DNC, First Night, Monday, August 25, 2008
5:00 p.m. Hall Pass - means the nosebleed seats at the Pepsi Center arena, the usual home of the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche. Found out at 3:30 that we had obtained two passes for the evening, got a ride from AIA Colorado Executive Director Sonia Riggs, who pulled up to a barricaded alley an the campus of the Auraria Higher Education Center. After dashing across the campus, through a gantlet of security folks, we found our way to set up high but at a perfect angle, just in time to hear a stirring performance by John Legend, complete with a gospel choir in multi-hued robes. He was signing about hope and change "If you're out there..."
Two days ago, at a crepe restaurant with my wife, Sandy, in Toronto's Yorkville, I attempted to answer a question from a canadian at the next table who was celebrating his 68th birthday. He asked why we would hold a Democratic Convention, at the end of over 18 months of primary campaigning, when we already knew the outcome and who the candidate would be. By contrast, in our northern neighbors' parliamentary system, the prime minister calls an election, and they have 30 days max. to campaign. then it's over, and they move sensibly onward. I'm sure I could have done better with my answer, but it went something along the lines of: the party faithfull have been battling it out for well over a year. Don't they - and the rest of us along with them - deserve a break to celebrate, talk about positive things like unity, hope, and so on?
Performances like John Legend's say it much better than I could.
Our job tonight as AIA representatives is to key into the convention and the speakers (Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Jimmy Carter, and Michelle Obama among others queued up for the evening) and take note when the hit on some of the issues that the American Institute of Architects and AIA members across the country, care about the most, professionally. Our ears are likely to perk up at talk of sustainability, energy, the environment, infrastructure, growth, global warming, housing, disaster assistance. We'll be listening for substance and knowledgeable discussion, not lip service.
6:45 By way of disclosure, I was a delegate to the DNC 20 years ago in Atlanta. I'm not impartial - and I wouldn't expect the AIA bloggers who will be attending the RNC in Minneapolis to be, for their part, either. Back in 1988 I listened to impassioned speeches from Jesse Jackson and President Jimmy Carter. Tonight, I've just seen Jimmy Carter again (narrating a video about New Orleans, with a focus on how much help people there still need). And following him is Illinois Representative Jess Jackson, Jr., the son, giving his own dynamic speech, but with a definite new voice and style.
Lines like "While America may not be perfect, our union can be perfected," are the order of the day for this first session. This seems to be all about unity, setting the table. I'm not hearing much in the way of specifics, and, for tonight, that is probably just fine.
7:15 So maybe the green thinking is to be found outside of the speeches. After grabbing a quick sandwich at the break (no food in the arena - this is no Nuggets game), I looked for a trash receptacle. I found two green bins, brought in for the occasion. One was labeled "recycle," the other "compost." This is an idea that appears to be much more successful in theory than in practice. The contents of each is virtually the same.
7:35 Teddy Kennedy looks - and speaks strong! From the program, there was just going to be a video introduced by his niece, Caroline. After the video, she introduced her uncle, and the crowd went wild. These are the kind of moments that punctuate a convention with things worth remembering long afterwards.
8:05 first mention of Al Gore and his efforts on behalf of the planet - from a Republican, for Representative Jim Leach of Iowa. Based on Leach's support of Obama, I wouldn't expect him to be invited to many parties at the RNC in Minneapolis.
The 1988 convention was also filled with moments of high feeling, articulate and memorable speeches. A month later, after we nominated Michael Dukakis, he was last seen spinning around with his head peeking out of the top of an Army tank. Politics can lead down some strange paths, and the next 2 1/2 months will, not doubt, hold some surprises for both parties. But something feels different this time (at least in the sense of their having been more to choose from in the primary process). Maybe over the next three days, we'll find out more about why.
8:30 Michelle Obama, awesome speech (and introduction by her brother). Don't expect specifics here - not her job.
8:50 Spilling outside with thousands of other folks, staggering over to public transportation on the 16th Street Mall, this time through a wall of tee shirt and button vendors, a small collection of law enforcement officers in riot gear - both worth ignoring.
Looking forward to the acceptance speech Thursday, and anything I can get in to see between now and then.
