Thursday, Aug. 29 — afternoon
Well, the last day of the convention has arrived. It only seems like a year since last Saturday, when the opening party kicked things off in such style.
There is an intensity about this experience that ages one overnight. Four hours of sleep per night, constant political discussion (solving all of President Clinton’s problems in a one-hour debate in the delegate lounge) and being “on,” as in alert, for 19 to 20 hours a day gives one wrinkles and circles that will never go away. However, I’m sure I look much wiser for the experience!
Oh, and did I mention the constant pressure of looking intelligent and awake just in case the TV cameras focus on you on the floor? One woman delegate told me that her kids had seen her, and she looked great, except she was chewing gum. They were mortified!
A huge surprise was the speech delivered by Al Gore last night. He is now on my list of favorites. He has really sharpened his style and even added humor, with very positive results. He has always shown us his sincerity and dedication, but not his humor. His jokes last night all centered on his own “woodenness” and were warmly received. However, his detailed telling of his sister’s death from smoking-related lung cancer had the greatest impact.
When he got to the end, picturing her death in vivid detail, there was absolute silence in the hall for the first time in this convention. That message should be delivered in every junior high school in America.
In complete contrast, this morning, the Democratic Women’s Caucus featured Al Gore and Ann Richards, former governor of Texas. Her wit has only sharpened more since her classic keynote speech of 1988 about George Bush’s being born with a “silver foot in his mouth.” Her deadpan presentation and constant one-liners are priceless. I wish she were speaking at the convention tonight, but Ted Kennedy is, and that’s not shabby.
Another highlight today was a two-hour open house hosted by one of our state party stalwarts in the Presidential Suite at the Drake, our delegation hotel. It was the suite Princess Di (can we still call her that?) stayed in during her recent Chicago stay. I understand it rents for about $2,500/night, but that may have been rumor. Anyway, it is several lovely rooms, elegantly furnished, with its own fireplace and a spectacular view of the lake. We could all learn to live like that very easily!
I wouldn’t have missed any of this — ven the hours of fighting the crowds, healing bruised egos when “important people” have to move from someone else’s seat, the late hours and on and on. As Will Rogers said, “I don’t belong to any organized political party, I’m a Democrat”. He stuck with the party, and so will I!
Tuesday, Aug. 27 — afternoon
The evening was truly well-orchestrated and guaranteed to pull at America’s heartstrings. I can tell you that the delegates around me were moved by the Bradys and Christopher Reeve. I understand that the TV pundits said we were exploiting the disabled, but I did not feel that way. Maybe if I were a Republican, I would say that. However, the evening theme emphasized that the issues of disability, violence and families in need are concerns for all Americans. If they remain divided on partisan lines, we will never solve them.
On a lighter vein, an issue of real concern to Illinois was that we have such great seats (we must have won the toss!) on the main floor (right next to Arkansas) that everyone else wants to be there, too. So, we couldn’t see for most of the evening, unless we watched the big screens. The TV cameramen were standing on chairs in front of us to get great shots, reporters of every medium were standing in aisles all around us interviewing and photographing important people, like me. (Our energetic local papers are there,too.) I actually felt sorry for some reporters, who said they had passes for only one hour and were trying frantically to find their hometown delegates before they got thrown off the floor.
Other issue highlights: Our caucus this morning heard a preview of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s prime-time speech, when he spoke to us. It is sensational! He was at his best. We don’t always agree, but he never fails to speak eloquently and passionately. And his message today is one of unity. Even though he disagrees with Clinton’s signing of the welfare bill, he says that the real issues are jobs, child care and health care. If these are solved, we won’t need welfare. He said it much better than I! Don’t miss it!
Tuesday, Aug. 27 — morning
Last night’s session was amazing — both for the many things that went right and for the glitches. You may have noticed that the floor was rather empty, even at the beginning of prime-time coverage, and thought, “What a bunch of party animals, not party loyalists. Where are they?” Well, I was there, but only because I had already stood in line outside waiting for security checks for an hour. Everyone who came after waited even longer. True, the Illinois delegation does have many events scheduled which keep people away for awhile, but be kind, the gate delays were awesome!
The evening was truly well-orchestrated and guaranteed to pull at America’s heartstrings. I can tell you that the delegates around me were moved by the Bradys and Christopher Reeve. I understand that the TV pundits said we were exploiting the disabled, but I did not feel that way. Maybe if I were a Republican, I would say that. However, the evening theme emphasized that the issues of disability, violence and families in need are concerns for all Americans. If they remain divided on partisan lines, we will never solve them.
