``Political convention is after all not a meeting of a corporation's board of directors; it is a fiesta, a carnival, a pig-rooting, horse-snorting, band-playing, voice-screaming medieval get-together of greed, practical lust, compromised idealism, career-advancement, meeting, feud, vendetta, conciliation, of rabble-rousers, fist fights (as it used to be), embraces, drunks (again as it used to be) and collective rivers of animal sweat.''
Norman Mailer "Some Honorable Men: Political Conventions''
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It took 100 years, but the Democratic National Convention returns to Denver, beginning Monday for the party�s 45th national convention.
Before Barack Obama accepts his party�s nomination Thursday at Denver�s INVESCO Field at Mile High, marking a historic change of venue from the Pepsi Center, the setting for the first three nights, there will be plenty of activity to keep voter�s interest.
Michelle Obama highlights Monday�s curtain-raiser, including appearances by Maya Soetero-Ng, Obama�s sister, Craig Robinson, Mrs. Obama�s older brother; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will also be on the dais during an opening night that will be underscored with a special tribute to the bastion of liberalism: Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Sen. Hillary Clinton acknowledges her passionate supporters the following night, when the New York junior senator throws her untrammeled support behind her once Democratic rival; the same night former Virginia Governor Mark Warner delivers the keynote address. Bill Clinton then strolls to the podium on Wednesday, to fire up party supporters, repair old wounds, (particularly among many African-Americans, who felt the former president used some racial undertones during a bruising primary season), and rally support in front of a nationally televised audience to return a Democrat to the White House for the first time since he was re-elected.
Speakers added to the convention include: former president Jimmy Carter, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz (Monday), Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy; West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin (Tuesday); Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday.
As with most conventions, there will be plenty of buzz over who the Democratic nominee selected as his running mate, a decision likely to be made before the weekend.
Will the Illinois senator play it safe and go with Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, a two-term governor, and a popular figure in a conservative state, but ideologically at odds with Obama�s foreign policy, (he voted to authorize the war in Iraq); or will Team Obama roll the dice and choose Mrs. Clinton, whose exceedingly popular with blue-collar Democrats and women, but a curse to Republican voters, meaning, her abrasive style and appetite to revel in the limelight, might tilt undecided Republicans (disheartened with their party) toward John McCain, a dangerous scenario for the Democrats.
Stay tuned.
Despite the all-star lineup which will include a swarm of celebrities, the real measure whether this convention is a success (or a dud) will come on Thursday night during the nominee�s acceptance speech, when all ears will be tuned to hear if Mr. Obama delivers a passionate articulate speech, decorated with patriotic imagery that will make voters forget some of the bumps along the way to the Democratic Convention (Jeremiah Wright, The New Yorker�s Muslim caricature, donning jackets without an American lapel pin, running out of gas during the final stretch of the primary, etc), while laying out a sound foreign policy agenda, offering workable solutions (not just clichd hopes or naive dreams) in addressing the deep economic concerns of all Americans, specifically: the woeful economy, the energy crisis, a historic housing crisis, a growing jobless rate, that came to fruition during a Republican administration.
The only exit strategy out of this mess, Obama is likely to say, is by putting a Democrat back in the White House.
Footnotes about the Democratic Convention:
� There will be approximately 15,000 members of the media attending the convention, including 120 credentialed bloggers.
� The Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau expects the economic impact to Denver to be $160 million as a result of the convention.
� There will be live streaming of the convention on DNC�s website including a webcast in Spanish.
� The last Democratic Convention in Denver was in 1908
� The first Democratic Convention was 1832 in Baltimore, when Henry Clay of Kentucky was selected as nominee
� In 1868, Susan B. Anthony, appeared at the Democratic convention in New York at Tammany Hall to push for women�s suffrage.
� In 1956, Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson informed that party he had no plans to pick his running mate, leaving the decision up to delegates which resulted in 13 candidates contesting for the no. 2 spot. Not until the second ballot does Sen Estes Kefauver of Tennessee narrowly defeat John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for vice president.
� In 1972, because of an especially long roll call before Thomas Eagleton is chosen as vice president, George McGovern wasn't able to deliver his acceptance speech until 3:00 a.m.
� Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a Democratic jackass trying to scare a Republican elephant in the January 15, 1870 edition of Harper�s Weekly. The depiction quickly took hold and a decade later it became standard party symbols
� The 1832 Democratic convention began the tradition of having one person from each delegation announce the vote of their state
� Democratic nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 became the first candidate of a major party to accept a nomination in person
Origin of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (1832): First known as the Democrat-Republican Party beginning in 1789, the party was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792 to counter the elitist Federalist Party. They dropped Republican from its name after 1830; and became known simply as the Democratic Party.
The early tenets of the party stressed limited government, strict adherence to the constitution, and state rights.
Between 1932 and 1980, the Democrats occupied the White House for 32 years.
Websites to Keep in Mind
Official Site of the 2008 Democratic Convention
Denver 2008 Host Committee
Denver�s Official Visitor�s Guide
List of Speakers at the Convention:
History
Q & A: Political Conventions (From America.gov)
N.Y. Times Political Convention History
Convention Speeches: Full Text Archives (The American Presidency Project)
Presidential Conventions Since 1968
C-Span Roundtable Video Archive: David Broder, George McGovern
Denver Democratic Convention 1908-2008 (YouTube Video)
Convention Delegates/Elections
Delegate Map: Democratic National Convention
Certified Delegates by State
FEC Regulations Governing Public Funds For Political Conventions
Votes Cast For President (1948-2004)
Denver History
Social, Economic, Demographic and Business Data on Denver (and St. Paul Minn) From The U.S. Census Bureau
Denver Background Facts
Denver: Economic Impact from Convention
Quick Facts: Helpful Links
Election/Convention Experts: University of Colorado at Boulder
Colorado Newspapers & Television Stations
Denver's Weather History (NOAA)
Denver Maps (From Google)
-Bill Lucey
August 20, 2008
[email protected]
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