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Democratic Convention Blog Buzz

Protest Dispersed at Obama Transition Headquarters

Filed under: Barack Obama, Terror, Democratic Convention, Obama Administration

Ken Bazinet of the NY Daily News is one of the Obama Transition pool reporters who has shown a flair for keeping the "just-the-facts" chronologies pretty interesting, and he gave us some good stu

ff today: (via email)

While your pool was waiting in the motorcade for departure, about two dozen people in orange jump suits with black hoods over their heads and most with their hands tied behind their backs, gathered outside Transition HQ demanding that the terror prison at GITMO be shut down. They displayed a banner with a picture of the White House on it that read, "Close Guantanamo." A few also held smaller individual signs that said, "Shut down Guantanamo."

Your pooler was told the group has demonstrated outside President-elect Obama's HQ the past few days. Police, who arrived in eight vehicles, asked the group to move along and they slowly marched off single file, hands behind their backs looking like dejected vision-impaired sanitation workers (except their jumpsuits were pretty darn clean). Upon departure, we observed the relocated protesters about a block away from Transition HQ.

I think that gets the award for Funniest Pool Report, and I hesitate to even try to improve on it.

Aside from Ken's description, which could have only been improved by counter-protesters sticking feathers in their faces, I find it hilarious that, just this past Sunday, Obama said he was going to close Gitmo, and these guys immedately run to demand that he close Gitmo. They're like that Penelope character on Saturday Night Live, who tops everything anyone does. "I'm about hope and change, in fact I'm made of change, my head is dimes and my toreo is buffalo nickels..."

Don't get me wrong, I'm as rebellious as the next guy, but the typical modern protester, from what I've seen, amounts to an attention-seeking poseur. Caleb and I ran into a lot of them in Denver, where I taught them a lesson by out-attention-whoring them. We also got a hilarious glimpse of the near-empty "free speech" pen at the Pepsi Center, where one young joker took the mic to denounce the free speech pen, followed minutes later by another young man disavowing that position.

To be fair, we also ran into a group of courageous, young counter-protesters who came to lawfully disrupt the hateful Westboro Baptist Church clan. That's the kind of protest anyone can get behind.

Tommy on: BlogTalkRadio I Digg! I Facebook I Twitter

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Political Machine Launches Fran Drescher Senate Bid?

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Democrats, Barack Obama, 2008 Senate, Humor, Democratic Convention

Former Nanny star and cancer activist Fran Drescher has thrown her hat into the ring as a replacement for Hillary

Clinton in the US Senate. From New York Magazine:(h/t James Kotecki)

Fran Drescher wants to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. She says she's qualified. "I've just been given the appointment of U.S. diplomat," she said at a party for HBO's Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven at that restaurant on December 3.

"My title is public diplomacy envoy for women's health issues, and I just got back from a four-country European tour of duty. I believe next I'll be sent to the Middle East."

Also an anti-cancer activist, Drescher has been considering a run for office. "I've been very successful in getting a bill passed in Washington," she said. "I was thinking I'd take the next four years to lay some groundwork, but I'm throwing my hat in the ring." What else makes her a good candidate? "I'm an authentic and honest person," she said. "And I think Capitol Hill needs more of that."

When I saw this item, I had to suppress the urge to immediately take credit for it. I hate doing that almost as much as Al Gore does. But, I looked at the evidence, and it is at least whelming.

In August, at Barack Obama's acceptance speech, I spoke with Fran, briefly. Here's the video of that encounter, which I believe shows her being bitten by the politics bug.

Now, what you don't see in the video is that after that, every time I looked over at Fran, she was throwing major vibe at me. At the time, I chalked it up to a combination of my roguish, sunburnt good looks and the sight of Caleb Howe following me around barefoot, wearing only denim overalls and a straw hat, picking a banjo that he had made for himself that morning.

I now realize that it was those things, plus the siren song of politics.

I have also realized that I am the journalistic equivalent of Tom Cruise in Minority Report. I report the "pre-news."

Sure, any numbskull can point a camera at Don Fowler while he's being a D-bag, but it takes real talent to get video of yourself inspiring someone to run for Senate in a few months.

Any nitwit can point a camera at a Fox News reporter as a crowd attacks him. It takes a keen eye for pre-news to get a half-an-hour of footage of that same reporter just before he's attacked, and not get the attack.

Any simpleton can turn his camera on a counter-protesting lunatic. It takes prescience to know that the camera will be there, and become that counter-protesting lunatic.

The upshot here is that you should all go back and skim my old stories to find out more about tomorrow's news. That 7 year-old blogger? You'll already know all about him when he wins his first Pulitzer.

Or, you can stick with Caleb Howe, and see stuff that's already happened.

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Fact-Checking McCain/Palin

Filed under: Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Democratic Convention, Republican Convention, Sarah Palin

For a few years of my life, I worked part time as a fact-checker at a magazine. It's a tedious job, going through text and ferreting out mistakes, exaggerations, or outright falsehoods. Thankfully, when it comes to politics, we have the services of the good people at Factcheck.org, a non-partisan truth squad who make it their business to sound the alarm when politicians start spinning their improbable yarns. This week, they've dissected the speeches at the GOP convention, and their conclusions aren't pretty.

