Convention Volunteering - The Grand Finale

Convention wraps up at Invesco Field for Obama's acceptance speech; energy, enthusiasm and optimism prevail

The 2008 Democratic National Convention closed with a bang -- of fireworks, that is. Delegates, guests, politicos, media, celebs, security and we volunteers moved from one sports venue (the Denver's Pepsi Center, an arena built for basketball and hockey) to another (Invesco Field at Mile High, the awkardly named but imposing football stadium nearby), where there was also room for tens of thousands of attendees from "the community."

For us media distribution volunteers, it meant very long work day. We had to be at the Colorado Convention Center at 9:00 to pick up credentials, which included a lot of waiting around. I was on a bus at 7:30 a.m. Then by noon, we transferred to Invesco Field, where we also did a lot of waiting around -- but I did manage to get onto the field with a borrowed "Floor Pass." We had fewer distribution venues for the speech transcripts but security was even tighter, the elevators even more crowded and the distances greater. With longer speeches but fewer speakers, there was a lot of waiting around in a windowless room until it came time to distribute the text for Barack Obama's much-anticipated acceptance speech.

The public was admitted after 3:00, and the lines were imposing. People streamed in steadily, enduring the slow pace through the security screening station (set up in the white tent, below). Some sat down and wouldn't move. Others saved seats for more family, friends and colleagues who might still be in line or were milling around, buying food or souvenirs. By the time Obama's scheduled time approached, there was hardly an empty seat to be found in this huge 75,000-seat stadium.

Even though Stuart Shepard, director of digitial media for an arm of Focus on the Family, a Colorado Springs-based evangelical group, reportedly produced a video asking Christians to pray for torrential rain, during Barack Obama's acceptance speech, the evening could not have been nicer. If rain would have demonstrated God's objection to Obama's candidacy, the wonderful warm, windless summer evening must have been a sign of the Almighty's approval of the Democratic nominee.

Some people thought that the Doric colonnade that served as a backdrop for the podium was a bit much, but after all the day's speakers and entertainers were finished, it was a suitable setting of Obama's acceptance speech as a presidential nominee -- and it made the brief fireworks display that followed his speech possible. After all, you can't have a balloon drop in a stadium that is open to the sky.

Celeb Sightings

In addition to the well-known people pictured below, I saw (but was too close to photograph) Wolf Blitzer, George Stephanopolis and Oprah Winfrey. Here are the ones I did capture with my camera:

I photographed Ted Koppel (below) as we were leaving the stadium floor at the same time. Then, since we were going in the same direction, I hustled to catch up with him to tell him how much I enjoyed his China series on PBS and how much I preferred the old single-subject "Nightline" format when he was the host. He said, "It's now for 32-year-olds." Then, we reached the ABC area and he introduced me to two "Nightline" producers. I said, "I know I'm not your demographic, but I preferred the old format." I didn't have a chance to add, "The current format is for people with the attention span of fruit flies." So there!

I didn't get to see Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show," but I did see the crew hanging around and horsing around. Rob Riggle was in the mix somewhere.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who had ample reason to be proud of the manner in which the Mile High City hosted this convention -- and relieved that it all went so well.

Air America's Randi Rhodes:

And the man whom everyone came to see, hear, celebrate or report on, Barack Obama:

Convention Volunteering - The Penultimate Day

Democratic All-Stars speak at the Democratic National Convention's penultimate evening

Barack Obama's official nomination as the Democratic candidate for president was anticipated, but the way in which it occurred surprised many. While the roll call ("The great state of Wherever proudly casts XX votes for Senator Hillary Clinton and XX votes for Senator Barack Obama"), Clinton, accompanied by her New York colleague Senator Chuck Schumer entered the floor of the Democratic National Convention to join the New York delegation. There, in a gracious speech, she moved to suspend the rules and nominate Barack Obama by acclamation.


The evening was highlighted by some of the party's and the nation's best speakers and most highly regarded leaders. This Who's Who included former Secretary of State Madeleine Allbright, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, present Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid, Evan Bayh, Senator John Kerry, Governor Bill Richardson and former President Bill Clinton, who spoke to honor both his wife's candidacy and to support Barack Obama's. The final scheduled speaker, Senator Joseph Biden and vice presidential nominee, was joined at the end by Senator Barack Obama, Democratic candidate for president. But you don't need me to tell you what you have seen on television or read in the paper. But I can offer you a few more images of people I had a chance to snap at the Pepsi Center today (some up close for the second time).


