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Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has a lot of fans in the Netroots, and for good reason.  It was Gov. Dean who first embraced the Internet as an effective fundraising and organizing tool (at least, in a major way by a major candidate).  It was Gov. Dean who embraced the 50-State Strategy, and put the full power of the DNC behind it.  And it was Gov. Dean who invited us bloggers to a barbecue this afternoon, where he chowed down on pulled pork, corn on the cob and yes, watermelon, as he talked freely with the local bloggers.

Thank you Gov. Dean, for the free food, and the incredible opportunity to cover the convention.  But the next time you invite a bunch of bloggers into a highly secured area, you might want to make some plans for letting us out.

The Pepsi Center is only three blocks away from the “Big Tent” where the bloggers congregate, but with all the street closures, perimeter check points and security stations, it’s about a half hour trek under the blazing Denver sun.  And once we arrived at the arena, it was another 10 minute walk through the parking lot, to a cordoned off area near the railroad tracks, and under the watchful eye of several snipers atop a closed down Circle K.  I joked to a colleague as we hiked in that I hoped Gov. Dean really wanted to buy us food and booze… as opposed to rounding us bloggers up and packing us onto internment camp bound railroad cars.

It was just a joke.

Until several bloggers attempted to leave, and were turned back by security.

It turns out that the blogger barbecue was just on the other side of the security perimeter, but still walled off from the outside world.  Security personnel told us we weren’t allowed to enter, when really all we wanted to do was exit.  It was a little surreal.

It took about a half hour before staff sorted things out, and we were ushered through a media security tent through a back parking lot, but the whole incident was just indicative of the incredibly tight security surrounding the entire convention.  I talked with Rep. Jim McDermott (we’ll post the video later) and he says he’s never seen security like this at any previous convention… and I guess that’s a good thing.  But it certainly is a bit inconvenient… and at times a touch scary.

Credentials. It seems like everyone in Denver is wearing a few around their necks. Not only do they act as passes to get you into buildings and events, but they function as status symbols in a village that has sprung to life over a weekend. They are not unlike boy scout badges, military medals, or feathers in ones cap; they frequently serve as conversation starters. The can be a choking hazard.

The first convention-related thing Goldy and I did was to embark on a quest for credentials. We took light rail to the Sheridan Hotel in Denver where media credentials were distributed and got in line for our blogger credentials.

With credentials come bags (typically canvass bags) filled with advertisements and goodies. Lots and lots of goodies. Obviously the goodies are given away in hopes of some return. The goodie suppliers for the press bags might have been hoping for some product placement. But I don’t see United Parcel Service getting anything out of me for putting those delicious little mints in my bag.

As bloggers, we’re not quite treated with press status and as bloggers embedded with the state delegation, we’re not treated with delegate status (except we do get all the goodies—did I mention that ProLogis also put some refreshing mints in my bag?). We do get some of the privileges of each status, however. For instance, our blogger credentials came with a coveted floor pass in the Pepsi Center, with a seat, an ethernet connection, and a single power outlet reserved for us among the Washington state delegation. Sweet. That’s much better access than most members of the press receive.

Goldy and I also visited the “Big Tent” for a credential. The “Big Tent” is an independent facility set up by bloggers for bloggers (specifically, it is hosted by Daily Kos, Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado, and Progressnow.org). It serves as blogger central, with wireless internet, power, table space, food, beer, couches and even entertainment.

Goldy was able to score one credential for the Big Tent, but a little creative credential-swapping got all three of us access for the day. (I feel it is only proper to take a moment to thank the New Belgium Brewery for all the free beer they gave me in the Big Tent last night. I especially enjoyed their 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, which is new to me, but has worked its way up to my “preferred microbrews” list.)

The Bit Tent was wonderful, but a bit trying. The tables were crowded together, it was dark, hot, and the air was a little thick with…well, blogger. When the room thinned out later in the evening, however, it was great. There was plenty of lukewarm pizza and refreshing New Belgium Brewery products on tap late into the evening.

