Tears were rolling down people’s faces in the crowd. There was a woman from Selma, Al. who told me she never believed this was actually possible, that a black man would one day accept a major party nomination. She was wiping away tears throughout his speech and during the biographical video that came before it.
I stood on the field alongside the California delegation, my own people, to witness history in the making. “With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.” Sure, I kept listening, but that was the line that marked a significant break from a pattern in history. It has been said by many men before but never by a black man, never by a skinny boy with a funny name.
The speech had everything necessary – policy, inspiration, challenges to McCain. It was the best speech that I have ever seen. It was aggressive yet moving. Political yet emotional. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it. At the same time, I re-watched part of it on TV later in the evening and have to say, while you can probably hear more at home, you miss the excitement and fervor of the crowd.
One thing that I have to mention was the spectacle of it all. It was a profoundly moving speech but it was also an absolutely thrilling day at Invesco. The venue was enormous and approximately 85,000 attended, according to pass scans. That meant incredible mile long lines for security. Getting there took patience but getting out was a mob scene. Luckily during the day, people trickled into Invesco at different times but when it was over, everyone wanted to leave and that meant tearing down fences, walking on train tracks, doing anything that they could to get to their parking spots a half mile away (the closest parking).
Inside Invesco it was a party. People were dancing, singing, cheering, and with live performances by Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow it was truly a celebration.
Before I get into all the details of my experience at Invesco and the earth-shattering-once-in-a-lifetime-had-to-be-a-movie grandeur, I first must mention the incredible invocation given last night by my good friend Rabbi David Saperstein. When he first came out, I had a blocked view so I started running toward the front. Everyone was still and they weren’t going to let me pass so I had to tell the guard “You don’t understand, he’s family. He’s my uncle.” I lied to get a better view for praying – should I repent for that on Rosh Hashanah?
David did an incredible job. One woman afterwards turned to me and said, “I hear that’s your uncle. Tell him he sent shivers down my spine that was so good.” The whole place was in awe.
Last night I actually had to work at the Pepsi Center – my job being handing out floor passes to the press. Working usually means I get a few minutes to sneak on to the floor and hear some of the keynote speeches of the night. Last night, there was chaos of course and not only did I not make it on to the floor, few journalists did.
When Hillary Clinton came out to speak on Tuesday night, the fire marshal shut down access but I didn’t experience it, I was already on the floor. Last night, trying to sneak in for a few minutes of Bill Clinton or Joe Biden was damn near impossible. Journalists crowded monitors on the concourses and people reluctantly admitted, “Well, I can just watch it on YouTube. It’s important to just be here.”
Journalist pile at monitor to watch Bill Clinton from outside the arena
While I was stuck outside the hall, I could definitely hear the 3:30 minutes of cheering before Clinton could begin to speak. The crowd went wild for him, which reassured me and him that any ill will toward Bill that came as a result of the Obama-Clinton heated battle is all just history now. The Democratic Party still loves him, he is still one of their leaders.
The speech was phenomenal. There was no glimpse of any animosity that has rumored to be haunting Bill Clinton, who in many ways wagered his legacy on the success of his wife’s campaign. He made it clear he supports Obama (whether that will translate into campaigning, we have yet to see) and Bill put policy substance into an inspiring speech (something that maybe Obama should take note of). Bill Clinton has a clear understanding of the issues facing America and a lot of policy solutions that he has no authority to implement. It must be hard to be term-limited out of the presidency when you’re too young to retire and too determined to give up. That is why Hillary losing the race is probably more troubling and upsetting to Bill than it is to anyone else.
Bill Clinton is always a tough act to follow, so I’ll admit that I’m a bit nervous about whether Obama can pull it off this evening.
After Bill Clinton exited the stage I got a text from a close friend saying that Obama was rumored to be backstage. That meant I couldn’t miss Biden, I had to watch. I ran up to the radio booths where I knew I could get in and see as much as possible. Up there looking down I heard an inspiring heartfelt speech from his son, Beau Biden. I cried. I really did.
Biden came out and gave a good, not too long speech (which is a miracle for him). I’ll admit, while I listened to it, the really memorable part was when he introduced his mother who was in the audience, and then when Barack Obama made his debut to the convention.
When Obama came out the room went wild and everyone was shocked. It was my first time seeing Biden and Obama embracing and I’ll admit, they good together. They compliment each other and really do make a great pair.
