Monday at the Democratic National Convention

Today’s highlight was the emotionally charged two act drama in the Pepsi Center. First, Senator Edward Kennedy's surprising appearance on the podium in hiatus from his brain cancer treatment evoked the passion and pride that Democratic faithful harbor for his and his family’s service. Then, Michelle Obama in her speech and the Obama family in their impromptu video interaction effectively told their family story to further humanize Senator Obama and show that he is not materially culturally or politically different from most of us.

I was fortunate to witness the evening’s events from a choice aisle seat three rows behind Governor Rendell’s post under the Pennsylvania placard. The Governor runs the delegation from his seat behind a small podium that has a video screen, a microphone and not one but two telephones- although neither phone was used during the evening.

The Pennsylvania delegation has a prime location on the actual floor of the convention, stage left of the podium and spread over the rear portion of two sections of chairs. Thus half the delegation abuts the CBS broadcast location and the other half of the delegation serves as the backdrop for CNN’s position. Those fellows seen over Wolf Blitzer’s shoulder making funny faces and waving to their kids while talking on cell phones were from Pittsburgh. That our delegation is on the actual floor is notable because the massive podium armamentarium appears to take up half the arena’s floor space, and it looks as if about two-thirds of the delegates on “the convention floor” are actually not on the floor of the arena but in the first level seating. This includes some large delegations such as New York and California.

Following the activities in the convention hall, fellow Delaware County Delegate Richard Sestak and I went to a party hosted by the Democratic Governors Association at Elitch Gardens, an amusement park in the shadow of the Pepsi Center. This was an “a-list” event where I was lucky to have a few minutes to speak with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. Having met Governor Strickland and gone with him to an Indians game in Cleveland a few years ago, I had thought that he would have been a great running mate for Senator Obama, but Governor Strickland’s name quickly disappeared from the list of those under consideration. Monday night, the Governor told me that he had asked to be removed from consideration because he had so much work still to do to get Ohio back on track.

At the party, I was also fortunate to spend a few minutes with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, and told him that last week while on vacation with my girls in Batch County, Virginia I saw almost twice as many signs for Mark Warner for U.S. Senate than for his opponent. This is a good omen for Democrats as Bath County is a rural Republican county, but I think Governor Kaine already knew that former Governor Warner is a likely winner. I also saw Governor Rendell and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, but not one fork (that’s a joke understood by readers of last Thursday’s Daily News).

After leaving the DGA party, we went to Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, for a reception hosted by the Airlines Pilots Association. It was eerie to look out over a huge baseball stadium which was completely empty of fans.

Earlier in the day, there was a delegation breakfast meeting which is part of the daily routine of the convention. Everyone must attend to get their credentials for the day; and, more importantly, to eat a free meal. The food was unexpectedly good and we were treated to entertaining and witty keynote remarks from Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Then came speeches from Governor Rendell, Mayor Nutter and Allegheny County Executive (and Gubernatorial hopeful) Dan Onorato, each of whom spoke of the virtues of Senator Obama and the need for party unity despite each having supported Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary. At this point, the Clinton/Obama “rift” has been generally cemented closed although it appears that some members of media continue to chisel.

At breakfast, I spoke with Delegate Shelly Rahman and her husband, Abu, of Newtown Square, and also to Delaware County Democratic Party Vice-Chair Mary-Ellen Balchunis of Drexel Hill, who is attending the convention in the company of her daughter, Lauren. Mary Ellen will be reporting on convention happenings to her students at LaSalle University where she is a Professor of Political Science.

After breakfast, I briefly spoke with State Representative Thaddeus Kirkland who is enjoying his time here as a Delegate. Representative Kirkland was too busy for a long chat as he had to run off to pick up “extra” credentials. I always thought that the Representative had a lot of clout, he is chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and a key supporter of Senator Obama, but being able to secure “extra” credentials for friends or family at the DNC shows that he is a true power broker.

Until tomorrow . . .