Conventional Wolf In the midst of DNC chaos in Boston, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer reflects on his favorite interviews, the future of cable news, and growing up with a most unconventional name BY TAMARA WIEDER

WOLF BLITZER doesn’t know what all the fuss was about. Before he arrived in Boston for the Democratic National Convention, the CNN anchor of Wolf Blitzer Reports and Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer was inundated with reports that it would be virtually impossible to get around the city, let alone to get his job done here. "They made me crazy," he recalled last week, midway through the convention, "thinking we’re not going to be able to breathe, eat, move, talk." These days, with political conventions’ outcomes a forgone conclusion, Blitzer said, Boston’s ease of use was the DNC’s only real surprise. Under a tent at CNN’s temporary headquarters outside the FleetCenter, the former Pentagon correspondent also weighed in on just how much influence conventions can have in a crucial election year.

Q: How’s the convention been going?

A: Look, I’m a political-news junkie, so I’m not a normal person. I love politics, I love news, I love being where the story is, and this is the story this week. At the end of August, the story will be the Republican convention at Madison Square Garden. I like to be there, I like to be in the middle of the action. I don’t want to sit on the bench, I want to be right in the middle of the field, so I’m happy.

Q: How different do you think the Republican convention will be?

A: I suspect the demonstrations outside will be more intense in New York than they have been in Boston. I don’t know how New York police, how close they’re letting them get or anything like that; I know that the [protest] pen area around here has been a sensitive issue. I suspect there might be more anti-Bush demonstrations in New York than there have been here. I’m sure the security will be very intense. It will be harder to get around Manhattan, given the nature of Manhattan. Boston, I have to tell you — it’s been relatively good. It’s actually been pretty convenient. I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Q: These days, how important do you think conventions are in determining the outcome of an election?

A: They can be important. In 1992, the Bill Clinton convention in Madison Square Garden in New York was very important. It was well done. He went into that convention, remember, third in the polls; Ross Perot was actually winning. It was very important. It was a well-done convention. Now, Dukakis in ’88 in Atlanta had a good convention, came out with a nice bounce, but in the month that followed, Bush in New Orleans — the first Bush — came back and had an excellent convention, reminded people about eight years, Ronald Reagan, things are pretty good. And he got himself elected. So conventions can be important.

Q: How important do you think this convention is specifically, given how close the race is?

A: So far, I don’t see anything that has hurt John Kerry. I’ve seen a lot of positive things that have helped him. So I suspect this will be a good convention for John Kerry, and he’ll get a little bounce. Right now I think the country’s more polarized than it’s been in many years; a lot of people have already made up their minds, so I don’t know if that swing vote is going to have that much of a swing. But I don’t think he’s hurt himself here by any means, and we’ll see what he does tomorrow night.

Q: Has anything about this convention surprised you so far?

A: I thought Bill Clinton gave a really effective speech.

Q: Surprisingly effective?

A: No, I knew he was going to be good. I knew that Barack Obama would be good; I was surprised how good he was, how poised, very sophisticated, a very talented politician, a natural politician, just like Bill Clinton’s a natural politician. I think the biggest surprise is how easy it’s been to get around Boston. A pleasant surprise.

Q: What’s a day at the convention like for you?

A: I get up usually around 6:45 or so. I turn on the TV at seven, have the papers there, look through, watch what’s going on. And then I always try to work out between 7:30 and 8:30; it’s just a thing I have. Work on the treadmill a little bit, get some energy going. Then get some coffee, some juice, shower, get ready. I’m usually here at our trailers, our luxurious workspace, by about 9:30, quarter to 10. And then I work until midnight. I’m on the air at noon, and then at 5 p.m., and then starting at eight, I’m on the air until 11 or a little bit past 11 by the time I finish. Last night, I was on till about 11:10, and then I had to go do a 15-minute interview on Al-Jazeera, from their skybox. So I didn’t get back to my hotel until about 12:30 last night.

Q: How has cable news changed over the years, since you started out?

A: I’ve been in cable news for almost 15 years. When we started at CNN, we had no real competition. We were the only 24-hour cable news channel. Now we have plenty of competition: we have Fox and MSNBC, CNBC. And then we have all these other channels where our natural viewers might gravitate toward, like the History Channel and Discovery. And then, of course, the competition from the broadcast networks. So I think the competition has grown. And we’ve all gotten much better at doing what we’re doing.

One of the biggest changes is the technology that we have now is a lot better. If you’ve seen the little headsets, these little things we put in our ears — we don’t have those big rabbit ears and those big microphones. We have a tiny little directional mike. It’s gotten much better, the technology.

There’s good competition, and I welcome the competition, because I think it makes all of us better as reporters — when we don’t go crazy with the competition. We don’t want to put junk on the air just because the competition might put junk on the air.