Month: August 2008

Here are the last couple of shots I took with my Blackberry’s camera Thursday night:

I called John from Invesco to ask if the emotion was translating through the TV, and he said it was. It wasn’t just what Obama was saying – though I did like the speech. It was the feeling of optimism and hope that was carrying through the stadium. I’m not one to tear up over politics, but I did find myself watering a little towards the end. The moment made you feel anything was possible. That together we could be a great, well-respected nation again. That together we could rebuild what’s been lost.

I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been there.

Here’s me multitasking while talking to John Aravosis outside the CNN grill (Chris in Paris took the shot right after Chris and I met in person for the first time ever. He’s a doll):

Here’s the very first casualty of the week (I tripped on a cobblestone and killed a shoe):

This is my boss – HCAN National Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch – talking at the mini Take Back America conference at The Big Tent:

Here is Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) speaking passionately about health care reform at TBA:

Here is the line of people waiting to pick up tickets Thursday afternoon for the Google/Vanity Fair party Thursday night:

Here’s a good shot of the crowd at Invesco Thursday night:

How to make Lou Dobbs’ head explode*:

*Lou’s always been very nice to me so this isn’t meant to be a knock on him. It’s just when I saw the sign and took the picture, the joke wrote itself.

John noticed something about this family vacation photo:

I’ve been trying to read up on Sarah Palin in the last 16 hours or so, and there is absolutely nothing I’ve found out about her online that makes me believe she’s qualified to be Vice President of the PTA, let alone the USA.

Nevermind the whole “I don’t believe in science” thing – which is John’s big hang-up at this stage. Let’s take the rest of the list of what we know so far about this woman.

1. She eloped with her high school boyfriend in August 1988. She’s got a son who is somewhere around 19/20. There is a very real possibility she was pregnant when she got married. Until I see a Track Palin’s birth certificate, I’m keeping this door open a crack. You see, if she’s a family values, abstinence-only conservative, then we’ve got ourselves a little hypocrisy to the nth degree.

UPDATE: Alan Colmes has got the details and also thinks this is suspicious.

2. She has 5 kids. 5. And one is only 4-months-old. With Down syndrome. Now, I’m not a parent so I don’t know firsthand the difficulties in raising children, but I have a lot of friends who are parents of one or two children – many under the age of 3, and I can tell you they assure me it’s no easy task. I would love to know how this woman plans to raise a 4-month-old with a condition that requires special attention and nurturing and will cause cognitive delays while running for – and then potentially serving as – Vice President of the United States.

3. We’re at war. I’d like to know how often she’s traveled abroad, met with foreign leaders, or studied world affairs. She was a journalism major at The University of Idaho. As a former professional reporter who got her Master’s in Journalism, I can assure you it’s not the most intellectually challenging of course curricula. I got a great hands-on education in everything I needed to know to get on-air at a small market TV station, but unless UI has some stellar communications program that I’ve never heard of before, I’m guessing Palin wasn’t vying for valedictorian. In fact, here’s the current UI four-year journalism plan. Second semester freshman year, you get to take PE.

4. She’s not Hillary Clinton. If the McCain camp thinks tossing a woman on the ticket – any woman – is the key to grabbing frustrated Clinton supporters, they’re delusional. While I had my own serious issues with Clinton and her campaign, I never would have suggested she was unqualified to be President. Had she won, I would have been confident in her ability to lead this nation. Hillary Clinton has proven over the years – with the exception of some of the rotten campaign decisions that ultimately led to her defeat – to be the kind of woman that other women could be proud of and admire. She’s earned her spot at the top. Palin – on the other hand – is a former beauty pageant contestant who one might suspect has skirted by on the naughty librarian look. She’s the kind of woman other women despise. She’s the kind of woman that sets the women’s movement back decades. She doesn’t further shatter the glass ceiling. She covers the cracks in Hello Kitty band-aids and giggles at the pretty patterns.

Frankly, I’m shocked my more conservative friends online aren’t downright mortified by McCain’s choice for VP. Partisan politics aside, she’s got nothing to offer on the national security front. She’s a social conservative, but of frightening – almost lunatic – proportions. She’s unqualified, unprepared, and an unbelievably inappropriate choice. She’s the Harriet Miers of VP picks. Smart conservatives should be outraged their candidate is willing to gamble with the safety our nation for the sake of possibly pulling in a particular demo. It’s dangerous and irresponsible, and McCain – and his supporters – should be ashamed.

