So, I've been inside the pepsi center checking peoples credentials, and generally annoying people with my presence. With a crowd full of politicians and journalists comes an utter abundance of people thoroughly and deeply convinced they are more important than they actually are. Hence, they assume they have the right into all levels of the convention when, in fact, they do not. I heard some awesome stories about why they should be let in, including: "I'm a congressional aid", "I have a press pass", "My kids are inside i need to find them", "I'm with the secret service", "I have a press pass", "I got dressed up in this really nice suit to watch the speeches not stand outside, are you fucking serious?", "I have a press pass", "I have an amputated leg but they won't give me handicapped seating", "Who the hell are you? I have a press pass and I need to get in to write my story for the Chicago Tribune they gave me this pass to watch the speech I've already been down on the floor taking pictures and now you get to not let me in because you have a red t-shirt that says DNC on it?" "I have a press pass", "I'm Roland Martin I work with CNN", etc. (btw, I let the amputee, and Roland Martin, in, but not the guy who pretended to be a Chicago Tribune reporter (he didn't even have a camera))
Don't get me wrong, the job is slightly stressful but it also guarantees I get to see everything happen, so it's fantastic. I'm in no way not enjoying my experience. So far at the convention the highlights for me have been Ted Kennedy (nearly cried watching it), Michelle Obama, Dennis Kucinich, Schweitzer from Montana, Hilary, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry. This may be biased because of my Montana connections, but Schweitzer impressed me about as much as anybody, partially because I didn't really have high expectations, but it was really exciting to watch because it was so surprising. The convention was buzzing about Schweitzer's speech through today. Watching the delegations do the official nominating of Obama was also fun.
Disappointments have been few, but I found Tom Warner and Joe Biden both a little bit disappointing. Tom Warner didn't captivate me at all, the content of his speech was good but it was in no way inspiring. My expectations were probably too high since there was no way he would live up to Obama's precedent from four years ago, but he just didn't seem like that great of a speaker for the keynote. Biden's speech was also good, I was just a little sad he never seemed to really get excited and going during his speech. I know Biden's capable of getting on a roll in speeches and getting intense, and I wanted to see that tonight. It was a good speech, but I was not at all in awe listening to it (like I hope I will be tomorrow) and I didn't leave it with the sense that Biden was passionately ready for this race to get him and Obama into the white house.
In my humble estimation the convention thus far has been a resounding success for the democrats. Hilary could have done better I thought with uniting the party but Bill did such a great job tonight I think they've done all they can do to get Hilary-supporters on board, and dissension talk seems to be lessening. The one main criticism from the media thus far had been that they weren't bashing Bush or McCain enough, and needed to get meaner, but I think Bill and especially Kerry helped take care of that criticism tonight.
Tomorrow should be amazing. I'm extremely excited to see Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Bill Richardson, and Al Gore. There's also some guy like running for office or something speaking last. Don't know if I'll stay for that since it's going to be a long day. Might leave early.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The (organized) chaos begins/Welcome to the high life?
This is going to be a brief post since time is limited, however, the last couple days have been quite exciting. Sunday I hung around the Colorado Convention Center where quite a few events were going on including an interfaith seminar, an AFL-CIO seminar, and a Friends of New Orleans benefit. Sunday I got into the Pepsi center to witness the first night of the convention. The highlight, for me, by far, was Ted Kennedy's appearance. He also got the biggest applause from the crowd all night. Michelle Obama, however, was by no means unimpressive. She has quite a story, and was a great public speaker. The Pepsi Center was packed, with lines outside of every entrance to get in. It was great to see all of the excitement, and tonight Hilary's speech should be very interesting.
The night was awesome. I got a ticket into a Massachusetts delegation after party at a quite classy restaurant with free food, an open bar, and a live jazz band. I spent the night cajoling a Yale graduate working for Obama to find me floor credentials, we'll see how that goes. I hope the rest of the week was as fun as Monday was, the excitement is just beginning!
The night was awesome. I got a ticket into a Massachusetts delegation after party at a quite classy restaurant with free food, an open bar, and a live jazz band. I spent the night cajoling a Yale graduate working for Obama to find me floor credentials, we'll see how that goes. I hope the rest of the week was as fun as Monday was, the excitement is just beginning!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Rising star Tom Ritter, The always energized Howard Dean
It's been a couple of days. Unforunately, 4-5 hours of sleep a night caught up to me a little bit. Whatever.
