At breakfast, we heard from Howard Dean, Senator Wyden, and Cong. Blumenauer each of which addressed our Oregon delegation. I met some wonderful fellow delegates, including superdelegate Gail Rassmussen from the NEA. She is actually from Eagle Point!
I jumped on the first bus to the Pepsi Arena at about 1:30 this afternoon. I couldn't help making a couple of"hey can you believe I am on my way to the convention?" calls. I talked to Jonathan in Florida who wishes all in Southern Oregon well and says the campaign is going great in Florida. I also talked to Mark Cole who was instrumental in getting this whole Obama grassroots thing started in Southern Oregon.
We arrived downtown amidst extremely tight security. Police in heavy body armor everywhere. Teri and the kids filled me in on this later as they saw "walls" of heavily armed police in riot gear as well as 3 helicopters flying over downtown together.
Once inside the arena, I wondered around looking at all the signs for the various states. I was roped in for an interview by a German TV Network. They were very nice and promised they'd email me the program. Pat Ackley from Deschutes County kept telling me about all the famous media people she ran into, including Dan Rather, Roland Martin, Mark Shields, and others. Me? I saw the "Young Turks" amongst the overflowing media that was all arond the second level.
The Hawaii delegation entered carrying beautiful tropical leaves and flowers which they affixed to their State's sign. Pretty cool. We also sat near the good people from Puerto Rico and American Somoa and it was neat to look around and see such diversity throughout the arena. This was truly a melting pot.
There were so many speakers early on before prime time that it was difficult to focus on their messages. Then Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. stepped to the podium and talked about how "freedom will ring" on Thursday, the anniversary of Dr. King's great speech, from the highest "mountaintop" that is the mile high city. Wow. "We rise and fall as one people". This young man has quite a future ahead of him.
Once up in the Oregon section, us Southern Oregonians sat together and had a few laughs. I got a free TV shirt from a pirate advocating responsible drinking and passed it off on Milt. Senator Wyden and his wife stopped by and introduced themselves. This was during some pretty lively music and we laughed about how it would probably not be played at the Republican Convention. Paulie Brading and Dave Gilmour were in and out for various interviews while the rest of us manned the fort.
I got a little restless at one point and decided to go down to the Deleware delegation and try to meet Joe Biden. On the way there, I found myself in the middle of the main floor standing next to John Kerry who had just been interviewed. Gulp. I made my way toward the front where I watched Caroline Kennedy introduce Senator Kennedy. What an emotional moment as the entire arena waived their "Kennedy" signs that were passed out and yelled their hearts out in gratitude for Teddy in what may turn out to be his last convention. His determination to be there despite his health issues was amazing.
What a class act Repub. Cong. Leach of Iowa was as he explained the failings of his own GOP and why he is supporting Senator Obama in this important time in history. "Country comes before party."
If you were watching on TV, I hope you heard our delegation go nuts when Barack's brother in law Craig Robinson mentioned Oregon State Univ. and Oregon. That was fun as we had been watching the other delegations go crazy when their states were mentioned.
And what can you say about Michelle Obama. She gave us great insights into her family and why she and Barack epitomize the American Dream. And how about Michelle's Dad who kept getting up a little earlier each day to cope with his progressing MS so he could continue to support his family. And Malia and Sasha were adorable at the end when they talked to Barack. And I loved Michelle's comment about how Barack's attitude has always been "don't settle for the way things are in the world." Strive for what they can and should be.
Time to get some sleep. Tommorrow will be a great night as we applaud Hillary for her groundbreaking campaign and for joining our team. I talked to an Arizona delegate who heard her speak to the Hispanic caucus today. She emphasized to her supporters that it is time to get behind Barack and pull together. She also commented about McCain's use of her in his campaign ads: "And about those McCain ads? I do NOT approve of that message."
Good night everyone.
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