Attention, political junkies: if you haven’t overdosed on GOP-convention coverage, here are three items to slake your thirst.

• Friends in high places. Republican National Committee chair Marc Racicot darted into the state Republican convention to address delegates. After his speech, Racicot, the former governor of Montana, took time in an interview with the Phoenix to emphasize the importance of the Massachusetts governor’s race to the national GOP.

"We think Mitt is a very serious candidate," said Racicot. "We’ll give as much support to the gubernatorial candidates in the Northeast as we can. We think Mitt Romney will be among the most competitive candidates in the Northeast, if not the most competitive — excluding incumbents."

Racicot added that Romney’s national celebrity will help Republicans raise money and channel resources to their candidate in Massachusetts — to the extent allowable by law. "It certainly allows us to focus more national attention on the race."

The winning of governorships is central to Republican philosophy, Racicot said, detailing the increase in Republican governors — from 17 in 1992 to 31 in 1994. "It made a huge difference in driving policy forward," he added.

• Romney beware. The year was 1994. An attractive Republican candidate for governor of an influential Northeastern state needed a candidate for lieutenant governor. Hoping for "balance" on the ticket, the candidate turned to a "relatively obscure policy analyst and political neophyte," according to the New York Times. The candidate for governor was New York’s George Pataki, and his lieutenant-governor pick was Elizabeth McCaughey Ross. While Ross had made a name for herself criticizing Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health-care plan, she had little experience in politics — and it showed. The Ross pick was a disaster, and she was off the ticket in 1998. So far, Mitt Romney’s pick, Kerry Murphy Healey, who herself has experience in domestic policy and the study of crime, has performed adequately despite a political career highlighted by a scant five months as the state-party chair.

In a previous life, WTKK talk-show host Jay Severin served as Ross’s chief political adviser. "All of the things that made Betsy Ross a good candidate on the ticket later became a curse," Severin recalls. "The fact that she was articulate, attractive, strong-willed, and had an impressive résumé meant that the media remained interested in her strong-willed ideas after she became elected." That said, Healey shows every indication of being a good soldier. Still, the fact remains that she has far less experience than even Governor Jane Swift, who had served successfully as a state senator from North Adams when selected by Governor Paul Cellucci as his lieutenant governor.

• GOP’s music. One of the most rousing moments at the state Republican convention came just prior to the speech by party nominee Mitt Romney. The lights dimmed. Loud choral chanting resounded throughout the convention hall. And Romney’s face appeared on a television screen hovering above the stage. Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi picked up on the spectacle, writing that "crashing chords of ‘Chariots of Fire’–sounding music heralded the candidate’s approach to the podium. Romney did not descend from the heavens, although for a moment it seemed as if he might." The music was the "O Fortuna" theme from Carmina Burana, which has been featured in such films as Excalibur, Natural Born Killers, and Badlands, as well as in a recent TV advertisement for Guinness.