ST. PAUL, Minn. – Robert Laurie has attended a national political convention before, but this was the first time he didn't sneak in by carrying boxes and skulking up to the rafters.

Laurie, 62, saw his only other convention as a politically curious 14-year-old in Los Angeles, a Democratic event to nominate President Kennedy.

Nearly five decades later, he is fulfilling his lifelong interest in American government this week as a delegate for John McCain.

The Camino resident has volunteered on McCain's campaign for the past year, coordinating Northern California volunteers and working as head of a McCain campaign energy coalition in California. A land-use attorney, Laurie is one of the few local Republican delegates who is not a Capitol insider or major donor.

Laurie sat Tuesday in the back row of the California delegation, shoved due right of the podium in what might be considered obstructed view seat, but he wasn't deterred.

"It's exciting, it's part of the process and the enthusiasm is terrific," Laurie said. "Most of the people here have been working hard in one way or another for a year. So it's an opportunity to take the field after a year."

It's a trip more than eight years in the making. Laurie first volunteered on McCain's 2000 primary campaign against President Bush.

There was little question whom he was going to back that year. A veteran, Laurie enlisted to serve in the military in 1967. Disappointed with his initial deployment to Germany, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam, where he was transferred in 1969. He wanted to go to Vietnam because he felt a need to experience the military, with youthful disregard for the dangers of war.

In choosing McCain, "the No. 1 factor was his military background and what I knew of his strength of character," Laurie said. "Also what I knew of his political record and his need for something different in government."

Laurie joined the McCain campaign last year when the Arizona senator was struggling in the polls, but he said he had to get behind his candidate even if it meant another primary defeat. Like other top volunteers, Laurie had his own chances of being a delegate riding on the outcome.

This year, GOP presidential primary candidates received three delegates in each congressional district they won in California. The candidates had to select their delegates before the election's outcome was known, so there was little chance the district-level convention seats would go to anyone other than their campaign backers, said California delegation spokesman Charles Moran.

Laurie arrived at the convention a few days early because he served on the convention rules committee. He learned of McCain's vice presidential pick Sarah Palin during a break from party meetings in Minneapolis.

"We were joyous," Laurie said. "The feeling was joy for her, joy for John McCain and joy for the party because we felt this would be a great thing for the country."

He said he likes the fact that she went to the University of Idaho rather than an Ivy League school. Having worked for years with local governments as a land-use attorney, Laurie also appreciates that she served as mayor of a small town.

"When you serve in local government, you learn the proper relationship between the people and our government," he said.

By Monday's first floor session, delegates learned that Palin's 17-year-old daughter was pregnant. Laurie's enthusiasm for the ticket wasn't dampened.

"The people I've been speaking to understand that this is life and things happen," Laurie said. "Politically, I think the issue is totally irrelevant. It's a test for the family, and the family has been tested before."

Laurie taught American government for three years at Folsom Lake College. He also teaches a class on land finance law at McGeorge School of Law, where he received his own degree in 1975.

He said he has always been interested in politics. He recalled how he and his friends snuck into the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, before the days of metal detectors and perimeter fences.

"We were looking for help to get in and some political operative said, 'Here, carry these boxes in,'" Laurie recalled. "We did and we sat in the upper rafters, believing we were going to get kicked out."

Despite his Democratic experience in Los Angeles and growing up in a Democratic household, Laurie said he has been a lifelong Republican, registering in 1968. He once served as a presidential elector for President Reagan in 1980. But never as a delegate until this year.

"This part of the political process is fulfilling," he said. "I've really been gifted with the opportunities I've been provided."

Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548.