DNC Day 4: Tonight’s sked for Invesco

Here’s a handy guide with information on tonight’s festivities.

DNC Day 4: Tear it down!

Jamie tells me that there have already been people coming to our section of the media tent saying they’re ready to start tearing down.
Um, no. Way I hear it, most members of the media will need the tents through tonight as they write up stories about Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. So it’ll be my job, at least for now, to ward off any hammer-happy would-be tear-downers. Politely, of course.
Denver has changed dramatically overnight in other ways, too. Most of the big metal fencing around the Pepsi Center is gone, and the white roses that appeared to have bloomed from the metal now lie strewn and smashed on the sidewalk. The concrete barriers have been removed.
I noticed a piece of paper on the ground as I prepared to cross the street. It’s got a drawing of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. Tears and specks of dirt indicate it has been run over, probably multiple times. On the other side is a label that reads:
“Texas
Hon. Al Edwards
1 Special Guest”
Nice souvenir. It’s from Monday, apparently a pass holder. But it, like the roses, has been abandoned.
Downtown on the 16th Street Mall, vendors were folding up convention T-shirts and you could actually see the concrete in the sidewalk in the absence of people’s feet.
The convention is nearly over.
But not quite, because Obama is scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech tonight to tens of thousands at Invesco Field, about a 20-minute walk away from where I sit now, and it will make history.
Today is the 45th anniversary of the delivery of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.
I’ll be here for the moment, helping get reporters and photographers their credentials as they head over to Invesco. Then, I hope, I’ll get to go over and watch, or at least listen, too.

DNC Day 3: On the floor during the roll call

Jamie, generous radio guy that he is, asked today if I’d be interested in interviewing some more delegates this afternoon while the roll call was being held. Of course, it was a historic event — Barack Obama became the first black American to be nominated as a presidential candidate from a major party, according to CNN.
Jamie gave me the mic and recorder, and we discussed questions. Eventually, we pared it down to this: I would find pledged Hillary Clinton delegates, and ask them how they voted and why.
The floor was, thankfully, less crowded today, though the Pepsi Center was still pretty packed. I first made my way to the Florida delegation and found two women sitting together, both of them pledged Clinton delegates. It became clear that this wasn’t an ideal situation for them, but they looked up to Clinton, and respected her decision to release her delegates and throw her support behind Obama. They thanked me for the interview.
I then made my way across the hall, and spoke with delegates from Ohio, Georgia and Oklahoma. Several people had switched their vote after being released by Clinton this morning, while others still voted for Clinton, believing she was the most qualified and experienced.
At least one person teared up. One woman told me that when Clinton made the announcement about her delegates, there was a lot of booing in the room.
Those I interviewed said they hoped Clinton would be remembered from this election cycle as someone who broke new ground for women.

DNC Day 2: Watching Clinton’s speech from the tent

I watched Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) speak tonight on one of the high-definition big screens in our media tent. There were several of us gathered around the TV.

I had expected, perhaps, some sort of dissension, but the speech appeared to go off without a hitch. 

Reporters were saying that they had closed off further entry to the Pepsi Center at one point because there were simply so many people in the building. 

It has been a long day, but I’m looking forward to the morning session with, among others, Bob Schieffer of CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

DNC Day 2: Sketches on a slow morning

I happened to run into Stu, one of the field producers for “The Daily Show” this morning, and he told me I needed to go over to the bus. 

The guys (since when did I get to be cool enough to refer to them as “the guys”? Answer: I didn’t. But it makes for a good story, right?) greeted me, namely Jason Jason and John Oliver. The crew wanted to reshoot the opening segment of the brief bit I did yesterday, as they felt what we did in the Pepsi Center would look too staged. Of course, Wyatt and I both had on different outfits, but I kept my blazer on at their instructions, to be on the safe side.

I tried my hand at improv. It would be one thing to try it in front of my grandma, but in front of “The Daily Show” guys? I hesitate to use excessive punctuation, but?!? It was great of them to let me try to speak on camera. We tried the shot probably four times, and they said the last one was good. The question I had to answer? 

“What’s the greenest thing you’ve done today?” 

With some coaching from the crew, I hope my answer worked. I’ll let you watch to find out what I said (and don’t worry, if you aren’t able to see the show, I’ll try to post a link or summarize it after it airs Wednesday night). I believe it’s 11 p.m. EST, 10 p.m. CST, but you can double-check that here.

Today’s speakers include such figures as Gov. David Paterson of New York, and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). I’m hoping for the opportunity to conduct some more delegate interviews. Watch for updates today.

DNC Day 1: Comedy on the convention floor

If you ever get the opportunity to get your feet wet on the floor of a convention for one of the two major parties, do it. You’ll become hopelessly lost. You’ll start relying on the pylons with states’ names to guide you. You’ll see famous people and want to snap a photo. You’ll press shoulders and elbows, and cram into tight spaces, and question why people are stopping in the middle of what is, at once, a 5-lane highway on a one-way road. And giving each other hugs, of all things. And, like you, taking photos of famous people.

Move along. Please. I’ve only got half an hour.

That’s because reporters can get onto the floor using a system of credentials in which the credentials are rotated out among whoever wants to use them. 

For example: Today, I needed a floor pass. My job was to interview Florida delegates for their opinions about Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) as Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate. First, I spent what seemed like half a lifetime trying to find that coveted entrance. No one seemed to know where it was. I traveled up the crowded media elevator, and then down, and then back to the first floor. I walked in circles, and tried to be polite, and got shuffled from one entrance to the next. At one point, a New Jersey reporter helped me look.

Mercifully, though, I found it at last. I realized I had written down the location a little while earlier, having stumbled upon it then. I made the mistake of saying at that time that I was doing radio coverage. These passes were only for newspapers. There was a separate waiting line for TV and radio credentials. But because my media supervisor does both — newspapers and radio — and registered as a newspaper, I was able to get in on the second try.

I step out onto the plush blue carpet as Jesse Jackson Jr. was speaking, and I first tried to walk as close to the stage as possible, only to find it blocked by a hoard of photographers and videographers. So I walked down an aisle. A frustrated TV reporter shook his head in frustration. Seemed like he was trying to film a standup in the aisle. Not sure if that would have worked out well for anyone. It’s the last place I would choose, I think.

Anyway, I moved along at a snail’s pace, but thankfully there was at least one woman, an angel, I think, instructing people to keep the line moving. 

OK, so the thing is, Florida was placed right up next to the stage on the exact opposite side of the room from where I was. So I walked all the way around the back and had started back toward the stage, down another aisle, when I started getting pushed from behind by this guy, presumably a reporter or something. At any rate, I made it to Florida and did the interviews, which didn’t take long, and then came back to the media tent.

It was a whirlwind trip, and it was definitely something of a comedy. Kind of a nice touch, considering my minor role in a skit for “The Daily Show” earlier today. 

In terms of people I saw today, there was Dan Rather, Daily Show cast members, Sen. Charles (Chuck) Schumer (D-N.Y.), Michelle Obama, Biff Henderson (of the “Late Show with David Letterman”), Nancy Pelosi, etc. I got out of the hall shortly before Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) made his appearance.

I’ll plan to write more soon, but I’m exhausted. Good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow.