Here's an idea ... Why not hold the GOP love fest at the Meadowlands? In that way, New York can still claim it as "theirs" and there will be plenty of room and parking for all of the delegates, security folks and lobbyists. Maybe ESPN can package the program and sell it to political junkies on a subscription only basis and not foul the airwaves for the rest of us.
Since the real Pennsylvania Station rests in "pieces" beneath that sprawling complex, the President can even claim he is supportive of rail passenger service by accepting the nomination at a venue built on the ruins of a once beautiful station. Then he can get in his limo (or helicopter) and hop over to Newark to take his private jet back to Washington or Texas or wherever, guzzling a gazillion gallons of fuel while the rest of us try to find an interurban train connection on a railroad that makes my favorite, the old New York, Ontario & Western, look healthy in comparison.
Lest anyone think this is a jab at the GOP, the Democrats ought to consider the same in the Foxborough area. They had the White House for eight years and treated Amtrak as the orphan child, deserving of what was left over after we subsidized airlines and the trucking and bus industries.
Gee, if the conventions were held at outdoor stadiums, the speeches might get shorter if little nuisances like mosquitoes, hot sun or thunder storms came along. Now, there's a real plus for all of us!
There is plenty of blame to go around for the mess that rail passenger service is in today in this country.