Unfortunately, I have to run without time to really finish this post. But don’t worry, I’ll be back.
(This posthas no pictures because I misplaced my camera but am planning on getting it back later in the day).
Tuesday night was the most anticipated night at Pepsi, given that Obama will be accepting the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field where he can share in the glory of the moment with 75,000 of his biggest fans. On Tuesday night we heard from the keynote speaker, former Virginia Governor and senatorial candidate Mark Warner, and of course Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Just four years ago Barack Obama, in his keynote address to the DNCC, told us his story of being “a skinny kid with a funny name” and the audacity of hope – a message he has never abandoned. The nation was talking about him, we were enthralled and only a few years later he’s back at the convention accepting the party nomination. That’s impressive.
Mark Warner is likely to run for President in the next 4 to 8 years, so he might experience the same time line as Barack Obama but not that notoriety simply because his speech was overshadowed and not memorable.
Besides the fact he was the warm-up act for Hillary Clinton, there are two things I believe really make Mark Warner’s speech unremarkable. For one thing, it was an economy speech. He talked about the building blocks to a great working class, about what America needs to do to stop jobs from going overseas (China specifically). That’s fine. It makes sense. But is memorable? Obama’s speech four years ago told a story, connected us to the person. Maybe the success of Audacity of Hope was in the fact he was this exotic, unfamiliar figure to the nation, which brings me to the second issue with the speech – we kinda know Mark Warner. Mark Warner was once considered, back in the early days of the election, a presidential contender. He has a lot of experience and was considered one of the best governors in the country for a long time. His resume is familiar. He was working class family, made it big in the cell phone industry, ran for governor and won. Been there, done that. We’ve seen it before.
Before I talk about Hillary Clinton, there were two speeches I have to mention that I thought far surpassed Warner’s speech. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, only the second African American to be elected governor of a state, gave a really great speech about the “American Story,” connecting it to himself, his own family and how it is at risk throughout the country. I was taken a back, and really thought that his speech, his rhetoric was one of the better speeches of the convention so far.
The other guy, that I think the entire room would say stole the show earlier in the night, was the huggable Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana. I highly recommend watching his speech simply because you can’t help but smile and laugh. He was affable, fun, and just overall the one guy that made you feel like having a good time. He was the crowd pleaser, the cheerleader, and really the life of the party.
Now we get to the good stuff.
Hillary Clinton was first introduced by what could essentially be called a rock video of her life and her campaign. It could be called a tribute but without the melancholy implication. It really was a celebration video that showered her with praise and respect.
Chelsea Clinton came out and introduced her “hero” and her mother and then like always, Hillary Clinton took the stage with a smile and pantsuit. She made it clear in her speech that it’s pretty much over (though the Hillary signs they were handing out into the audience still had hillaryclinton.com on them, unlike all the others that said barackobama.com.
One of the first things she said was “No way, No How, No McCain,” which is exactly what we were expecting to hear but earlier in the day I had seen the first “Debra” ad on CNN, where a former Hillary Clinton supporter announces her new found love of John McCain.
Hillary had to give an amazing speech that made it clear that it was time her hold-outs, those that continue to see Barack Obama as the enemy, to switch sides and create a united party. Her speech really was all that it needed to be. She made it clear, he was her candidate. She paid homage to her “sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits” who never gave in and never gave up but asked whether they were in this campaign for her, or for the issues, for the things Hillary Clinton stood for. That moment hit a lot of die hard Hillary supporters.
This morning on a local radio show I heard two Coloradians, both Hillary supporters, say that they realized when Hillary questioned the reason for their commitment to the campaign that they no longer had a reason to hold out and to have very much animosity any longer. I doubt all Hillary supporters are like that, but it’s worth taking note that many are “moving on,” as one lady said on the radio.
Related News: Delegates are supposedly voting at their delegate breakfasts, to do it out of the limelight. This afternoon their will be a roll call but it will not be open voting just reporting the votes from this morning.
Best Button of The Convention That I Really Want: Big round red button that says “I’m a Hillary Clinton Supporter for Barack Obama”
Monday marked the first night of the convention and while there really were some spectacular moments, I spent most of the night hunting down reporters to make sure they didn’t abuse their floor privileges. There were two things I neglected my job for – button collecting and really spectacular moments.
