Finale

Yesterday did not disappoint. You all saw it on television, but I can't drive home the point enough that it was unbelievable in the stadium. The footage that I saw on television seemed to have a tight frame around Barack showing only his bust. The spectacle was seeing this solitary figure in the middle of 90,000 people in the night air with flash bulbs going off all around like stars. And the speech speaks for itself. The experience was all that I hoped it would be and more. I may do it again, but as a delegate next time.

Expectations

The carnival atmosphere all week and after the big speech was unlike anything I've seen before. The closest comparison would be to a sporting event (think Super Bowl or Final Four), but with a greater sense of togetherness, shared purpose, and palpable anticipation.

What did I expect from this week? This is a difficult question to answer simply. I whipped out the cliches when I was interviewed on Sunday--"Be a part of history"..."A special election and a special candidate"--but as with most cliches, there's a kernel of truth in them. Not knowing what, when, or how anything would happen, I did know at minimum that I was coming to witness history with the nomination of the first African-American candidate for president. That alone was special. Upon further reflection, though, I think it was more personal than that. It gave me an outlet for connecting to a process I had not really been engaged in before. Yes, I pay more attention than many to political stuff, but more passively and as entertainment. This time, I feel more a PART of it all, and these 4 days in Denver have only helped me to realize that for certain.

What we did this week was unique, fun, exciting, and once-in-a-lifetime, and I'll remember it for some time to come. Praveen--It's been a blast. Thanks for agreeing to do this with me without any real plan. Maybe this spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-my pants me will endure long after Denver. You never know!

Invesco

[I'm writing this as Praveen and I are headed to Breckinridge in the car. Thank goodness for AT&T Global Connect :-)]

Highlights of the evening: Great seats--club level with our own food & drink!...Sheryl Crow, John Legend, will.i.am (I would have liked to hear more and better music. The Michael McDonald set was particularly puzzling)...John Lewis and Bill Richardson (Yes, that Bill Richardson. The 2nd part of his speech was quite good)...The "American Voices" speeches by ordinary Americans (Yes, it was scripted, but still felt very authentic, funny, and compelling)...And of course, Barack's speech (Not his best ever, but very good with more red meat lines than usual, which I loved). We were there a long time (almost 9 hours!), but it didn't feel that long at all. The stadium was slow to fill, but once it was, the electricity and enthusiasm was something to behold. The only disappointment for me was Al Gore. He seemed hurried during his speech, often talking over applause. With that sympathetic an audience, I would have expected a bolder speech with more impact.

As easy as going to Invesco was, leaving was nothing short of chaotic. After briefly attempting to find a shuttle bus, we settled for following the masses and walking back to downtown--A VERY LONG WALK! Over an hour later, we made it back and met two friends of Praveen's at Rock Bottom Brewery downtown. It was teeming with people, as were all places downtown well into early morning. We ate, and decompressed. After in depth discussions with the two insider Democratic operatives (not my idea of relaxing!), we eventually headed back around 2am, exhausted.

The Political Party Convention

A political party's convention is a peculiar thing. I am here, not as a die-hard democrat, but rather as a someone who thinks that our country is at a tipping point in time and that we need to do something about it. I, like so many others, was inspired by Barack Obama. The reason that I wanted to be here in Denver was to witness history. But exactly what history is an interesting notion. Yes, Barack is the first African-American to be nominated by a major party. That is historic, and I am happy to have seen that, but I am skeptical that that will have a huge impact if he loses the general election. I remember reading about Shirley Chisolm in 8th grade government class, but it was like a footnote. I don't know what happens if Obama loses (in terms of history). The history that I think I am here to be a part of is something way beyond that. It's to be at the begining of a new way of thought and with a potentially transformational leader. It's Barack Obama's potential to be a great leader that drew me here. I'm talking Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy type leader. That's the history that I wanted to be a part of. So in many ways, this is just a begining.

So back to political party conventions. The Convention's role has clearly changed over the years. Now it's just a ratifying body for deals that have been brokered through the primary season. But it's still a Convention where Party business must be attended to. I am not really sure what that entails but it doesn't matter because the Party bureacracy cares. Where it becomes a bit murky is when the Party decided to use the Convention to incorporate "outsiders." I think that is a great thing. The entrenched two party system is as much a factor in bleeding confidence from government as any other. Reaching out to involve new people and "outsiders" is a good thing. Change typically comes from a challenger to the incumbent. If things are going to change, new people need to be involved. But when you use a Convention to faciliate new involvement it clashes with the old establishment incumbents.

We have heard complaints about how Congressional staffers and party insiders were unable to get credentials into the Convention this week because there were so many "outsiders" here. Clearly, Scott and I are "outsiders" and contributed to that a bit. But we're here because we were drawn. Moving the acceptance speech into a 75,000 seat football stadium clearly indicates that you want "outsiders" here. That tension between insiders and outsiders is something that I personally think needs to be removed from the Convention. Transparency is generally a good thing and somethinng that Barack Obama is campaigning on. It should start with the Convention. The idea that a small few decide everything for everyone is antithetical to democracy yet it has become the norm. And the small few have let it go to their heads. This Convention was outstanding as a way for the people to reassert their power. I was happy to experience at least a little bit of it.

The Big Day Is Here

Thursday has finally arrived. Today will be very exciting, and I don't really know what to expect. Doors open at 1pm, and speakers include the Governor of Colorado, John Lewis, Bill Richardson, Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, and Barack. Rumors about musical guests ranged from Bon Jovi to Bruce Springsteen. It now looks like will.i.am, Michael McDonald, Stevie Wonder, and Sheryl Crow.

PK and I are headed downtown this morning. Much more to come afterward!

Illinois Delegation Party

We went to a party last night thrown by the Illinois delegation. After some of the strongest, most impassioned speeches yet, everyone was in high spirits and full of energy last night. Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator before he became a U.S. Senator. This party was being thrown by his peeps. We figured there was a good chance that he'd drop in. This was a party that we were actually invited to, but upon checking in, it turned out our names were not on the list. If you have been reading this blog, you will know by now that we were going to figure a way to get in. I told the lady at the desk who invited me and she sent us to speak to someone else who directed us to another lady to get a VIP stamp and then let us in.

Upon entering the first person that we saw was Senator Dick Durbin (who is Illinois' senior senator and will be introducing Barack today). It was definitely a gala affair. Food stations spread throughout, plenty of alcohol, two live bands. But probably not more than 200 people. Pretty intimate when you think of it.

The buzz about the Obama's had definitely spread but we knew that there would likely be secret service in the house beforehand. We were on the lookout for that and it never came. More likely to happen tonight. We'll see.

Wednesday Excursion

On Wednesday, PK and I stepped away from the Denver insanity and headed to Boulder (40 minutes away) for some lunch and a hike. The weather was incredible! We ate at the Mountain Sun brewery on Pearl Street, the main drag. We then took a 3 mile hike, which peaked at a rock quarry with spectacular views.

Batting Practice -- Coors Field

Of all the events on the schedule for the week, the one that I wanted to do more than any other was participate in open batting practice at Coors Field. Through one of my sources, I had heard that the event was to be today (Tuesday). What I didn't know was whether you needed a credential or not. Much of the Convention experience is not about issues or substance at all but rather about one's relative place in the Party. There are no "tickets" but instead "credentials." Credentials are far more important sounding as they vouch that you are worthy of attending something rather than a ticket which simply means you bought it. And it's not about basic cred, but different levels of cred. Of course, you can still buy cred just like you could buy a ticket. However, the status that you acquire are the inverse of each other. If you are a season ticket holder for a sports team, you have the highest cred. If you scalp tickets to the superbowl or buy from a broker, you are an interloper. No cred. Here, if you donate lots of money to the Party or to a candidate, you have major cred. A party footsoldier (working the states, the precincts, stuffing envelopes) gets no cred (like the guy sitting next to me on the plane).

Anyway, we headed to Coors Field with no credentials. We pulled into the parking lot which was completely uncrowded. The parking lot attendant asked us what we were there for. We told him that we were there for a DNC event. He asked whether we had any sort of credential. Even the parking lot guys had been brainwashed. After a brief hesitation during which we contemplated pulling out last night's convention credentials, we said "no." He let us into the parking lot anyway and said that they might not let us in.

The parking lot was remarkably empty and there were no crowds that we saw. As we walked toward the stadium, a guy in a Red Sox hat was walking toward us. We asked him if this was where the batting practice event was being held and he said yes. We asked whether you needed a credential to get in and he told us yes and gave us two. Boston fans aren't bad afterall.

Inside, the stadium was open to only a few people. Maybe 100 people all told. There was food and beer and wii. As we walked in we could see the line for batting practice. It wasn't too bad. As we asked how to get down to the field, we were told that there was a different credential to actually participate in batting practice. Damn!

The worst part was that there were a bunch of suits that had batting practice tickets that were clearly not going to participate. But no one was giving up their credential. That status thing again. We went down to the first row and looked as needy as we could but to no avail. Batting practice was as cool as I thought it would be. Steve Garvey was coaching each person as they entered the cage. The name of each hitter was announced over the PA system. A series of major league pitchers cycled in to throw pitches. All very cool.

But unfortunately, the only batting practice I got was hitting in the wiffle ball cage that was set up in the concourse.

Free Speech Revisited

When we were at Civic Center Park yesterday, there was a Guantanamo Bay protest. When we were at the park it was just getting started. As we were leaving it went mobile. We had heard that that protest and the procession were unsanctioned and that the cops were watching. Well, apparently the cops were watching and there was a confrontation. A bunch of protesters were blocking traffic and the riot guys decided to mace them. It was all over the newspapers today.

My friend with the Pictures of You Iran exhibit wanted to take it to the Republican Convention as well. What the organizers told him however was that he could only set up at a place on the side of the highway, under a ramp where people could only drive-by. That wasn't going to work. The "free speech zone" is to be on an island across the Mississippi from the Convention. Protestors at a challenger's convention probably aren't going to affect any sort of change. But protesting at the incumbent's convention carries a bit more weight. Should we be surprised at all?

Video Snippet: Ted Kennedy

A Tale of Two Tickets

True to form, our last minute anti-plan continued. At 4pm, I got a call from my friend, saying she had one ticket for the convention at Pepsi Center Monday. I hesitated only briefly, and accepted it, knowing Praveen still needed to get one. Then, close to 6pm, Praveen received a call from his friend with good news and a ticket. The convention officially started at 3:30pm and here we were at my cousin Brett's house across town at 6pm. Ted Kennedy was speaking at 7:15, Michelle Obama at 8. Praveen pushed our speedy G5 to its limits, and got us downtown in record time. In our rush, we didn't think about logistics. I had picked up my ticket earlier from my friend, but Praveen's friend still had his ticket. As we parked downtown, we realized PK's friend was already in the security line at the arena (apparently REALLY long) and almost in! I had to go through an initial security checkpoint; the second checkpoint was much further away. As I approached, there was this huge mob of people trying to enter through one small door. I somehow caught PK's friend right before he was in and gone forever, and we met at a fence to get Praveen's ticket.

I hiked back to that first checkpoint where I left Praveen. My ticket was orange, said "Guest" and "Arena" on it. Praveen's ticket was purple, said "Special Guest" and "Hall" on it. We asked a half dozen people, and no one really knew the difference between the two. So, we both approached the mob (growing larger by the second) at the second checkpoint, and Praveen's creativity shined again! We bypassed the apparent "end" of the line and walked around close to the entrance itself, where certain Congressmen were entering. Other than not wearing blue pinstripe suits, we blended in just fine, merged with the line on the sidewalk, and voila! In in 15 minutes. (BTW, the Secret Service was handling all of the security, and let's just say they're a tad better than TSA at this kind of thing.)

Once in, we soon realized that my "Guest" orange ticket basically got me into the arena lobby, but did not allow me to actually SEE anything in the arena! Praveen's got him upper deck access. Determined to get in, I just walked up to the people at the portals and flashed my card until one of them let me in. The second one did, and we were able to catch the Ted Kennedy tribute and speech and Michelle Obama! Very neat.

The Power of the Interview

It's amazing how much power one has with a camera and a mic. We actually don't have a mic, but we fake it well enough to make it seem like we do.

For those that do not know, we are filming much of our experience here for Eli Rollman's American Government class at Lakes Community High School in Lake Villa, Illinois. We have conducted about 10 interviews of all sorts of folks including Frank Rich, columnist of the New York Times. Only 1 person, John Oliver, of the Daily Show, has actually blown us off and even he said that he'd talk to us tomorrow if we came by again.

Famous or almost famous sightings include:

Abner Mikva
Arianna Huffington
Cass Sunstein
Dan Abrams
David Axelrod
Dick Durbin
Frank Rich
J.C. Watts
Jesse Jackson Jr.
John Oliver
Jonathan Alter
Michael Eric Dyson
Monica Kaufman Pearson
Samantha Power
Steve Garvey
Tammy Duckworth

These were actual close encounters where we could have spoken to the folks if we were so inclined.

Riot Police

Conventions over the years have received a reputation for being magnets for protests and arrests. Denver decided to present a pretty intimidating show of force all around town. Police decked out in full riot gear with machine guns policing all the streets downtown. We tried to interview a couple of them but they would not agree to on camera statements. They did tell us that their size doubled for the convention by bringing in area cops from surrounding municipalities. About 8000 riot police spread throughout the City. They would not tell us what their training entailed nor whether they had any serious encounters thus far.

Monday -- Civic Center Park

After a night at Redrocks (see Scott's post) we slept in on Monday. All the way till 9 am. We headed to Civic Center Park first -- the Convention's "free speech zone." Interestingly the park is surrounded by the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Post building, the Capitol, and another state government building (or maybe City hall). In the midst of that is a beautiful park which became home to a few protesters and one very special artist.

The protests ranged from rappers rapping about injustices of the world, folks demonstrating the abuses at Guantanamo Bay, and even some "Nobama" supporters. There was a rumor the Public Enemy was going to play, but I don't think that ever materialized. The best exhibit, in my biased opinion, was a terrific art installation by my friend Tom Loughlin. Tom traveled to Iran a couple years ago and took some photographs of the citizens of that country. His exhibit is called Pictures of You Iran (www.picturesofyouiran.com) and highlights how similar people are regardless of what country they are from. The exhibit itself is a large structure that looks a little like a Mosque but has photographs hanging throughout it. You walk through the structure, viewing the photographs that Tom took from all sides. It's interesting the responses that people had. One guy came up to Tom early that morning and said, "I want to come back here and blow this thing up." Tom asked the man why and explained what he was trying to do in creating the exhibit in the first place. The man walked through the exhibit and after more discussion changed his mind. He saw that the people photographed were just regular people like him. Another man was less convinced. He appreciated the sentiment but still held that the exhibit was propoganda for the Iranian government. The exhibit was left out in the middle of the park overnight. We'll see if it's unphased tomorrow morning.

Red Rocks

My cousin Brett and uncle Norman, our gracious hosts, gave us a driving tour of Denver. It was a beautiful day and Denver is a cool city. We now know the lay of the land for the rest of the week...

We got call from Praveen's friend at 6pm inviting us to Red Rocks Ampitheatre for an event concert featuring Sheryl Crow and Dave Matthews. I get the feeling this is how it will work all week--last minute invites to stuff. That's me, Mr. Spontaneous, fly by the seat of my pants. If the start is any indication, this will be an incredible week. The concert venue was SPECTACULAR. The coolest I've ever seen. Over 6,000 feet above sea level, the red rock formations are breathtaking. And Dave Matthews, playing just with one other guy on guitar, was great. Tim Kaine introduced him, after RFK Jr., the Colorado governor, and other folks who spoke a bit. We missed Sheryl Crow, but Sugarland also played. Neat stuff.

RFK Jr.

Tim Kaine

Dave Matthews

Denver Airport

When I got off the plane, I was expecting a carnival atmosphere. The plane ride from one city had been full of DNCers. I knew my friend Scott was coming from Atlanta and figure it would be more of the same. Aggregate that times however many flights to Denver.

But the terminal was actually pretty sleepy. Not a ton of people. No big festivities. I went to Scott's gate to wait for him to disembark. We then both walked toward baggage claim when he told me that he was going to be interviewed by the Atlanta ABC affiliate. (See Scott's post for more). One we walked out of the actual terminal into the baggage claim area, we definitely saw many more signs of the DNC. 20 host type people holding up Obama signs with someone's name written on them. Airport employees dressed in Cowboy hats directing people to rental cars, shuttle buses, and luggage. Big signs welcoming us to Denver.

