Hillary and My Favorite Martian - DNC Day 2

Soapy water from my previous days shower remained in the tub as I prepared to take my morning shower. Thankfully, I was able to figure out that the stopper had accidentally sealed the drain. I didn’t have to play Roto-Rooter man like my co-worker Cliff Hawkins did in his room. My room at Final Stay has a kitchenette fully equipped with a microwave, stove, toaster, fridge and an assortment of dishes. It has been nice to make toast in the morning and watch the muted television before heading out to work. This was good until today. Today, the toaster blew up. Put the English muffin in, pressed down the lever and with a dazzling display of light, half the heating elements were gone.

The security sweeps to enter the Pepsi Center have become more efficient compared to the first day when it took us 45 minutes to get through. Originally, the E.O.D. guys were hand searching every piece of equipment, which was a total drag. Now, we just push everything through an x-ray machine, even leaving laptops in their cases. Hey T.S.A., you hear that? And we get to leave our shoes on too!

Today’s line-up looked to be a real snoozer with dozens of boring speakers leading into the big Hillary speech. I laughed when I saw that Dennis Kucinich (my favorite martian) was scheduled to speak at around 5:00 pm. But, when Dennis hit the stage, he put on the performance of his life. Kucinich, who is known for his defiant opposition to the war in Iraq, belted out a spirited speech outlining the Bush administrations neglect to the citizens of America. Referring to high gas prices, home foreclosures, outsourcing business to other countries and even Hurricane Katrina, Dennis flailed his arms about, shouting “wake up America!” He was so into it that he would occasionally seem to be lifting off the ground as he pumped his fists. His wife must be proud.

Fellow photographer Matt Cavanaugh (EPA) and I share a small portion of the “pod” (riser) on the right side of the stage. It isn’t the best spot at the venue, but it’s what we were assigned to cover. We’ve been passing the time during the long 6 hour session by providing commentary during the speeches. We have come to the conclusion that the phrase for this convention is “failed policy.” Every single person that speaks, whether it’s the local dog catcher or Dennis Kucinich, they all say it. Sometimes they say it more than once. If its not in your speech, you’re not with the program.
After 6 pm, the bigger names come out to speak. With each speaker, a sign with a slogan relevant to that person is passed out. For instance, when Michelle Obama spoke the previous night, tall paddle-like signs with “Michelle” written on them were passed out to everyone in the crowd. Kennedy had a more traditional campaign sign that simply read “Kennedy.” Today I saw one that said “One Nation.” I turned to Matt and said that the Obama campaign should avoid the slogan “Obama Nation” – people might get the wrong idea.
Hillary was the big headliner this evening. She hit the stage in her mustard yellow pant suit after a short video of her life and an introduction by her daughter Chelsea. The crowd went wild. They waved signs that read “unity” “Hillary” and “Obama” We had earlier witnessed someone handing Bill Clinton a “unity” sign which he wanted nothing to do with. He wouldn’t even touch it. Looks like the feud between him and Obama continues.
Hillary’s speech was great, she even topped my favorite martian's speech. Like the night before, it brought tears to many eyes in the Pepsi Center. In typical Clinton fashion, she stole the show. She exited gracefully and the night was over.

It was beer time. A few nights earlier we had gone to a chain restaurant across the street from the Final Stay called “Old Chicago” which has some 110 beers on its menu. It’s kind of a gross place, typical chain restaurant type of fare. So, tonight, we thought we would go out somewhere in downtown Denver. Somewhere fun that was cool and local. We walked out of heavily guarded Fort Pepsi walked across the bridge and right into an Old Chicago restaurant. How pathetic are we?