The last couple of days have been really interesting. Thursday was highlited by a presentation by the head of Secret Service in Denver, Special Agent David O'Connor, who gave his presentation in a magnifecent Boston accent that made me feel right at home. As the week wore on the three and ahalf hours straight of morning presentations were getting harder and harder to make it through but O'Connor's presentation, which included references to my hometown and how much the Yankees suck, did a great job keeping me awake. His lecture was about his own career in the secret service, and a history of the secret service.
How the secret service was started is amazingly ironic. It was started by Lincoln not to protect the president, but to fight the abundance of counterfeit money being passed in American right after the civil war. After signing the papers bringing the secret service into being he hastened to the theatre without protection and was promptly shot and killed.
After that the growth of the secret service has understandably coincided with American tragedies. It remained an agency to fight counterfeit currency until the assasination of McKinley, after which it began to protect the president, but only the president. After Kennedy's assasination, the secret service expanded again, and after the assisanation of Robert Kennedy, it expanded to protect all major candidates running for president and vice president.
Friday gave us our biggest name speakers of the week by far. In the morning Bill Ritter, the governor of Colorado, gave a brief presentation and answered questions. Bill Ritter. Remember that name for the Democratic Party's future, seriously. Bill Ritter. He was a great public speaker, full of energy, did an amazing job staying on point his entire talk, and did not dodge any of the questions asked of him by the students. He discussed how organizing the convention in Denver was like a second full time job for him, but it was worth it for the short term and long term economic expansion of Denver. He also went into some detail about the emergin democrats of the west as an important story for the rest of the country. The mountain west is emerging as the crossroads of the energy and climate debate in America, and all along the west moderate democrats have been beating conservative republicans in general elections. He thinks Obama can win if he can get the independents in the mountain west to shift from the republican party to the democratic party, and can do it by appealing to their values by talking about education, infrastructure, and energy.
Ritter also emphasized the job he has been doing in Colorado to make it a green and energy-efficient state. The results of his efforts are everywhere. Ther are recycling bins EVERYWHERE in downtown Denver, the air is clean, and all public transportation puses and monorails are hybrid. Ritter has also been able to bring the Global Research Center for alternative fuels to Colorado. During this portion of his speech you could feel his passion, and he did an excellent job not only talking about the progress he was making in producing alternative energy in Colorado, but how doing these things was helping the people of Colorado socially and economically. Keep an eye out for Tom Ritter in the next eight or ten years to come.
We also spoke to a medai panel about covering the convention. The panel was great, and brought up the first negative response to Obama's decision to move his final speech to invesco. Apparently, doing this sort of screwed the media over, not something you really want to do as a politician.
Friday afternoon we received a breif but energizing talk by Howard Dean at the Colorado Convention Center. It was a short piece about the importance of youth in politics that wasn't very substantive. However, it was great that he made the time to speak with us, and to put a sufficient amount of energy into the presentation. He got pretty riled up talking about how we did not want to inherit a country so screwed up by republicans, and that we must vote for Obama to change this, that I was half-convinced that he way going to throw in a signature yell of enthusiasm at the end, but he didn't. I was dissapointed I couldn't get a picture with him, but I know how busy he is, and it was great to see him close up talking about the importance of the youth vote, and how we could change things.
Off to Coors Field for a Rockies game!
The last couple of days have been really interesting. Thursday was highlited by a presentation by the head of Secret Service in Denver, Special Agent David O'Connor, who gave his presentation in a magnifecent Boston accent that made me feel right at home. As the week wore on the three and ahalf hours straight of morning presentations were getting harder and harder to make it through but O'Connor's presentation, which included references to my hometown and how much the Yankees suck, did a great job keeping me awake. His lecture was about his own career in the secret service, and a history of the secret service.
How the secret service was started is amazingly ironic. It was started by Lincoln not to protect the president, but to fight the abundance of counterfeit money being passed in American right after the civil war. After signing the papers bringing the secret service into being he hastened to the theatre without protection and was promptly shot and killed.
After that the growth of the secret service has understandably coincided with American tragedies. It remained an agency to fight counterfeit currency until the assasination of McKinley, after which it began to protect the president, but only the president. After Kennedy's assasination, the secret service expanded again, and after the assisanation of Robert Kennedy, it expanded to protect all major candidates running for president and vice president.
