Reporter's Notebook

NEAL P. GOSWAMI
Staff Writer
DENVER, Colo. – Democratic Vermont Rep. Peter Welch, attending his first national convention in an official capacity, said the Democratic Party is hitting the bulls’ eye with its quadrennial gathering.

“I think that they’re hitting all of the right notes,” Welch said in an interview Thursday. “What’s impressed me is how well executed it’s been. It’s on time and its on message.”

Welch said he’s been to two other conventions, first in 1968 looking on from the outside, and again in 2004, when he watched Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry accept the Party’s nomination.

But, as a member of Congress, elected in 2006, Welch is now a super delegate, and able to attend the convention daily, and attend various other functions throughout the week.

Welch said he isn’t receiving the same treatment as more tenured members of Congress, though. Some elected officials are being chauffeured around in luxurious hybrid vehicles – but not Welch.

“I’ve been walking. I need the exercise anyway,” he said.

Nevertheless, Welch said he’s happy to be a witness to history. So far, the most moving moment for Welch was the appearance of Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, the patriarch of American’s most famous political family. Kennedy, who is battling a brain tumor, is perhaps attending his final convention.

Kennedy’s colleague, Sen. Kerry, delivered the “most durable speech,” though, according to Welch.

“He was direct and blunt in his criticism of McCain, but he did it without being harsh,” Welch said.

And The Clintons, both Hillary and Bill, Welch said, delivered stirring speeches – leaving little doubt of where they stand.

“The Clintons delivered. They were clear and explicit and forceful. They support Barack Obama,” he said.

Overall, the convention has been a boost for the Democratic Party, and cannot compare with his previous experiences at a national convention.

“You can’t compare ‘68. That was a riot. That was a four-day riot,” Welch said. “The difference between this and ‘68 is we have unity now. We had division then.”

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DENVER, Colo. – Vermont’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention was planning to vote unanimously for Barack Obama, but never got the chance.

Obama became the first African American nominated for president by a major party Wednesday. A roll call vote began in the Pepsi Center, but was cut short when Sen. Hillary Clinton made a motion to make Obama the nominee by acclamation.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Vermont’s small delegation met earlier in the day Wednesday and had agreed – including Clinton delegates – to unanimously vote for Obama. Clinton had already released her delegates.

-- Neal P. Goswami

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Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the Pepsi Center, to thunderous applause, after his Vice Presidential pick, Sen. Joe Biden, delivered a speech to a frenzied crowd Wednesday night.

"I just wanted to come out here for a little something to say," he said. "I want everyone to now understand why I am so proud to have ... the whole Biden family on this journey to take America back."

Obama went on to praise the speech his wife delivered on Monday, the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

"I think Michelle Obama kicked it off pretty well, don't you think?" Obama said.

He also praised Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton for their speeches, as an increasingly united Democratic Party screamed endlessly.

"If I'm not mistaken, Hillary Clinton rocked the house last night. And just in case you were wondering, I think President Bill Clinton reminded us what it's like to have a president who actually puts people first. Thank you President Clinton," Obama said.

Obama will deliver his acceptance speech Thursday night at Invesco field in front of 75,000 supporters.

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NEAL P. GOSWAMI
Staff Writer
DENVER, Colo. – Democrats worried that former President Bill Clinton wouldn’t stand fully behind Barack Obama can rest easy.

Clinton delivered a rousing speech Wednesday supporting Obama, the Democratic nominee for president. Thousands of delegates cheered wildly as the former president sung Obama’s praises and asked supporters of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, to vote for Obama.

“Last night Hillary told us she is going to do everything she can to elect Barack Obama. That makes two of us,” Clinton said. “Actually, that makes 18 million of us.”

Hillary Clinton received more than 18 million votes in a bruising primary battle with Obama, but ended up short of the necessary number of delegates after the final primary in June. Many of her supporters refuse to back down, however, and are now threatening to vote for Obama’s new rival, Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Clinton acknowledged the tough, hard-fought campaign between his wife and Obama Wednesday, joking the “campaign created so much heat it increased global warming.” But he, like his wife just one night earlier, urged her supporters to vote for Obama.

“I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November,” he said, as the room full of thousands of delegates exploded with cheers.

Both Clintons have been criticized previously for failing to say that Obama was ready to assume the presidency. But on Wednesday, Clinton made his opinion known.

“Barack Obama is ready to lead American,” Clinton said. “Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States of America.”

After pledging his full support to Obama, Clinton launched into lengthy list of ways the Bush administration, and McCain, according to Clinton, have weakened America’s security. America is in trouble on two fronts, he said, with a weakened economy at home, and weakened leadership in the world.

By failing to focus on new energy sources and continuing to rely on foreign oil, engaging in the war in Iraq and stretching the military too thin, and failing to use diplomacy, the Republican policies have weakened America’s security, Clinton said.

After eight years as president, and endless work around the world since, Clinton said he was sure Obama should be the next president.

