Day 5 at the DNC

(Cheryl) I’m writing this from the airport while Cirian feverishly writes the postcards he was intending to send out by Monday. Yesterday was quite amazing. While Cirian attended breakfast and heard from people like Mayors Gavin Newsome of San Francisco and former Speaker of the Assembly Willie Brown of San Francisco, I slept in and lounged around the hotel room.

Cirian joined me later and went straight to bed – the night before had been long and he had finally caught the cold I’d been harboring all week. I went out to scrounge us up some food and actually discovered a nice little gyro stand in the middle of the street. We ate in the room before I had to leave for Invesco Field.

The convention tonight was to be attended by masses of immense proportions – over 80,000 would be in attendance. As a delegate, Cirian would have a bus to get him there, but as a lowly citizen I was on my own. I shared a taxi with two others (you’d be amazed at how many friends you’ll find when it comes to cutting costs), which hunted around the many closed streets and police barricades until dropping us off about a half mile from the stadium. From there it was a long walk dodging through people in order to get a better location in the security lines. The convention tried to be prepared to move quickly, but you can only get through people so fast…and there were a lot of people. Through one parking lot, up a sidewalk, twisting through another parking lot cut into three walking lanes, it felt like a Disneyland ride on steroids. The convention would not officially begin until about 4, but I had made it there by 2:30 and had a great choice of seating. I eventually chose one that faced the podium and was only slightly to the side. I may have been in the highest section, but I had a low row seat and a fabulous eagle-eye view to the arena and later the proceedings. Cirian would be on the floor that night, only about 70 feet from the podium on stage left.

The events were, in short, phenomenal! We heard from the children of Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke of their father’s dream and how proud they were of seeing, “…freedom ring from the mountain tops of Colorado”. We had performances from Black Eyed Peas who sang the campaign’s anthem song, “Yes We Can”, Cheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, and Michael McDonald who gave a beautiful rendition of “America the Beautiful”. Everyone in the stadium was given flags and the chorus of waving red, white, and blue colors was simply beautiful. Some members of the crowd were given larger flags, like the kinds you hang at your house, and seeing the larger ones standing out from the seas of smaller ones was likewise spectacular. We heard from military brass (captains, admirals, and generals), who spoke of Barack Obama’s capabilities as a commander-in-chief. Joe Biden made a surprise appearance and introduced five ordinary people who told their stories (teacher, trucker, wife and mother) of failed health care plans, lost homes, children off to war, and how they found faith in Obama’s strategies for the nation.
Cirian told me later that, in the delegates section the groups were really rocking out to musical interludes, while others encouraged them to still further energies. One delegate from Minnesota was really enthusiastic about keeping people energized…Cirian later learned that he was the mayor of Twin Cities! Apparently, even the news crews were getting into the spirit. The CBS people were dancing and laughing, while the Fox News simply stared on. I guess some of the delegates started cat-calling, “Hey Fox, lighten up!”

Finally, the big moment came and Barack Obama himself stepped out onto the platform. By this time, we were all in a great mood and cheered him and waved our flags and really gave him a great welcome. He gave a rousing speech highlighting specific items he wanted to take care of during his presidency – green alternatives of energy, better health care, responsibly ending the war in Iraq, and the promise of a new hope for our future and our posterity.

(Cirian) Let me backtrack to the morning's events. After getting only four hours of sleep, I forced myself to get up to attend the last day of the California delegation breakfast. These breakfasts offered the best opportunity to network and hear from wonderful speakers. As Cheryl mentioned, I heard from Democratic mayors including Gavin Newsome, Willie Brown, and Denver mayor Hickenlooper. I also had a wonderful opportunity to hear from Sen. McCaskill from Missouri and former Clinton chief of staff Leon Penneta. The themes of their talks were the same. They rallied the delegation to organize groups to elect the Obama-Biden ticket. They also reiterated the critical importance of winning this election and pounded, once again, the theme of change.

As I exited the breakfast, I was unexpectedly stopped by a reporter from a local San Diego newspaper. The questions he asked were typical. Are you a delegate? Why do you support Barack Obama? How did you get involved? After hearing so many speeches that continuously repeated the message, I have to admit my answers sounded like well-honed sound bites: “If you want more the war; if you want more debt; if you want to see the disparity between the rich and the poor continue to grow; then go ahead and vote for John McCain. If you want to end this war responsibly; rejuvenate our economy by investing in alternative fuels; provide universal healthcare, the choice is Barack Obama.” Satisfied with the last answer, we exchanged business cards and parted ways.

