While giving a speech at the Republican National Convention, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush compared shopping for milk to parents choosing a school that "best meets the needs of their students."

Lawrence O'Donnell was on the convention floor Tuesday night for both Ann Romney's speech and Chris Christie's keynote address. Check out the video above to hear his immediate reactions to both speeches.

Carolina Hidalgo/The Tampa Bay Times/AP

Site of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.

We had a week of talk about rape and what kinds are legitimate and whether or not the government should be able to force a woman to carry a baby to term if the father is a rapist. Ok, so that was a rough week for the GOP.  

Then last night at the Republican National Convention, some attendees did something truly repugnant to an African American woman working for CNN at the convention. So that doesn't look good for a party that has exactly zero percent support for its nominee from African Americans in the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.

So while Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz get prime speaking slots at the convention in an effort to make the party seem less white and less hostile to Americans who are from the southern hemisphere or immigrated to this country... this happens.  The Republican who is challenging Arizona Democratic Congressman, Raul Grijalva said this:

“If you know Middle Easterners, a lot of them, they look Mexican, you know, like a lot of people in South America,” tea party favorite Gabriela “Gabby” Mercer, who legally migrated from Mexico, says in the video (watch below). “Dark skin, dark hair, brown eyes. And they mix. They mix in. And those people, their only, their only goal in life is to cause harm to the United States. So, why do we want them here either legally or illegally?”

She also said something about prayer rugs. 

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Charlie Crist (file)

As convention-goers gather in Tampa, one former Republican politician is speaking out in favor of President Obama. Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, an ex-Republican, plans to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week in Charlotte according to The New York Times.

Further cutting ties to his Republican past, the former Florida governor explained his support for President Obama in yesterday's op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times.

"I've studied, admired and gotten to know a lot of leaders in my life. Across Florida, in Washington and around the country, I've watched the failure of those who favor extreme rhetoric over sensible compromise, and I've seen how those who never lose sight of solutions sow the greatest successes," Crist wrote. "As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I'm confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation."

Crist, once a rising star within the GOP, praised the president for his handling of the "deep and daunting" economic crisis of 2009 and his investment "in our retirement security by strengthening Medicare," an important issue for many retirees home state. He didn't let his former GOP colleagues off the hook. 

He slammed Obama's opponents that "would end the Medicare guarantee by creating a voucher that would raise seniors' costs by thousands of dollars and bankrupt the program." And he warned of extremist right-wing rhetoric creeping into the Republican mainstream. 

"Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims. The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve," said Crist, who broke up with the Grand Old Party a few years ago.

Crist ran as an Independent during the 2010 Senate race and lost to the tea party-backed candidate, Republican Senator Marco Rubio. 

Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Mitt Romney leaving a prep for the convention in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on Monday.

Organizers at the Republican National Convention today treated credentialed members of the media to gift bags, filled with all sorts of goodies ranging from flyers and a pocket fan to a hardcover copy of Mitt Romney’s book, No Apology. But as The Washington Examiner first reported, it's not just any version of Romney’s book. It's a collectors' edition because it happens to include since-edited out references to Romney's health care law in Massachusetts. 

In the older version, which was the same one passed out in Tampa, Romney's book reads, "We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country, and it can be done without letting government take over health care." That sounds an awful lot like wanting to spread healthcare around the country, as if his model could be a blueprint for the country's universal health care system.

The re-edited version tones down most of that enthusiasm. Now it simply reads, "And it was done without government taking over health care."

Texas Governor Rick Perry attacked Romney over these same rewrites during the Republican primaries, accusing him of flip-flopping on health care.

TheHill.com

This welcome billboard went up on Tuesday in Tampa.

Oh look, honey, Democrats made Republicans a little sign to greet them when they arrive in Tampa for the Republican National Convention. How thoughtful.

Vice President Joe Biden and Tropical Storm Isaac are on the welcome wagon committee.

David Guralnick/AP Photo

Vice President Joe Biden (file)

Following in the footsteps of Bill Murray, Vice President Joe Biden seems to be going the party crasher route. The Obama campaign releasted a statement yesterday saying Biden would be traveling to Florida for "campaign events" next week — the same time as the Republican National Convention. So while he may not actually be at the convention, the VP will be in town, no doubt pushing the president's message as Republicans try to do the same within a few miles.

While the gaffe-prone Biden could very well become a distraction from the issues, it's just one more thing the GOP has to worry about on the eve of their convention. Between Congressman's Todd Akin's comments about rape and pregnancy, the news of Kevin Yoder skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee as well as a possible hurricane to contend with, the Republican party has their hands full.

Usually opposing candidates stay quiet during the other party's convention (as an excuse to take some time off and for the sake of curtesy). This year, however, both President Obama and VP Biden will be on the campaign trail as Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan accept their party's nomination. It begs the question: what will Republicans do during the DNC?  

The Republican National Convention is scheduled to take place August 27-30 (weather permitting).

Shunned by the Republican party establishment, former Senate candidate and Tea Party darling Christine (no relation) O'Donnell has decided to headline Troublemaker Fest. According to their website, the festival is a five day event that will "empower and inspire young, independent patriots to stop Barack Obama’s second term and restore Constitutional integrity to our government."

O'Donnell made headlines while running for Senate in 2010 by releasing an ad in which she stated "I'm not a witch, I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you." The ad was in response to statements she had made years earlier on Bill Mahar's now defunct Politically Incorrect. As a guest on that show, the former GOP candidate said that she "dabbled in witchcraft" but had later found God. Those clips, which Mahar played relentlessly every week, seemed to derail her election chances.  Since her 2010 loss, O'Donnell has remained quiet (despite going on Fox News to endorse Mitt Romney during the Republican primary season).

Troublemaker Fest, running from August 26-30, will coincide with the Republican National Convention.