A Delegate is a Busy Person

The life of a delegate is hurry up and wait. The California Delegation breakfast this morning started at 8:00, but it really started closer to 9:00, but it did give me an opportunity to schmooze with my fellow Peninsula (SF Bay Area) delegates and see all of the other dedicated delegates from all over the state. I said hello to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, SF District Attorney Kamala Harris to name but a few of the wonderful people who represent us.

California Delegate Chairman Art Torres got us off to a rousing start, and speeches by people like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Mike Honda made us feel welcomed and gave us a glimpse of the days ahead. The ballroom was packed with an excited crowd, with elected officials and press scattered everywhere. It was a great start to a remarkable day.

As I write this, it’s close to midnight Denver time. I have had so many people emailing me and telling me that they’ve read my blog from yesterday that I feel like I better write something before I head off to bed. I am also honored to have progressive talk radio station Green 960 in San Francisco linking my blog on their website. And my wife tells me that she’s sent out my blog site to numerous family and friends, and so whoever you are out there, I feel like I’m here for you. I realize that not everyone gets to experience this, and I don’t take my responsibility or good fortune lightly.

I had a little time in between official activities this afternoon, so after finishing an interview with a reporter from Wick Communications writing for the Half Moon Bay Review, I was off to check out the town. Denver has spared no expense preparing for this event. The entire downtown area has been turned into a kind of DNC Disneyland. Obama gear is for sale everywhere. People are all decked out in Obama finery, and every storefront, restaurant and street sign has some kind of DNC reference on it.

Denver is a lovely city anyway, but they’ve really outdone themselves. I am truly impressed, and there is something related to this convention in every corner of this city. I would imagine that the entire state of Colorado has leant buses, police and everything else to make this event come off without a hitch. My only complaint is that the bus from my hotel to the convention site took about 45 minutes to travel two miles because of the packed streets and security.

Speaking of security, it reminds me of Times Square on New Year’s Eve. The Pepsi Center is locked up tight as a drum. Without a credential, don’t bother knockin’. On the way in, our credentials, IDs and bags were checked at several checkpoints, and I for one am happy. I like to be safe, and this is a good place to feel protected. Inside the Pepsi Center, more than half of this country’s brain trust is walking around.

I did get a chance to hang around at MSNBC’s outdoor studio, about a mile from my hotel. It was fabulous. Andrea Mitchell interviewed people like Vice-President Walter Mondale, Debbie Dingle and Terry McAuliffe. I actually spotted McAuliffe standing right near me waiting for his ride, and I walked up and we had a really good conversation. Before you say that you’re still upset with him for his behavior during the primary, he said some very good things to say on camera and off, and I have decided to take the high road at this convention and acknowledge that we’re all Democrats and we all want the same thing, to elect Barack Obama and defeat John McCain.

Pepsi Center is a spectacular facility, but the crowd that has shown up for Barack Obama is causing the huge building to burst at the seams. We were pre-warned that there wouldn’t be enough seats for every delegate, and that is a fact. You don’t dare disappear for too long or you’ll find another person in your seat. The California delegation is directly adjacent to CNN’s floor studio, and I literally sat twenty feet from Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, James Carville, Donna Brazile, Gloria Borges and Paul Begala the entire evening. That is a hot spot in the room, I can tell you. And speaking of news celebrities I also saw Sam Donaldson, Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric, Roland Martin, Katty Kay and even Ted Koppel.

The convention decorations are magnificent. I really think they’ve thought of everything, and if you can’t get a close enough look at the speakers, two jumbo screens display all of the activity in huge living color. There is a live band that I think I would actually pay to hear, and the staging, the elaborate layout and the sensational decorations are nothing short of brilliant. Even though we are literally packed in like sardines, it is a room full of love, hope, camaraderie and a feeling of great anticipation. I believe that everyone there believes that Barack Obama will be our next president because he is not only the better candidate, but the best candidate that we’ve had in many generations.

Caroline Kennedy delivered a beautiful speech, culminating with an introduction of her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, who gave a very moving and powerful speech to a very warm and receptive crowd. Michelle Obama’s speech to the crowd and to the entire country was extraordinary, really breathtaking. I am not a cryer, but when the Obamas’ two daughters came out at the end of her speech, I had a couple of tears. She was brilliant and set just the right tone for this convention. Other terrific speeches were made by Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Senator Claire McCaskill, who was actually introduced by her three eloquent children.

Even though we were all sitting there for hours, it didn’t really seem like it. There was so much to see and observe, and for a people watcher like me, it was like an addictive drug. I saw Susan Sarandon, Bill Maher, Angela Bassett and dozens of other well-known people, many of whom I actually got to say hello to. In the lobby as I was walking around, I shook Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s hand, who actually told me that he thought the San Mateo County Straw Poll was a great event, and I saw Congressman Barney Frank and numerous members of our local leadership, including Lt. Governor John Garamendi, former State Controller Steve Westly, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former State Treasurer Phil Angelides.

During the convention, I was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, and on the bus back, I actually spoke for half an hour with a reporter from one of the largest newspapers in Holland. I may never see that newspaper, but it was a great opportunity to share my thoughts with readers from far, far away.

Today’s first day was an outrageously wonderful experience. Oh, we did get to vote for the Democratic platform and make several other procedural votes, but the rest of the time was devoted to speeches by people like Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and more than two dozen other wonderful and terrific speakers. We were handed signs to hold up to welcome several key speakers, including a Kennedy sign for Ted Kennedy, a Michelle sign and a couple of signs to help frame the theme of the moment.

If you watched tonight’s convention telecast, you may have seen more closely the presentations and heard some of the speeches even better than I did, but what you may not have captured is the overpowering feeling of hope in the room, the environment of a shared vision, a overwhelming desire to see change occur in this country, and a palpable realization that every delegate and elected representative is there for one purpose, to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.

I don’t know everything taking place tomorrow or what new sight and sound I’ll come across, but I feel very confident that it will be another day packed with amazing activities that I have never experienced before and may never again, and whatever happens, I’ll do my best to share it with you.

Goodnight from Denver…