From Philly to Denver

Whenever you get thousands of people from all over the country to travel to one place to celebrate or witness something it's usually for a sporting event -- a final four, a superbowl, a rose bowl. Traveling to the Democratic National Convention is really not that different. I flew from Philly through Dallas. The flight from Philly showed no signs of DNCers and I slept the whole way (7:30 am flight). In Dallas, however, it was a completely different story. There were 3 flights within 1 hour on American airlines, all bound for Denver. At each of the gates, you saw people visibly showing their colors. "Texas Delegate, DNC 2008," "The time for Change is Now," "Obama '08." You even saw remnants from past Conventions, Bill Clinton "Hope" pins, Kerry/ Edwards tee shirts. And then lots of guys in blue blazers. There was no mistaking where you were headed. My flight included delegates from Arkansas, North Carolina, New York, and Texas. And then lots of folks like me. Crashers.

The guy that sat next to me on the plane was an older, African-American gentelman wearing a U.S. Open Golf hat and white linen shirt. He wasted no time in asking me what my role at the Convention was. I don't particularly like talking to strangers, but on a plane, I will do so. Especially this flight where I was looking for any sort of angle to get into certain events. I told him I had no role and that I was just going out there. To my chagrin, he said "me too." He then proceeded to tell me that he worked for the Obama campaign both in New York and South Carolina (as well as Jersey and PA), and that his cousin taught Obama at Harvard Law School, and that he couldn't get credentials. He made no bones about being pissed about it. He said that all the guest passes and credentials were going to money contributors, not the folks, like him, that did all the work. Nevertheless, he was effusive about Obama. And vitriolic about the Clintons (whom he always referred to as a pair). But he confided that he was really nervous about the election because he doesn't think this country can get past the race issue. We both wished each other luck in finding credentials. The Arkansas delegats sitting in front of me had their entire program mapped out in a patriotically colored brochure. I was trying to scope out the events, that I'd be missing.

The Journey Begins

At the airport: While waiting for my flight from Atlanta to Denver, I spoke with Pam, a first-time Georgia delegate. She described how she was elected in a caucus (first time for her). The Georgia delegation is staying at Doubletree and will be in the nosebleed section at the convention itself. She mentioned that her Congressman supported Barack from the beginning, but his wife is still a stalwart Hilbacker. I asked her if she would ever think of running for a political office herself, and she said, "No way--too many skeletons in this girl's closet!"

I also talked briefly with two older men who were South Carolina delegates. After talking about Gamecock football and the SEC in general, one of the guys commented on South Carolina being a "paradise" but not having investment in infrastructure to make it a reality. He also went on to say, unsolicited: "It's time for a change...Anyone that does not realize that is living in a different world than us." There you have it!

On the plane: After I bid farewell to the GA/SC folks, I boarded the plane. There were lots of Obama pins and t-shirts, many with his big mug on them. You can feel the excitement in the air. It was interesting to see the contrast between Denver guys in cowboy hats heading back home, indifferent to what's happening this week, and the huge Dem contingent heading to the convention...

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, guess who sat next to me? Monica (Kaufman) Pearson, veteran 33-year news anchor at WSB in Atlanta! Monica will be in Denver all week and seemed very interested in talking to folks from Georgia as special interest stories, especially our documentary for the Lakes high school class in Chicago! She and I talked the entire flight and exchanged contact info. She wanted to interview me the moment we got off the plane! Her cameraman, Damon, was on the plane too and had his camera in hand ready to go.

We had barely arrived to baggage claim, and here comes Monica, cameraman in tow, luggage in one hand, microphone in the other--"Hi Scott, this must be your friend..." Lights, camera, action! She interviewed both of us and got some good B-roll shots of us standing awkwardly waiting for our luggage. I dropped all the cliches I could think of, Nuke LaLoosh-style in Bull Durham. All the gory details are here:

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/17285369/index.html

On to Denver

4 days. No tickets. Winging it. A lark? A vacation? Boredom? Maybe on all counts, but who cares. Praveen and I are headed to Denver to be a part of history. We'll figure out the details later.