Denver: Day 1

At the request of my buddy Chris, the Rutledges are live blogging the Democratic convention from the comfort of our living room. Still waiting on Chris to accept the invite to be a guest blogger.

8:55
Amy & I just wagered a back rub on whether the kids that are pictured with Joe Biden are his kids or his grandkids. I think they are his kids from his second marriage. Amy thinks they are grandkids.

8:59
From the wonderful Wikipedia one of the kids is his daughter from his second wife; the other must be a granddaughter. I have a feeling I will be giving the back rub even though neither one of us was right.

9:03
Owen just got up for the second time -- doesn't want to go to bed. He says he wants he can't sleep without his dragon. But I think he's just stalling just to get a glimpse of Michelle Obama.

9:06
Just switched over to Faux News. I don't think I'd buy a car from Terry McAuliffe. Not the most believable or trustworthy individual I've ever come across.

9:10
The media is going nuts over this rift between the Clintons and the Obama campaign. Enough already. I am so ready to move beyond the Clinton grasp on the Democratic party.

9:15
Amy just informed me that the kids are Biden's grandchildren. About.com just trumped Wikipedia.

9:16
Gus is singing "happy Birthday" instead of going to bed. Owen just came out to tell us that his toenails were too long. I'm telling you, he's got a thing for Michelle.

9:17
Caroline Kennedy is reading off cue cards. Emotion, dear, emotion. Nice tribute to Ted Kennedy though. I read today where he was supposed to make an appearance.

9:22
For a party that just nailed McCain on his gaffe for not knowing how many houses he owns, I'm not sure showing Ted Kennedy on a sailboat is quite the consistent message they were aiming for.

9:30
Fiery, emotional speech from TK. He looks great for a guy that just had brain surgery. "I pledge to you I will be on the floor of the Senate in January." That's how to bring a crowd to its feet.

Crowd is eating this up. "Ted-dy, Ted-dy"

9:35
Michelle Obama just emailed supporters. We have to stay up til 10:30 to see her. Owen will be disappointed.

9:40
Just had the third John Kerry sighting of the night over on MSNBC. For those of us that are still bitter about 2004 it's not a pleasant reminder to see Sen. Kerry. Must......resist...urge.....to.....complain....about....Swift Boaters.

Amy just informed me that Joe Biden is married to a teacher. And also that he is 1 of 5 Senators that is not a millionaire. Respectable in this day & age. Gotta love those educators.

9:46
Olbermann is just shameless in his drooling praise on Kennedy's speech. I know he gets grief for being an unabashed liberal. But Fox has an army of hacks -- MSNBC can have its own as well.

9:52
The DNC is about to lose the "Thirty-something parents with young children who delay their bedtime with toenail & dragon stories" audience. A 45-minute wait for Michelle's speech for crying out loud.

9:58
Faux has Karl Rove on spinning. "The Architect......more like "The Train Wrecker" if you ask me. Split screen with Sean Hannity. Spin, spin, spin. Yawn. There may not be two more despicable human spinsters on the planet.

10:03
Preview of Michelle's speech.....great line here. I needed an uplift after slumming over to the Rovian gloom.

"And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

10:14
Rachel Maddow just reiterated a fantastic point that Maureen Dowd made in the NYT yesterday about McCain going to the well over and over again with the P.O.W. defense for any criticism he receives.

Apparently McCain will be on Leno tonight where Jay asks him about knowing how many houses he as. McCain's response? He was a P.O.W. for years so he can relate to average Americans' difficulties.

10:20
While we're waiting for Michelle Obama, here is the snippet from the Dowd column about McCain going to the well too often:

So it’s hard to believe that John McCain is now in danger of exceeding his credit limit on the equivalent of an American Express black card. His campaign is cheapening his greatest strength — and making a mockery of his already dubious claim that he’s reticent to talk about his P.O.W. experience — by flashing the P.O.W. card to rebut any criticism, no matter how unrelated. The captivity is already amply displayed in posters and TV advertisements.

The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, the pastor who married Jenna Bush and who is part of a new Christian-based political action committee supporting Obama, recently criticized the joke McCain made at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally encouraging Cindy to enter the topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest. The McCain spokesman Brian Rogers brought out the bottomless excuse, responding with asperity that McCain’s character had been “tested and forged in ways few can fathom.”

When the Obama crowd was miffed to learn that McCain was in a motorcade rather than in a “cone of silence” while Obama was being questioned by Rick Warren, Nicolle Wallace of the McCain camp retorted, “The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous.”

When Obama chaffed McCain for forgetting how many houses he owns, Rogers huffed, “This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison.”

10:24
It's Michelle time.

10:25
Barack, on meeting Michelle for the first time: "I didn't see a ring on her hand."

Classic. As someone who met his wife on the job I have a soft spot for this story -- regardless of how sappy & produced it may be.

10:31
Craig Robinson giving the introduction to his sister. Great line on Barack, in the context of playing basketball with him: "He's confident but not cocky. He makes those around him better. He'll take the shot if he's open. And he won't back down from any challenge." I'm a new Oregon State fan. Go Beavers.

10:38
Michelle definitely comes across as a family person. Gives tribute to her mom, dad, brother, husband and daughters. Very genuine.

10:44
Amy: "Can we vote for Michelle?" Hear, hear...

10:52
"This time we listened to our hopes and not our fears...."

10:54
Cindy McCain just popped a couple of pills to cope with the stress of living up to that classy, genuine speech. (Low blow, I know, but I couldn't resist.)

10:56
Barack, via video feed about his wife: "Now, you know why I asked her out so many times....even though she said no. You want a persistent President."

11:02
The wrap-up. It's hard not to miss Tim Russert at a time like this. I'm sure he's smiling down....

In case you missed Michelle's speech, it's worth watching. Amy & I are fans.



Good night everybody....we'll try to blog this Tuesday night if we can stay up. ;-) Hillary's on tomorrow.

Cheers!