Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, of New Richmond in Clermont County, has been involved in Republican politics for 20 year, but this week's Republican National Convention in Tampa is not what he expected, with a tropical storm, canceled sessions and tornado warnings.
But, then again, he didn't know quite what to expect.
"This is all new to me,'' said Niehaus, before the Ohio delegation breakfast at the Mainsail Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Tampa.
"I'm really anxious to get on the floor of the convention,'' Niehaus said. "There are a lot of other senate presidents, my colleagues from around the country, and I would like to be able to see them."
But the relative isolation of the Ohio hotel - about 10 miles from the convention center and next door to an airport runway, "has pretty much kept us around the hotel," Niehaus said.
"You've got 50,000 people here and they are scattered all over the area,'' Niehaus said. "Tampa is a fine city. I just don't know about the logistics of getting around. I suppose any city would have that problem."