Friday gave us our biggest name speakers of the week by far. In the morning Bill Ritter, the governor of Colorado, gave a brief presentation and answered questions. Bill Ritter. Remember that name for the Democratic Party's future, seriously. Bill Ritter. He was a great public speaker, full of energy, did an amazing job staying on point his entire talk, and did not dodge any of the questions asked of him by the students. He discussed how organizing the convention in Denver was like a second full time job for him, but it was worth it for the short term and long term economic expansion of Denver. He also went into some detail about the emergin democrats of the west as an important story for the rest of the country. The mountain west is emerging as the crossroads of the energy and climate debate in America, and all along the west moderate democrats have been beating conservative republicans in general elections. He thinks Obama can win if he can get the independents in the mountain west to shift from the republican party to the democratic party, and can do it by appealing to their values by talking about education, infrastructure, and energy.
Ritter also emphasized the job he has been doing in Colorado to make it a green and energy-efficient state. The results of his efforts are everywhere. Ther are recycling bins EVERYWHERE in downtown Denver, the air is clean, and all public transportation puses and monorails are hybrid. Ritter has also been able to bring the Global Research Center for alternative fuels to Colorado. During this portion of his speech you could feel his passion, and he did an excellent job not only talking about the progress he was making in producing alternative energy in Colorado, but how doing these things was helping the people of Colorado socially and economically. Keep an eye out for Tom Ritter in the next eight or ten years to come.
We also spoke to a medai panel about covering the convention. The panel was great, and brought up the first negative response to Obama's decision to move his final speech to invesco. Apparently, doing this sort of screwed the media over, not something you really want to do as a politician.
Friday afternoon we received a breif but energizing talk by Howard Dean at the Colorado Convention Center. It was a short piece about the importance of youth in politics that wasn't very substantive. However, it was great that he made the time to speak with us, and to put a sufficient amount of energy into the presentation. He got pretty riled up talking about how we did not want to inherit a country so screwed up by republicans, and that we must vote for Obama to change this, that I was half-convinced that he way going to throw in a signature yell of enthusiasm at the end, but he didn't. I was dissapointed I couldn't get a picture with him, but I know how busy he is, and it was great to see him close up talking about the importance of the youth vote, and how we could change things.
Off to Coors Field for a Rockies game!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
On a sadder note
I just wanted to put a message in to show my respects to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) who died of a brain aneurysm today. Admittedly, I didn't know who she was until I got to Denver, but she was scheduled to talk to our group next week.
Her death is a sad reminder that no matter how firm your plans may be for the future you never know when life can suddenly be taken from you.
From what I've read today she was an honorable, passionate legislator dedicated to health care access, and quality education for all. She was also the first African-American Woman representative from Ohio.
Rest in peace Rep. Jones, I hope your life of dedication was an inspiration to many.
Her death is a sad reminder that no matter how firm your plans may be for the future you never know when life can suddenly be taken from you.
From what I've read today she was an honorable, passionate legislator dedicated to health care access, and quality education for all. She was also the first African-American Woman representative from Ohio.
Rest in peace Rep. Jones, I hope your life of dedication was an inspiration to many.
Pot, Porn, and Prostitution
1980 Libertarian presidential candidate Ed Clarke gave a thirty minute talk in Butte, Montana about why the three above things should be legal, and successfully convinced the present Washington Post reporter that he was right.
That reporter was TR Reed, who spoke to our group this morning about covering presidential campaigns, and candidates. His talk was by far the most entertaining thus far of the week. He reminisced quite a bit about pre-internet reporting when journalists only needed to write one story a day as opposed to the current blogosphere where updates to stories are expected every thirty-three seconds or so. He discussed the near-impossibility of covering an American candidate objectively since after spending all hours of the day with the candidate for weeks on end your either going to like or dislike the candidate. TR Reed was also great because he wasn't afraid at all to express his opinions on candidates, completely trashing the tactics of George H.W. Bush's campaign in 1988, and lamenting that Jesse Jackson shifted from such an inspiration to a relatively unaffective politician. TR Reed was a great story-teller, and his blunt nature was refreshing in the political summer-camp bubble I find myself in.
