VOTE!

Of Podiums, Plain and Tall

Ok, now that we've gotten past the non-convention day due to Gustav, and the Republicans in St. Paul have gotten their convention off to a partisan start, I have to comment on the podium.

I've had a fascination with the “set design” of political conventions for years. I remember back in 1988 when the Dukakis campaign was criticized for the palate of colors used for the podium in Atlanta. They didn’t use true red white and blue, but pastel substitutes.

Last week the Democrats had a pretty spectacular podium at the Pepsi Center,

and when they moved it to Mile High Stadium; they added some stately columns and a rostrum to the mix, taking design elements from the 2004 GOP event in New York.

Contrast the current podium at the Republican convention this week:

It is very plain. In fact the design of the whole convention is quite understated as compared to what we saw with the Democrats last week, and podiums we have seen in the past. I haven’t seen a design this plain since maybe 1972 or 1976. Sure, the huge digital screen that serves as a backdrop is high tech, but it is technology that is delivering some simple and bold imagery. I do suspect that there is some amateurishness in the McCain camp, but I don’t think the design cues at the Excel Center are an accident or a sign of penny-pinching the convention budget. Perhaps this look is meant to telegraph McCain as the opposite of the “celebrity,” Obama.

Shame on you, James Dobson.

Hurricanes are serious business. As I write this, over two million people have evacuated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast as Gustav bears down on the area. We all remember the devastation of Katrina, and I pray that the nation is spared from the death and destruction Gustav could bring.

Michael Moore (and Don Fowler) got themselves into trouble today because they took note of the irony of a major hurricane headed for New Orleans just as the George Bush and Dick Cheney were preparing to address Republicans at their convention on Monday. The comments were callous. Natural disasters are not a joke, and certainly not fodder for political "gotchas." That is exactly why I just can't stop thinking about James Dobson and his cronies at "Focus on the Family."

Back in the beginning of August, Focus on the Family unveiled a video on their website where they urged their followers to pray for rain to disrupt Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field. Essentially, they asked God to smite Obama with rain:

“abundant rain, torrential rain … flood-advisory rain ... I’m talking about umbrella-ain’t-gonna-help-you, swamp-the-intersections rain.”

The video called for a weather disaster to befall Denver on the day of Obama's speech because Focus on the Family disagrees with Obama and the Democratic Party.

It is not ironic that there now is a terrible storm heading for the Gulf Coast that is disrupting the Republican Convention. It IS a reminder of the stupidity of individuals and tax exempt organizations that purport to have a religious mission invoking the Almighty to get involved in partisan politics. By James Dobson's logic, the God he prayed to for meteorological punishment on his political enemies, heard his prayer and responded by smiting his allies instead.

Thankfully, the God I believe in would never do any such thing. I pray that the good people of the Gulf Coast be spared another devastating storm.

Breaking News: McCain throws deep

I'm going to take a break from talking about my experiences in Denver to go to the big news of the day: McCain decided to 'throw deep' and make a very bold, unexpected pick of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his VP nominee.
As an aside, the scheduling of both conventions so late, and back to back (first back to back conventions since 1956) has really wrecked havoc with the news cycle. I wonder if the typical convention bounce will happen this year, as McCain just turned all focus on the GOP ticket today after a history-making night for Obama and the Dems.

McCain's pick is a brazen move to appeal to the women's vote, particularly in the aftermath of Obama's passing over of Hillary Clinton. Gov. Palin's resume is thin for someone who would be a heartbeat away from being commander-in-chief. I've said along along that putting a woman on the ticket would be a great move, but McCain had to look way down the bench to find someone who would be acceptable to the right wing of his party. Selecting a Pro-Choice moderate woman would have brought him more swing voters, but since he is beholden to the extremists in his party, Palin was the option.

James Carville was quoted in the National Journal earlier in the week saying that the goal of the VP pick is to make your opponent's campaign manager throw up. I think if I was managing Obama's campaign, I'd have my head in the trashcan right now. A McCain-Pawlenty ticket would have been much easier to game plan against (and a bit of a snoozer). David Plouffe and the rest of the team are going to have to figure out how to attack Palin without stepping on the historical significance of the 2nd woman on a national party ticket. Others will probably try to "Ferraro-ize" her as best they can (recall that Ferraro was dogged during the 84 campaign about investigations into her husband's finances) with the brother-in-law scandal and her ties to big oil.

