California's Obama District 14 Denver Convention Blog

7:30 am, Palo Alto, CA Inauguration Watch Party

2009-01-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

The First Morning

2008-11-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

It is earliest morning in Zambia, the sun just starting its ascent
into the November sky, and I am on a crowded bus, already too hot, en
route to the airport.

The polls close in my beloved California in mere minutes, and with her
mighty 55 electoral college votes CNN will say that Obama has clinched
it. Or perhaps they already have.

Being so far from this campaign's center of gravity on the day it
evolves from potential to actual is quite hard. But the Africans I
encounter have made a great difference in that regard. They hunger for
some small connection to this otherwise mythical man, which I can
provide them. My cache of Obama buttons dwindles but the
conversations with their proud new owners fill the empty spaces in me.

It will more than do for now.

But soon I will need to celebrate this with the grassroots -- the
people who pushed relentlessly and with great hope to achieve this
seismic shift in America's quest to evolve into the nation it has
always claimed to be.

Today, I wish I was home.

Sent from my iPhone, please pardon the type-os!

Election day in South Africa

2008-11-04T01:50:00.000-08:00

I've cried once already --when I told a fellow traveler how hard it is
to be away from home on this historic election day. If I was home I
would've spent the last week making endless calls to swing states, and
working in getting out the vote in my local area. You just want to
know you did all you could. You know?

All I can do at this point is spread Obama love and cheer. I brought
100 Obama buttons and five t-shirts with me to give away, and I have a
lot of fun doing that.

Win it America. Win it for us and win it for the world.

Africans Interested in Obama

2008-11-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

I am traveling for work in nine African countries through mid November. At a restaurant in Accra, Ghana, I saw the following signs and just had to share. Imagine people wanting to buy an Obama t-shirt in Accra, Ghana. There's also an advertisement for an elections results viewing
party. THIS is how big this is.

Africa Trip: Taking a Small Piece of History With Me

2008-10-27T13:27:00.001-07:00

In many venues at home and abroad Barack Obama is heralded as exactly who America needs as its next president. In 8 days we'll know whetherthat dream came true. Nowhere is that dream more vivid than in Kenya, the country from which Obama's father hailed, the country which expects America to elect a minority president before it is able to. (Obama's Kenyan ancestors are from the Luo tribe, which has minority status in that country.)

So when I'm in Kenya on November 11, I am going to dole out these t-shirts and 100 buttons -- the remnants of my 20 months of volunteering for the Obama campaign -- to anyone who wants a little piece of history for themselves. It's probably the closest I'll have come in a long time to feeling like Santa Claus.

Early Voting: T-Shirt Violates Law

2008-10-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

I leave town tomorrow for an international trip that will keep me out of the country until November 14. So alongside "buy toothpaste," on my list of things to do today was "vote."

You can vote early in person in Santa Clara County, so right after my son's soccer game, off I went. The County Registrar of Voters is about 15 miles away from where I live, and I felt tears come as I made my way off the highway toward the large government office building. It was 10am on this Saturday morning. And already there was a line.

I asked the security guard to take this picture of me and he gladly obliged. Minutes later a kind but firm official informed me that under California law, campaign materials are prohibited within 100 feet of the voting booth and my t-shirt is considered campaign materials. I
said I'd heard about that but thought it was an Internet hoax. He smiled and said, "Nope, it's California law." So I said, "well it's important to follow California law" and then I scooted off to the bathroom to turn my shirt inside out. I'm not here to argue the finer points of what makes something campaign materials, I'm here to vote.

And vote I did.

It's kindof anti-climactic, at least for me anyway. The person next to me probably got a kick out of the fact that I spent just as much time photographing my marked ballot as I did voting. Corny, I know but I just wanted a record. Something to show my grandkids, "Yes, I voted for the candidate who turned out to be the first black president of the United States."

Obama. I voted for him today. For our future as a nation. For my Dad.

And for me.

The RNC: Kickin' Ass With Sarah Palin

2008-09-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

There’s a lot I admire about Sarah Palin: Her meteoric rise in a highly-scrutinized, male-dominated profession. Her ability to be smart and tough but also beautiful and feminine. The challenges life has thrown her way and how she has handled them. My friend Andy, a republican insider on Capitol Hill, says the party has had its eye on her for years. A true rising star. She is "feisty, with grace,” as a republican delegate recently put it.

Sure, I find it pretty easy to be excited about all of that.

And, then there’s a lot I don't like about her. Her belief that creationism should be taught in public schools. Her desire to drill for more oil and build nuclear power plants instead of insisting on clean and safe sources of energy. Her belief that government should be able to tell women what they can and cannot do with their bodies. There’s a lot of policy to disagree about, but these disagreements are par for the course in a republican versus democratic race.