We also heard from Cameron Moody and Travis Dredd this morning, two CEOs of the democratic party in charge of in and outside the convention hall operations. For the last year they have probably been two of the busiest men in the world, helping plan everything from the construction of the Pepsi Center, Media logistics, booking over 17,000 hotel rooms, and co-ordinating the operations of the local police and the secret service. It was apparent that they were slightly distracted while giving their presentations and answering questions, but they did a sufficient job explaining the massive effort it took to plan an event of this magnitude.
This evening was the official welcome dinner for the Washington Center program, which was held at Invesco Field, where Obama will be giving his speech next Thursday. Since there's a preseason football game this friday, the stadium is still a football field. It will be interesting to see how different it looks when Obama is takes the stage.
Overall the beginning of the program I believe has been quite successful. My main objectives coming into Denver were to learn as much as possible about behind the scenes political action, meet interesting people, and meet famous people. Meeting famous people I have on hold until the convention starts (unless academics count), but the other two I seem to be making quite a bit of progress on. Learning about Reverand daughtry's faith outreach program, and listening to TR Reed's story about being screamed at in a plane by Howard Dean for writing about his bad temped have been exciting to hear about. I have a possee of new friends from Texas, as well as new friends from Massachusetts, and have shaken hands with the two leading scholars on the American Presidency in the world. (Tom Cronin and Michael Genovese) Sure with all my new acquaintances were still in a slightly awkward phase where we can have casual conversations but still don't know each other's senses of humor well enough that there are an abundance of awkward silences, but that's all natural. Also, I was scoffed at by a grocery store cashier for not having a safeway card. And nearly hit by a car. (twice. Right turners in Denver really need to look before they turn since people have walk signals) Whatever.
But seriously, if the program continues to go as well as it has gone so far, it will be everything I could have hoped it would be.
That reporter was TR Reed, who spoke to our group this morning about covering presidential campaigns, and candidates. His talk was by far the most entertaining thus far of the week. He reminisced quite a bit about pre-internet reporting when journalists only needed to write one story a day as opposed to the current blogosphere where updates to stories are expected every thirty-three seconds or so. He discussed the near-impossibility of covering an American candidate objectively since after spending all hours of the day with the candidate for weeks on end your either going to like or dislike the candidate. TR Reed was also great because he wasn't afraid at all to express his opinions on candidates, completely trashing the tactics of George H.W. Bush's campaign in 1988, and lamenting that Jesse Jackson shifted from such an inspiration to a relatively unaffective politician. TR Reed was a great story-teller, and his blunt nature was refreshing in the political summer-camp bubble I find myself in.
We also heard from Cameron Moody and Travis Dredd this morning, two CEOs of the democratic party in charge of in and outside the convention hall operations. For the last year they have probably been two of the busiest men in the world, helping plan everything from the construction of the Pepsi Center, Media logistics, booking over 17,000 hotel rooms, and co-ordinating the operations of the local police and the secret service. It was apparent that they were slightly distracted while giving their presentations and answering questions, but they did a sufficient job explaining the massive effort it took to plan an event of this magnitude.
This evening was the official welcome dinner for the Washington Center program, which was held at Invesco Field, where Obama will be giving his speech next Thursday. Since there's a preseason football game this friday, the stadium is still a football field. It will be interesting to see how different it looks when Obama is takes the stage.
Overall the beginning of the program I believe has been quite successful. My main objectives coming into Denver were to learn as much as possible about behind the scenes political action, meet interesting people, and meet famous people. Meeting famous people I have on hold until the convention starts (unless academics count), but the other two I seem to be making quite a bit of progress on. Learning about Reverand daughtry's faith outreach program, and listening to TR Reed's story about being screamed at in a plane by Howard Dean for writing about his bad temped have been exciting to hear about. I have a possee of new friends from Texas, as well as new friends from Massachusetts, and have shaken hands with the two leading scholars on the American Presidency in the world. (Tom Cronin and Michael Genovese) Sure with all my new acquaintances were still in a slightly awkward phase where we can have casual conversations but still don't know each other's senses of humor well enough that there are an abundance of awkward silences, but that's all natural. Also, I was scoffed at by a grocery store cashier for not having a safeway card. And nearly hit by a car. (twice. Right turners in Denver really need to look before they turn since people have walk signals) Whatever.