As Cheryl mentioned, I made my way back to our hotel room. By that time, I was feeling miserable. My throat was soar, my sinuses were congested, and I developed a cough. It didn’t bode well for me before tonight’s crowing event—Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. I got to the room and collapsed for an hour!

After lunch, Cheryl and I parted ways again because I was told during the brunch that family and friends with community credentials had to leave by 1:30 to secure good seats; a wise precaution since she would be battling 80,000 other people who acquired the same prized credentials. As for the delegates, we would be transported by bus to Invesco Field between 2 and 4 pm, so I decided to take advantage of resting for another hour.

I caught the delegate bus and rode with a Hillary delegate turned Obama supporter named Miguel from Fresno. We had an interesting conversation. As a Mexican-American, Miguel was an ardent Hillary supporter. The mainly Latino community he represented supported Hillary passionately that some of them told him publicly that they would rather vote for McCain than Obama. So he posed his predicament to me in a question. If I were in his shoes, what would I do? This is the classic delegate versus trustee models that my students should recognize. Do I cast my vote for Hillary because that’s what my constituents demand me to do or do I vote for Barack Obama for the sake of party unity? I told him that I would choose the latter because that’s what Hillary told me to do. Hillary made it clear on Tuesday that the principles of the Democratic Party were much bigger than her. I expressed to him that the party was greater than the Republican alternative. Fortunately for Miguel, California’s delegate votes were suspended, but this didn't preclude him (he reminded me) in explaining the outcome to the Hillary supporters he represented.

Miguel and I entered Invesco Field and headed towards the floor. There was quite a buzz as crowds wearing Obama gear walked through halls. There was a deep anticipation in the air; all of us in a few hours would experience history together. We made our way through the tunnel used by the Denver Broncos (how cool was that!) and as we exited, the wide expanse of the stadium opened before us. After showing our credentials at various checkpoints (they were very strict in who had access in and out of the floor) we made our way to secure our seats over with the California delegation. I was finally there, pinching myself making sure that the moment wasn’t a dream. As people started to filter in through the stadium, I felt like Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator, when he walked into the Roman Coliseum. Invesco Field that evening took the world’s center stage.

After securing my seat, I wandered the floor. With camera in hand, I made my way to the outside perimeter of the floor where the media was situated. As I wandered I ran into several notables. I saw the Rev. Jesse Jackson being interviewed; I managed to briefly shake hands with former ABC Nightline anchor, now NPR correspondent, Ted Koppel, walk beside Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and spoke briefly with Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana. I also managed to get a brief glimpse of Senate majority leader, Harry Reid from Nevada.

From there, I returned to my seat. A delegate sitting behind me brought a 3’ x 5’ American flag to wave and asked me if I would help him wave it. I enthusiastically agreed and since cameras and news reporters wandered the floor, we attracted some desired attention. Our photograph was taken and was published by the Associated Press.

As we waited for Sen. Obama’s speech, it was cool to see the many American flags that people waved along the three tiers of the stadium. In fact, the crowd successfully started the wave during the convention intermissions. While many spoke, the main event was Senator Obama’s acceptance speech. After being handed American flags and “Obama-Biden” and “Change” placards, we were ready for the main event of the evening. Sitting roughly 70 feet from the stage, I sat in anticipation; then, Sen. Obama made his way to the podium with a raucous cheer of “Obama” and “Yes We Can” from the crowd. It was an amazing speech, given 45 years to the day of MLK’s “I have a Dream Speech”. I’m not going to analyze the speech on this post (the media pundits are already doing that) but his key theme of change was made clear. I thought his best line in the speech was “Enough!” Direct and forceful, he spoke to me and countless others who are tired of the corruption and silly-politics. His message of hope—when people come together to make extraordinary things happen—made me believe that the impossible can become possible.

Sure, the media is going to spin this speech once again. They’re going to point to a lack of substance and his use of broad themes; but the last time I checked the president doesn’t make laws. That’s Congress’ prerogative. The president’s power lies in his power to persuade and there is no doubt that Sen. Obama has an innate ability to inspire and bring people together.

The speech ended with a barrage of fireworks, streamers and confetti. The theme songs from the movies “Remember the Titans” and “Glory” were appropriately played. It was truly an historic moment that I will never forget. I was truly blessed and privileged to be a part of it--a part of history.