First Day of the Democratic Convention: A Seacoaster's View

Today is Day 1, the official start of the Democratic National Convention. My wife, the official delegate, and I came to Charlotte a day in advance. Yesterday, we attended two pre-convention events. a reception for New England delegates held at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture followed by a Kick-Off Party sponsored by the New Hampshire and New Jersey Democratic Parties here in the hotel we share with New Jersey delegates. 

The New England event was a strange sort of progressive dinner. Appetizers were on the second floor; entrees on the third floor; and desserts on the fourth floor (closest to God to my way of thinking). We enjoyed collard greens, chicken in white sauce, savory spinach tarts, and blueberry cobbler. News flash for New Englanders! Collard greens (which sound terrible) are actually very tasty.

Both events gave me a chance to talk to a few delegates. Strangely enough, it was hard work. The hubbub created by hundreds of people bounces off hard surfaces, creating a lot of background noise, which is the bane of older people's (like me) existence. Second, I'm taller than most people, so I have crouch over and virtually stick my ear in their mouths (sorry about the grotesque image).

Nevertheless, I persisted. I met an aide who has worked for Congressman Barney Frank for 19 years. What will Frank be doing after retirement? Not surprisingly, he will be teaching and writing. That's good. Most political speeches are a waste of time, but listening to Frank is like an hour spent in a college classroom.

A man from Milton, Connecticut, reminisced about happy vacation days of his youth spent at Hampton Beach and Rye Beach. A delegate from New Hampshire told me how in the 1960s, he had gone to Spain to oppose the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. When the opposition was overtaken by communists, he criticized it, and almost lost his life as a result. That's real hardball politics.

By the time we arrived at the New Hampshire - New Jersey gathering, we were stuffed with food, so we steered clear of the buffet, and picked at sliced fruits. Nevertheless, I talked to a fascinating woman there, Ruthi Byrne, the wife of former New Jersey governor, Brendan Byrne. How was it to be the wife of a governor? "You have no privacy; everyone knows who you are. And everyone knows what you're doing." Did you resent the lack of privacy? "Not particularly." Do you now miss the attention? "Not particularly."

This morning, we attended our first New Hampshire breakfast at the hotel. One takes place each day of the convention, and they are highlights of the week. Because we host the first in the nation primary, prospective presidential candidates are anxious to speak to us at the breakfasts.

This year, we take on added importance because New Hampshire is a battleground state whose four electoral votes are crucial to the election chances of Obama and Romney. or those reasons, you will see that the New Hampshire delegation is front and center at the convention arena.

Our main speaker today was James Ball, President Obama's policy director. He noted that, at the moment, Mitt Romney's campaign is based on three falsehoods. First, Romney claims that Obama said successful businesses aren't due to the efforts of those who started them. BUZZ! Wrong. Romney took Obama's comments out of context. Obama said that a cooperative relationship between government and businessmen helped companies grow. For example, government built roads help businesses get their products to market.

Second, Romney claims that Obama is encouraging welfare. BUZZ! Wrong. Obama ceded responsibility to the states to see if they could develop more effective and cost efficient ways of handling welfare. I thought Republicans preferred to solve problems at a state, rather than a federal, level. Silly me.

Third, Romney claims that Obama took $700 billion out of Medicare. BUZZ! Wrong. Insurance companies and health providers agreed to reduce costs of Medicare by $700 billion because so many additional people would be turning to them for medical treatment as the result of expanded coverage provided by the Affordable Health Care Act. Paul Ryan has the same reduction in his budget.

We have a real problem with regard to telling the truth in politics. The media is so terrified of being accused of bias that it rarely comments whether or not what a politician says is true. Politicians, in this case the Romney campaign, have been quick to pick up on this lack of censorship by the media and just go ahead and say whatever they like without fear of contradiction.

Do I feel sorry for you stuck back in New Hampshire? Not at all. You are getting to witness one of the closest and most exciting Democratic gubernatorial campaigns in my memory. Exeter's Maggie Hassan is running against Jackie Cilley and Bill Kennedy in what can be described as a real barnburner and cliffhanger. On the Republican side, Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith are locked in a feisty campaign for the gubernatorial nod.

And not only President Obama, but also Vice President Biden and their wives, Michele Obama and Jill Biden, will appear in Portsmouth on Sept. 7. Too late for my wife and me to get back to New Hampshire to see them. Drat!