This race isn’t going to come down to any of that.

No, this race is going to be about personality and character. And it's now abundantly clear that Sarah Palin has a lot of both. The question is whether she’s got the kind of personality and character befitting a person holding the second-highest office in the land.

Or whether hers is conduct unbecoming.

During her acceptance speech I expected to hear the kind of content conservatives salivate over, just as the DNC speeches dripped with the content democrats crave. So I wasn’t surprised by the topics. Still, I heard some things that made my stomach churn.

I heard her ridicule Obama’s community organizing experience. Of course we democrats know that community organizing is what you do when government is failing to meet the needs of the people. Martin Luther King was a community organizer. So was Jesus Christ. Maybe she does not understand what that work is all about. But did she have to ridicule it?

What was with the tone she took? The attitude? I was instantly reminded of the swaggering cowboy we currently have in the Oval Office who makes clear that he thinks anyone who disagrees with him is like an animal in his personal rodeo. After hearing Sarah Palin speak, it is easy to imagine her as the new cowboy in town, with the leather chaps, metal spurs and lasso, kicking ass and taking names. This is who we want representing us in the world?

The world is so tired of an America that behaves that way.

And so am I.

We need a president who respects people – all people – who doesn’t think we are better than everybody else, and better yet who understands that while we are but a tiny fraction of the planet’s population we have a great obligation to help lift up those around the world who are enduring tragedy and hardship. We need a president who will make America America again, both around the world and right here at home. It is hard to imagine that a woman who is called a "barracuda" because of how she treats people would be one of our nation's highest leaders. It is hard to imagine a woman who had no need for a passport in the first 43 years of her life being able to be an ambassador for America around the world. It is hard to imagine such a woman being a heartbeat away from the presidency.

I am a democrat. I believe government should actively safeguard a basic quality of life for all citizens. I believe our leaders must believe in science, in global warming being greatly compounded by human behavior, in a woman’s right to choose. But even more than these things, I want the highest leaders in the land to respect people. The kick ass attitude Sarah Palin showed in her acceptance speech may be what it takes to get things done in Alaska, but in my view it is conduct unbecoming the next Vice President of the United States.

Yee haw.

Post DNC: "The Angry Left"

2008-09-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

Driving home from work tonight I heard some snippets on NPR of the President and the First Lady speaking at the Republican Convention. George W. opined that McCain would never yield to the "angry left." And I found myself thinking, "Angry Left? Huh, yep, well, I guess that's me." Of course the crowd of adoring delegates roared their approval and I got this snarlish look on my face and a feeling of dread in my stomach which presumably is what the republicans felt and looked like listening to our great lovefest last week. It pains me that we are so divided as a country, and that this process by very definition polarizes us. Yet, it is what it is and here we are, Angry Left. Let's put this anger to good use, even if it means giving the Right something to be angry about.

Photos from the Convention..

2008-09-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/5856435_3zWtp (Sat. and Sun.)
Samantha Powers, AAPI Caucus, Disturbing protest photo, police equipped with riot gear, Howard Dean gala

http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/5802652_dxmpt (Day 1)
Jim & Emy Thurber, more pictures of riot police, Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama

http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/5852707_ZafVs (Day 2)
Owen Byrd talking with Joe Trippi, Anna Eshoo's event, Hillary's speech

http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/5852727_RZzL5 (Day 3)
Roll call, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Bill Clinton, Beau Biden, and Joe Biden

http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/5829613_Nb6AP (Day 4)
Invesco Field

Post DNC: Stoking the Fire With My Kids

2008-09-01T13:52:00.001-07:00

Against my better judgment, when I arrived back home from Denver at midnight on Friday night, I woke my daughter up with kisses. Six, seven or eight, of the deep nuzzle in the face and neck variety. I knew I shouldn't wake her -- she's the one who at age seven still has trouble going to sleep every night -- but after my longest trip away from home ever, I just had to reconnect with her scent, her texture, her sweetness. Thankfully, after a brief conversation she nestled back into her pillow and within a few minutes fell asleep.

By the time I made it to the next door down the hallway, I had regained some sense. So when I climbed the ladder to my nine year old son's elevated bed, I went in for the strategic kiss of the non-waking kind. In his sleep his arm was outstretched toward the ladder, so I started there and then gave a quick peck on the forehead while murmuring "I love you baby." He stayed asleep.

Finally, I was home.

