Thanks...

Thanks everyone for reading about my experiences at the convention. Although I'm not a writer by far, I tried...I promise. Feel free to contact me about anything.

Go Obama!!!!!

My Denver photos

I learned a lot of things this week. One of them is that I need a new camera. Even though I was super close to the convention stage, you certainly can't tell by my photos. I think the dark lighting had something to do with it. Nevertheless, here is the slide show from my trip:

Oh what a night...late August back in '08

I'm back home, but I'm still reeling from Denver. I made it in yesterday afternoon along with a flight full of Democrats coming back from the convention, along with the reporting staff from the Star and Kevin Rader from WTHR.

As for Thursday night...man what a night. The staging, the hype, the security, the celebrities...I could go on and on. But man, that speech. The Obama campaign set the bar majorly high when it moved Thursday night's acceptance speech to Invesco Field. But man, did Obama deliver or what? Emotions were high as we all listened to every word, standing and applauding every other sentence. Sen. Chuck Schumer was weeping in front of me, along with half the crowd. We all knew that we were going to be a part of history by being there, but I couldn't have fathomed how great the speech Obama was going to give.

My two favorite lines against McCain:

You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.

and

But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time.

Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?

I don't know about you, but I am not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.

That last line, about taking a 10 percent chance on change, is priceless. Sorry lady's, this might sound a bit sexist, but it was a manly speech. It was time to be tough and take on McCain, and Obama delivered.

My favorite part of his speech overall was towards the end, when it seemed like he was comforting skeptics and pulling in those disaffected by government. Obama said:

But this, too, is part of America's promise, the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer, and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values.

And that's to be expected, because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.

If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.

And you know what? It's worked before, because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping and settle for what you already know.

I get it.

The entire speech can be read here.

Thursday night and this whole week will go down as one of the most exciting times in my life.

Signing off

I'm off to get some buttons, etc. for family and friends. I'll be disowned if I come back empty-handed.

Security is tight for tonight's event, so delegates are being shuttled in early. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again as I'm flying out early in the morning. I'll be sure to post all my photos here and give a recap of today.

Diversity on Display

Here's the list of speakers from this morning's delegation breakfast:

Sen. Dick Durbin - IL (who will introduce Barack tonight)
US Rep. Brad Ellsworth
US Rep. Andre Carson
IN Rep. and candidate for Lt. Governor Dennie Oxley

That line-up is one of the reasons that I love the Democratic Party so much. The diversity of each of these people could only happen in the Democratic Party.

Wednesday - Night

Last night's convention was again electric. The excitment started with the roll call, that not even Hollywood could script. What started out as somewhat of a controversy, ended on an unexpected and excited suspension of rules. Midway through what appeared to be a ceremonial roll call, Nebraska yeilded the floor to Illinois, which then yeilded to New York. At that time New York was called upon for its votes. Hillary then called for Barack to be approved by acclamation. Her motion passed with a roaring "aye". I'm not sure if that's happened before, but it was awesome to be there to participate.

I was so proud to hear President Clinton give such a strong speech on his support for Barack Obama. Although, it was almost like a Mad Lib where all the phrases he needed to say were inserted throughout, I thought he did a awesome job. The crowd in the arena was unstoppable in its applause and excitement upon his arrival on stage. I also noticed he was very shakey. It could have been because he dumped his planned speech on foreign policy, for the nicely blended speech he gave.

The highlight of the night however was Barack's suprise appearance following Biden's great speech. If you missed it, the clip is below.

Wednesday - Day

My day yesterday was packed with receptions from early afternoon on. The highlight of the receptions I attended would probably be a reception honoring Green Delegates who participated in the DNC's Green Delegate Challenge. Not only was the reception high on the swanky factor, but it was a nice reward for those who chose to participate in the program.

As a participant, I was given a very nice Zune MP3 player (Microsoft was a sponsor), which was unexpected but very nice. Unfortunately, I think I was the only Indiana delegate there. Indiana also wasn't a state that the entire delegation participated in the program. Those delegations that did, were honored at the convention and also had a distinctive sign placed above their state's sign on the convention floor.

The band at the reception, Bitter:Sweet was also pretty cool. I had a chance to briefly talk with the singer who was very sweet and is a big Obama supporter. She also announced to the crowd that politicians are sexy, which I appreciated.