There is no question that there will be some appeal to a portion of swing voters. In a sense, this provides an opportunity to make history, regardless of which ticket one votes for. Palin dramatically cited the anniversary of women's suffrage in her remarks this morning. Whether or not that resonates with a significant portion of the electorate remains to be seen.

I do think this underlines the misstep that Obama made in not choosing Hillary. I like Biden fine. I like his Catholicism, his working class roots, I loved how he talked about his mom during his speech, and we got to see her reaction -great stuff. I did talk to some Hillary supporters in Denver who had profound disappointment that Hillary was not on the ticket. The vast majority will support Obama-Biden, but all of them would have been tireless fighters in the trenches for the ticket if she was on it. Many still will be, because Obama is the best choice when it comes to "women's issues" (notice the prominent mention of fighting for equal pay in his speech), but we can't deny that the selection of Palin is another crack in the glass ceiling.
I had the privilege of attending both meetings of the Women's Caucus at the DNC. I consider myself a feminist in many ways (more men should consider themselves feminists, especially husbands, brothers, and fathers). As I watched Michelle Obama give a good speech to the caucus, I could not help but feel wistful that once again, it was the spouse of the candidate who was a woman, and not the nominee. What does the selection of Sarah Palin mean to others who may feel that way? I know the Democratic Party and our allies at NOW, Planned Parenthood, and others, will deliver the message that McCain-Palin is wrong on issues like Choice and pay equity, education, etc., but we have a serious fight on our hands. (Hey, did anybody really believe it would be easy?!?!?)

The Convention Builds

The drama of the last two days has left me pretty drained. The anticipation for Hillary Clinton's speech on Tuesday night was great. The MSM was fomenting the so-called riff between we Hillary supporters and Obama backers. After Gov. Ed Rendell pointed out his "Hillary Supporter for Obama" button to me, I couldn't wait to get one myself. It's been on my lapel since Tuesday and has garnered lots of nods of approval and comments.
Hillary gave a wonderful speech. (She looked great in that orange pantsuit!) I watched it from an entranceway to the floor, alongside for a time, Annette Benning. There was a hint of sadness in my heart that Hillary wasn't the nominee, but my admiration for her grew event stronger for the way she handled herself.
Hillary has been outstanding throughout this Convention. She has been held to an impossible standard, (typically imposed on a woman) and she nailed it. I heard her speech to her delegates on Wednesday, and later in the day, her move to nominate Obama by acclamation was more than we have ever expected from a candidate who fell short of victory.
President Clinton helped to re-focus this convention on the candidacy of Barack Obama with his speech tonight, and Obama's surprise visit to the Pepsi Center was a brilliant move. I've been concerned about some of the missteps on the part of the Obama Camp during this convention. Wednesday night firmly nudged attention back to Obama and why he should be President.

I'll be getting out of town before Obama's speech at Mile High, but not because I am a disgruntled Hillary supporter. I can't get tickets, and I need to get back home to my real job as soon as possible. If I was lucky enough to attend, I would express my concern for the logistics. I keep hearing buzz from attendees about the six hour wait they face at the stadium and the challenges of transportation. I hope 70,000 people get there; they will be witnesses to history.

Day 1 in Denver for the DNC/ Some Photos from Day 2

Denver has really rolled out the red carpet for the DNC, and the city looks great! The logistics and security are a bear, but that is the world we live in today.

Said hello to Gov. Kaine of VA (we have a mutial friend). I was struck by how very different his life would be right now if he had been tapped for VP:



Also chatted briefly with the gregarious Ed Rendell, Gov. of PA. I told him he was doing a good job giving voice to those of us who supported Hillary and are loyal Democrats:





Much more to say, exhaustion setting in after a long day of travel and no sleep . . .


DAY TWO: some photo highlights

Music on the Trail

As I get ready to head out to Denver for the DNC, I am reminded of how the campaigns use music at their rallies. I'm sure we will be hearing some of these songs in Denver. This is an itunes mix of songs heard during the primaries and this summer: