"Barack Obama is Right and John McCain is Wrong."

Some of my favorite headlines leading up to the DNC included: Workers gear up to battle the seedy underbelly of the DNC, City flubs DNC money deadline, and Denver's homeless get free haircuts to look good for Obama and his Democrats. Despite extreme disorganization, various hate groups and the fact that the homeless definitely did NOT get haircuts the DNC has been pretty amazing so far.

On Saturday night I attended the Media Party where the DNCC rented out Elitch Gardens/Six Flags. "Media" or anyone with important friends could ride rollercoasters, eat, drink for free and play games. Journalists carried bags of huge stuffed animals out of the park as an elaborate fire works show officially ended the night. It felt like a movie.


Denver is star struck and Obama has nothing short of celebrity status which is interesting because tonight Obama was painted as a "regular guy" who worked hard and as a result the American Dream has come true! The more Obama is painted as average the more he is regarded as "the one" who will change America.



Some highlights from tonight include Rep. Nancy Pelosi who passionately stated that "John McCain has the experience of being wrong... John McCain is wrong." As she continued, the crowd began to chant along, "Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong." I want to mention that I had a very similar experience at Obama's victory speech in Iowa. I was there working and happened to get front and center for his speech. What stood out to me the most about that night was the chanting.... thousands and thousands of people chanting. It very much felt like a mob mentality and made me feel a bit nervous. At moments I had that experience tonight, but it was certainly a different crowd than Iowa... what does it mean for one person to be able to mobilize people in such a way?

There was an appearance by Former President Jimmy Carter, who didn't actually speak but did a lap around the stage after they played a video about him helping hurricane Katrina victims, which I found to be very interesting. It is undeniable that Jimmy Carter's foundation has done many amazing things in the human rights arena, but this is also a man who met with Hamas leaders (a internationally recognized terrorist group) and he had nothing to say about Obama and foreign policy?

Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. gave a passionate speech full of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. references, in support for Obama. This was an important move for him, in an effort to distance himself from his father, in light of the recent comments of his Rev. Jesse Jackson which were (to say the least) not very supportive of Obama. After Rep. Jackson Jr. spoke, the Pespi Center turned into a very large (and awkward) dance party which seemed to go on for a very long time...



Another important highlight was the tribute video to Senator Ted Kennedy. The crowd was extremely emotional and became even more so when the senator came out and gave an inspiring speech, pledging to be there in January when Barack Obama takes office. His main issues were health care and that "young Americans must never be committed to a mistake," an allusion to the Iraq war.

And then.... drumroll... a REPUBLICAN spoke! Yep. Former Rep. Jim Leach spoke out for Obama and while he stated his respect and admiration for the tradition of his own party he went on to champion democratic issues, criticizing Bush for trying to "finance a war with tax cuts." He spoke of the value of bipartisanship and said that "country comes before party."

Michelle Obama was the big news tonight. It was about personal stories; how she went off to college and then came back to help her community. This night was very much about her and HER service. They really made an effort to separate her from Barack and show that she had many accomplishments in her own right. She is another success story, an example of America's "independent woman," but not too independent! She is still a loving mother and wife and even tells funny stories that poke fun at Barack about his name in an attempt to humanize them. They very much appear to be the "perfect" family. She threw in a shout out to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden but her entire speech can pretty much be summed up by "America is a place where you can make it if you try." (Didn't Sly and the Family Stone come up with that?)



The emphasis tonight was on FAMILY. Senator Claire McCaskill's children introduced her and many stories about working families and their "American stories" were told. Siblings of the Obama's spoke and at the very end, after Michelle's speech, Barack was live streamed into the Pepsi Center so that the world could catch another glimpse of him interacting lovingly with his family while sitting on the couch with a different family who were apparently hosting him from the evening in Kansas City. It was hard not to fall in love with the Obama's. The "perfect" ending to a Monday night.

More convention fun tomorrow...

Sarah Marcus 07'