Among the worst of the untruths were those put forth by Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani.
John McCain took some liberties himself, mind you.

For comparison sake, you can see what they made of Barack Obama's convention speech as well.

They conclude that while both McCain and Obama stretched the truth here and there, Palin and Giuliani were guilty of outright fibs.

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McCain Tops in TV Ratings?

Filed under: 2008 President, Media, Democratic Convention, Republican Convention

The Nielsen numbers are preliminary but it appears more people tuned into watch John McCain's speech last night than did Barack Obama's last week. But only barely. About 38.9 million viewers saw the McCain speech, compared to about 38.38 million for Obama. The ratings appear to mirror the national polling, which consistently has the two candidates neck and neck.

Across all broadcast networks Thursday, Sen. McCain's speech ended the night with a 4.8 rating/7 share, compared to Sen. Obama's 4.3/7 average, according to overnight numbers from metered households in 55 U.S. markets measured by Nielsen.

The GOP can crow and the McCain camp is no doubt encouraged they made the right choice picking Sarah Palin. She's got the Republican base fired up and they tuned in to the convention in droves.

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Key Convention Speakers and Players

Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee / MCT

Barack Obama, acceptance speech Thursday night
An estimated 84,000 people heard the Illinois senator accept his party's presidential nomination from the 50-yard line at nearby Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. See Full Schedule

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Democrats Kick Off Convention

Stephan Savoia, AP

Michelle Obama, wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, waves to the crowd Monday during the first major address of the Democratic National Convention. Her mission was to humanize her husband and tell the personal side of their story.

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Monday, Aug. 25, 2008

Convention Prime-Time: Pepsi Center, 5PM-11PM ET / 3-9PM MT
Theme of the Day: "One Nation"
Highlights to Watch: Michelle Obama's speech, a tribute to Sen. Ted Kennedy (Mass.)
Other Key Speakers: Former President Jimmy Carter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Claire McCaskill (Minn.), Gov. Bill Ritter, Jr. (Col.), Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (Ill.), Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, former Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), family members of Barack and Michelle Obama

Other Events:
- Opening Night Reception, 7PM MT at the Colorado Convention Center: Event will commemorate and benefit Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts

Check Out Full Monday Schedule

Day Two in Denver

Fredy Perojo, AOL

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton waves to the crowd before she begins her speech. Any delegates who were still angry over her loss were drowned out with applause when she opened by declaring herself "a proud supporter of Barack Obama."

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Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008

Convention Prime-Time: Pepsi Center, 5PM-11PM ET / 3-9PM MT
Theme of the Day: "Renewing America's Promise," a focus on the economy
Highlights to Watch: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech, Former Va. Gov. Mark's Warner's keynote address
Other Speakers: Govs. Chet Culver (Iowa), Jim Doyle (Wisc.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Janet Napolitano (Ariz.), David Paterson (N.Y.), Deval Patrick (Mass.), Ed Rendell (Pa.), Brian Schweitzer (Mont.), Kathleen Sebelius (Kan.), Ted Strickland (Ohio), Sens. Bob Casey, Jr. (Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Sens. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.)

Other Events:
- Faith Forum, 12-2PM MT at the Colorado Convention Center

Check Out Full Tuesday Schedule

Day Three in Denver

Jennifer Midberry, AOL

Newly-minted Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama dropped in on his own party at the Democratic convention a day early Wednesday to praise his wife, his former rival, former President Bill Clinton and running mate Joe Biden for going to bat for him.

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Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

Convention Prime-Time: Pepsi Center, 5PM-11PM ET / 3-9PM MT
Theme of the Day: "Securing America's Future, " a tribute to veterans, active duty military and military families
Highlights to Watch: President Bill Clinton's speech, Joe Biden's vice presidential acceptance speech
Other Speakers: 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, former Sen. Tom Daschle (S.D.), Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.), Jack Reed (R.I.), Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), Ken Salazar (Colo.) and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Rep. Patrick Murphy (Penn.), Tom Udall (Colo.) and Robert Wexler (Fla.)

Other Events:
- Delegate Service Day

Check Out Full Wednesday Schedule

Final Day of Democratic National Convention

Brian Snyder, Reuters

Barack Obama cast his presidential nomination as proof that no dreams are too high, savoring a historic moment for himself and the nation Thursday before setting out on a difficult struggle to set another milestone for a black American.

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Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008

Convention Prime-Time: INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium (Gates open at 1PM MT)
Theme of the Day: "Change You Can Believe In"
Highlight to Watch: Barack Obama's acceptance speech
Other Key Speakers: Gov. Bill Ritter, Jr. (Colo.), DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Gov. Tim Kaine (Va.), Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.), Former Vice President Al Gore

Other Events: - Unity breakfast to mark 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, 7:30AM MT at the Colorado Convention Center - Faith Forum, 12-2PM MT at the Colorado Convention Center

Check Out Full Thursday Schedule

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Two of AOL's Political Machine bloggers are on the ground in Denver. One from the left. One from the right. Both bring you their own political perspective to the convention events. Follow along: