Tropical Storm Isaac delays Republican National Convention - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The Republican National Convention gaveled open Monday as Tropical Storm Isaac caused the GOP to cancel most of the day's events.

The delegates stayed away from the first day of the Republican National Convention because of the weather. It was gaveled in and then out in about ten minutes but the demonstrators showed up anyway. The peaceful organized march certainly got the attention of Mel Raines. She is in charge of credentialing.

"I also work with on the perimeter. Kind of an expanded security perimeter and I am working on staffing at all the gates to do credential checks to make sure everyone gets in," she said.

The vehicle perimeter around the forum is two miles. The pedestrian perimeter is a mile and a half.

"This is a national security event so the secret service takes the lead on security. They have done their surveys and done their planning for the better part of two years. They set perimeters and we walk with them to get our guests in and out," Raines explained.

The Indiana University grad from South Bend says she will dole out some 40,000 credentials on a given night so it is not unusual to see her on two phones at the same time.

Raines says she got the job due to "a little bit of luck I would say and a lot of hard work. I never took a poli-sci class. This is my fifth convention. I have been doing credentials for the last four. I know a little bit about everything. Just enough to make me dangerous, I think," she said.

Raines compares the conventions to a traveling circus but the bottom line according to Raines is that she wants to give Mitt Romney the best possible platform to win in November.

Meantime, although the RNC wasn't in session Monday, there were plenty of familiar faces on the floor. We spotted Meet the Press host David Gregory taking a break. But it wasn't just the usual political journalists making the rounds.

You might also see the Oak Ridge Boys, who sang during a live broadcast. They're slated to sing Amazing Grace, William Lee Golden told us.

Along Radio Row, it was unusual to see the likes of Herman Cain. But it was a real zoo on the floor of the RNC. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was taking questions on a report saying he didn't think Mitt Romney could win.

"Just completely shoddy reporting. Much of what was said in that story just wasn't true and they never talked to me," said Gov. Christie. "Both those folks know me, so if they wanted to talk to me, they could have."

Only one person was sitting in the Indiana section of the convention floor as the session was called to order.

"They called me up last week and asked if I would come down and participate and go through more training, so I'm here," said Indiana House candidate AJ Feeney-Ruiz. "This is all overwhelming. It is my first national convention. I did two national college representatives back in college at DePauw, but this is the first of these."

He is hoping it will not be his last. He is a first-time candidate for an open seat in the Indiana House of Representatives. He has been targeted by the Future Majority Project as one of the top Hispanic candidates running at the state level.

Now, he is taking it all in.