On Palin

I thought I would be able to take Labor Day Weekend and come back and write about what it was like being at Invesco Field for Obama's speech Thursday night. But the announcement that Sarah Palin is McCain's choice for VP and the deluge of news stories introducing her to the country has led me to write about her instead. Since the announcement the race has flipped upside down. No one exactly know what impact McCain's selection will have, but I would like to offer my thoughts.

At first glance, it's a joke. Hell, at second and third glance, it's at best worth scratching your head over. It is so clearly pandering to Hillary voters that it's easy to laugh. She's a beauty queen winner for crying out loud. She has no experience that any of the talking heads would consider worthy of being president. And every few hours, a new story trickles out proclaiming to sink her -- pregnant daughter, troopergate, Ted Stevens, the secessionists. Everyone I've talked to sees right through it.

But the reaction -- albeit a predictable reaction -- from the McCain campaign to the attacks on Palin game me second thought. McCain hack Carly Fiorina came out swinging, saying the talk about Palin as inexperienced was sexist. CNN quoted Fiorina saying the following:

“I am appalled by the Obama campaign's attempts to belittle Governor Sarah Palin’s experience,” said Fiorina. “The facts are that Sarah Palin has made more executive decisions as a Mayor and Governor than Barack Obama has made in his life.

“Because of Hillary Clinton's historic run for the Presidency and the treatment she received, American women are more highly tuned than ever to recognize and decry sexism in all its forms. They will not tolerate sexist treatment of Governor Palin.”

It was bound to happen eventually, but I didn't realize they would resort to that line so quickly. And while the argument is as transparent as the selection itself, it will work. It might not work on the East Coast, but that's not what they are after. It might not work with the feminists, but they were never going to win them anyway. The group it could work with are the people in the west and in the south. The people who have felt slighted by McCain for not being religious enough or conservative enough will hear the selection of Palin as a call to arms. And the victimization of her will only solidify that feeling.

Obama must be careful. He and Biden (who unthinkably described Palin as "good looking") need to think long and hard before they come out swinging. The media and the left are enjoying the apparent absurdity of this pick. They are licking their chops. But she will give the speech of her life tomorrow. She will say her daughter is off limits and the crowd will go nuts. She will introduce herself to middle America and those voters will be impressed. The pundits will go crazy for her. And when that speech is done, Steve Schmidt, Charlie Black and John McCain will have played everyone like a fiddle.

Acclamation

I finally made it to the convention floor yesterday. Everyone by now knows what kind of night it was. There are no adjectives I could write that haven't been written. I'll leave the descriptions of the Clinton speech, the Biden speech, the Kerry speech (everyone should check it out if they haven't already) and the surprise of Obama showing up at the end to the professionals. Instead of trying to describe what it was like standing there in person, I want to tell you about events earlier in the day that may not have received the same coverage as the big speeches.

Having heard about the long lines and tight security, I decided to go when the doors opened at 3. People slowly trickled in. I found a spot behind the Illinois delegation and stood until they kicked me out. I was told to move as the delegations began to announce their votes. I eventually made my way to the Pennsylvania delegation where I found a pocket of delegates standing behind the allotted seats. I stood next to Franco Harris and behind Morgan Fairchild. She was passing her phone to Governor Ed Rendell.

Each delegation stood, in alphabetical order. The tension was palpable. The entire hall seemed to hold its breath, hoping the states wouldn't give too many votes to Clinton. Each time a delegation gave votes to Obama, an ovation would follow.

A few announcements left us scratching our heads. California, led by Barbara Boxer passed. As did Mayor Daley and the Illinois delegation. We had heard rumors that the counting of the votes would end with New York, but I, at least, didn't know how that was going to happen.

By the time New Mexico announced, the Pennsylvanians started to stir, knowing their time was coming. New Mexico decided to give its votes to Illinois, the home state of Obama. Daley grabbed the mic again and announced that he was transferring the Prairie State's votes to the home state of Senator Clinton.

The cameras shifted to New York, and a roar went out as Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Charles Rangel appeared on the Pepsi Center screens. Clinton asked that Obama be named the nominee by acclamation. The place went crazy. The photo above is of Rendell grabbing the Pennsylvania post and shaking it as hard as he could. Someone nearby him said, "Governor, they're not going to count our votes." Rendell turned and said, "I don't think anyone gives a shit."

It was the most amazing moment of the day, as far as I'm concerned. I haven't had much exposure to the media since I've been here, but I'm assuming this moment has not received the coverage it deserves. If you missed it, check out the video here:

Kumar works the convention

I don't know why he was there, but he was. He told me to keep walking.

"She did it"

Day 2 was much like Day 1. I went from event to event -- some boring, some impossible to get into, some thrilling -- but mostly I spent the day waiting for the night. Late in the afternoon, I went to the Illinois delegate party, hosted by Mayor Daley. There were aldermen, state senators and the first appearance by the disgraced governor. Michelle Obama was there, too.

