Friday: a 'wow' experience

The lines to get into Invesco Field to see and hear Barack Obama give his acceptance speech Thursday weren't blocks long, they were miles long in the hot sun. Was it worth it? Yes, it was a "wow" experience.

The Oregon delegation sat right behind the New York delegation, great seats. It is hard to paint a picture of what it is like to be part of a crowd of 84,000 Americans waiting for a speech that turned out to be 44 minutes long. We weren't exactly sitting on our front porch, but in a way it was like sitting on America's front porch. The last time an acceptance speech was held outside was when John F. Kennedy accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The cool mountain air made the evening perfectly comfortable. After the speech I returned to the hotel -- over stimulated, exhausted and satisfied with the results of my adventure in conventioneering. Unable to settle down, I clicked through TV channels. Conservative Pat Buchanan called the speech the best and most important political speech he had heard going back 48 years. Mr. Buchanan and I agree; it really was a historical night.

I scribbled a few lines that felt like touchdown moments during the speech in the football stadium. "America, we are better than these last eight years." Obama spent most of the time in his speech on how he would make people better off than they are right now. He was talking to ordinary workers. He said, " We will cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families."

Of course, we were reminded that John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time and so have Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith and Congressman Greg Walden. Obama spoke to middle and working-class voters, giving precise examples of his plans to deal with the domestic economic anxiety most of us are feeling.

Lynn Howe, Democratic candidate for state representative in House District No. 6 of Medford, told me a story after she'd completed a long afternoon of canvassing potential voters. She'd met a man and wife who illustrate exactly what Obama was talking about last night. The man once owned a small construction company. Obviously very little home construction is happening in Jackson County. Now he is employed as a temporary worker on the Medford School District's school construction projects. His wife, a church secretary, was laid off because the church tithing has gone down too much to keep her on. Lynn said, "These people are hard workers and good community members who are worried sick about what will happen to them after the school construction projects are completed." The sad truth is Lynn is hearing versions of the same hard-luck story all over Medford.

That is why Barack Obama's leadership and plans for decreasing domestic economic anxiety are so important. This election is not about offshore drilling or who wears a flag pin made in China, it is about the price of food, gas, clothes for school, or buying a new backpack for the exciting first day of school. Obama's speech sharply focused on how he would make people better off than they are right now.

Drive around Jackson County and look at all the houses for sale, the empty storefronts, the empty food pantries, read page after page of home foreclosures in this newspaper and then ask yourself if we are better off than we were eight years ago. Obama said it best last night: "Eight is enough."

Birthday wishes to John McCain on his 72nd today. Meanwhile, the number of troubled banks rose by 30 percent in the second quarter, the highest in five years. The FDIC said that banks' profits plunged 87 percent, to $5 billion compared with the same quarter a year ago. Register to vote if you haven't done so.

I'm headed home to Medford.

Thursday: All those in favor, say "aye"

Oregon delegation members' voices were hoarse this morning at our breakfast at 7.

Sen. Clinton released her delegates early in the day yesterday. We watched U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley stride to the podium on the convention floor in the afternoon. He turned to look at the Oregon delegates and waved before delivering his remarks. Our delegation let House Speaker Merkley know we were watching his back. He saw our pom-poms and "This is Merkley Country" signs, and he heard the hoots and hollers. Merkley's back must have smarted from the hearty slaps he received after rejoining the Oregon delegation following his energetic speech.

Merkley's campaign office in Medford at 40 S. Central should be flooded with volunteers now that summer is quickly coming to an end. Ian Foster, a South Medford High School graduate, has returned to his hometown to help run Merkley's Jackson County campaign.

Yesterday's roll-call vote, clearly orchestrated, allowed the New York delegation to put Sen. Obama over the top in the number of delegate votes needed to declare him the Democratic nominee for president. Early on, the Arkansas delegation signaled that unity was in the air when their delegates voted unanimously for Obama. I found myself wishing the Stevie Wonder song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" had been played. Sen. Joe Biden's speech accepting the party's nomination for vice president was a truly emotional barn burner.

Delegates "get to" pay their way to the convention and pay their own expenses. One enterprising Oregon delegate I talked with managed to find enough friends and family to assist her with her expenses. I have watched delegates buy hundreds of T-shirts, buttons and other memorabilia. Since I packed four shirts and a couple of pairs of pants in a very small carry-on bag, I won't be lugging much campaign swag home.

