Over the last two weeks, Politicker.com reporters from fifteen states filed over 2,000 stories from Denver and St. Paul. Our staff is taking a short break this weekend, and will return in full force on Monday. 

One of our favorite convention moments was six-year-old Piper Palin fixing the hair of her baby brother.  As always, thank you to our valued readers, one of whom pointed out the "more of the same" connection to Paul Wolfowitz, who served as President Bush's Deputy Secretary of Defense. 

Enjoy the weekend. 

Joseph Ferriero will take a leave of absence from his post as Bergen County Democratic Chairman following allegations that he assaulted a woman during a Labor Day barbecue at his Old Tappan home. This is the latest in a series of legal woes for the powerful party leader; last month, FBI agents seized personal records from his law office as part of a federal probe of a grants business he owns with lawyer Dennis Oury. 

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is considered a likely candidate for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor: Getty Images Photo
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) wants U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie to release his public and private schedules over the last two years "so that the public can make its own judgment regarding possible political activity by the U.S. Attorney."  Christie is considered a likely candidate for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor.

Pallone says that he has heard "troubling reports" that Christie and some supporters have been holding campaign-related meetings.  He wants U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to clarify the role of federal prosecutors in politics.  Earlier this year, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan resigned amidst speculation that he will seek the 2010 GOP nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania.  

"Over the last few months, and perhaps longer than that, Mr. Christie and/or his political lieutenants have traveled around the state promoting his potential candidacy for Governor in 2009. I find it wholly inappropriate that a sitting U.S. Attorney be allowed to so publicly use his office as a stepping stone for political gain," Pallone wrote in a letter to the Attorney General. "Outreach to the community and publicizing his successful efforts at combating corruption are laudable endeavors and important to the work of the Department of Justice. However, the clear pattern of pre-campaign actions of Mr. Christie, and his very public allies and surrogates, appear to cross the line into self promotion and abuse of the immense authority he wields as the state’s chief federal law enforcement officer."

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John McCain accepts the Republican nomination for President in St. Paul earlier this evening: Getty Images Photo

• Spadea: Crowley's right hand man
• Baroni won't call it vindication
• While celebrating father's influence, Bucco says 'people will see that I'm my own man'
• McCain, O'Toole, and the battle
• Pascoe: the Schundler that could have been
• Political "Boy Wonder" lands at Crowley's PAC
• Allen says she was snubbed by Burlco GOP
• Star-Ledger report: Ferreiro investigated for assault
• Election committee denies Bruno's CWA candidacy
• Casagrande sounds off on Palin coverage
• Corzine on Andrews
• More GOP chairmen line up behind DeCroce
• Richardson in Newark on Saturday
• Jersey City delegates barely know Schundler
• Frelinghuysen takes it one election at a time
• Donovan circumspect on Ferriero
• CWA Local 1040's election committee reviews Bruno's petitions
• Fenton not disturbed by sea of white
• Hatfield says Lance understands the importance of Union County
• Wall Street would have made him rich, but public service prevailed, says Andrews
• Murphy convinced Palin speech changes the game
• On McCain's day, Frelinghuysen faces the troops
• New Jersey delegation embraces Palin

There's something missing from the Republican Convention. There is a need for a camera behind the curtain where speakers greet friends and family after they speak. Then we could discover if some of the Republican speakers can actually keep a straight face after their remarks.

It's a fair question. Mitt Romney assailed the Democrats for the growth in government spending. I assume that he is aware that there's been a Republican President for the last eight years who governed during most of that time with a Republican Congress. He expressed outrage at the mounting federal debt. Everyone in the convention hall must know that Bill Clinton balanced the budget and was reducing the debt until the  Bush Administration added more debt than any President in history.

My favorite was the assault on Democrats over national security and the continuous praise of American soldiers. I can't be the only one who remembers George Bush sending young Americans into combat without flak vests and in unprotected Humvees. Wouldn't protecting these soldiers be a better sign of devotion?