Following the event, and after failing to get a credential to be on the floor for Clinton's speech, I went back to a hotel to watch with a crowd. Judging from the few comments I've heard by the talking heads, the speech was as well received nationally as it was in the hotel lobby.

People were talking loudly during Warner's and Schweitzer's speeches -- which was too bad because from what I could hear, they were nearly as impressive as Clinton -- but when Chelsea took the microphone the noise stopped. From the first words, it was clear what the speech was going to do -- halt, at least until Bill talks tonight, the sense that the Clintons aren't on board. She ran off a list of things she was proud to be -- a mother, a Senator from New York -- and crescendoed to set the stage for the rest of the speech -- "And I am proud to support Barack Obama as president of the United States." She hit every note. And when she finished, the table next to me hollered, "She did it."

I've heard a few pundits say she was setting herself up for 2012 and the Republican talking point is that she didn't sell Obama as a candidate. The skepticism and criticism was inevitable. The golden rule in political coverage seems to be that the Clintons never do enough. The psycho-babble will only increase tonight. But there was no doubt in my mind that she is on board.

Sign of the day

"A hunger for change"

It's taken me some time to find a computer, but I finally found one for free at the Curtis Hotel. It's been an amazing experience so far, and I'm sure it's only going to get better. From the moment I got on the plane, I was in the middle of it all. Rahm Emanuel was sitting in first class and I shared a cab with the wife of Obama's finance chair leaving the airport in Denver.

The scene is about what you'd expect -- protesters, pins and political slogans everywhere. I walked down 16th St. to get a bite to eat and was confronted by three loud men shouting about the sins of homosexuality. Minutes later Medea Benjamin and the rest of her Code Pink posse rang their bells as they biked past.

But so much of the media's attention is on the Clinton factor. Indeed, their presence was felt, too, but hardly as strong as the network news would have you believe. There is a group here called PUMA -- Party Unity My Ass -- that is small, but loud. There were five PUMAs walking down the street wearing Hillary shirts and shouting, "Count every vote," "This is about democracy." Those five attention seekers were getting what they wanted; they were surrounded by six different cameras.

There was the expected sight-seeing too. I passed Reps. Charles Rangel and Gwen Moore. I saw Tammy Duckworth and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Everyone's here, walking from panel discussions or lunches or delegation parties.

The real fun, though, started when the sun went down. I was not able to grab a credential to the convention, so I went to the Mariott to watch the speeches in the lobby. I was met by a room full of others who were not able to make it into then Pepsi Center. And while I was not there to hear the roar when Kennedy walked out, it couldn't have been much louder than it was in the hotel lobby. I could not see Maria Shriver wipe tears away in person, but I witnessed others cry.

The Kennedy speech was so inspiring that I almost forgot Michelle Obama was yet to come. By the time her brother finished with her introduction, though, everyone was ready. Her pauses were met with applause, her statements with hoots and hollers. She spoke of the country's "hunger for change," and you could feel that hunger throughout the room. When she finished everyone stood in their seats because they couldn't contain their excitement.

After the speech, I went to a party held by Richard Durbin and Emanuel. Both were there, as was Al Franken, Sens. Bob Casey and Amy Klobuchar. But none of that starpower matched the two minutes when Michelle Obama walked onto the tiny stage and spoke for two minutes, thanking the crowd and the crowd's hosts.

Note: I have taken several other pictures with my phone since arriving, but am experiencing technical difficulties. I will try to upload them later. Be sure to check back.

Convention bound

Tomorrow is the one-month mark since I last wrote. Some interesting things in the political world, as well as in my life (more dog pictures) have happened. I'm not going to attempt to catch up. Instead, I'll pretend the absence never happened and pick up where I left off.

I choose tomorrow because I am leaving for Denver to go to the convention. I will not have a computer, so I'm not sure what my access will be, but every opportunity I have with an internet connection will be spent blogging. I'm looking forward to it and to writing about it, so please check back in.

Her favorite spot

A guy you could play pickup with

When Obama was visiting the troops during his foreign policy tour this week, he stopped by a basketball court and this is what happened.



The first time I watched the video, I thought, "Wow, that must drive Republicans crazy." It's not enough that he goes over and sits down with foreign leaders who endorse his plans. It's not enough that he speaks to a crowd of 200,000 about restoring America's image abroad. On top of all that, he gets to look cool, too.

This is not a perfect comparison, but the coolness factor Obama has in contrast to his opponent reminds me a little of all that nonsense in 2004 when voters said they'd rather have a beer with Bush than Kerry. That rightfully drove Democrats crazy. I imagine that is kind of how McCain supporters feel when Obama spots up from behind the arc.

Proof is in the pudding

McCain sees things where no one else does. He looks at the map to the left and sees a serious problem with the Iraq-Pakistan border. What, you don't see it? That's because you don't have the foreign policy experience McCain does.