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.

Day 4 at the DNC

This has truly been a momentous day. I was able to take a picture with Former Assembly Speaker and mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown at breakfast. After breakfast, I changed for the first time this week into jeans and boarded a bus to participate in the DNC’s very first National Service Day.

Each delegation was given various tasks to work on for community service all around the city of Denver. Cheryl and I assisted in building a playground for Force Elementary School. Some mixed cement and built the structures and others planted flowers. Cheryl, myself, and several others shoveled and dragged mulch (wood chips) to cover the ground where the playground would be. We got to meet the principal of the school, Rachel Starks, and even take a picture with her. She was very thankful for our help, as were the students, who went out to tie ribbons to the fence in order to claim the playground as their own. Cheryl especially delighted in talking with the third graders as she is a third grade teacher herself. After two hours of labor, we boarded the buses hot, tired, sweaty, but with hearts full of gratitude and pride with the opportunity to serve.

We got back to the hotel, where staff informed us that protesters were on their way and that the hotel would be under lockdown for an undetermined period of time. We got to the room, quickly showered and changed for our next event, and got out before the lockdown started. From there, we walked to a luncheon gathering for Senator Barbara Boxer. I was able to shake hands with the senator and take a picture with her, but the high spot was seeing Annette (her grandson affectionately called "Anna") Lantos, widow of Congressman Tom Lantos. My very first experience with politics was serving a summer internship under Congressman Lantos and I will never forget what a wonderful man he was. It was truly a delight to see her again. Cheryl got to meet Jack O’Connell, the superintendant of schools in California. I only wish I had been able to take a picture of her with him to show off to her fellow teachers. She was also able to thank the individual who had given her the credential to see Michelle Obama speak on Monday night. He was very gracious about it and even introduced us to Tom Bohigan, the state director for Senator Boxer, who was running her campaign and was interested in acquiring my services in Sacramento.

From there, Cheryl and I parted ways. For the first time this week, we weren’t able to procure a ticket for her to attend the convention. Instead, she was going to go to a concert held in honor of San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsome. I’ll let her tell it in her own words…

(Cheryl) I was looking forward to going to a concert and, once parting from Cirian, I looked at the map to see where I needed to go. That’s when I realized I had left my phone in the hotel and had to go back and get it. From there, I took the tram back to the street I had been on and began the walk. About a quarter-mile into it, I realized I wasn’t going to make it on my nice shoes so I flagged down a cab. As we were driving along, I noticed a HUGE gathering of people the street over, and then the cabbie said that the street had been blocked. He turned around and tried to get around the crowd, but the swarm of humanity had completely blocked all streets leading to where I wanted to go. After ten minutes of twists and turns, we both realized that I wasn’t going anywhere today. I paid the cabby, thanked him for the adventure, and walked around 16th street, looking around the shops and simply wasting time. When my feet wore out, I headed back for the hotel, only to discover that the same protest which had prevented me from going to the concert had now swarmed into 16th street. The protest parade swelled for three blocks and stopped all traffic for a good 10 minutes as the thousands of individuals walked past. I later learned that it had been an anti-war protest hosted by about 3,500 people. It was by far one of the largest protest parades I had ever seen and, while I was impressed at these people’s right to free speech, I couldn’t help but wish that they’d picked a better place for it. At last they passed, and I walked the long blocks on aching feet back to the hotel, where I curled up for a nap and watched the DNC from CNN.

(Cirian) I walked with Pam, another delegate, to the Pepsi Center, contemplating about getting a cab (it was very hot), but deciding not to. Pam had usually taken the shuttle, so she appreciated my directions. Once we got there we parted ways and I assumed my seat in the Hall section. There, the state-by-state roll call was taking place. The secretary of the convention (don’t know her name, sorry) would introduce a state and announce how many delegate votes that state had. She would then ask that state to publicly announce their tally. Typically, the state chair person would approach the mike from the floor and give a looooong shpiel about how great their state was before actually announcing their vote tally. They would say something like, “The great state of Montana, big sky country, home to Governor such and such, blah, blah, blah…” It got to the point that some of their introductions became so long winded that it was just obnoxious and yet humorous at the same time. Interestingly enough, the states of New Hampshire and New Jersey, which Clinton had won during the primary, pledged all their votes to Obama as a sign of unity.

