Day 3 at the DNC

Whew! We made it to the halfway point. It’s been a blast thus far. I had breakfast once again with the CA delegation and heard from Democratic governors around the nation including David Patterson of New York, Ted Strickland from Ohio, and Joe Manchin from West Virginia.

All of them spoke about the theme of change and the critical importance of balancing state budgets. I especially liked Gov. Strickland’s talking points when he said, “If you want more war, more debt, increased disparity between the rich and the poor, less health care, then go ahead and vote for John McCain. If you want to end this war responsibly, care for our veterans, invest in renewable energy, and rejuvenate our economy, then vote for Barack Obama.” Phil Angelides, former California gubernatorial candidate also spoke, joking that this was the closest he ever came to being a governor. He spoke to advocate for a new group called Apollo Allliance, that would invest in renewable energy. Since today was the 88th anniversary of women’s suffrage, Chairman Art Torres called up all elected women officials from California for a photo op. It was cool to see so many women on the stage and how far they have come. They also offered pieces of white cloth to tie around our wrists, symbolizing the cloth signs women once used to march for suffrage. Cheryl was even gifted with a Hillary + Obama pin, a true rarity.


After breakfast, I met up with Cheryl to begin our day of exploring the city. As we walked through the lobby, Cheryl pointed further ahead and asked, “Who’s the dude with the white hair? He looks familiar.” It was former governor Gray Davis! We got to shake hands, and I thanked him for signing our college diplomas. I also got to give him my card and take a picture with him.


From there, we walked around the Civic Gardens to watch the protestors. We took great pictures of religious conservatives shouting down Democrats for perverting the Bible and condemning them to hell, while the onlookers shouted out their own retorts. We found this highly amusing, but also found a deeper respect for the freedoms we are given in this country. These two groups disagreed highly but both were allowed to express their opinions, and only bullhorns were used instead of bullets. Indeed, the police presence was extremely high, and the more loudly the protestors shouted, it seemed the more police were ready to break up any scuffles. We amused ourselves with taking pictures of the stunning Denver skylines, especially the architecture of the Denver Public Library and Art Museum.

We decided to take a break from politics and tour the art museum, but I wasn’t there long before I had to leave for the Convention Center to attend the Veteran’s Caucus. I really wanted to be there to support the Filipino Veteran’s Bill (S. 1315), an omnibus bill that would finally provide benefits to Filipino WWII veterans that were promised to them by FDR, but never given because Congress rescinded them. I was privileged to meet several of these heroes and hear their stories. During the caucus, Congressman Mike Honda gave an impassioned speech that called for the support of this bill. He said, “Veterans understand that they don’t leave their fellow soldiers behind. This is a bill that can redeem Congress, because Congress never should break its promises.” Our Filipino delegation was asked to lobby for this bill as the vote will be taken in three weeks time. I’m going to put on my delegation hat and ask that, if you feel impassioned about this issue, please contact your local member of Congress and request that they support this bill.


I made my way back to the museum (where Cheryl had been traipsing around the whole time, enjoying herself) and attended a very informative panel discussion regarding the media’s role in politics. It was sponsored by USC’s Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership and Politico – my old alma mater. I was glad, amidst all this political fervor, to attend an academic event. The panelists included nationally renowned journalists such as Karen Tumulty from TIME magazine and Juan Williams from NPR and the Fox News Channel. They talked about how the role of media in politics had changed due to technology and how the role of the blogosphere affected the integrity of media reporting. It’s great stuff that I will be including in my media in politics lecture next class.