This convention is “distributed” among two main sites, and numerous smaller venues. The Pepsi Center is where the big events take place during the evening. A couple of miles away, at the Convention Center, there are numerous events going on during the day. As Geov and I made our way from the Pepsi Center to the Convention center yesterday afternoon, we met a couple of lads from Atlanta. They were filming content for their web-tv program (I don’t have the card on me, but I’m sure I’ll plug it when they actually get their web site up.) They arrived in Denver lacking any credentials, and were capturing on video their quest to secure credentials…any credentials. Just by asking.

By yesterday afternoon, they had only managed to score a “Big Tent” press credential. That’s right..the Big Tent folks created a class of credential called a “press credential.” As you might imagine, it is a totally second class credential that requires a staff escort, and gives no access to the pizza or those delicious New Belgium Brewery products.

At the Convention Center, Geov and I inquired about blogger facilities and were sent to the “Specialty Media Lounge,” where we signed in and were given another badge to hang around our necks. The Specialty Media Lounge is sponsored by Microsoft.

I returned to the Convention Center today, thinking my blogger credential would get me through the “credentialed press door” and avoid the long security line. Nope…the blogger credential didn’t work, but my Specialty Media Lounge tag did. Go figure.

So I am now writing this in the comfort of the Specialty Media Lounge. The room has a low population density compared to the Big Tent, it is air conditioned and well lighted. There is no 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, but plenty of conference center coffee, and piles of boxed lunches. There is a Microsoft Zune kiosk for the curious, and a Microsoft XBOX 360 station for the playful. I’ve yet to see anyone use the XBOX, but the thought was nice. Knowing geeks they way they do, Microsoft kindly provided a big basket of munchies on each table. (Dang…someone just grabbed the bag of M&M Peanuts I was eying. I’ll have to settle for a bag of Miss Vickies Hand-Picked Jalapeno chips.)

I’ve finished my free lunch (thanks Microsoft!) and raised my blood-caffeine titer to acceptable levels. I’m ready for my next challenge in CredentialQuest™.

If you watched the convention coverage last night, you surely got a better view of Michelle Obama’s speech than I caught on my little camera, so I’m not going to bother posting my recording of the speech here.  But I will show you a snippet of Michelle’s entrance from the perspective of the WA delegation, giving you a sense of the genuine excitement and enthusiasm on the floor.

There is a kinda made for TV quality to the convention, so it’s an entirely different feeling being part of it than watching it.  In fact, I’m so accustomed to experiencing conventions through the tube, I almost feel like I’m missing this one, even when I’m actually there.  Um… especially when I’m actually there.

The prime time speeches are pretty damn exciting, but the rest of the program has the feel of a second rate awards show, but with high production values… kinda like if you took the Science and Technology awards and made them part of the prime time Oscars presentation.

Anyway, more video coming.

It won’t be the protests – though Denver police somehow found it necessary to pepper-spray these dozens of clearly menacing protesters in downtown Denver tonight.

It won’t be Bill and Hillary Clinton’s speeches in coming nights — though regardless of who wins in November, I have every confidence we’ll be referring back to them along about 2011.

It certainly won’t be the staggering amount of corporate largesse that followed the Democrats to Denver — though we’d do well to remember it.

It won’t be Edward Kennedy’s appearance at the Pepsi Center tonight, even though his determination, and the crowd’s response, was enough to send chills down the spine of even a jaded old hack like me.

It won’t even be Michelle Obama’s speech tonight — though after that, the Republicans would be nuts to give Cindy McCain a speaking role in St. Paul.

Amidst all the usual (and not-so-usual) spectacles of a political convention, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture, and that’s especially true here in Denver. To get a reminder, it’s helpful to talk with folks.Specifically, to talk with African-Americans. (The Latina/Native American family I’m staying with is a helpful reminder, too, but it’s not quite the same.) While trudging along in the heat today, I made a point of chatting up African-Americans — from delegates to convention staff to street vendors selling buttons, and everyone in between. Young and old, affluent and hustling to get by, all of them spoke, looked, and acted with a vibe I’d put somewhere between euphoric and disbelieving.