The hottest Obama buttons are designed and made by a young single mother of two children from Bend. A generous Oregon delegate from Bend paid for the artist's peddler's license. The buttonmaker drove herself to Denver and set up shop on a street corner downtown. Everyone asks us where we purchased the elegant Obama pins. You can check out the pins yourself at ViaDelia.com and support a struggling artist.

I have to confess walking in 90-degree heat downtown finally got to me, so I paid for a rickshaw ride. The young driver who peddled me to the convention center offered me a choice of paying for the ride or giving him a generous tip, some forced choice, heh!

Logistics, logistics, logistics. Traveling to Obama's acceptance speech is going to be a challenge today. We have been instructed to wear hats, bring no more than 2 ounces of sunscreen and to remember water bottles may not be taken into the stadium. Security will be strictly enforced. Gee, I thought the security to get into the convention was tight, but we've been warned about long security lines. I just hope we don't damage the playing field tonight. Today, on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a Dream" speech, Americans will have the opportunity to see for themselves our candidate.

Today I looked at the picture of the famous birthday celebration picture of John McCain being presented with a birthday cake on his 69th birthday from President Bush while New Orleans laid underwater. Biden's line in last night's speech, "The choice in this election is clear, these times require more than a good soldier, they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change," sums up why many Americans will not vote for more of McSame.

Back in Medford tomorrow, and I can hardly wait.

Wednesday: through the looking glass

Like Alice in "Through the Looking Glass," I'm pondering the world of the Democratic National Convention from the other side of the mirror. I'm a newcomer to party politics, joining the Jackson County Democrats during Gov. Kulongoski's campaign for governor a couple of months before the November 2006 election. This is the first time any of the delegates of the 2nd Congressional District (all from Jackson County) has ever been to a national convention.

Last night's speech by Hillary Clinton was the public finale of the Clinton campaign for president. Behind the curtain, aides were running up and down the aisles delivering signs to hold up during her speech, providing signals for when to raise the signs and finally delivering large poles with the word "Unity" written on both sides. The "McCain more of the Same" signs were literally scooped up in a matter of minutes by many delegates.

The floor vote for Obama and Clinton is scheduled for 3 this afternoon. After the first round of roll-call votes, the Clinton delegates from Oregon will flip to Obama.

The "Democrats Divided" narratives delivered by some media just doesn't represent the Oregon delegation. In the interest of full disclosure, there is one very, very bitter Clinton delegate from up north who is still threatening to vote for McCain. I usually carry Oregon voter registration forms with me and I wish I had one now to hand over to her.

Personally, I struggled with the Clinton campaign relying so heavily on Bill Clinton's legacy. Perhaps the Clinton campaign could have run on Senator Clinton's record in the Senate. Having played many sports I know that when you lose, you lose.

Just before Clinton's speech, Jeff Merkley, candidate for U.S. Senate in Oregon, joined the Oregon delegation on the floor with his wife, Mary. Oregon House Speaker Merkley will speak on the convention floor this afternoon. The Merkley campaign is housed within the Jackson County Democrats office at 40 S. Central in Medford. One of the two field representatives for Merkley's Jackson County campaign is a South Medford High School graduate with experience in other campaigns. Drop on by and pick up a Merkley lawn sign or volunteer!

Oregon State University fans, take note that Craig Robinson, OSU's new men's basketball coach, visited the Oregon Delegation yesterday. He is the brother of potential first lady Michelle Obama.

Robinson created a ripple through the crowd during his visit but not nearly the ripple retired pro basketball player Charles Barkley caused when he walked by the Oregon delegation surrounded by press and fans.

This morning while I waited in front of the hotel to be driven to a National Public Radio studio in Denver for a radio interview I saw, in less than 10 minutes, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Terry McAuliffe, former chair of the DNC and Clinton's campaign manager, and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin leave the hotel. Since Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly are also part of the Fox crew staying in the hotel, I'm hoping to see them too before the convention ends.

Most of the Oregon delegates are finding it absurdly difficult to find time to eat between light rail trips to the convention center and the non-stop action at the convention. I enjoyed a Cobb salad at 10:30 last night in my room.