As busy as I am -- or should be -- with work, given my week's absence at the DNC, I am not going into the office this weekend. Instead I am reconnecting with the little people in my life. The ones who are the only two references on my motherhood resume. The ones whose start of school this week while I was in Denver left me bawling at the California delegation breakfast.

So yesterday was an intense baking session with my fourth grader, whose teacher had the great sense to read "The Case Against Homework" this summer, and the great wisdom to apply its principles to her classroom pedagogy. This means that instead of homework packets that ask them to do endless repetitions of what they did in school, the "homework" is going to be "work at home" meaning projects that bubble up from a child's own imagination and curiosity. For my son, it is an examination of 5 different sugar cookie recipes to determine by taste test which is the best. From combining the ingredients, to rolling the dough out between sheets of wax paper, to preheating the oven, cutting the cookies, and gingerly transferring them from spatula to cookie sheet, this was a race against time. The delicate dough started refrigerated but softened with each touch of a finger or roll of the rolling pin. It was a real triumph to get the 1/8" thin slices onto those cookie sheets, and then to get them safely into and out of the hot oven.

For my second grader, today was a trip to her hair and nail salon, where, draped in towels to soak up the water, I got all kinds of products massaged into my hair, followed by a facepainting design on my forehead ("Obama" -- her idea), followed by a manicure of alternating green and blue polish. I returned the favor by doing her nails and toes to complement the eyes and cheeks facepainting her daddy had already done for her.

I call this kind of interaction "stoking the fire." Connections that nurture the heart and the soul. That let them know there's no place else I'd rather be right then than in their world with them.

I couldn't have gone to Denver, of course, without a great support system already in place at home. My husband, one of his generation's greatest feminists, is already extremely involved in the kids' lives. As the one in the family who works part time, he is the one they can count on to be there for a performance or a game and he knows their routines better than I do. The other great factor in the equation is my mother, with whom we co-own our home and live a life of intertwinedness. So while I was in Denver, the family was just fine. The one who was missing, who missed out, who missed important things, was just me.

Of course, the Obama campaign hasn't ended now that I'm back, in fact it's stronger than ever. And the trick after a week of intense Obamaing is to re-integrate my volunteer work with the campaign into my home and work life. Both kids' teachers have asked me to come and talk about being a delegate at the convention. The second graders even prepared a list of questions in advance, including, "tell us about the music and fireworks," "how many people were outside on the last night," "were you visible on TV," and my favorite, "do you think Obama is good at math?"

They're old enough to know about Harriet Tubman, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr. and that Obama's candidacy is the realization of millions of people's dreams over three centuries. They also know about Hillary Clinton, and the great significance of her candidacy. One day they will treasure the pictures I've taken of them in Obama garb, at Obama events, with Obama stuff.

For now, though, they'd rather see the pictures of the cookies, the facepaint, and the green ball.

Such is motherhood.

Photo gallery from Day 4

2008-08-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

More to come, but here's Day 4..

http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/5829613_Nb6AP

The DNC: The Convention is Over But the Connections Continue

2008-08-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

Speaker Nancy Pelosi struck the final gavel of the Democratic National Convention last night, signaling an immediate and inevitable end to the four days of frenzied activity, intense emotion, and the constant sense that what you are doing matters. Quite frankly, I'm relieved it is over. There is only so much exhilaration a person can take all at once.

I spent the night last night with old friends who live in Denver. This morning, they shared with me this reaction from a neighbor to Obama's speech: "I didn't like the speech. I mean, why should we help the poor?"

Ahem.

What a lovely opportunity to discuss the role of government from a Democrat's perspective, that is if you can stomach any further engagement with one so minded. And of course, you have to engage because hearts and minds don't change any other way. Still, it was trying if not alarming, leaving my friend to contemplate why she is living where she is living and how in 2008 we still have so far to go.

From my friend's house I came to the Denver airport which seems to have mopped itself up from the flood of visitors that came in for the Convention. I was uncharacteristically early, so had some time for a breather at the Food Court where I checked my much-neglected email, and had the kind of fast food meal I don't let myself eat much anymore.

Quite deliberately, I wore an Obama t-shirt to the airport today. I hoped to invite conversation by wearing it, and it served it's intended purpose. A woman named Genie came over to me with a wry smile and said, "it was pretty great, huh?" A Political Director for the SEIU union in Illinois, she is from Obama's home district and proudly told me that her support pre-dated his senate run.

She then went on to tell me that her boss was a speaker at Invesco so she and a few coworkers got tickets. As she stood in the long line approaching the stadium last night, a guy walked by with a concert or sporting event-style sign saying "I need a ticket." Though it had to
have been the hottest ticket on the planet, she just gave him one. Later, when she was at guest services trying to recharge her cell phone, she lamented to the clerk that she was up in the nosebleed seats, and the clerk gave her a ticket in a better section. This kind of generosity kept paying itself forward throughout the event.

