Sam Nelson, 19, of Seattle, is attending the Republican National Convention as a guest of the John McCain campaign. He's the youngest member of the Washington state delegation. A student at Brigham Young University, Nelson became an intern for the GOP when he was 17 and eventually led the party's phone bank in Seattle.

He sent this latest post on Thursday afternoon.

By Sam Nelson

I'm on the light rail right now on my way to the Mall of America.

Last night there was a riot outside my hotel and we weren't allowed into the hotel until late, and of course I went down to see what was going on once we actually got there. Apparently there was a "Rage Against the Machine" concert and a couple hundred people wanted to do some raging. It ended up being a bad machine to rage against because by the time I got there I saw at least one hundred people zip tied and more police than I thought existed in the entire city. So it ended up being a late night and I was too tired to write anything.

But I have to write something about yesterday; the convention was amazing. The speakers were kind of boring until Michaels Steele spoke. When he said "Drill baby, drill baby drill" and the entire convention hall chanted: "Drill baby drill!" over and over...I don't know. Something about that was really funny. I was really looking forward to Mitt Romney -- my personal hero -- and Rudy Giuliani's keynote speech. They both did a great job and made me feel proud to be a Republican. But of course, Sarah Palin's speech trumped everything.

I think I kind of have a crush on her...

I've been to quite a few college rivalry games, bowl games, even world-series games, and I have never felt so much excitement in a room. It's hard to describe. Everyone just loved her. She came off sincere, confident and passionate... and very normal. The women in our delegation thought: "She defined Republican women." Another said: "She is tough, and strong, and powerful, and totally feminine." Her speech was all anyone could talk about yesterday and the entire delegation was in the hospitality suite to watch the repeat of it on Fox news.

Everyone laughed and cheered just like they did at the convention.

Palin is just what our party needed and I'm so thrilled McCain picked her for VP.

Sam Nelson

The shuttle is about to leave, so I better go. Big day ahead of me today!