I was at the Pepsi Center from the moment Howard Dean, the chair of DNC, hit the gavel and declared the the beginning of the convention. I was there but I would have to say that less than 20% of the delegates were in the building at that point. The ones that were there were wandering the halls, feeling no need yet to be wedded to their seats
There were a few hours of speeches that no network seemed to cover (I heard CNN didn’t even cover Nancy Pelosi, the chair of the convention). Inside Pepsi, reporters were lacks about where they were going, what they were covering, who they were interviewing. In the media pavilions outside the arena, there was even a lounge provided by the DNC that included personalized button making, comfy leather couches and chairs, hand massages, Coors beer, food, and of course a Wii.
As the night rolled on and the speakers became more recognizable and/or interesting, more people filled the seats and it quickly started looking like a convention. But the focus of the convention was supposed to be “Unity.” A video at the beginning highlighting the party started off with the caption “One Nation.” But the night was dedicated, as probably most nights will be, to telling the story of Barack Obama. One of the best speeches of the night came from Jesse Jackson Jr. who really was the one person to highlight the historical importance of Barack Obama’s nomination. The rest of the night was telling his story through the eyes of others who know him well. His sister, his brother-in-law his wife.
The one possible exception was the Kennedy tribute. By the time Caroline Kennedy took the stage the arena was packed, reporters were back to doing their jobs, and everyone waited in emotional anticipation for the triumphant return of Sen. Ted Kennedy. There was an emotional tribute video done by acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns that brought me to tears. Caroline Kennedy, in introducing her uncle, talked about how Barack Obama is her JFK – the inspiration her father gave to others, she gets from Barack Obama. She has said that before, but this time, with the last of Joe Kennedy’s sons about to walk on the stage perhaps for the last time at a convention, it felt sadder to hear.
Ted Kennedy took the stage and the crowd went wild. No one was for sure certain he was going to make it to the convention at all, so him just walking on to the stage brought tears to many delegates eyes.
When he said “Nothing was going to keep me from this special gathering” there was so many loud boisterous cheers and applause but some people had tears running down their faces. “I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate when we begin…” the sentence wasn’t finished but the cheers started and everyone was on their feet applauding. There was nothing like that. Once again though, in this moment that could have been all about him, Kennedy made it clear he was there for Barack Obama. He was there to give Obama’s message of “Hope” a visible incarnation. He called this a “season of hope” in his life, as he hopes to be there in January for Barack Obama by fighting his cancer and supporting his campaign.
Kennedy brought the audience to their feet when he linked the message of hope to health care, a top priority for Kennedy who came back to the Senate earlier this summer to vote on a Medicaid bill. He went into how electing Barack Obama is about bringing change and “renewal” to the country.
Both Kennedys that spoke said the same thing. They made it clear that the torch is being passed in the democratic party (Ted literally said the “the torch is being passed to a new generation of Americans”). The party that for so long has looked at the Kennedy legacy, both in the white house and in congress, is coming to an end. Patrick Kennedy, while still around, is not carrying the torch like his uncles and father. Rumors of Caroline Kennedy getting involved in elected politics, are starting to swarm but haven’t come to fruition.
At the end of Sen. Kennedy’s speech he said that “The work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on.” The crowd went wild, he exited the stage, and it was clear a new chapter is beginning.
Yesterday I spent the day handing out credentials to TV and Radio organizations in a banquet room in the basement of the downtown Sheraton. So while I didn’t get to experience much of the hubbub outside, there was plenty going on inside the hotel, including the arrival of delegates from more states than I think are in the union. I was even able to get my hands on a rare Jobama Button (not an official campaign button, but very fun). It’s quite impressive how quickly it was made considering Obama named Biden a little over 24 hours earlier.
Denver is alive with a Democratic fervor. People are energized and ready for the convention to get underway this evening. The police presence is an interesting visual addition to the bustling streets. We’re not talking just beat cops, we’re talking officers and the national guard in full riot gear. The Recreate 68 demonstration that was expecting tens of thousands of people yesterday, ended up with closer to a thousand attendees, which many are saying is because there was so much talk about the potential for violence and the heavy police presence.
Walking by the civic center park yesterday evening, I saw a bunch of marijuana-legalization enthusiasts smoking pot out in the open, in front of the capital building and discussing how since the cops are so preoccupied, they have nothing to worry about. While I don’t think that everyone will have as much luck with getting away with crimes, heightened security may mean confusion and leniency on non-convention related violations.