I’d bet that some, even many, don’t agree with all of Barack Obama’s policies. (A few probably can’t even name any.) But they know all too well that we still live in a racist country. Pick any measure of health, infant mortality, education, income, or incarceration that you like: the barriers to individual achievement by non-whites in general, and African-Americans in particular, are still pretty steep in this country. (And note that we still routinely define mixed race folks by what they are not, namely, sufficiently white to pass.)

Ten, 20, 50, 100 years from now, Barack Obama’s nomination in Denver — and, should he win, his ascendency to the White House in November — are what we will remember. Even though it’s only one man, and most of our worst race problems in this country are institutional, it’s a moment whose symbolic importance cannot be overstated. It’s easy to ridicule Obama admirers (as both Clinton supporters and now McCain supporters have gleefully done) for the way in which Obama inspires many of his fans not by his policy pronouncements, but because of who he is — not just as a person of color, but as someone who (unlike either Hillary, the president’s wife, or McCain, the admiral’s son) got where he is solely on his own considerable merits.

That he has gotten so far is a legacy that will inspire kids — and not just African-American kids, but kids of all races — for generations to come. Sure, the haters and bigots (some more subtle than others) will color this election’s outcome. (Including the apparent plot, reported locally today, of four white supremacists to assassinate Obama Thursday night.) Others may not be racist themselves, but will attempt to use racist fears and stereotypes to cold political advantage. But Obama’s story simply makes them, and every other story coming out of Denver and St. Paul over the next two weeks, seem petty. Even though this country still has a long, long way to go on race, the distance we’ve come just in the last 50 years is phenomenal. There aren’t many clear markers of that progress: Montgomery, Selma, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, various cultural milestones. But this is one we’ll remember for many years to come. Enjoy the moment.

Tricked you with the headline, didn’t I?  No, it’s not the hippie-bearded Darryl Holman I was talking about, but actress (and activist) Darryl Hannah who joined us at the Living Liberally event upstairs at the “Big Tent,” the blogger facility a few blocks from the Pepsi Center.

Yeah, that’s right, I could be blogging about tonight’s program at the convention, but instead I’m drinking a beer, watching a couple of standup comics.  Deal with it.

It was a pretty raucous crowd tonight as Michelle Obama took the floor, and once again, if there was any disunity in the house, it was damn hard to see it.  I’ve got some video, but I haven’t even had a chance to view it, let alone edit some clips.

More in the morning, after I’ve had some time to digest the day’s events.

Just after 5:00 pm Pacific time, Nancy Pelosi has called the convention to order—even in this atmosphere of festive disorder. A few minutes into her speech, she is clearly in the role of attack dog, and going after John McCain. “John McCain is Wrong,” she has the crowd chanting in unison.

The “John McCain is Wrong” part reminds me of that “priceless” McCain speech with the green backdrop. You remember that one…where McCain kept saying “And that’s not change we can believe in,” followed by a sheepish grin and a nasally, McGooish laugh. The difference here is that nobody is sheepish (but they are all grins). There is nothing but enthusiasm and, dare I say it, unity. Yes, I know, there is supposed to be disunity, especially among the Washington delegation (with whom I am sitting). While I ‘m sure there are some bitterly disappointed Clinton supporters around, there is most certainly a unity of feeling at the convention that America cannot afford a McCain presidency.

[via here]

The view from the Washington state delegation section at the Pepsi Center.

Via Think Progress:

On Fox and Friends today, host Brian Kilmeade acknowledged that Jenkins was intentionally instigating the crowd. At the end of the segment, Kilmeade signed off by saying that Fox was “going to continue to send” Jenkins “out to cause trouble.” “I hope so,” responded Jenkins. Watch it:

I’m sure it would be mighty tempting to start yelling at the Fox Noise crew, but the best thing to do is probably to turn around and walk away. Just ignore these unethical right wing twits and don’t give them anything to talk about. Just my $0.02.

Except, of course, if they have Hooters Girls and Broncos cheerleaders with them.

Yes, last night, I slept with The Stranger’s Annie Wagner.  And so did Darryl.

I’m not sure if Annie slept much, what with us two old men snoring away (especially Darryl), but that’s the price she pays for begging a spot on our floor last night so that she could be up and alert bright and early this morning at the Washington State Clinton delegate caucus here at the hotel.

Annie and I are now at the delegate caucus, witnessing the fireworks first hand.  You can tell the Clinton delegates are angry and irreconcilable, threatening to be “respectful” and “pragmatic,” and warning that they might even “play by the rules,” or even worse, “honor the decision of the majority of Democrats.”

Okay, there’s still a bit of grieving going on, with the main topic of conversation surrounding whether to vote for Clinton or Obama on the first ballot, and whether Clinton has actually “released” her delegates, and if so, what exactly that means? Most of the folks here want to cast their vote for Clinton… but there’s also a lot of talk about respecting her wishes, even if that means voting for Obama.

There’s also a little push back to the “disunity” theme that has dominated recent media coverage.  As one delegate put it:

“Why is it disunity for us to do our job voting for the candidate we were sent here to vote for?”

I’m not sure it is.  This is, after all, the Democratic Party, which as we know implies a degree of creative chaos.  It takes a lot of passion and effort to get to a national covention as a delegate (as opposed to getting here as a blogger, which apparently only takes a firm grasp of four-letter words), so you’d expect the Clinton delegates to be passionate supporters of their candidate.  But they’re also Democrats, and while I plan to talk with as many delegates one on one as I can, it seems clear that the number one concern of the folks in this room is to get a Democrat into the White House.

So if my colleagues in the press are looking for a good “disunity” story, I don’t think they’ll find one in the WA delegation.  No doubt there are some unhappy folks in the room, but there is also a concerted effort to get everybody in line behind “the second best Democrat.”

UPDATE:
The conversation has moved on to the illicit topic of “credential swapping,” where Paul Berendt is teaching the newbies the fine art of deceit.  As for me, my act of disunity for the day will be to smuggle a piece of fruit into the Pepsi Center, one of the many banned items.

UPDATE, UPDATE:
Well, the caucus goes on, and we’re in the middle of a passionate speech by a delegate clearly fearful that there will be a push for a vote by acclamation, and angry at efforts to get him to change his vote.  As another delegate just put it, there’s nothing to be gained from “forced unity.”  So while I don’t think there is much of a disunity story here, don’t expect anywhere near a unanimous vote from the WA delegation.  But I haven’t heard anybody say they’ll be voting for McCain in November.  (Well… one delegate said it, but it was a slip, and she quickly corrected herself.)

After all the hype about violence in Denver, the provocative name of one of the protest coalitions (“Recreate ’68”) proved oddly prophetic, as slightly more than 68 people actually showed up for Sunday’s anti-war protests. Along with countless cops from numerous jurisdictions. The few hundred protesters, lacking a real place to convene (the “free speech zone,” once it was found in an area with one entrance and enclosed on three sides, turned out to be about 30′ x 30′ and was filled with counter-protesters; by contrast, the area set aside for law enforcement to process arrested protesters was several acres), simply marched around downtown and occasionally did random blockades of streets.

That’ll bring the war machine to its knees.

Not sure whether the pathetic turnout (hyperventilating coverage by Fox and local Denver media notwithstanding) is a reflection of bad organizing, the generally rudderless state of the anti-war movement, or people being scared away by police and media hype. (Tentative answer: yes.) Locals seem much more involved in organizing the immigrant march on Thursday, though the threat of police harassment could certainly keep a lot of those folks away, too. Regardless, even though disgust with Obama, Biden, and especially the Democratic Congress of the last two years is nearly universal among anti-war activists, most delegates hobnobbing in the various downtown hotels today had no idea protests were underway. The ones that did know were usually clueless about why people might be protesting — other than that somebody’s always protesting something. If first impressions are any guide (and they might not be), many of the attendees here, both the pols and the rank and file, seem blissfully unaware of just how much contempt they’re held in by folks who really, really wanted to believe the Democratic promises of 2006.