But seriously, if the program continues to go as well as it has gone so far, it will be everything I could have hoped it would be.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A tale of two lecturers, and some mountains, too
It was the brightest of mornings, it was the tiredest of mornings. I overslept and was unfortunately unable to get a cup of coffee before the morning session, however, I was astonishingly able to stay awake through both morning lectures, which were interesting and quite different.
First we heard from Ricky Kirshner, Executive Producer of the Convention. He made it quite clear he didn't know much about politics, so it was an interesting way to kick off the quasi-political summer camp this program seems to be. However, he gave a quite interesting talk of the logistical nightmare that is planning all the technical hardware and software that will be needed to make the DNC go off without a hitch. Kirsher has produced the last four conventions, along with Tony awards and Super Bowl halftime shows. (not the Janet Jackson one, though) I figure being politically apathetic probably allows him to do his job better. He sees the convention as a show that must go on, and is probably more effective at it without worrying about all of the potential political ramifications of everything. He can't control where CNN or Fox News points their cameras once their in the convention hall, so all he can do is make sure everything he's planned goes on as smoothly as possible, and if Bill Clinton is hitting on a student intern in the back row, so be it.
Next we heard from Reverend Leah Daughtry, CEO of the DNC and Faith Outreach Leader. As a preacher, she gave quite a compelling lecture on her life story and the potential importance of religion in the Democratic Party. The voice of progressive religious people in America has been suppressed in America for way too long, and Daughtry seemed quite committed to providing the democratic party with some sort of religous identity. This seems to me to be important since the ever-present "Christian Right" seems to be prepetuating the image that all church going Americans must be republicans. This struck a chord since it was legitimately asked of her by a student how she could be a christian and support a party with a general pro-life and somewhat pro-civil union platform. The articulation of a progressive religous message by democrats could be very important in the elections this November and the more distant future.
After the lectures and lunch we took a bus tour to the Red Rocks amphitheater, which looks like about the coolest place to see a rock concert in the history of the world. The stage is redstong, and the seating is in between two huge pillars of red rock that create a majestic atmosphere. Apparently, the beatles played there in 1964 (A ticket was 6 bucks) along with most other big-name performers of the 70s and 80s. My all-time favorite band, the Grateful Dead, played there several times. There's a slight chance I would sell my soul to go back in time to go to a Dead concert at the Red Rock theatre. It was truly an impressive sight.
Until tomorrow, keep rock alive.
First we heard from Ricky Kirshner, Executive Producer of the Convention. He made it quite clear he didn't know much about politics, so it was an interesting way to kick off the quasi-political summer camp this program seems to be. However, he gave a quite interesting talk of the logistical nightmare that is planning all the technical hardware and software that will be needed to make the DNC go off without a hitch. Kirsher has produced the last four conventions, along with Tony awards and Super Bowl halftime shows. (not the Janet Jackson one, though) I figure being politically apathetic probably allows him to do his job better. He sees the convention as a show that must go on, and is probably more effective at it without worrying about all of the potential political ramifications of everything. He can't control where CNN or Fox News points their cameras once their in the convention hall, so all he can do is make sure everything he's planned goes on as smoothly as possible, and if Bill Clinton is hitting on a student intern in the back row, so be it.
Next we heard from Reverend Leah Daughtry, CEO of the DNC and Faith Outreach Leader. As a preacher, she gave quite a compelling lecture on her life story and the potential importance of religion in the Democratic Party. The voice of progressive religious people in America has been suppressed in America for way too long, and Daughtry seemed quite committed to providing the democratic party with some sort of religous identity. This seems to me to be important since the ever-present "Christian Right" seems to be prepetuating the image that all church going Americans must be republicans. This struck a chord since it was legitimately asked of her by a student how she could be a christian and support a party with a general pro-life and somewhat pro-civil union platform. The articulation of a progressive religous message by democrats could be very important in the elections this November and the more distant future.
After the lectures and lunch we took a bus tour to the Red Rocks amphitheater, which looks like about the coolest place to see a rock concert in the history of the world. The stage is redstong, and the seating is in between two huge pillars of red rock that create a majestic atmosphere. Apparently, the beatles played there in 1964 (A ticket was 6 bucks) along with most other big-name performers of the 70s and 80s. My all-time favorite band, the Grateful Dead, played there several times. There's a slight chance I would sell my soul to go back in time to go to a Dead concert at the Red Rock theatre. It was truly an impressive sight.