More than anything, I wanted to go up to them during the reception and ask them questions, but I was contacted by a friend who had a guest pass available that night for Cheryl, but I had to go pick it up. Unfortunately, they were a mile and a half away and traveling even further as we were speaking. I left my food and literally raced down 16th Street to get to the end stop by the time they did. Thank goodness I was wearing my comfortable loafers and not my Oxfords. I called Cheryl (still traipsing around the museum enjoying herself) and told her to gather what we needed for the convention and to meet me there. Tired, thirsty and sore, I made my way to the nearest decently priced restraint (Chipotle) and had dinner. Cheryl later joined me, and she ate while I continued to rest my still-protesting muscles. We then walked to the Pepsi Center and arrived shortly before 6 o’clock. The irony of the night was that Cheryl had been gifted with an “Honored Guest” credential, which allowed her to sit even lower than I had the night before. However, due to the fact that we had arrived so late, all of those seats and the ones I could procure with my credential were all taken. We ended up in the nosebleed section along with people who had Floor credentials but decided to sacrifice proximity for seating. According to them, being on the floor was as good as being in a sardine tin, and from our vantage point you could actually see the sheer mass of humanity in the room.




One bright spot of all this searching for a seat was that I ran into David Brooks, the political analyst for the New York Times. I'm a big fan of his work and see him all the time at PBS' NewsHour. I know, I'm a geek, I don't care. I was able to shake his hand and take a picture with him.

Although the speakers were less notable than last night, we still got some great one-liners, which Cheryl was kind enough to record:

• “George Bush was elected on 3rd base, and thought he had hit a triple. George W. was elected on 3rd base and then stole second.” Ted Strickland, Ohio governor
  


• “We can’t afford 4 more years. Let’s only make it 4 more months!” Sen. Casey, Pennsylvania



• “One generation can change the circumstances.” Deval Patrick, Massachusetts governor



• “Senator McCain offers change, but it’s not the change we need.” Rian Schwitzer, Montana governor
  
  

Much of the talk tonight was about what Barack Obama would do to change policy when he got to the White House. The term “green-collar job” was often mentioned, implying that there would be an influx of work in developing alternate forms of fuel. Other topics mentioned were equal pay to women and universal health care.

Of course, the highly anticipated speaker of the evening was none other than Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who received an enthusiastic welcome. “Hillary” signs were distributed prior to her speaking, so she walked out to a flood of waving signs and deafening cheers. I believe she hit all the points she needed to in unifying the party. One big element was that she asked her supporters why they wouldn’t vote for Obama. “Are you voting for me, or are you voting for the mother dying of cancer with three adopted Autistic children? Are you voting for me, or are you voting for the mother and son living off of minimum wage?” The message was clear – the choice is now between change and “4 more years of the same thing”. I think the best quote she gave, though, was about the RNC: “It’s no surprise that Bush and McCain will be in the Twin Cities next week – they’re twins already!” It was an intelligent, rousing, impassioned speech to which both Hillary and Obama supporters enthusiastically supported and cheered the entire time.

After the convention, Cheryl and I went from a basketball arena to a baseball stadium – Coors Field. There, we attended the Veterans and Labor Union reception for various state delegations in the club suites (sweet!). Over crabmeat wontons and fruit skewers, we discussed the events of the convention and networked with a few folks from Long Beach who actually worked for an oil company. It was interesting getting their side of the story. The gentleman worked for domestic oil while his twin brother was currently in Nigeria trying to get oil out. He talked about how cities, states, and even the federal government profited from oil, but they were still made out to be the bad guys. He said that, instead of shutting them down or cutting off their funds, oil companies could lead the way in creating the alternative fuels. According to him, “When engineers and designers were given free reign on their ingenuity, supported by big companies, they put man on the moon. Let us do the same with clean energy.” Frankly, I agree with him.

We made the long walk back to our hotel. As we walked to the doors, a group of three men arrived at the same time and they opened the door for Cheryl. I recognized one of them and discussed the Filipino Veteran’s bill, while Cheryl talked with another of the gentleman. The one she was with invited us for drinks, but I had to get this blog posted, so I declined. As we left, Cheryl gave me his card, which he had given her. It turns out he’s an ambassador from Pakistan! Maybe I should have accepted those drinks after all…

Good night and see you tomorrow!