Thursday's Highlights From the Democratic National Convention

Iowan and Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson started the day off by leading the pledge of allegiance.

Bill Richardson outlined how McCain has consistently changed his position on numerous issues and then nailed McCain on wearing $520 pair of Italian loafers, saying...

John McCain may pay hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but we're the ones who will pay for his flip-flops.

Al Gore spoke last night and had this great line...

Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now - because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them, the same policies all over again?

Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous.

Then a group of everyday people who were Republicans, but are now supporting Obama spoke. One of these people was Barney Smith from Marion, Indiana who summed up the difference between Obama and McCain...

We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys.

I will write more later about Obama's speech, but this article by David Sirota sums up Obama's speech, saying that Obama has made an economic populism the key theme to this election.

Shawn Johnson to Lead Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention

Olympic Gold Medalist and Iowan Shawn Johnson will be in Denver on Thursday to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention.

Barack Obama's presidential campaign says Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson will lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.

Obama is expected to give his acceptance speech Thursday night at Invesco Field at Mile High stadium in Denver.

The 16-year-old Johnson won four medals at the recent Olympics in Beijing, including a gold in the women's balance beam competition.

Iowa: We Started It!

In Denver, Iowa has received a lot of recognition and praise for standing for Barack Obama "that cold January night", and opening the door to the movement that has swept the nation. Iowa should be proud. Not only of our belief in Barack Obama, but of our state government, activists, and communities.

Every morning we have guest speakers to begin our day. Yesterday we had Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge. Wow, these two have done so so much to improve our great state. Culver spoke of the disasters Iowa has endured this summer (They will go down in history to be in the Top 10 worst natural disasters in the US), and also showed the silver lining; that Iowa is "going to rebuild to be a stronger, safer and better state." He stated that Iowans locked arms and used resilience to get through the floods and tornados, and that every single one did their part. (Donate at www.embraceiowa.org. The other night Union Pacific wrote a check for $50,000 to Embrace Iowa.)

We also heard from Mike Gronstal, the Senate Majority Leader, who reminded us of how far Iowa has come with the democratic majority. Since 2006, minimum wage has been raised for 250,000 workers, Iowa has produced 3 million gallons of alchohol for fuel, we have made strides in our civil rights, produced more wind energy per capita than any state in the union, passed children's health care, and went from having our teacher's pay rank 42nd in the nation to 25th.

That's the only reminder we need to remember why we stay democrats in Iowa!

wow Wow WOW

I'm behind on a lot of what's been going on at convention, but the experience overall is hard to describe in words.

Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, Barbara Boxer, Kathleen Sebelius...the list goes on. Women in the United States have some of the best representation we could ask for! These are just a few of the many out there, who are willing to fight for us and for everyone.

Monday night Michelle Obama knocked her speech out of the ballpark, not leaving a dry eye in the audience. She gave ever woman, every child, every family hope for what could be. She proved her faith in the American Dream as well as her faith in Barack Obama to keep renew that dream, and to keep it alive.

Last night, Hillary Clinton gave one of the most moving speeches a democrat could ever hear. Her giving attitude and love for her country shined through every word she had to say, and after her address to the convention, party unity is just around the corner. She really does believe in this party and in this country, and because of this she deserves much praise. We are very fortunate to have her continued representation and impact in the US Senate.

There is no need for any woman in the country to worry about our rights, as long as these ladies are here fighting for us, and as long as we get Barack Obama elected as president of the United States.

Tuesday's Highlights from the Democratic National Convention

The media was all over last night's convention speeches for not attacking Bush and McCain enough. Tonight, that's is not the case...

Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona (YouTube video)...

Barry Goldwater ran for president, and he lost. Mo Udall ran for president, and he lost. Bruce Babbit ran for president, and he lost. For this next election, that's one Arizona political tradition I'd like to see continue.

Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas...

John McCain's version: There's no place like home...or a home...or a home...or a home...or a home...

Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania (YouTube video)...

John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush more than 90% of the time...that's not a maverick, that's a sidekick.

and...

The Bush-McCain Republicans inherited the strongest economy in history and drove it into a ditch. They cut taxes on the wealthiest of us and passed on the pain to the least of us. They ran up the debt, gave huge subsidies to big oil companies, and now they’re asking for four more years.

How about four more months?

Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia and Senate candidate...

People always ask me, "What's your biggest criticism of President Bush?" I'm sure you all have your own. Here's mine: It's not just the policy differences. It's the fact that this president never tapped into our greatest resources - the character and resolve of the American people. He never asked us to step up.

Think about it: After September 11, if there was a call from the President to get us off foreign oil, to stop funding the very terrorists who had just attacked us, every American would have said, "How can I do my part?" This administration failed to believe in what we can achieve as a nation, when all of us work together.

and Warner does a great summing up what this election is about...

This election isn't about liberal versus conservative. It's not about left versus right. It's about the future versus the past.

Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio, made a great baseball analogy...

You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple. Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base--and then he stole second. And John McCain cheered him every step of the way.

Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana, is really hitting McCain hard on being in the pocket of Big Oil and against renewable energy (and having a great time while is at it)...

After eight years of a White House waiting hand and foot on big oil, John McCain offers more of the same. At a time of skyrocketing fuel prices, when American families are struggling to keep their gas tanks full, John McCain voted 25 times against renewable and alternative energy. Against clean biofuels. Against solar power. Against wind energy.

This not only hurts America's energy independence, it could cost American families more than a hundred thousand jobs. At a time when America should be working harder than ever to develop new, clean sources, John McCain wants more of the same and has taken more than a million dollars in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry. Now he wants to give the oil companies another 4 billion dollars in tax breaks. Four billion in tax breaks for big oil?

That's a lot of change, but it's not the change we need.

In Montana, we're investing in wind farms and we're drilling in the Bakken formation, one of the most promising oil fields in America. We're pursuing coal gasification with carbon sequestration and we're promoting greater energy efficiency in homes and offices.

Even leaders in the oil industry know that Senator McCain has it wrong. We simply can't drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain's backyards, including the ones he can't even remember.

Hillary Clinton caps off a fantastic night with a fantastic speech that stressed the need to elect Barack Obama. She nailed McCain with this line...

It makes a lot of sense that next week John McCain and George Bush will be together in the Twin Cities, because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart.

Video of Jim Leach's Speech at the Democratic National Convention

Denver Day 2 (morning)

Yesterday certainly started with an early morning, and ended with a late late night. But wow, what a day!

It started out with a great Iowa delegation breakfast with several incredible speeches. Scott Brennan started the morning introductions, and passed the mic along to Danny Homan, an active AFSCME member, who spoke on behalf of the Fair Share and Employee Free Choice Acts. The next speaker was the very loved and respected Senator Tom Harkin. He announced that the Library of Congress has certified that he has defeated more sitting republicans than anyone ins US history, and has also been vetoed by Bush more times than anyone else! He talked about the importance of "trickle-up" campaigning--helping the local candidates helps the state candidates which gets the president elected! (I certainly took this to heart after being an IDP canvasser all summer for the local and state candidates!) He then introduced MN Senator Amy Klobuchar who spoke about the importance of party unity.

Senator Klobuchar had much to say about her respect for Tom Harkin, and also had lots of praise for Paul Wellstone. She talked about her immediate admiration for Obama, and his organization and determination in the senate, including the Ethics bill and the Lead Standard acts. She ended her speech by emphaszing the first 6 months of the next administration, where troops need to be supported, healthcare needs to be reformed, and something needs to be done with climate and energy. When those six months happen, we need to be saying "I was a part of that;I changed this country", not "I blew it."

GREAT great way to start a political day!

Leach the Eisenhower Democrat

I caught part of Jim Leach's speech at the Democratic National Convention. His speech seemed very scholarly, filled with historical facts and void of talking points.

Andrew Sullivan summarizes Leach's support for Obama...

It's an interesting take on Obama - and it was Jim Leach's basic point. He is not a great speaker, to say the least. But he was the most substantive of the night and the most serious. He is right about one fundamental thing, I think. The ditch this country has gotten itself in - fiscally, militarily and diplomatically - is extremely deep. It will require more than an ordinary politician to get us out of it.

Denver Day 1!

The Convention started Sunday evening in a way that Democrats are quite familiar with: fun.

"Friends of New Orleans" hosted an outrageous, all-out event with tons of live music and a plethora of southern, Cajun foods. The event was held not only as a pre-convention reception, but also to raise awareness of the constant loss of the southern wetlands--almost 100 feet per hour. The ballroom was packed and the party was pumping--it resembled to a T the scene in Swing Vote, when the democrats host a party for Bud Johnson, the man who's vote could give them the victory.


Following the reception there were all sorts of vendors and a couple protesters outside of the convention center, but two in particular caught many peoples' attention: Pro-Lifers. Living in a free country with the freedom of speech and opinion is a wonderful, wonderful thing, and I respect the "Right To Life" opinion whole-heartedly, but the manner in which these gentlemen presented themselves was insane. They stood with a sign showing a picture of Obama, then the words "A vote for Obama is a vote for a dead child." and on the other side of the poster was a gruesome picture of an aborted fetus.


Many people confronted the protesters but were received with sarcasm and cynicism. Even the police appeared to be bothered with how these two were acting. Eventually they got tired of our crowed and moved along to spread their "message" to the other side of the center. It was the first protest I saw here, but I expect there to be several more. I guess it makes it all a little more interesting!

Finally, the evening ended with a reception hosted by Tom and Ruth Harkin at an Irish pub called the "Celtic Tavern." Many Iowan officials and delegates were there, including Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge, and Congressman Bruce Braley. It was a fun way to end the evening!

Leach to Speak at the Democratic Convention on Monday

Former Republican Congressman Jim Leach, who endorsed Barack Obama two weeks ago, is going to be speaking on at the Democratic Convention on Monday.

From Radio Iowa...

A source in the Obama campaign says former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican from Davenport/Iowa City/Harvard/Princeton, is scheduled to speak Monday night at the Democratic National Convention. For those of you who hadn't heard, back on August 12 Leach endorsed Obama.

The theme of Monday night's convention is "One Nation" and Leach's role as one of the Republicans now backing Obama fits into that theme, according to the source.