Just wanted to start a general Convention Note/Observations thread.

First, let me just say that was some mighty fine speech-ifying from Jesse Jackson Jr.

Loved the mountain top references. Fawking brilliant.

And us non-TV watchers must be content with reading....

Work's over! Yay! Off to spend two hours on setbuilding then READING JJ's SPEECH.

OOPs, I created a thread for just such a comment before seeing this thread.

Here's the comment -

Someone has GOT to get a message to someone in a position of influence inside the convention center to make certain that, henceforth and under NO circumstances are ANY middle aged white guys in gray or blue suits permitted to dance! No exceptions, no allowances.

In some cases you're missing out. The one thing you can't get was the emotion and pacing of the delivery, or the response and energy of the audience.

But have fun with the set building! That's always a gas. Breakdown's even more fun.

Here comes Ted Kennedy......

This should prove interesting.

The father who lost his son, talking about how Ted Kennedy was a member of a Gold Star family even before he was born, but sill remembers where he was when they told his mom that his brother was lost, and how Teddy showed him that government can work for the common man......

WOW.

He looks good!

That was just nice.

He sounded good too.

Maria Shriver was crying, and Caroline was working to hold it together too, but Teddy just got in there and reminded people, rough stuff happens, but the point is to get back up on your feet and try again.

Loved the part about the moon, and how Jack didn't get up and say "It's too far, we can't reach it." He set out a bold goal, and expected people to reach for it. And we DID.

Which makes the Republican knocks on Barack Obama's appeals to big ideas, seem PARTICULARLY lame.

Senator Ted Kennedy gave his speech at the DNC tonight. Ted has experienced the gut-wrenching pain of losing family members because of death both accidental and intentional. It would have been a classy and compassionate gesture to include in tonight's speech an acknowledgment of empathy and heartfelt best wishes to the family of Mary Jo Kopechne. July 18th 2008 commemorated the 39th anniversary of her tragic death.

Michael Bechslauss put it beautifully: He comes as close to the DNA of this party as anyone here tonight. Am still fighting back the tears. Heaven bless him.

And I thought shoreke had reached a tackiness threshold tonight... but no. Still mucking about in the sulphurous slime....

That's a great picture.

OMG, CNN SUCKS! CSPAN is the only way to watch this and actually hear what is going on. They just keep panning the croud.

waiting for Michelle. Listening to MSNBC, but changed to CNN for a minute and some jerk was criticing the planners of the convention for the slow pace of opening night.

Yeah, they talked right over the part about Republican Congressman Jim Leach resigned from the Nixon Administration in protest of their corruption. And now he's up there speaking about why as a Republican he's for Barack Obama. How anyone who's honest can see that the country is "off kilter".

This is seriously a GOOD SPEECH. There is real CONTENT here.

Showing what progressive values are, and how country comes before party.

The background behind Claire McCaskill is red. That's fitting. She's a bigger Republican than the Republican who just spoke.

You voted for abolishing the 4th Amendment, Claire. You took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. You betrayed it. Nobody's forgetting that. EVER.

Enjoy that AT&T party, and get as much traitorous money as you can from them. You're gonna need it, because the instant we have a solid majority, we're dumping your DLC ass for a REAL Liberal.

Good short film. Her mom has the same tone in her voice that my mom did. A real gentle lady.

After watching the video, I get so mad thinking about the crap that has been said to me about Michelle. The brother is on now.

Give it a rest.

Michelle said she comes here as a sister. That's gonna get some air time.

Even Peak has the good sense to know that is over the line shoreke. Ponder that for a while.

Michelle: "The military families who say grace at dinner with an empty chair there every night...."

She WILL stick up for those families.

Michelle: "We have an obligation to fight for the world as it SHOULD be."

Michelle: "....Making sure that women will get equal pay for equal work."

THERE IT IS!!!

She can speak! Passionately. Go Michelle.

Michelle: "Stop doubting and start dreaming."

Awesome. Absolutely awesome.

Can we elect her?

Yes, it's a package deal.

Good.

Luv the sig, BTW. McCain I take it? Or was that one of his staff members/lobbyists speaking on his behalf?

Yeah, Cowboy Steve had "Hey you kids.. Get off my lawn" when he was doing his antiques roadshow schtick in his sig.

After Grampy couldn't count his houses I just couldn't resist.

You know what's beautiful though? McCain has seven houses and no home. Obama has a wonderful home.

David Gergen's "analysis"? "I think she rescued the evening for the Democrats."

Where the hell has he been? It didn't need "rescuing". It was awesome the whole way through. She was the icing on top of that!

Oh and this one was priceless too,:

Gergen: "She gave us what might be a veeery different model of a First Lady, and people are going to have to 'wrestle' with what that means..."



Yeah Dave. Smart, independent, elegant, well-spoken, compassionate, filled with the spirit of justice. Tough choice.

Fucking corporate rightwing media.

Oh look, an Exxon commercial. Big surprise.

Well said.

Wolf Blitzer: "Are the Democrats worried that the first night was a waste?"

Um... NO.

Where ARE these people? They are on the floor of the convention center and I'm more than a thousand miles away, and I can see it more clearly than those idiots can!

ARGH!!!

KCET is replaying the NewsHour coverage again, Maya Soetoro-Ng on right now. Very interesting to see it a second time after some reflection.

It was a good opening night.

A couple of the protest signs in Denver:

How cool! Ann Richards daughter Cecile is speaking now, and she's the President of Planned Parenthood. She's a beautiful, feisty, well-spoken woman just like her mom.



She just mentioned hat McCain voted against women's health care legislation a whopping 125 times.

Dennis Kucinich is up now!

He's tearing it up!

KUCINICH!!!

YES!!!

Stirring the Crowd!!!

Music to my ears!!!

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!

yes, YES, YES, YES, TO kUCINCH!!!

They shoulda let him talk longer.

The convention producers need to do a better job of LISTENING to the reaction of the crowd (so do some of the speakers), when people are cheering, LET THEM. Give them TIME to express their joy. We haven't felt it for 8 years. Let people settle in and feel it.

Exactly. Feel it.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Got my Boxer shorts on!!!

Love her!!!

Another one who can't seem to be quiet.


Here she is telling off Condi again. (oh, wait, she's chairman in this pic, then she's probably trying to tell everyone INhofe is looney and just ignore the beast.)

Personally, I love it when she talks to him like he's a 3 yr-old.

Sorry Eggy, but that's the wrong picture. Her hair was FIERCE when she Condi's butty. I wish I can find a picture of hers from back then

CNN's still sucking, I see....

You just had a literal PARADE of strong, dynamic Democratic women in power speaking to the REAL issues American families are facing, and who do they have on talking OVER these Senators and Congresswomen?

Hillary Rosen, RIAA-supporting DORK (no, we HAVEN'T forgotten about that), blithering about how Hillary needs to unite women behind Barack.

Um, hey lady, LOOK BEHIND YOU.

There are plenty of OTHER women who are ALREADY supporting Barack Obama, and are making good law on our behalf, like La Boxer.

This is a big party, you corporate media fuckwits. And it sure as hell isn't all about Hillary Clinton. Not by a long shot.

And with due respect, "Team Liberal" hasn't been this united in my living memory, so in the words of Kathy Griffin, "Suck it."

La Boxer is ALWAYS fierce.