Instead, it’s been business as usual.

Which brings us to the swag.

Like any trade convention, attendees get canvas bags with lots of free gifts of dubious value. In this case, lots and lots of them. All, of course, provided by corporations (most of them big) and the occasional union, all hoping to buy a favorable impression.

If the Democratic Party’s standard bearer has vowed to turn his back on lobbyist business as usual in government (which is the rumor), someone organizing this convention never got the memo. Sponsorships are everywhere. Thanks to various loopholes in campaign finances laws, the parties and hospitality suites, all paid for by generous benefactors, are more elaborate than ever.

(One example of very, very many: the Washington state delegation is hosting four “Breakfast Meetings” on Monday through Thursday. They are sponsored by, in order, Amgen, Merck, Qwest, and Eli Lilly. Multiply that by fifty state delegations — plus D.C. and the territories — and every suite in several dozen upscale hotels, and one begins to appreciate why we don’t have any real movement toward universal health care, and why the Democrats caved on telecom immunity. Among many other things.)

In the absence of actual news, so far most of the media coverage seems to be media interviewing other media, and that includes the blogger tent (“The Big Tent”), which opened today. The DNCC does deserve credit for recognizing bloggers and setting up a special program for blogger access to the convention; the Republican convention in St. Paul next week has nothing similar. But at first glance — and bearing in mind that many of the Big Tent people had just seen each other in Austin — the whole exercise seemed just as incestuous as the MSM we endlessly criticize. Only, well, not as richly compensated. For all of the vaunted independence and orneriness of the blogosphere, so far not many people seem willing to be a skunk at the party. Or, you know, exercise critical judgment.

Most of that will happen outside the convention proper. For example, the Progressive Democrats of America are hosting symposia all week that look to be promising. (In a church, nearly two miles from the Pepsi Center.) But inside the convention, the one serious possibility of conflict, the Hillary fanatics (aka “PUMAs”) that have been openly fantasizing about disrupting the convention in various ways, is all about cult of personality and entitlement, not about any substantive differences to speak of on issues between Obama and Clinton. Sure, there will be the usual tussles over wording of the party platform that nobody reads. But you’d really never know that some polls recently have put favorable ratings for the Democratic-led Congress in the single digits, and that said rating among self-identified Democrats is worse than among Republicans.

Plenty of interesting things will undoubtably happen behind the scenes. But don’t expect any serious expression in Denver of the anger of many in the public over two years of failed congressional Democratic promises to reverse the disaster that has been George Bush (or even to try very hard) — not from delegates, not from media, and not even, apparently, from well-organized public protests.

Today’s podcast from the Democratic Convention is something of a blogger- covering-the-media-covering-a-blogger- covering-the-media report.

I taped Cameron Gray, co-host of the POTUS 08 show on XM channel 130, interviewing our own Goldy. The interview will air sometime Monday morning on POTUS 08.

Apparently you can get XM channel 130 without a subscription, but a subscription is needed for the online feed. Go figure.

Horses Ass readers can listen to the full interview right here:

[audio:http://podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/denver2_24_aug_2008.mp3]

[Special thanks to Confab creators Gavin and Richard for hosting the site.]

En route to the Democratic convention Goldy and I ran into former Washington state Democratic Party Chair Paul Berendt and The Stranger Eli Sanders in the airport waiting area. I asked Paul for a quick take on Sen. Obama’s selection of Sen. Biden for VP. Unfortunately I screwed up the recording, so my brief summary will have to do: Berendt is a Clinton supporter and he would have liked to see Clinton as the VP. But, given that she isn’t, he was happy with the choice of Biden.

Somewhere over Utah, at around 40,000 feet, I found Mr. Sanders and asked him the same question. He offered the following insights:

[audio:http://podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/denver1_23_aug_2008.mp3]

[Special thanks to Confab creators Gavin and Richard for hosting the site.]