Until tomorrow, keep rock alive.
Monday, August 18, 2008
The first day is always the longest. (I hope this statement is true)
Today was Day One of the official program, and turned into quite a long one. First thing in the morning was the presentation of the academic program component of the Washington Center seminar, a step-up from the administrative orientation/babysitting session last night.
The acamic program was presented by Thomas Cronin and Michael Genovese, two of the leading scholars in presidential politics in the world. Having seen and/or read several books by these two in political science classes back at school, I was actually quite excited to hear about the academic program from them. Both were excellent public speakers with a good sense of humor. ("I hear there are, in fact, some republican students here, so I'll be sure to talk s l o w l y" -Michael Genovese) They framed the academic program and goals, along with engaging us in some philosophy on paradoxes in the American presidency (For example how an optimal president would be someone you could have a beer with comfortably, but at the same time be smart enough to fix all the problems of the nation and you personally) and also some fairly interesting "what-if" questions eg what if Kerry doesn't invite Obama to keynote in 04, what if John Edwards had dropped out in December, what if the nation had held a national primary in 08, etc. Cronin suggested the answer of the final what if about the national primary would have occured we would be looking at a Hillary vs. Guliani New York showdown for the general election. Hilary, I believe, definitely would have won the democratic primary if there was a national primary, but I think Romney may have had a pretty good shot at Guliani in a national primary. Either way, however, both parties would have different candidates, which is interesting to think about.
Most academics believe the primary system needs to be changed, but instead of a national primary, merely shifting which states get to go first in primary season every election could work, and allow the media to have it's perpetual primary election coverage for six months in a row. Just throwing out ideas.
After the academic orientation was the group picture, which was pretty crowded and awkward and will not be one of the first 47 things or so I remember about this trip in a few years. (At least I hope)
After lunch were meetings with our small academic group. My small group consists of students living in Massachusetts (though one goes to the University of New Hampshire). We seemed to have a solid group dynamic personality-wise, but the academic work seems slightly daunting. After this I have to read a lot than write in an "academic journal" which will no doubt be bundles of fun.
After the small academic group session I was able to get to downtown Denver to explore with some other program participants. The first thing I noticed was it's cleanliness, the sidewalks and buildings sparkled compared to cities on the east coast. If your ever disoriented Denver, you figure out where you are by finding the Rock Mountains, which are west of the city, then finding your way from there. We found a good restaurant for dinner (got a bison burger, it tasted suspiciously like a hamburger) and investigated the pepsi center. At the pepsi center we were informed tours were closed to the building because this event called the DNC was going on in Denver next week, and secret service had informed the security gaurd to inform us that we can take pictures of the building, but not of the specific "doors" and "airvents" in case "terrorists" get ahold of them. This was A, unintelligent, since the security gaurd had now told thirty complete strangers that if terrorists wanted to get in they would want to focus on the doors and airvents, and B, un-necessary, I mean, the number of people walking to a stadium in Denver to take pictures of it's air vents I would hypothesize would be a relatively minute number. Crazy secret service.
Anyways, after our adventures through downtown led us to return at a relatively late hour, and thus I'm pretty exhausted, but tomorrow I should take better notes from the speaker(s) and hopefully have slightly more exciting things to say about them. And stuff.
The acamic program was presented by Thomas Cronin and Michael Genovese, two of the leading scholars in presidential politics in the world. Having seen and/or read several books by these two in political science classes back at school, I was actually quite excited to hear about the academic program from them. Both were excellent public speakers with a good sense of humor. ("I hear there are, in fact, some republican students here, so I'll be sure to talk s l o w l y" -Michael Genovese) They framed the academic program and goals, along with engaging us in some philosophy on paradoxes in the American presidency (For example how an optimal president would be someone you could have a beer with comfortably, but at the same time be smart enough to fix all the problems of the nation and you personally) and also some fairly interesting "what-if" questions eg what if Kerry doesn't invite Obama to keynote in 04, what if John Edwards had dropped out in December, what if the nation had held a national primary in 08, etc. Cronin suggested the answer of the final what if about the national primary would have occured we would be looking at a Hillary vs. Guliani New York showdown for the general election. Hilary, I believe, definitely would have won the democratic primary if there was a national primary, but I think Romney may have had a pretty good shot at Guliani in a national primary. Either way, however, both parties would have different candidates, which is interesting to think about.