I think Sarah Palin is going to tank. Hard. I think come debate time, Biden’s going to make her look Miss Teen South Carolina on a good day. And for the record, there is nothing sexist about not supporting a female candidate who is all wrong for the job. In fact, backing the woman just because she’s a woman is about as narrow-minded as it gets.

If Sarah Palin proves me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit my mistake. But right now, I feel perfectly confident saying Candidate McCain could not have done worse.

UPDATE: Chez used the same headline. His post is here.

Here is the scene from where I sat:

Stevie Wonder:

Al Gore:

Biden:

Wide shot during Durbin intro:

Obama:

Obama:

I’ve got more, but that should get you started.

It could be the lack of sleep talking but John and I have been discussing Palin all night, and he just came out with the best quote ever.

“It’s like they just stapled a cheerleader to McCain’s head to try and make him prettier.”

I can’t stop laughing.

I’ve also been traveling all day and am now getting my first look at some of the Palin info online. Did you know she has a 4-month-old with Down syndrome?

Yeah, let that sink in. 5 kids and one’s only 4 months. With Down syndrome.

I’ve got a whole lot more to say on the topic, but I’m going to let it stew, get some sleep, and then weigh in.

Also, once I’m coherent again, you’ll get the following from me in no particular order:

1. Biden recap and video
2. Obama speech recap and still photos
3. General convention overview and analysis

The poem of the week‘s up, btw. Note the editor.

It’s good to be home. G-night.

I watched Biden’s speech from the convention floor tonight. It was pretty cool. We made it inside in time to catch Clinton (bill) and Kerry (john) beforehand.

Here are a couple of photos:

I’ve got video of Biden and will get that online tomorrow along with a full account of the experience. (Let’s just say it ends with me in bed with a Biden sign).

Anyway…

Interesting nugget I learned: The signs you see on TV are all a very well-coordinated stunt. Ushers pass out different signs at different times and give strict instructions as to when they should or shouldn’t be waved. For example, the Obama/Biden signs at the very end were handed out during Biden’s speech with the mandate that they were to be used only after Biden was done. When someone stood up with the sign too early, the ushers went nuts.

I guess I never paid much attention to the theatrics before, and seeing the orchestration up close and in person surprised me a tad.

All in all, it was a great night. There was one sour note, however. Seems the CNN DC bureau PR director – one of the most plastic and insincere women I’ve ever known, btw – has some strange distaste for me that has now manifested itself in a need to chastise me for things I haven’t done at inappropriate times. See, according to Fake and Phony Barbie, at some point last night – when I was at a Politico party nowhere near the CNN “grill” (yes, they spent a crapload of money on a bar and grill) – I passed drinks over the CNN railing to some friends. The astounding part of our encounter is that when she stopped me walking by her in the convention hall, she said – and I quote – “Don’t be passing drinks over the rail anymore.” When I looked at her baffled and said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she proceeded to doubt me and question why I was being defensive. “Just don’t do it again,” she said. She then went on to tell me people were “saying things,” and she was just telling me “as a friend.”

OK woman, just so we’re clear. I didn’t drink outside at your “grill,” I didn’t “pass drinks to friends,” and I certainly don’t appreciate being confronted and accused. The only reason I came by CNN at all was to reconnect and hang out with old friends- of which you are definitely not one. Never have been. Never will be.

I don’t work for you anymore. Find someone else to hassle. Oh, and if there is a rumor going around about my bad behavior (which I seriously doubt, btw), let me assure you that if I were to do something disrespectful or inappropriate involving CNN, it would certainly be more gratifying than “passing drinks.”

I’d do something like use my blog to tell you to get a life, leave me alone, and f*ck off.

A new friend scored me a pass to see Hillary speak tonite. But dinner took a little long, and by the time we sauntered over to the Pepsi center, all the seats were taken. So I’m standing in a corridor watching Hillary on a TV monitor.

Bizarre.

Hi. I’m in Denver. Rumor has it there is a convention of some sort happening ’round these parts.

I’m going to head off in the direction of stuff and hope I stumble upon an appropriate gathering or two. The lack of information and/or instruction flowing this way is astounding.

I’ve got a car and a map. That’s about it. A destination would be helpful, but if the morning continues on its current trajectory, I’m not expecting that level of detail to emerge anytime soon.