It is an interesting mix here in Denver. There are the Democratic elites, including delegates, that are wedded to the party and the process, and there are the die hard liberals that feel the party should be much further to the left than it actually is. Recreate ’68 may have better luck later in the week in attracting support but I doubt we will see anything even closely resembling the ’68 Democratic convention. For the most part, Obama – being against the war from the beginning – is attracting all degrees of the left of center crowd.
Descent may only be coming from those pesky Hillary Clinton hold outs. We’ll see how that unravels.
I arrived safe and sound in Denver, taking a plane filled with journalists, party insiders, and delegates – all thinking that they were “avoiding the rush” by coming in the Thursday before the convention. The city of Denver was ready for us – they already had greeters at the airport with Democratic National Committee Convention t-shirts and signs and answers to any questions we could possibly think of.
I have never been to a convention before but I’ve heard the amount of activity that is expected for next week is nothing new. The local papers, Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post, are littered with “survival guides” and event calendars for the locals and the outsiders invading their city. The papers and airwaves in Denver are filled with restaurant, bar, and hiking recommendations. Everyone is saying that you have to try Rocky Mountain Oysters while you’re here – don’t even ask what that is. Microbrews are the other big thing in the city, but no article or program I’ve encountered has mentioned the effect high altitude has on your alcohol tolerance.
What happens inside the Pepsi Center will get the majority coverage next week but there are no shortage of other events taking place throughout the city.
Of course there are the protesters. Next week the Recreate ’68 movement is holding marches (listed in the Rocky Mountain News as parades) through downtown Denver Monday through Thursday. Their big rally and concert is scheduled for tomorrow but they are definitely going to be the most prominent group outside the DNC throughout the week. For more information on Recreate ’68 and the controversy surrounding their plans, I’d highly recommend listening to Ina Jaffe’s piece on Weekend Edition Saturday all about the movement and their 1968 Democratic convention inspiration.
In addition to the Recreate ’68 protesters, there are supposed to be a bunch of naked people roaming the streets of Denver (not sure what they are protesting, but an interesting side note). Other scheduled “parades” include Shalom International‘s No 2 States “Keep Jerusalem United” event and The American Driver‘s March Against the Economic Impact of Rising Fuel Costs on Monday, and Hillary Now‘s No Obamination – Hillary Now for McCain march on Thursday that takes place two hours before the Democrats & Allies Against Marijuana Prohibition march.
In addition to the “parades,” the city has granted permits to groups hosting what the papers are calling prayer and worship services – aka the anti-abortion movement. One park is designated as the “DNC Meditation Retreat” throughout the week, while another will be referred to as “Tent State University” – the staging area for Recreate ’68.
There is also going to be a plethora of parties and concerts throughout the city – including a party tonight for the media at a theme park located in the middle of downtown (I’m currently in the midst of getting ready for it). To list all the parties and concerts would be too daunting for one blogger to do, so I’ll direct you to the parties and events calendar provided by the Rocky Mountain News.
Needless to say, there is more things to do and see in Denver this week then there has ever been in any city I have ever been to. Life is a party here – Democratic and alcoholic.
I know I haven’t posted in a long time. There has been ample to blog about too, which is even more depressing. I know I have disappointed my “readers” but the truth of the matter is I’m not really a blogger at all. I don’t want to write about things unless I’m there experiencing them first hand. I have little aspiration to be a great blogger, but rather a great journalist. My blog would be the perfect forum for political discussion if I were in fact a political journalist with years of insight. Unfortunately, I am not that political expert… not yet. While I would love to make my blog all about me and what I see as the future of the American political system, the truth is that what I have to say as a 22 year old recent college graduate has little merit. I need to earn some degree of understanding, some experience before I am capable of making sound judgments, until I can make this a forum of insight.
What I do have insight on as of now, is what I have experienced first hand – what I can report to my readers. That is what made my adventures in Iowa and New Hampshire worth reading.
Luckily for you, I will be at the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver and will once again have an inside look as to what the situation is on the ground. I’ll be back with insights, interviews, on the scene reporting. Can’t wait to share!
So start reading again and you’ll see me at the convention!
Inside Invesco it was a party. People were dancing, singing, cheering, and with live performances by Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow it was truly a celebration.
Julia Moss' Political Playground 