Day 3 of the DNC: A Local's Report

A national political convention is an endurance contest. We left for the Times Warner Cable Arena at 2 p.m. and returned to the hotel at 12:30 a.m, only to get up at 6 a.m. to attend the New Hampshire breakfast. If delegates don't attend the breakfast, they don't get credentials allowing them to attend that day's convention session. So you go.

According to conventional political wisdom, Republicans are fired up this year, and Democrats are apathetic. Not that I could see. Did you ever attend a baseball game where in the first inning, the fans cheered loudly for every ball and strike. The first speakers at the convention were relatively unknown. Despite their obscurity, the crowd roared at their every word.

TV producers aren't fooled, however. They know that viewers want to see famous speakers, so when obscure people are speaking, the cameras scan the crowd for interesting delegates. I've learned that you want to be seen on national television at a convention, wear bizarre clothes, and dance wildly as if you're having some sort of fit. You will receive national television coverage, but at a cost. Everyone will think that you're nuts. That doesn't stop more than a few people.

One New Hampshire "delegate" who received a lot of TV attention was 4 month old Elizabeth Rollo, the daughter of Mike and Caitlin Rollo of Strafford County. Elizabeth wore a small replica of a delegate's plastic badge.

New Hampshire has a prime location in the arena just to the left of the stage. An aisle runs in front of our seat which allows us to engage in a favorite convention pastime - looking for famous and semi-famous people.

We saw the following notable and semi-notable people yesterday: Former Virginia governor and current senate candidate Tim Kaine; former Secretary of State Madeline Albright; former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean; Ethel Kennedy's grandson, Matt Kennedy; NBC's Andrea Mitchell, NBC's Nora O'Donnell, CNN's Suzanne Malvaux, Second Lady Jill Biden, Rev. Jesse Jackson, TV reporter Bill Plante, Congressman James Clyburn, Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, MSNBC's Howard Fineman, Politico's Jonathan Martin, Washington Post's Dan Balz, and Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan.

As the evening wore on and network television coverage began, more famous speakers appeared. My informal poll of delegates indicated that the favorites were (in ascending order) former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, and, the overwhelming choice, First Lady Michele Obama.

I was particularly struck by Julian Castro. He is an articulate and accomplished speaker. His keynote speech may give him the boost in popularity and recognition that advances his political career in much the same way that a similar speech by Barack Obama did for him at a previous convention. However, I've learned through sad experience not to give away my political heart too quickly. I'll watch Castro a while and see how he fares politically.

Democrats are at an interesting crossroad. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was able to successfully lead a sometimes fractious, diverse coalition composed of labor, minorities, intellectuals and conservative Southerners called Dixiecrats. Something of the same nature is occurring today.

A Democratic coalition has formed composed of women, Latinos, labor, African-Americans, highly-educated Americans, and the gay community. There they were for all to see on the convention floor. Generally, they are not plutocrats, but rather middle class and poorer. Many of them are (as all Americans were at one time or another) immigrants.

When I was teaching, many of my best students came from immigrant families. They realized what a rare opportunity for success lay before them, and they were hungry to seize it.

Before I close, let me point out how easy it will be to vote in New Hampshire's Sept. 11 Primary and the November General Election. Registered voters (including same day registered voters ) need only present photo IDs or a sign  statements that they are the persons they claim to be. That's it. And you will vote.