Obama Convention Speech

Note: Where appropriate, links below are to events at the convention itself.

We have returned home after seeing Barack Obama formally accept the Democratic nomination in Denver on Thursday night. It was worth the trip!

We picked up our credentials -- a cool hard-to-counterfeit holographic card (with bar code and seating info) that was hung around one's neck -- Thursday morning at a downtown hotel and it went most smoothly. We next found parking that would suffice for our relatively long stay in the area and caught Denver's light rail train to the stadium... except that we didn't. The Secret Service had the Mile High stop off limits, so we exited where we could and got in line. Ours was one of two lines that I saw and it was probably two miles long. Fortunately, the heat was bearable and the people-watching was fun. Obama brings out all kinds! :-)

The line finally got moving and we made our way to the stadium. Coke was handing out bottles of their water, which was as good a marketing campaign as they could have orchestrated! LOL We had actual convention delegates in line with us, which was a nice, egalitarian move on the part of the DNC, not to mention good PR for the party. Our seats ended up being great. While we were high up in the stands, we were directly in front of where Obama spoke. What you saw on TV was our actual sight-line. I'd much rather have been where we were than at eye level to the side or behind the podium. Also, the sun went down to our back, so we were in the shade much earlier than were many. Nice.

The early lines probably filled about 1/3 of the stadium. These were the die-hards, who had come for the entire day. There were political videos, live music, and speeches all day long. Sheryl Crow, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, and -- coolest of all -- Stevie Wonder all played. Big speeches during the day included those of Vice President Al Gore, Congressman John Lewis (GA), and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. I'm not a fan of Richardson, but I thought his performance was one of the better of the day. Lewis was most special to me because this man was one of those who stood with, marched with, and suffered with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s. When this man is speaking on the same day that an African-American man will accept the Democratic Party's nomination for president -- on the 45th anniversary of MLK's I Have a Dream speech no less -- that is momentous by any measure. A group of retired military generals and admirals stood up in support of Obama, with Air Force Major General J. Scott Gration speaking for them all. Republican, and granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Susan Eisenhower also put forward her reasons for supporting Obama.

We also saw lots and lots of political anchors, reporters, and pundits. On that list are Brian Williams, Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Tom Brokaw, Joe Scarborough, Katie Couric, Bob Shieffer, Charles Gibson, Gloria Borger, and Wolf Blitzer. There were others, but their names escape me at the moment. Interestingly, of the anchors, only Blitzer watched Obama speak. The rest were reading, presumably copies of the speech itself.

The stadium was basically full an hour before Obama spoke. American flags were given out to everyone, with huge flags and placards going to some. (We got a placard.) The entire stadium -- which appears to be a pretty good place to see a football game, btw -- was a red, white, and blue extravaganza! After Obama spoke, great fireworks went off above the crowd for about five minutes and streamers and confetti were shot out over the floor itself.

As for the speech itself, it was a home run. While not as high-minded in its rhetoric as is Obama's usual fair, it served its purpose well. Targeted at independant voters and anti-Bush Republicans, it hit McCain hard -- directly -- and used enough specifics to make his case without becoming pedestrian. It left the McCain campaign speechless and even Republican die-hards such as political strategist Alex Castellanos were in awe. The live crowd, as you might expect, went bananas at the end. My wife and I were cheering for all we were worth. (Josh Marshall of TPM gave his initial reactions to the speech here.)

Win or lose come November for Obama, this was a most historic night. I'm thankful -- and proud -- that we could be there. There just might be hope for America yet.

30 August 2008