Ralph Nader being interviewed:

Former President Bill Clinton:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:

Senator Joseph Biden:

Convention Volunteering - Second Day

Day 2 of the convention; Day 3 of volunteering

Here are some famous people whom I saw up-close while volunteering at the Democratic National Convention. Again, my photographic disclaimer is that I'm using a digital point and shoot with limited range to the built-in flash. As they walk along the hallway where the media volunteers hang out, Secret Service agents move most political VIPs along quickly and also keep people at a distance. The result, some blurry images.

Below, "Today Show" anchor Ann Curry, on her cell phone. When I looked her up online to make sure that she was Ann and not Anne, and Curry not Currey, I found out that her father was from Pueblo, CO. Maybe she was calling some kinfolk here in Colorado.

Below is Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley with some constituents he encountered at the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau information and hospitality booth (hizzoner is the short guy in the middle).

Below, retired NBA superstar and now television sports commentator Charles Barkley taking his leave from some fans (Barkley is the tall guy in the middle).


Here is Colorado Governor Bill Ritter being interviewed by a Denver television station.

And New York Governor David Patterson also gives a hallway interview:

Below, Senator (and Barack Obama's running mate) Joseph Biden moves quickly down the hallway.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton arrive for Hillary's "unity" speech asking the entire Democratic Party to support the candidacy of her primary-season rival Barack Obama.

Before Bill Clinton entered this section of the hallway, Secret Service agents moved us all to one side, which they did for no one else. Agents, who by now are accustomed to his habit of shaking every outstretched hand, probably figure it's more efficient to organize a receiving line rather than have him dart back and forth along the route.

And here he is, strolling down the hallway, shaking everyone's hand (including mine just before this photo) as if he nothing else in the world to do.

Convention Volunteering - Opening Day

Convention draws political and media celebs, and they draw stares and applause

As a volunteer on the "media distribution team," my view of the Democratic National Convention is a narrow one. I am a very small cog in a very large wheel. I and more than a dozen volunteers on my shift pick stacks of photocopied speeches and deliver them to media pods all over the Pepsi Center and in the surrounding parking lots. Sometimes we hand them to individual media desks; sometimes we leave a stack at the press information centers (PICs) for reporters themselves to collect.

There are several outdoor routes to four pavilions (i.e., large air conditioned tents with plywood floors and partitioned or curtained-off "offices") that house most major and some minor print media. There are runs to individual network complexes -- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox -- with trailers and satellite dishes. There are areas within for within the Pepsi Center for print, broadcast and online media: Radio Row, Radio Suites, Writing Desks, Bloggers Alley, International Media. I had my pedometer on and walked just shy of nine miles today.

En route to the convention center to pick up our day's credentials, my Boulder friends were delayed due to a couple of demonstrations. Marching placket-wavers took up street as well as sidewalks, causing the shuttle on the 16th Street Mall to run only intermittently, because protesters were blocking the bus lanes. One group chanted, "No We Can't!", but it was unclear as to whether they were disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters or were grinding some other ax. Another group waved signs with clearer messages that were both evangelical and homophobic -- and also predictable. Then, we veered away from the 16th Street Mall, which had ceased being energizing and fun and was just annoying.

In the Pepsi Center my friend Laurel shook Jimmy Carter's hand but didn't get a picture. I saw media stars Anderson Cooper and Donna Brazile and soul singer John Legend but didn't get pictures. Here are some famous people whose pictures I did manage to snap with my little digital point-and-shoot, which doesn't allow for the rapid sequential shots of the bigger SLR:

Here's Dan Rather in the hallway (too far for my camera's modest flash to reach):


Here's Senator Ted Kennedy, riding to and from the podium area, ailing but inspiring by his very presence on the podium, let alone finding the strength to speak. As he rode along, he blew kisses to onlookers (trust me; that's what he was doing, which might not be apparent from the expression I caught in the one picture I managed to snap):

Here's Michelle Obama (just behind the sleeve of someone who walked into the one frame I managed to snap), heading down the same hallway en route to giving her evening-ending speech (someone behind her was carrying a garment bag with that beautiful teal green outfit she wore):


Here's (I think) fast-moving Caroline Kennedy (in black and mostly blocked by a women in a white jacket) who introduced her Uncle Ted:

Here's House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Dem Convention Has Denver A-Buzz

Fifty thousand visitors, give or take, are taking in city sights

My travels this week involve nothing more than a daily commute via RTD bus to Denver, where I am volunteering at the Democratic National Convention. Short as my trips are, they are as thrilling as any I've every taken, because they are to an event that will never again occur so close to my home in my lifetime. The last time Denver hosted a convention was exactly a century ago, when the city was was trying to shake its cowtown image.

