Denver, the Mile High City, witnesses the opening of the four-day Democratic National Convention today. Those attending the convention will literally be one mile higher and further removed from the effects of gravity than those of us at sea level. However, there will be more powerful forces at work in Denver over the next four days than the mere law of gravity. Let's take a look at what the Democratic Convention is all about and at some of the issues involved. Convention overview Thousands of Democratic delegates, party leaders, lobbyists, well-wishers, and members of the media have gathered in Denver to nominate Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for president and Joe Biden for vice president and to officially begin the political campaign. As you may have noticed, the campaign has in fact been going on for a long time, but this is the official start. US political conventions are meant to be well-orchestrated spectacles rather like the opening ceremony of the Olympics, only in this case the speeches, although carefully vetted and rehearsed, will not be lip-synched, and there is always the chance of an unpredictable surprise. The major TV networks have allotted one hour of evening prime-time coverage for each of the four days, but those who want to watch non-stop can follow the proceedings on cable and on the Internet. In fact, in keeping with the Obama campaign's unprecedented use of the Internet for registering voters and collecting funds, Denver promises the highest hi-tech convention ever. Each of the four days will have a theme and a main prime-time speaker. A look at the lineup makes it clear that Obama has been forced to share his party with the Clintons. Michelle Obama is the featured speaker on the first night with the theme “One Nation.” On Tuesday, the theme is “Renewing America's Promise” with Hillary Clinton as the featured speaker. Wednesday ‘s theme is “Securing America's Future” and Joe Biden, the recently anointed vice presidential nominee, will give the main address. However, Bill Clinton will speak before him, and it is hard to believe that his speech will not be carefully monitored by the media and broadcast live. Then Thursday, the convention moves to Denver's Invesco Field stadium where more than 70,000 people will hear Barack Obama's acceptance speech. The theme is “Change You Can Believe In,” and Obama will be surrounded on stage by a diverse group of people whom he has met throughout his campaign intending to signal to television viewers that ordinary people from all walks of life support Obama. Issues The Obama campaign hopes to accomplish two main objectives: to demonstrate once and for all, and conclusively that the party is completely united behind Obama, and to establish his personal narrative and place it firmly in the American context. Party unity is where the Clinton's come into the picture (although many wish that they would get out of it). Apparently, many of the 18 million who cast votes for Hillary during the primaries have to be convinced that she truly does support Obama and that she is not faking it. This is a tough task since Hillary Clinton has worn more faces than most politicians, leaving it a bit unclear what criteria we are expected to use to determine the sincerity of her Denver face. As for Bill, it is not so much an issue of sincerity, as it is of waiting to see if he is physically capable of uttering the required encouraging words, whether he means them or not. The Democrats also have a tough task on their hands trying to make Obama with his unusual, even exotic, background, upbringing, not to mention his name, seem like the All-American boy next door. There will be testimonials from family members and from party establishment figures and a film showing Obama in All-American scenes. The objective is to confront head-on Obama's “otherness” and to make people comfortable with him. What to look for The speeches of the Clintons and the Obamas will be carefully parsed, especially that of Bill Clinton, who has a record of going off-script and speaking overtime, which inconveniently would cut into the prime-time of Joe Biden's speech. Biden, known for having a loose tongue, may also wander off script, although as this is his first major address after only recently being selected as Obama's VP, we can expect him to closely follow whatever is on the teleprompter. Perhaps even more important than what is said will be the body language between the Obamas and the Clintons. How do they interact, hug each other, stand, smile during the mandatory prime-time photo ops when everyone in America is looking at them? Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton will be especially worth watching. They are both tough, fiercely loyal, take-no-prisoners customers with little love for the opposition. In the final analysis, it will be a question of how sincere it all seems and that may just be a question of the chemistry (or the lack thereof) between the two families. Hillary Clinton's name will be put up for nomination, and there will be a roll call vote. This has been forced upon Obama, presumably as the price of the Clintons' support. The roll call, according to Hillary, will give her supporters a chance to experience ‘catharsis,' to feel that their voice is heard, to get it out of their system. Hillary has made it clear that she will vote for Obama and has urged her supporters to do so as well. The purpose of the convention is to nominate Obama, to whom Hillary has already conceded, so it will be interesting to see what form the roll call will take, and how far the pro-Hillary supporters will be allowed to go. The ideal scenario is that everyone votes, Obama wins, and the losers all say, “well, we tried,” and then rapturously fall in line, support Obama, and say, “what a swell party it's been.” However, this is not the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, and many of the people going to Denver do not intend to march along in order like the hundreds of Chinese dancers. The question will be: To those watching on television, just how unified does the Democratic party seem after the roll call vote? Obama's acceptance speech to a jam-packed football stadium, home of the Denver Broncos, will also be closely watched. The speech is being given on Aug 28 which is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech, and we can expect Obama to reference that famous address given in 1963. Obama is at his best in front of a teleprompter, and the speech will be eloquent, moving, and uplifting. The danger, however, is that he has already given a number of such speeches, and although it is not exactly a question of our Obama speech fatigue, it does mean that each time the standard is set just a bit higher. Obama is under tremendous pressure to give a great, earth-moving speech that tops everything that he has done before and compares favorably with Martin Luther King's historic address. This is especially the case since the venue, for the first time in convention history, has been moved to a stadium, and also in that Obama has achieved rock star status. Well, rock stars do have to put on rock concerts, and they have good nights, and they have bad nights. So the objectives in Denver are to put on a rousing, spectacular, but believable show of party unity and present an All-American narrative for Obama. The show is as tightly scripted, orchestrated, and controlled as any three-ring circus with a variety of acts all taking place simultaneously under the control of the circus ringmaster. But with Mile High City being a bit further removed from the center of gravity, it is just possible that some things may not go exactly as they were planned. __