Kin DuBois, FAIA, NCARB
AIA Colorado past-president
5:00 p.m. Hall Pass - means the nosebleed seats at the Pepsi Center arena, the usual home of the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche. Found out at 3:30 that we had obtained two passes for the evening, got a ride from AIA Colorado Executive Director Sonia Riggs, who pulled up to a barricaded alley an the campus of the Auraria Higher Education Center. After dashing across the campus, through a gantlet of security folks, we found our way to set up high but at a perfect angle, just in time to hear a stirring performance by John Legend, complete with a gospel choir in multi-hued robes. He was signing about hope and change "If you're out there..."
Two days ago, at a crepe restaurant with my wife, Sandy, in Toronto's Yorkville, I attempted to answer a question from a canadian at the next table who was celebrating his 68th birthday. He asked why we would hold a Democratic Convention, at the end of over 18 months of primary campaigning, when we already knew the outcome and who the candidate would be. By contrast, in our northern neighbors' parliamentary system, the prime minister calls an election, and they have 30 days max. to campaign. then it's over, and they move sensibly onward. I'm sure I could have done better with my answer, but it went something along the lines of: the party faithfull have been battling it out for well over a year. Don't they - and the rest of us along with them - deserve a break to celebrate, talk about positive things like unity, hope, and so on?
Performances like John Legend's say it much better than I could.
Our job tonight as AIA representatives is to key into the convention and the speakers (Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Jimmy Carter, and Michelle Obama among others queued up for the evening) and take note when the hit on some of the issues that the American Institute of Architects and AIA members across the country, care about the most, professionally. Our ears are likely to perk up at talk of sustainability, energy, the environment, infrastructure, growth, global warming, housing, disaster assistance. We'll be listening for substance and knowledgeable discussion, not lip service.
6:45 By way of disclosure, I was a delegate to the DNC 20 years ago in Atlanta. I'm not impartial - and I wouldn't expect the AIA bloggers who will be attending the RNC in Minneapolis to be, for their part, either. Back in 1988 I listened to impassioned speeches from Jesse Jackson and President Jimmy Carter. Tonight, I've just seen Jimmy Carter again (narrating a video about New Orleans, with a focus on how much help people there still need). And following him is Illinois Representative Jess Jackson, Jr., the son, giving his own dynamic speech, but with a definite new voice and style.
Lines like "While America may not be perfect, our union can be perfected," are the order of the day for this first session. This seems to be all about unity, setting the table. I'm not hearing much in the way of specifics, and, for tonight, that is probably just fine.
7:15 So maybe the green thinking is to be found outside of the speeches. After grabbing a quick sandwich at the break (no food in the arena - this is no Nuggets game), I looked for a trash receptacle. I found two green bins, brought in for the occasion. One was labeled "recycle," the other "compost." This is an idea that appears to be much more successful in theory than in practice. The contents of each is virtually the same.
7:35 Teddy Kennedy looks - and speaks strong! From the program, there was just going to be a video introduced by his niece, Caroline. After the video, she introduced her uncle, and the crowd went wild. These are the kind of moments that punctuate a convention with things worth remembering long afterwards.
8:05 first mention of Al Gore and his efforts on behalf of the planet - from a Republican, for Representative Jim Leach of Iowa. Based on Leach's support of Obama, I wouldn't expect him to be invited to many parties at the RNC in Minneapolis.
The 1988 convention was also filled with moments of high feeling, articulate and memorable speeches. A month later, after we nominated Michael Dukakis, he was last seen spinning around with his head peeking out of the top of an Army tank. Politics can lead down some strange paths, and the next 2 1/2 months will, not doubt, hold some surprises for both parties. But something feels different this time (at least in the sense of their having been more to choose from in the primary process). Maybe over the next three days, we'll find out more about why.
8:30 Michelle Obama, awesome speech (and introduction by her brother). Don't expect specifics here - not her job.
8:50 Spilling outside with thousands of other folks, staggering over to public transportation on the 16th Street Mall, this time through a wall of tee shirt and button vendors, a small collection of law enforcement officers in riot gear - both worth ignoring.
Looking forward to the acceptance speech Thursday, and anything I can get in to see between now and then.
Kin DuBois, FAIA, NCARB
AIA Colorado past-president
Comments (2)
Posted by Stan Welton | August 27, 2008 5:51 PM
Posted on August 27, 2008 17:51
Posted by Andrew Atchley | August 27, 2008 6:36 PM
Posted on August 27, 2008 18:36