Genie, a Caucasian, told me that she was sitting with her male African American coworker. At the end of Obama's speech, a White male stranger came up to the coworker and gave him a full embrace. Then the stranger pulled back, looked the coworker in the eye and said, "I didn't think
I would ever vote for a Black man."

This was a week for hearing that kind of thing, for watching people step gingerly or leap across lines they had drawn, and to see them seek --and usually find -- embrace on the other side.

Genie and I were soon joined in conversation by Randy, a baggage worker here at the airport. He asked us what we thought of McCain's VP pick. And then Randy talked about how he usually gets three days off in a row, and how he would use those days off to do voter registration right here in Colorado.

That's what these final 67 days will be about. Talking to strangers, crossing lines, reaching out, engaging. All of it hard work, all of it essential.

Something tells me there's more fast food in my future. But I hope also more people like Genie and Randy.

Day Four...

2008-08-29T01:06:00.000-07:00

The lines for tickets outside Invesco Field really did seem ridiculous today, but many people connected with District 14 managed to get some type of credential to attend. Even 12-year old Shahab and his dad who flew in today got a few upper section seats. I tried to call those of you who I knew would be in town. We weren't informed until Thursday morning that there would be extra Invesco tickets, and most of us requested only 1 or 2 additional tickets.

The performers included will.i.am, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Wonder. Day 4 felt like a combination of a rock-concert, college graduation, and political rally. Obviously the Democrats have learned to drill home the main points about McCain, so just about every speaker echos similar ideas, including the testimonials from people from different Battleground states.

All the delegations were placed at the floor level, and we were seated right behind Colorado this time. I've received reports that Molly, Elspeth (Mari felt ill and gave her pass to her), and Bob Petit were filmed dancing to music. Bob especially seems to get the cameraperson's attention on the big LCD screens, as I think it's been at least 2 or 3 convention days where I've seen him on the screen.

I'll try to post a photo gallery later for everyone soon....

The DNC: Brilliant

2008-08-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

This strategy to have real folk talk about their experiences is
brilliant.

The woman who received the republican smear email just told millions
of people why it was trash.

The former republicans with horror stories were more compelling than
dems with the same stories would have been.

And now we're singing "Born in the USA" and people are waving not only
the small flags we were given, but huge flags brought from home. The
Republicans' claim of ownership of the flag is over. These are
patriots in this stadium and we're taking our country back.

When has there ever been a convention with 70,000 people shouting in
Spanish?

Sent from my iPhone

The DNC: The Wave

2008-08-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

It is 7:05 MDT. Gore just finished and we must be on commercial break
cuz nothing is happening. Nothing, that is, until the audience in the
bowl started doing a very energetic wave around the stadium. And now
Michael McDonald sings...

Sent from my iPhone

The DNC: I Found Electricity!

2008-08-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

A chance encounter between me and NBC's Ann Curry led to a connection
to a tech guy named Jimmy which led to a budding relationship with
Joop in a media tunnel. Joop has a power strip and I'm renting one
plug for the price of an eager smile and gratitude.

It is 3:21 pm and a bluegrass band just started playing. The stadium
is about twenty percent full. People are dancing, kissing, getting
water for the weary. Hillary people are talking about feeling so much
better. My friend Bob from cd 15 is dancing a ridiculous dance and
is getting all kinds of media attention.

Now that's just something I'm not gonna do!

Sent from my iPhone

The DNC: How to find California

2008-08-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

Our huge delegation, 441 strong, has fantastic seats right behind the
home delegation. If you're watching on TV, we are on the right as you
look at the stage. Colorado is in front of us, right up against the
blue barrier separating the audience from the stage, but they only
take up 3 rows, so look for us behind Colorado, from the fifth row all
the way back to the media tents. The California sign is actually at
the very back of our delegation.

Sent from my iPhone

The DNC: Its 1:30 and We're Inside Invesco!

2008-08-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

They told us to take the delegate bus, but three days at the DNC have
shown us that even weary feet get you where you need to go fastest.
An hour's walk in the noonday sun was no problem for us intrepid Obama
delegates from silicon valley. We are among the first few hundred
people here, and we are on the silken edge of history unfolding.

My batteries will run out long before this glorious day turns to
night, presaging an historical dawn. But know this: as this arena
fills, the mood is euphoric and awed. We Democrats, united and on
fire, are going to take our country back and restore for the world the
America it so achingly needs, in 68 days.

Unexpected Matters

2008-08-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Things have been absolutely crazy.