I received a text message from a friend who informed me that there was a controversy regarding the CA delegation’s vote. I discovered that Art Torres, our chairman, agreed to suspend the CA vote to allow the state of New York to formally nominate Barack Obama. If California’s 400+ delegates had voted, it would have put Obama over the top before New York could officially nominate him. When the secretary called on Illinois to give their tally, the Illinois chairperson, as a sign of respect to Hillary Clinton, yielded the floor to the state of New York. The New York chairperson humbly thanked the Illinois delegation and gave the mike to none other than Senator Clinton. At the mike, Hillary called for an immediate suspension of all state votes. Speaker Nancy Pelosi then excused the secretary, asked for a suspension of the rules, and a unanimous voice vote in the hall to nominate Barack Obama as the official Democratic candidate. This was heard, seconded, and with enthusiastic cheers, carried. In that moment, history was made. For the first time, a major political party nominated a person of color to be their standard bearer and possibly the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. I was there to see it and raised my voice to support it. How cool is that!?


The key speakers for that evening were former President Bill Clinton and VP candidate Joe Biden. The question lingering was whether Bill Clinton would support Barack Obama. The media had hyped up the division between the Clintons and the Obamas, but after his speech, there was no doubt that the party was united. He laid a convincing argument on the stark differences between the Democratic and Republican platforms, and as he did he argued substantively why Barack Obama was the better choice. He said that, after two terms of Bushism politics, “The third time would not be the charm”. After the speech, we watched a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and hosted by Tom Hanks, which merited the services of the armed forces over the years. During this time, volunteers handed out colorful “Biden” posters elevated on cardboard poles. We then watched a documentary on Joe Biden’s life. What really impressed me about him was his commitment to his family and his children. Joe’s son Beau introduced his father and then we heard from Biden for the first time. Joe Biden was direct and his message was simple. He learned from his mother that, “When somebody hits you, you get up and hit back harder”. He also quoted that, “all of us were equals”. At the end of the speech, Joe’s wife came to him and said, “We have a surprise guest for you.” Joe looked around and asked, “Who?” At that point, Barack Obama stepped out onto the podium and the crowd went WILD! Barack had been watching from a TV in a hotel across the street, and decided to make an entrance. How convenient that all of us just happened to have “Obama-Biden” signs passed out to us shortly before he arrived.

After the convention was adjourned, I found myself in a quandary. The CA delegation had a gala scheduled at 9:00 (it was currently 9:15) at a venue 3 miles out of town. Where do I go, and how the heck to I get there? Thank goodness for the volunteers holding signs to show us how to get to the shuttle. I thanked each and every one of them along the way. Crossing bridges and swerving sidewalks, I finally managed to board the bus. On the bus, I sat with Paula, the second youngest delegate in CA. Once again, I am reminded about the potential of the young as she recounted her story to me. She was the first person in her family to go to college. We discussed the convention proceedings and how we shared the values of opportunity and equality. It really emphasizes our beliefs about why we belong to the Democratic Party.

When I arrived at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, I only had to look up to see my loving wife smiling warmly at me from the second story banister. From the hotel, she had arrived in a cab and came before many of the other delegates. With an almost-deserted museum at her disposal, this third grade teacher resembled many of her kids as she raced through the exhibits and played with all the interactive gadgets. She later told me that she knew she’d wanted to do that, so she got there early enough to be a giddy kid in a candy store without anyone seeing her – then she could be the elegant companion to a delegate as he walked through the same exhibits. We ate an exquisite banquet, the highlight being a create-your-own pasta buffet, and talked with several other delegates about the convention proceedings. One named Robert showed off several pictures he had taken with VERY big notables, including the Clintons, President Carter, and Al Sharpton. When I asked about dessert, Cheryl knew just where to go and led me to a dance hall in the middle of the space exhibit. Some ladies were dancing on the floor, and I recognized one of them as someone we had met during Service Day. Robert then joined in the dance and before I knew it, I was throwing down moves on the floor with everyone else while a press agent snapped pictures. So much for dignity.

When we were too tired to dance anymore, we made our way to the fourth floor where we were treated to a spectacular view of the city of Denver at night. After all the chaos of the week, these few moments of relative peace were much needed indeed. I allowed Cheryl to take me through the museum, which was actually very impressive, and before I knew it, it was 1am and the museum curators were kindly ushering us out. Wearily, I boarded a bus back for the hotel, and spoke with other delegates. We stumbled into the room and crashed without blogging for the night…it was time to rest for the big day.

Day 2 at the DNC

This is Cheryl, Cirian’s wife. Cirian is busy consuming his first meal in twelve hours, so I have been assigned the duty of cataloging today’s events. We began the morning with a 7:30 stop to pick up Cirian’s credential – they give them out day by day. He also put in a request for me to receive credentials as well to be able to access the events in the Pepsi Center that night.

