I was at the RNC in Tampa, Florida and wow was I amazed at the lack of large groups of protesters. I was expecting to see a mass of 2000+ protesters but the crowd I saw was no more than 150 people and it was tame by RNC standards. It looks as though hurricane Isaac was on the side of Law Enforcement as it caused many protesters to stay home and numerous buses were grounded due to the threat from Isaac. The Police presence in downtown Tampa was impressive to see first hand. Police units dressed in BDU’s patrolled the streets on foot and it seemed if every street was occupied by Police. Helicopters patrolled above, Police boats were in the waterways, Police checkpoints were everywhere, barricades and fencing controlled pedestrian and vehicular movement & ever present Police bicycle teams were zipping around like Lance Armstrong clones. I want to say there wee 2 or 3 arrests and that is astounding when you looks at the number of arrests in prior RNC, DNC, G8 & Nato Summits. Tampa is a great city to visit and there is a lot to do and see.