Yesterday, some delegates and I went to Manual High School in Denver to talk with some students about the convention, being a delegate, and politics in general. There were some students that were incredibly interested in the process. Overall, they expressed an overwhelming support (out of the ones that had an opinion) for Obama.

And then the convention.

The roll call became epic when New Jersey, New Hampshire, and ARKANSAS voted unanimously, with all of their delegates, for Senator Obama. The crowd went crazy; it was such an expression of unity. None of us were expecting Illinois to pass its delegates on to New York, and further, Senator Clinton's appearance on the floor to propose we nominate Senator Obama by acclamation was a complete surprise. People all around me were in tears.

Bill Clinton: he inspired like his wife did the night before.

And then Joe Biden spoke. And I'm not even going to go over how amazing it was because all of America watched it intently on television.

When the convention was let out and I was going down the stairs, I saw a group of guys in suits yelling upwards at the crowd. As I walked closer, I realized it was the entire team of news correspondents from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. They were incredibly friendly and didn't have much of a crowd surrounding them. Quite a shame I forgot my camera charger.

Well tonight is the speech that will affirm everything that has happened this past week. I almost worry about it sometimes because the expectations are astronomical. His 2004 keynote is how he acquired national recognition so quickly. And 4 years later, he is back to accept the Democratic nomination.

But, given how this whole week has been, I'm sure he'll surprise us all.

The DNC: Practical Realities of the Big Day

2008-08-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the big day. Although yesterday was an unbelivably big day and it's hard to imagine any day -- even a day on which Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Nomination for President -- being any bigger. Yesterday was THAT big.

The rumor is that we need to get to Mile High/Invesco at one, and that we will be there until 9pm MDT. We will walk the two miles to get there because the buses have to slog through traffic. I've been doing all of my live blogging from my iPhone which I was able to recharge while in the Pepsi Center but I'll have no such luck down on a football field. To conserve my phone battery, I'm going to take my laptop and record stuff there. It has no wireless connection, but at least I can record stuff real-time and post it later.

The other practicality is the fancy outfit I brought is going to feel like a straitjacket under Denver's August heat in the afternoon. This may be the most important speech I will ever attend in my lifetime, and of course I want to honor that by looking the part, but practically speaking I may be indistinguishable from a tourist on a summer day. Or a fan on a football field.

The final practicality of the morning is checking out of the hotel and packing for home. Today is about endings and beginnings for our party, our campaign, our nation and for me. Try as I will to stuff everything into boxes and bags -- the buttons, posters, goodies, business cards -- there isn't a bag in this world big enough to carry all of these precious memories home.

Roll Call and Today

2008-08-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

Roll call from today....

And the result...

The DNC: Dreams of My Father

2008-08-28T00:13:00.000-07:00

The California delegation had a party planned for tonight but I needed to decompress after tonight’s monumentally moving speeches brought us to the inexorable conclusion of Barack Obama’s nomination as our candidate. So I’m sitting on a street corner alone with my thoughts as the city’s pulse beats strong into this life-sustaining night.

When Joe Biden paid tribute to his mother tonight, and said how much he wished his father was still here, my thoughts turned to my own father, gone 13 years. He would have been 90 this year, and in his lifetime the events of this week were unimaginable. I know there must be millions of people for whom this historical moment is like oxygen, the sweetest music, and the warmest light.

I never saw my father cry. But tonight it felt that my tears were coming from somewhere other than me.

Overcome

2008-08-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

Near the end of his remarks, President Clinton started to turn when he spoke of also being criticized for being too young and inexperienced. You could finally see the connection to Barack in his eyes.

Then came the astonishingly compelling Kerry--how did we fail to elect that great man? How?

Then Beau Biden. What parent wasn't moved to tears by that son's tribute to his father?

Yeah, we were so moved in the Pepsi Center we seemed to give Joe Biden a quiet welcome. We wanted to shout and cheet but after the beautiful video about our veterans, the powerful female Major, and then Beau, we were overcome, plain and simple.

Overcome.

This ticket is extraordinary. I cannot believe I am witnessing this.

President Clinton Speaks

2008-08-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

President Clinton is addressing us, but while his words sound right,
his facial expression on the large screen suggests he is not
completely cool with all of this. His big smile came out only while
he spoke of Joe Biden.

The shouts of the crowd urge him on, and the words are strong.

But I'm worried.

Maybe he's just really tired.

Does it look this way on TV?

Sent from my iPhone

Teleprompter

2008-08-27T17:15:00.003-07:00

How are they actually able to keep eye contact? Well it turns out there's an LCD projector being used as their teleprompter.