.

This afternoon in Tampa, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus raised a gavel.

(SOUNDBITE OF REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION)

REINCE PRIEBUS: This convention will come to order.

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As we mentioned, New Jersey Governor Christ Christie gives tonight's keynote speech. For a while, the popular first-term governor was rumored to be in the running for the vice presidential spot, and his appearance tonight could raise his national profile even more.

But as NPR's Joel Rose reports, tough economic times in New Jersey may put a damper on Christie's remarks.

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Now, a non-story that's kicked off a very real conversation about race in America. In 2005, Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, told a Milwaukee magazine that he has a black sister-in-law. He also said that in his bachelor past he had a black girlfriend. A CNN blogger gave the interview new life a few days ago. But what, if anything, does this glimpse into Ryan's past tell us about how inclusive his politics would be as vice president?

NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates went in search of some answers.

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From NPR News, This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

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And I'm Melissa Block.

As the Republican convention kicks off in Tampa, the party will highlight some of the politicians who could be its future stars. We're going to hear about two of them now who both speak tonight. In a moment, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, tonight's keynote speaker. But first, the Republican Senate candidate Ted Cruz. If he wins in November he'll be the first Hispanic senator from Texas.