In 1908, Oklahoma had become a state just the previous November, and Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii were still be admitted to the Union. Delegates arrived at Denver's beautiful Union Station by train. Some stayed right near the station at the Oxford Hotel (1891), the Barth Hotel (1882) or now-gone hotels. Other delegates took a trolley ride to the the Brown Palace Hotel (1892), more than a mile to the east. The Oxford is a charming boutique hotel, the Barth houses low-income senior citizens, and the Brown remains a historic jewel. Word on the street is that former President Bill Clinton, wanted-to-be President Hillary Clinton and won't-be President John Kerry are staying there this time around.

The 1908 convention itself took place is the Denver Arena Auditorium, now remade into a part of the Denver Performing Arts Complex. The 2008 convention is taking place at the Pepsi Center (above right), where the NHL Avalanche and NBA Nuggets usually play. State caucuses and other activities take place at the huge Denver Convention Center. Two blocks from the convention center, the 16th Street Mall is festooned with banners. Vendors are selling Obama buttons, pennants, T-shirts, flags and other souvenirs. Yellow-shirted local hosts (above left) answer visitors' questions. Manyh downtown streets are blocked and more will be, in effect expanding the pedestrian zone. Still, despite the ponderous presence of in-your-face security, the general ambiance is upbeat and positive -- and there's a electricity in the air and a buzz everywhere.

I don't know what security was like in 1908, but it was probably fairly tight for the day, since President William McKinley had been assassinated just seven years earlier. In 2008, I've seen uniforms from the Denver Police, county sheriff, state police, various Denver suburban police departments, Colorado Springs police, private security firms and the Transportation Security Agency. Officers on foot and horseback keep an eye on the legions of earnest protesters of all stripes, from Pro-Life to End the War Now crusaders, in case anything gets out of hand, perhaps clashing with each other. Officers on bicycles cruise the 16th Street Mall. Helicopters fly overhead. SWAT teams drive around the city ready to quell any trouble that may arise. Squad cars are parked all over the place. There's a K9 unit standing by.

Security people are posted at every entrance to every place, and within the agggressively fenced-off convention complex itself, your badge better be the correct side out. If it has flipped over backwards, someone in a uniform will ask you to turn it over so they can see the front with its distinctive hologram. The place is crawling with Secret Service Agents, some wearing serious dark suits and facial expressions to match, and others clad shirts that prominently say "Secret Service," which doesn't seem secret at all. The TSA has been enlisted to run the screening processes to get into the convention itself, just as they do at airports.

The Pepsi Center has been transformed, both backstage and in the arena (below left). The centerpiece is a soaring podium backed by a "gigantimus" video screen (below right). I'm a volunteer on the "press team. I have completed two afternoons of orientation, training and volunteer briefings, which is why I've seen the Denver scene, so to speak. The real work starts tomorrow.

The buzz is building daily, and by tomorrow, it will be full-throttle excitement and adrenalin for the tends of thousands of delegates, media, DNC staff and volunteers, Republican war room warriors ready to spin the slightest Democratic verval misstep, and squadrons protesters (who I hope stay cool) and security forces (which I hope will have proved to be unnecessary).

Senator Edward Kennedy's Final Journey

As I write this, the coffin of Senator Edward M. Kennedy is on its final journey to Arlington National Cemetery for interment beside his bothers, John and Robert. A year and a few days ago, he made a short journey half-way around the Pepsi Center to the podium from which he would give a rousing speech in support of candidate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention. He rode in a golf cart, smiling and blowing kisses to admirers, who knew that the end of an era was coming. Kennedy had already been diagnosed with brain cancer, and few had expected him to appear at the convention, let alone speak -- and do so with fervor and eloquence. As they say in show business, the Senator brought down the house. Today, a rainy day in Boston, under the vaulted ceiling of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, a Mass of Resurrection was said for the Senator, the wealthy scion of a Boston political dynasty who fought for social justice and equality for all.

President Obama, who was the last to speak, concluded his eulogy to his former colleague with allusions to this last journey. The Senator, said the President, is gone, "leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image — the image of a man on a boat; white mane tousled; smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for what storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon. May God Bless Ted Kennedy, and may he rest in eternal peace."