From there, we parted ways. He went to a breakfast where Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would be attending, while I picked up something from a corner café. According to Cirian, Nancy gave a rah-rah speech about how cool Obama was and the need for the party to unite. He was also pulled aside by a Filipino news crew, who followed him around and asked him questions. After they left, a superdelegate friend pulled him aside and gave him some pointers about how to respond to media questions: 1) you should be able to summarize 3 points with 27 words in a total of 9 seconds, and 2) prepare any messages you want to make or think you will have to make before-hand…it saves the necessity of backpedaling when the media spins it wrong. He also gave something equally valuable – his extra guest credential for me! After the breakfast, Cirian took pictures with 45 other delegates who were 30 years or younger, making it the largest youth delegation in California history.

From there, we met up together and Cirian presented the special guest credential to me, which was just like Christmas in August! These things were the hottest tickets in the world at that point, and I felt very humbled to receive one. I had spent the morning walking to the US Mint, which had closed for the week due to concerns about protesters. I’d also found a treasure – the only postcards printed for the DNC. I bought 10 for starters, but later went back for another 30 for souvenirs to friends and family. We walked to the Convention Center together and with our respective credentials, we were able to pass a horrendous line of security without being stopped, only for a credential check. I made a pit stop at the NEA office and Cirian went to the Asian American Pacific Islander caucus. There, he got photo ops with Congresswoman Doris Matsui, BOE member Judy Chu, and Congressman Mike Honda, the Vice-Chair of the DNC…since I was the one taking the pictures, you won’t see me in any of those.

We attended a lunch with members of the Filipino National Delegation and discussed issues concerning the Filipino community, including Filipino veteran’s issues and general grassroots organization for the Obama campaign. Well, Cirian attended the lunch, and I ate quickly and booked out to get more postcards and get changed. Ladies, a word of advice if you plan to attend a convention: Pack at least 2 outfits a day; one for casual walking around and caucuses, one nice outfit for the evening meetings and galas. And FLAT SHOES ONLY. A morning walking in nice sandals will only give you blisters for the whole week…not worth it. We rendezvoused at the Pepsi Center where we took our nose-bleed seats for the proceedings. Thanks to binoculars and large screens, the height didn’t prevent us from seeing anything.

For those of you who watched CNN, you missed out. There were several short talks by various platform committee members and various delegation representatives. We got a performance from a Colorado children’s choir who sang the National Anthem and John Legend who did a great soul piece. Also missing was the sheer energy running through the hall. During commercial breaks, a fabulous band played songs, the Florida delegation bounced beach balls to each other, and I swear there was a crazy hat contest going on between several individuals. The greatest highlights were, of course, the big speakers of the night. Ted Kennedy made a strong showing despite his pain and made several cry with quotes from his brothers in obvious support of Obama. Jesse Jackson Jr. delivered an eloquent tribute to Dr. King, stating that “this night, freedom has never rung from a higher peak”. Finally, Michelle Obama’s key note address truly rang home to the American people how both her parents and Barack’s sacrificed to give their children higher dreams and how she was now working to give her children a greater dream as well. It moved many delegates, myself included, to tears with how touchingly she spoke. You could truly tell she cared about her family and the people she served through her life. What was really cute was when her daughters came out and Barack surprised us all with a live showing from Kansas City. He told us, “Now you know why I asked her out so many times, even when she said no.” It was really sweet seeing the family interact with each other, even from a distance.

After the convention was over, we made our way back to the hotel and Cirian freshened up for yet another gala for the AAPI community. First, however, we stopped at a dessert reception held by Diane Feinstein. She had broken her foot a while back and couldn’t attend, but the reception went on anyway. Between ice cream sundaes, cheese, and fruit we were able to connect with yet more delegates from around the state and exchanged yet more business cards. Poor Cirian wasn’t able to fill up with the snacks, though, so we decided to ditch the gala in exchange for finding more hearty fare. In the lobby, we ran into Steve Westly, who had just arrived from walking the entire way from the Pepsi Center – we had taken public transportation and thus had arrived much earlier. At the same time, Mayor Gavin Newsome from San Francisco walked in and Cirian stopped him for a photo op. I explained our plans, and Steve shooed us away merrily, saying “Go feed him”. Between the exorbantly priced clubs and restraints that were still open, we chose the elegant Subway and Cirian walked away with a nice 6” sub. Hey, not everything about this week is going to be glamorous. There is such a thing as real life.

