Tuesday Update

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

So much has happened that I'm not sure where to begin, and I don't have many pictures to upload at the moment. But let's start with the weather:

According to the Rocky Mountain News, it's currently 90 degrees outside - but it feels a lot hotter.

Probably has a lot to do with the body heat being generated by the tons of people who are packed in to tight spaces for this spectacle. Last night the floor of the convention was so packed, that people were shoulder-to-shoulder with no room to move. This normally happens at conventions - but on the final night, during the nominees speech. This does not normally happen on a Monday night. The streets are packed, looks more like New York City than Denver.

The good thing about the city is the most of it is walkable to some degree. So the traffic gridlock that is also taking place doesn't interrupt the flow of events that much.


The speeches last night were fun, though it seems to me that we might benefit from a rule that any speaker who takes the podium when it is not prime time should at least be funny. You know, warm up the crowd a little bit, keep it interesting...or something...anything!

Prime time speeches were great - good seeing Ted Kennedy up and moving around and great to see the ovation that President Carter received. Michelle Obama's speech was a great closer though to be honest I really think that their kids stole the show in the end.

A lot of the media is focusing on the split between Clinton and Obama supporters, and I haven't seen as much evidence of that among the delegates that the media would otherwise suggest. But maybe they are digging deeper and finding something I'm not seeing. Or maybe they are zeroing in on a couple of extreme cases. Either way, we'll know for sure by tonight...

I've spent the day at the Pepsi center doing media interviews and enjoying a $12 tray lunch. I'm back in my hotel to drop off the computer for the day, and as I sit here I can hear protests from the street below. I'm not sure what they are protesting, but most of the protests around town have been around three things: the war, abortion and then a few people complaining about the nomination process.

There was one massive demonstration and I couldn't figure out what it was for. One of the news stations tried to find out and all the protesters ended up doing was telling off the reporter en mass. The reporter is a friend of mine, I called up him and made fun of him for it. :)

But overall there is so much enthusiasm for this ticket right now - people are really "fired up, ready to go!" (as the chant goes).

I'm making the hike back over to the Pepsi now, getting ready for what should be an exciting night. Usually when I'm on the floor, I get up and try to make the rounds to see colleagues in other states, people I've worked with on campaigns over the past years. Last night I visited Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina. Tonight I'll swing by Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia. Hopefully the floor won't be so packed that I'll be able to do it all fairly easily!

Current pedometer reading: 10, 549.

Stay tuned...