On a lighter vein, an issue of real concern to Illinois was that we have such great seats (we must have won the toss!) on the main floor (right next to Arkansas) that everyone else wants to be there, too. So, we couldn’t see for most of the evening, unless we watched the big screens. The TV cameramen were standing on chairs in front of us to get great shots, reporters of every medium were standing in aisles all around us interviewing and photographing important people, like me. (Our energetic local papers are there,too.) I actually felt sorry for some reporters, who said they had passes for only one hour and were trying frantically to find their hometown delegates before they got thrown off the floor.
Other issue highlights: Our caucus this morning heard a preview of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s prime-time speech, when he spoke to us. It is sensational! He was at his best. We don’t always agree, but he never fails to speak eloquently and passionately. And his message today is one of unity. Even though he disagrees with Clinton’s signing of the welfare bill, he says that the real issues are jobs, child care and health care. If these are solved, we won’t need welfare. He said it much better than I! Don’t miss it!
Monday, Aug. 26
This, my first convention, is already proving to be as exciting as I had hoped, and it has barely started. We Illinois delegates were extremely proud of Chicago at the opening party at Navy Pier on Saturday night. It was almost as though Richard Daley had talked to God and ordered perfect weather, moonlight and soft breezes to make a perfect evening. Delegates and media from all over the country were oohing and ahhing over the skyline, the hospitality and the friendliness of our city. However, I think I was most proud of the nearly perfect organization of the staff and the volunteers and the security. Everything went as planned in the city that works.
Since then, we’ve attended many parties and met hundreds of people. All have gone as well. Today many women delegates attended a big afternoon rally for Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore at the Sheraton. A fundraiser for Emily’s List and Democratic Women’s Leadership, it featured the five Democratic women senators as well Hillary and Tipper. The wonderful reception which Hillary received was quite contrary to all the negative hype she receives. Carol Moseley Braun, as well, received much applause.
As a woman delegate, who’s been around for a few years, it’s wonderful to see that women have gained so much fundraising and political power in the past 4 years. It can only continue to grow.
There has been some controversy about Carol’s trip to Nigeria, but she has received support from Paul Simon, her women colleagues in the Senate, and from another surprising source – Congressman Richardson from New Mexico, a human rights activist as well. He said at our Illinois caucus this morning at the Drake Hotel that she has done a great deal for human rights in Nigeria since her visit there. So, we’ll see where that issue takes us.
We got to the United Center about 4:30 p.m., but it took us forever to get in because security was so tight. They were checking all our passes and searching our bags and having us walk through metal detectors. Even though the gavel went down at 4 p.m., it seemed to me there were a thousand delegates outside waiting to get in. But the police were very nice to us. The CTA drivers on the buses coming over to United Center couldn’t be nicer. There was a policeman on the bus, too, who was very courteous. Everybody was just as charming as they could be.
I’ve decided that my aging ears can hardly tolerate loud music and the inability to talk to friends at large parties. I’ll leave them to the younger delegates.
I’ve also been named “whip” of our congressional district delegation, which requires my presence on the floor most of the time. So, I’ll miss some of the big and small parties. Somebody had to do it! I’ve learned that “whips” are the folks who know what delegates are on the floor and who pass the word on procedures to those delegates. In this crowd, I’m not sure I can keep track of the five of us, but I’ll try. More tomorrow!
Saturday, Aug. 24
Many have asked: “Why would you want to bankrupt yourself to attend a superfluous, boring spectacle? You already know how it comes out!”
Maybe they don’t ask quite that question, but that’s the drift.
For a lifelong political junkie like me, this is the MAIN EVENT. It caps years of caps — working on campaigns for leaders like Paul Simon, Dawn Clark Netsch, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; running 4 times myself in wonderfully frenetic county and state races (however, as a DuPage Democrat, you keep your expectations to a minimum!); becoming addicted to public speaking. The path that ties all these peaks and valleys together is the need to DO SOMETHING about the principles I believe in — sometimes winning, often losing.
Along the way, I’ve made lifelong friends who “share my dreams” and “feel my pain”. Those phrases became cliches because we so need people to do these things. So, I’m excited about being with thousands of people who share my values. And, on a rare occasion for Democrats, we’ll be unified and feel very little pain. Instead of battling over small differences and what plank goes where in the platform, we will celebrate diversity. (You heard it here first!)
Instead of sifting through issues, I’m sifting through party invitations, arriving at the rate of four or five a day for the past month and wondering how we can be at three places at once. We’ll be celebrating alright!
But, please believe me, I’m most excited about being on the convention floor, hearing great speakers (Democrats have the best!) who eloquently articulate our values. They remind us of what’s important and motivate us to come down off the mountain, go home to the door-to-door grunt work which still wins elections and make our values happen.