Today looks to be a very exciting day. More later.

Tuesday: I saw Ethel Kennedy

I leaned over a second-floor balcony in the convention center overlooking the VIP entrance Monday night. Ethel Kennedy entered surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Kennedy men were straightening one another's ties, and cowlicks were patted down on some of the younger boys while Ethel Kennedy was signaled out by the security guard. I watched Mrs. Kennedy extend her arms, smiling graciously as the guard waved his security wand around her petite body.

The tribute to Senator Kennedy was about to begin and yes, it was emotional. It was a historical rewind of the part the Kennedy clan continues to play bringing civil rights and equal rights to all Americans. Tears flowed as this is very likely the last Democratic National Convention that Edward Kennedy will ever attend.

Imagine having a golden ticket to all the floors of the convention center to roam freely. Delegate convention credentials issued are delivered to the hotels housing delegates at 4:30 each morning by Colorado State Police officers. State delegates pick up their credentials between 7 and 7:30 each morning at their hotels.

Sky boxes are on the third floor of the convention center overlooking the podium. Private parties sponsored by individuals, organizations and companies serve the really fancy-dancy food to their invitees. The second floor is chaotic with national and international press carrying tripods and cameras, jousting between delegates and lines for the elevators and the food court stands. The Oregon delegation enters the convention floor from there. Access to buy a $6 hot dog or a $4 bottle of water is right by the entrance and best of all, bathrooms.

It isn't unusual to see Dan Rather or Ted Koppel stroll by while many of us are checking the large screen TVs reporting convention news. The main story some media are flogging about the division of Obama and Clinton delegates just isn't happening within the Oregon delegation.

Michelle Obama and her daughters seemed quite delighted to see Barack Obama on a huge screen last night. I enjoyed the girls' spontaneous comments! Children really do say the dandiest things.

Tired from long walks to and from venues, 2nd Congressional District delegates, especially the ones who stayed up really late last night, continue to talk about Congressman Greg Walden's "no" vote on June 5 to discontinue county payments for 33 of Oregon's 36 counties. Walden, the only Oregon member of congress to vote "no" on the county payments, may not realize his vote has made it harder for those who carry the heaviest load. Our neighbors in Josephine County will suffer even more, as will Jackson County.

Senator Wyden did cheer us up with more details about his ambitious plans to campaign for Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. I'm off to a nationwide planning session for getting out the vote this afternoon. More later.

Noon Monday: at the hotel, then on to the convention!

Whisked from the Denver airport onto a shuttle for arriving Democratic National delegates Sunday, I heard voices from the Nebraska, Texas and Mississippi delegations mixed with my own as we rode together to our respective hotels. The Oregon Delegation is staying at the same hotel as the Washington state and Arizona delegations, 256 delegates in the same hotel.

As one of the latest delegates to arrive last evening, I had the pleasure of being greeted in the lobby by Jackson County Commissioner Dave Gilmour, all decked out in official credentials. Dave briefed me on convention information, sometimes referring to his notes on his Blackberry. The Second Congressional District delegates, all from Jackson County, know we can depend on Dave for accurate information.

Why was everyone in a circle looking at the floor by the buffet this morning? Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and his twins, well into the crawling stage, were on the floor enjoying themselves. The twins were wearing matching bibs that read "Kids should vote, too." A ribbon fell from his daughter's baby fine hair, soon a lacy sock was missing and his son was displaying his fine set of lungs.

Howard Dean greeted the Oregon delegation with his characteristic enthusiasm, stating he wished every state was just like Oregon. Wonder what he said to the Arizona and Washington state delegations eating their breakfasts in adjoining rooms when he greeted them?

Sen. Wyden, wife and twins with him, announced his plans to campaign for Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. Wiggly William made certain dad was brief, contorting his body into a series of positions signaling his desire for crawling, certainly not cuddling. Congressman Earl Blumenauer sent us out the door for our official delegation photo with an impassioned request to return to Oregon fired up! A slowing economy and the Iraq War lasting longer and costing more lives and money dominates conversations.

Now it is time to enter the Democratic convention frenzy. The fabulous light rail system in Denver will put us on site in just a few minutes. More later.