Article Contributed on: 8/29/2008 4:46:27 PM
The 2008 Democratic National Convention is over and thankfully enough; Denver is still in one piece.
The police can exhale and take some time off. It's time to shelve the pepper spray and beanbag guns for another event like the Broncos winning the Super Bowl or this weekend's CSU/CU Mile High Showdown.
If you were brave enough to have ventured downtown this past week, the 16th Street Mall must now feel like a ghost town compared to the wall-to-wall mass of humanity walking or biking crawling around the Civic Center or Union Station.
Granted Denver is no stranger to large-scale events, the NBA and MLB all-star games, various conventions and beer fests, but the DNC was something unique for our fair city.
Political parties make the best for news and gossip hounds. How many chances do you get to see big money interests and A-list celebrities mingling in restaurants and clubs we frequent with ease?
I was out and about all week taking pictures of protesters, police, delegates, journalists and gawkers hoping to see Ben Affleck or Oprah Winfrey at Jimmy John's or one of the 10,000 Starbucks peppering the 16th street mal.
The last day of the convention held something special for the relatively few people who received community credentials.
I was one of those lucky few that had to negotiate barricades, checkpoints and metal detectors to wait for six-plus hours before Barack Obama's acceptance speech.
Security shenanigans
I listened to the local news and made it over to Invesco before 2 p.m., but I had a slight misstep by bussing it to North Stands, which was the wrong side of the stadium. I headed toward the nearest gate and it took about 45 minutes to make it through the winding barricade-lined roads and screening area with metal detectors. (The Secret Service really means business.)
The security lines held a diverse assortment of people waiting to get in; delegates who didn't take the shuttle buses, press, delegate family members and friends the regular masses from Colorado and abroad who were selected to see how a party convention works up-close and personal.
I showed up relatively early to grab a decent seat before section 523 filled up and to avoid the 3-4 hour wait in the security line, which is what some people experienced.
My community credentials didn't have assigned seating for my section but fortunately enough I ran into a few people I knew and was able to make sure they watched my seat as I did for them when they got up.
It was a hazy sort of day, not really hot compared to the sweltering summertime temperatures that blasted us last month but probably uncomfortable for our out-of-town guests.
DNC- palooza
The last day of the DNC felt like a giant fish bowl with the delegates and speakers going through the motions as if they were back at the Pepsi Center. I'm sure anyone and everyone who follows political conventions understands that they include the most loyal and faithful folks to their party or candidates.
But the folks surrounding the delegates injected some unique energy in the atmosphere by giving party pundits a taste of Rocky Mountain Thunder and breaking out the wave every once and again.
I'm disappointed that the big networks only focused on the 8-9 p.m. hour; a lot of the memorable moments go unaired.
It was star-studded affair with U.S. Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson reciting the pledge of allegiance and American Idol winner Jennifer Hudson singing the national anthem.
There were also procedural moments that most would miss unless they were on C-SPAN like the reading of resolutions honoring Denver and acknowledging awesome of a city we were as hosts. (Well maybe they didn't use awesome.
The five-hour event included a diverse group of speakers. Local and national politicians, soldiers and generals, musicians like Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and regular folks giving their story of why we need change, which I felt was one of the most powerful moments of the night.
I'm not naïve to think that they were randomly selected considering these folks came from battleground states like Michigan, Florida and Indiana but their stories are ones that strikes a chord with all of us in one way or another.
I think every person walked away with an American flag, which were handed out by people with reflective vests. Some took more than their fair share but I think convention planners took that into consideration since there was hardly a person without one when Obama stepped up to the podium to give his speech.
The crowd was thunderous clapping, screaming out Obama and flag waving was at a fever pitch.
A few days before Invesco a political pundit said that a person shouldn't analyze a speech at the event because it's difficult to tell if it's effective to the television viewing audience.
But I disagree; while political rallies and conventions are designed to evoke strong emotions from the live audience it's important for attendees to form a connection with their candidate.
The dream continued
Martin Luther King III spoke about his parents' contribution to the civil rights movement. There was a video honor his father's contribution to racial equality.
The stars were aligned because Obama's acceptance speech coincided with the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream," speech. I imagine that everyone at Invesco will be proud to say they were there as anyone who was in Washington D.C. in 1963.
I'm not saying that Obama is as great a man as Dr. King but his win as the Democratic Presidential candidate is a continuation of the dream that all of us are taught to believe.
For many Obama's story reflects their own, born into obscurity and with the help of their family they are given the chance to rise to the highest levels. That dream is not new to America, but it's new to many who had ancestors discriminated for their ethnicity or gender.
That's not to say that the racial divide is resolved but hopefully we are going in the right direction and maybe a few party conventions from now we won't be focused on the firstisms but determine the best person to lead the country.