I went to my first Democratic National Convention Committee event today. Although speakers mentioned achieving the 10,000 volunteer goal, I still haven't been asked to do anything other than read a monthly e-mail and attend this one-year-out Countdown Kickoff. I considered polling the other 9,999 to see if it's just me, but most of them weren't there. Howard Dean did thank the volunteer who picked him up at the airport, not mentioning whether he was a volunteer limo driver.

Standing outside the Pepsi Center entrance required getting advance tickets at another location. When I signed for mine, I asked if ticketing provided some kind of screening, although no one handed me a loyalty oath. The receptionist said they only wanted to know how many attended. Considering I picked up my ticket an hour before, the count didn't determine the quantity of promised refreshments. Luckily, they didn't run out of popcorn or cone water cups.

Red tickets were directed to another patch of ground from white tickets. As we waited in the merciless sun, some seated themselves at tables beyond the fence. "Look there's an umbrella, let's go sit down," a white ticket holder said to her companion. Being one of those annoying people in a crowd who responds to comments not directed to her, I said, "I'm pretty sure white tickets don't get white tablecloths." Eventually, anyone was allowed in the grassy, tabled area, an egalitarian turn of events, since that's where water dispensers were placed.

Judging from my eavesdropping, a surprising number believed the rally was being held inside the Pepsi Center, although the invitation and ticket stated otherwise. "When are they going to let us in?" was a common refrain, as well as "When are they going to start?" Of course, I answered every remark within range: "Only conventioneers get to go indoors and that's next year" and "Do you know any politicians who are timely?"

Here's my summary: Loud, dated rock music intros, polite applause for Howard Dean, Bill Ritter and John Hickenlooper (who took off his jacket, after I bet a stranger we would see Dean strip first,) short speeches about the convention being green and how that's not easy, get out of Iraq, this time people will vote for us rather than against the other guys, health care for everybody, and no more culture of corruption. Also, the convention will be a showcase and windfall. Nobody heckled and I didn't see any slogan T-shirts. There you have it, without the heat or bored camera crews.

Standing near a tree, one woman actually spoke to me directly, saying, "I don't sweat this much when I go to the gym." I replied, "Yeah, I sat on the concrete for a minute and left a butt print." I expected her to move discreetly away like the others, but she wasn't giving up her bit of shade.


______________________________________________________
Editor's note: Get all your DNC info on our convention site.