An insider's story from the DNC last week
Posted: Tue, 02 Sep 2008, 15:32:00, GMT | 1413 views Share
*Alternatively titled, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead Tired
I couldn't help but pass along (with permission) this mail I received from someone I know who worked at the Democratic National Convention last week. It's insightful, funny, and makes me jealous! From here on, this post is all his..
... I'm finally getting a chance to collect my thoughts and jot down my impressions from one of the most stressful, invigorating, frustrating, hokey, inspiring, and just plain memorable weeks of my life.
I've been at the Democratic Convention working since last Sunday out of the joint Obama/DNC press office, which was a massively expanded operation for this week. Let's just say it's apt that the large press office was housed adjoining the Convention Center in a big tent, as the circus allusions seemed all-too-fitting at times.
The most amazing byproduct of the week personally was the tremedous access afforded to me. I had backstage security credentials and happened to be in the vicinity to see Bill Clinton before his speech, the Biden family hustling to join Sen. Biden on-stage, Mike Dukakis and Deval Patrick embrace and share secrets about raising taxes, and other political types such as Evan Bayh, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, and Bill Richardson, who was, no joke, stroking the contours of his cliched, post-unsuccessful presidential run facial hair. I also managed to wrangle some phenomenal celeb sightings, getting a few feet away from Spike Lee, Rosario Dawson, will.i.am, Jessica Alba, a sober Kumar, Morgan Fairchild (apparently a big shareholder in Botox), the non-Fergified Black Eyed Peas, and the future mayor of Sacramento, K.J. (the last guy before Chris Paul this year to go for 20 ppg and 10 apg per game and a HUGE R Kelly fan). Media throngs were ever-present and I found that Tom Brokaw's voice still slays me, Campbell Brown is astoundingy, remarkably attractive, and that Chris Matthews has a large head. Think Sputnik with a baritone.
Finally, the important stuff. Couldn't really enjoy Mon or Tuesday night primetime, as I was working and not very engaged in the speeches. Wednesday (Bill Clinton and Sen. Biden) was fantastic, as I was backstage during the night's proceedings. Biden showed why I think he's a great VP pick and his Mom may have won more votes than he did. Bill still has an absolutely unrivaled ability to discuss policy issues in a coherent, relatable, accurate, and politically astute way. I thought he also did the best job encapsulating the failures of the recent Republican form of governance that I've ever heard and he set up some beautiful distinctions and framings that I think Senator Obama echoed a bit in his speech last night...speaking of:
Thursday, was one of the most memorable days of my life. I had stage access until two hours before Obama spoke and I managed to position myself 25 feet away for Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." To paraphrase from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," if Ferris dies, I'm going to give my eyes to that man. Damn he's good. I got forcibly kicked out of that area before Gore spoke, so I found a location right by the MSNBC trailer on the field, affording great sight lines and a chance to watch the real-time and unedited reactions of their political analysts (most notably Joe Scarborough and GOP strategist Mike Murphy).
I'm not sure how well it was captured on camera, but the context and dynamics could not have been more spectacular and overwhelming. Though I understand the potential political dangers of trending too far towards grandeur, you simply could not help but be swept up in the sights, sounds, and palpable emotion. It all sounds exceedingly hokey, but I kept being floored by small details that couldn't be conveyed via television -- the two middle-aged women from the Mississippi delegation, one white and wearing a large "Ole Miss" button on her dress, dancing to Stevie and crying and hugging with her fellow delegate, a large African-American woman with a Congressional Black Caucus pin. Or the fact that, RIGHT when Obama started speaking after the applause died down, a freaking beautiful Monarch butterfly fluttered in front of my eyes and paused on the chair in front of me before flying away (apparently inspired by the rainbows, puppy dogs, and sunshine that emanate from all things Obama). My eyes kept wandering throughout the stadium to soak in the dynamics -- the energy generated by 85,000 engaged and inspired people was unique to my eyes and impossible for me to sum up accurately. Needless to say, very impressive and all the moreso in that the assembled political journalists nearby seemed just as wide-eyed and taken in by the scenery as little old naive me.
The speech itself was phenomenal. Strategically it addressed the questions many have about Obama; namely, his lack of specificity on policy, his supposed Commander in Chief weaknesses, his so-called "celebrity," and his simple bearing related to the threshold question of "does he appear presidential?" I also thought it hit the proper rhetorical heights and historical context that many were hoping for (MLK/JFK tones), but did so in a fairly subtle and appropriate manner (the setting and context guaranteed he didn't need a lot of help to gin up emotion). I also found the McCain attacks, while occasionally trending towards hyperbolic, very effective politically and a good frame to use from here on out.
From a more ethereal perspective, it was the most communal and connected I've ever felt to a group of people (think your local Tori Amos fan's time at Lilith Fair). The dozens of middle-aged or older black audience members openly weeping during the speech. The thousands of American flags waving. The sense of history in the making. Again, apologies for the unbelievably Hallmark sentiments, but it was amazing. And yes, there were moments of it getting a tad bit dusty, much in the way that the last few minutes of Field of Dreams strangely coincides with a lot of debris near my tear ducts.
Thank you for indulging in my collected thoughts, written as much for posterity so I can remember as for transmitting to you all. It's all about me apparently. I'm working off a cumulative 20 hours of sleep the past 6 days (mostly work, though the nightlife was solid), so I apologize for grammatical miscues and my over-indulgent self-awareness.
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