Most academics believe the primary system needs to be changed, but instead of a national primary, merely shifting which states get to go first in primary season every election could work, and allow the media to have it's perpetual primary election coverage for six months in a row. Just throwing out ideas.
After the academic orientation was the group picture, which was pretty crowded and awkward and will not be one of the first 47 things or so I remember about this trip in a few years. (At least I hope)
After lunch were meetings with our small academic group. My small group consists of students living in Massachusetts (though one goes to the University of New Hampshire). We seemed to have a solid group dynamic personality-wise, but the academic work seems slightly daunting. After this I have to read a lot than write in an "academic journal" which will no doubt be bundles of fun.
After the small academic group session I was able to get to downtown Denver to explore with some other program participants. The first thing I noticed was it's cleanliness, the sidewalks and buildings sparkled compared to cities on the east coast. If your ever disoriented Denver, you figure out where you are by finding the Rock Mountains, which are west of the city, then finding your way from there. We found a good restaurant for dinner (got a bison burger, it tasted suspiciously like a hamburger) and investigated the pepsi center. At the pepsi center we were informed tours were closed to the building because this event called the DNC was going on in Denver next week, and secret service had informed the security gaurd to inform us that we can take pictures of the building, but not of the specific "doors" and "airvents" in case "terrorists" get ahold of them. This was A, unintelligent, since the security gaurd had now told thirty complete strangers that if terrorists wanted to get in they would want to focus on the doors and airvents, and B, un-necessary, I mean, the number of people walking to a stadium in Denver to take pictures of it's air vents I would hypothesize would be a relatively minute number. Crazy secret service.
Anyways, after our adventures through downtown led us to return at a relatively late hour, and thus I'm pretty exhausted, but tomorrow I should take better notes from the speaker(s) and hopefully have slightly more exciting things to say about them. And stuff.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Welcome to Denver Colorado, home of Cape Cod potato chips!
After my arrival to Denver i got on a special shuttle bus provided by the Washington Center to get from the airport to Regis University. On this shuttle I saw a billboard with the title of this post on it when entering the Denver city, which seemed slightly ironic. Whenever I saw Cape Cod potato chips on the shelf I figured they were made locally, but now that I'm thousands of miles away, I discover the true home of "Cape Cod" potato chips: Denver Colorado. It seems odd. I would wikipedia it, but I'm too tired.
Anyways, on the shuttle ride to Regis college the girls conversed about politics energitically and the guys pretended to be too cool to be excited about the program, and mainly stared off into the distance. I was really tired at that point anyways, and probably could not have been excited even if I tried to be. After arrival I settled in to the suite I'll be staying at. My suitemates include two TCU (Texas Christian University) students and one local, from Regis. I seem to get along with all of them well, but first impressions can be misleading, so they still might be crazy.
Tonight there was a opening barbecue and the administrative orientation that lasted almost forever. First the academic chair confused me to no end in his lecture on the oppurtunities and experiences the program will provide. All oppurtunities and experiences sound fantastic, however, he spent half his lecture telling us how the program would change our lives forever, and the other hald telling us every moment of the program would seem meaningless once the next moment came along, which seemed slightly contradictory.
Next the residence director came on to berate us (berate is an understatement) about not drinking during the program, and staying safe, and whatnot, and I briefly thought I was back in middle school tennis camp, but remembered I was back at a college seminar when he mentioned that even if Barack Obama offered us a drink in celebration after his celebration we should decline. (For the record, if Obama hands me a drink, I'll be breaking this rule, and not only having the drink but then keeping whatever glass or bottle it was that he gave to me for the rest of my life as a sacred artifact)
Anyways, tomorrow we meet with our smaller academic groups, have more orientation type deals, and go on a tour of Denver. I'm especially excited to get to know my way around denver. Until next time, keep researching the home base of Cape Cod potato chips.
Anyways, on the shuttle ride to Regis college the girls conversed about politics energitically and the guys pretended to be too cool to be excited about the program, and mainly stared off into the distance. I was really tired at that point anyways, and probably could not have been excited even if I tried to be. After arrival I settled in to the suite I'll be staying at. My suitemates include two TCU (Texas Christian University) students and one local, from Regis. I seem to get along with all of them well, but first impressions can be misleading, so they still might be crazy.