Speaking of real life, sleep is also a necessity. Good night and we’ll talk to you tomorrow!

Day 1 at the DNC

In eleven hours, I have already attended four events/receptions/galas, and met other delegates and people from twelve different states and territories as well as reporters from Switzerland. It appears the whole world is taking an interest in this convention!

We began networking before we left the airport meeting an alternate delegate from Davis and a superdelegate from Sacramento as well as the California Secretary of State, Debra Bowen who happened to be taking the same flight! On the plane, an Obama supporter actually made her way through the cabin taking pictures of delegates and non-delegates alike. This was the first taste of the media frenzy to come.

We landed in Denver and connected with more delegates from Arizona and Michigan. When we entered the terminal people with orange shirts greeted us as well as three different news crews. From the moment we arrived in Denver, everyone from the Denver Host Committee we met was friendly, helpful and excited in seeing us. Taking the shuttle from the airport to the city, every large hotel we passed was booked by some combination of state delegations. Every lobby was decked with red, white, and blue and with official DNC stores and life-size cut outs of Sen. Obama.

Before we even checked into our room, we went to an event. Our shuttle dropped us off at the Brown Palace Hotel—by far the finest hotel in Denver. We attended an opulent luncheon hosted by the American Federation of Teachers, which had sponsored my trip. Between munching on jumbo shrimp and Boston cream pie (absolutely the best darn cream pie I ever had in my life!) we connected with AFT delegates from Wisconsin and Boston. Thus, began the business card trading! One of the most important functions of a delegate in addition to casting the ballot for the presidential and vice presidential nominees is to forge new networks and connections with people from different states and organizations. Business cards serve as networking tools for those without photographic memory!

After lunch, we checked into our hotel, the Sheraton Downtown Denver, where the California and New York delegations are staying. When I officially registered, I received two bulging gift bags from both the state and national delegations. While the miniature binoculars and the 1-gig memory drive were cool, I could have done without the Mayor Villaraigosa bobble head.

From there, we decided to explore Downtown Denver. One cool venue is the 16th Street Mall, a pedestrian street lined with shops and restaurants and crazy people. That’s right, crazy people! As we walked the street, we passed anti-abortion protestors, Recreate ’68 protestors that want to recreate the events of the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention that led to city-wide riots, and also anti-Obama parade; however, I wasn’t concerned due to the high amount of law enforcement present on the streets. There was literally a group of police officers, including mounted patrols, a squad in full riot gear, and a few with a some BFGs (if you know what I mean!) situated on every block. We made our way to the Hyatt Regency Hotel where we caught the tail end of an DNC Asian Pacific Islander training summit.

Some of the things I learned from this training were as follows:

• Democrats need to define and unify their message in order to win crucial battleground states in this general election


• John McCain = McSame = McCan’t = McBush


• Democrats need to argue facts rather than mudslinging


• Unify the Democratic Party even if you have to hug every Hillary Clinton supporter you meet
  

The next event we attended was the official DNC Host Committee’s Gala on recognizing Katrina relief organizations. When I heard “Gala”, I expected tuxedos and champagne, instead I got jambalaya, crawfish bread, and a lot of soul music. I’m so glad I was wrong. There we connected with delegates from all over the country. The hall was so packed that many people, including my wife and I had to sit on the floor to eat for the lack of seating. We met from people from Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, Guam, South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, and New Jersey. Some of the highlights of that event were meeting former gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly and the Oregon Superintendent of Public Education, Susan Castillo. I even indulged purchasing a few official Denver DNC 2008 pins, though I refrained from buying the $50 polo.

As we were leaving the gala, we were invited to attend the Young Democrats reception at a night club located a few blocks away from the Denver Convention Center. Although we were crowded in like sardines, barely hearing ourselves over the music, we managed to continue networking. We met college students from South Dakota and Colorado and joked with a UCLA alumni (GO Trojans!). At that point, two young men, one with a microphone and another a camera approached us and asked if they could ask us some questions. It turned out that they were reporters from Switzerland doing a background story on the convention. They said people around the world were interested in this critical presidential race. They were especially interested in my wife when they discovered that she was a Republican but was still going to vote for Obama. After the interview, we decided to return to our hotel, but not before throwing some dance moves on the dance floor.

Tomorrow’s a big day! House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Hillary Clinton will be addressing the California delegation at breakfast. I can’t wait! Tune in tomorrow for my next update. Till then, goodnight from the DNC!