Tonight there was a opening barbecue and the administrative orientation that lasted almost forever. First the academic chair confused me to no end in his lecture on the oppurtunities and experiences the program will provide. All oppurtunities and experiences sound fantastic, however, he spent half his lecture telling us how the program would change our lives forever, and the other hald telling us every moment of the program would seem meaningless once the next moment came along, which seemed slightly contradictory.
Next the residence director came on to berate us (berate is an understatement) about not drinking during the program, and staying safe, and whatnot, and I briefly thought I was back in middle school tennis camp, but remembered I was back at a college seminar when he mentioned that even if Barack Obama offered us a drink in celebration after his celebration we should decline. (For the record, if Obama hands me a drink, I'll be breaking this rule, and not only having the drink but then keeping whatever glass or bottle it was that he gave to me for the rest of my life as a sacred artifact)
Anyways, tomorrow we meet with our smaller academic groups, have more orientation type deals, and go on a tour of Denver. I'm especially excited to get to know my way around denver. Until next time, keep researching the home base of Cape Cod potato chips.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
An Attempt to adequately frame an amazing experience while the anticipation kills me.
It’s a rare thing in life to be aware of a life-changing experience before or during its actual occurrence. Beyond perhaps marriage and having children, experiences that change your perception of life seem to generally be left to chance. However, as a twenty year-old college student of no particular consequence being able to attend the most anticipated event of the democratic party, or even American politics in general, of the last twenty-five years or so, it is a distinct possibility this upcoming experience will be life changing for me on many levels.
My name is Andrew Carbaugh. I am an undergraduate college student at the University of Massachusetts entering my junior year in the fall studying political science and history. I leave for Denver tomorrow, August 17, to take part in the Washington Center’s “Democratic National Convention Seminar”. This includes a week of academic briefings on campaigns, the American presidency, and the role of the convention in the week leading up to the convention, and participating in “fieldwork” for an organization during the convention.
Over the next two weeksish I will be blogging about what I experience and learn during the seminar, what I think about what I experience during the seminar, anything else of interest that I encounter while I’m in Denver, and anything else I feel like writing down. Like what I dreamt about last night, or something. (Flying flourescent green hippopotami? Crazy!) Well, probably not things like that, but the tone of the blog will be relatively casual. I won’t be trying to make any deep academic, political, or philosophical points. Instead I will merely try to let you know how the activities of the convention appear from the floor appear to a casual observer who also happens to be a college student mildly interested in a career in politics, but who by no means takes himself that seriously.
My goals for the next twelve days include: Meeting as many famous people as possible, somehow getting on the Daily Show, stalking Barack (just kidding, secret service), getting an idea about how the behind-the-scenes political action goes down at the convention, learning as much as I can in general, starting a “where’s Colbert” chant on the convention floor, and meeting as many fellow college students from across the country and world as I can, amongst other things.
It should be an amazing time, and I hope I can share my experiences with you effectively.
My name is Andrew Carbaugh. I am an undergraduate college student at the University of Massachusetts entering my junior year in the fall studying political science and history. I leave for Denver tomorrow, August 17, to take part in the Washington Center’s “Democratic National Convention Seminar”. This includes a week of academic briefings on campaigns, the American presidency, and the role of the convention in the week leading up to the convention, and participating in “fieldwork” for an organization during the convention.
Over the next two weeksish I will be blogging about what I experience and learn during the seminar, what I think about what I experience during the seminar, anything else of interest that I encounter while I’m in Denver, and anything else I feel like writing down. Like what I dreamt about last night, or something. (Flying flourescent green hippopotami? Crazy!) Well, probably not things like that, but the tone of the blog will be relatively casual. I won’t be trying to make any deep academic, political, or philosophical points. Instead I will merely try to let you know how the activities of the convention appear from the floor appear to a casual observer who also happens to be a college student mildly interested in a career in politics, but who by no means takes himself that seriously.
My goals for the next twelve days include: Meeting as many famous people as possible, somehow getting on the Daily Show, stalking Barack (just kidding, secret service), getting an idea about how the behind-the-scenes political action goes down at the convention, learning as much as I can in general, starting a “where’s Colbert” chant on the convention floor, and meeting as many fellow college students from across the country and world as I can, amongst other things.
It should be an amazing time, and I hope I can share my experiences with you effectively.
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