“The job of the next president is to rebuild the American Dream and restore America’s leadership in the world,” he said. “Barack Obama is the man for this job.”

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Sen. Hillary Clinton had a tall task Tuesday night – trying to convince millions of her supporters to throw their weight behind the Democratic Party’s nominee, Barack Obama.

She had a very simple message.

“No way. No How. No McCain,” she said.

Clinton spoke on the second night of the Democratic National Convention – the 88th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Her daughter, Chelsea, introduced her.

Clinton took to the podium Tuesday night to thunderous applause that lasted several minutes, hoping to assuage many of her supporters who remain bitter about the outcome of the Democratic Party’s primary campaign. Clinton and Obama squared off in long, often tense primary battle, bruising each other along the way.

Despite garnering 18 million votes, Clinton failed to secure enough delegates to claim the nomination. Many Clinton supporters refuse to give up, though. Hundreds marched through downtown Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention, carrying signs and chanting slogans saying they intended to vote for Republican Sen. John McCain in November’s general election.

Clinton did her best to show party unity, beseeching her followers to vote for Obama rather than sitting out the election, or worse, voting for McCain.

“I’m here tonight … as a proud Democrat, as a proud senator from New York, a proud American, and a proud supporter of Barack Obama,” Clinton said.

“It is time to take back the country we love, and whether you voted for me or you voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose,” she said. “We are on the same team, and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future and it is a fight that we must.”

She challenged those supporters who said they wouldn’t vote for Obama to think about why they were attracted to her campaign.

“Were you in this campaign just for me?” Clinton asked. “Or were you in it for all the people in this country that feel invisible?”

Democrats also began hitting back at McCain Tuesday night. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said the Arizona senator wants to abolish the Department of Education, and “hurt” seniors by privatizing Social Security.

“John McCain is just more of the same old say one thing do somethingelse crowd that we’ve got in the White House right now,” Patrick said.

But Patrick challenged his fellow Democrats, too, saying the party needed to prove to the American people that the Democratic Party should win the presidency and control Congress.

“Democrats don’t deserve to win just because the Republicans deserve to lose,” he said. “We need better policies. We need a better vision.”

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer had fun at McCain’s expense too, attacking McCain’s voting record on energy bills. Schweitzer said McCain voted against several renewable technologies, and preferred that America drill its way to energy independence. But, Schweitzer said, drilling in McCain’s backyard – “even the ones he doesn’t know
about” – won’t solve the problem.

-- Neal P. Goswami

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Pols and celebs flock to hear Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech

The side entrance to the Pepsi Center should have been lined with a red carpet Tuesday night. Hundreds of politicians and celebrities used the VIP doors to access the arena to hear keynote speaker Mark Warner, the former governor of Virginia, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, who gave Barack Obama a run for his money during the primary season.

Vermont was well represented, with Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., making relatively low-key entrances. Former Gov. Howard Dean, who now serves as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, arrived to several cheers with his wife, Dr. Judith Steinberg.

Other pols shuffled through the entrance as well, such as former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Walter Mondale and former presidential candidate and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Celebrities found their way to the side entrance, too. Actors Richard Dryfus and Richard Schiff, who played Toby Zeigler on NBCs "The West Wing," drew shouts before making their way into the arena.

-- Neal Goswami

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Hundreds of Hillary Clinton supporters took to the streets of Denver Tuesday in support of the former presidential candidate. Clinton, who received about 18 million votes during the primary season, will speak at the Pepsi Center tonight, and is expected to ask her throngs of supporters to shift their support -- and votes -- to Barack Obama.

Many of Clinton's supporters marched Tuesday as part of a group of former Clinton supporters who are now backing Obama's Republican rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Clinton is speaking on the 88th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

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A mass frenzy before the official start of the Democratic National Convention on Monday.

DENVER, Colo. – Thousands of delegates, visitors and members of the
media swarmed Denver Sunday during the first full day of the
Democratic National Convention, but it was the protestors who stole
the show.
Recreate 68, a protest group opposed to the country’s “two party”
political system, began the day by leading a rally on the Capitol
steps featuring Cindy Sheehan, a prominent anti-war activist known as
“Peace Mom,” and Dead Prez, a hip-hop artist. The group then marched
to the Pepsi Center, where they managed to briefly shut down access
to the site of the convention.
The group dispersed for a bit, but reformed later in the afternoon –
marching through downtown Denver with a police escort, and blocking
several main arteries of traffic. Many chanted slogans such as "No
cops, no KKK, no fascist USA."
Things grew tense when the group of protestors, about 1,500-strong,
marched through Civic Park, where Colorado-based vendors and
marketers had set up booths to peddle their products and information.
Protestors chanted, “we’re marching, we’re marching, we’re not out
shopping,” but didn’t stop in the market. Instead, the group stopped
just across the street, between the park and the Capitol, refusing to
disperse.
Hundreds of police rushed to the scene – many on bicycle and
horseback, others in full riot gear – to contain the crowd. Police
handcuffed one young boy and the group began to chant, “let him go.”
Further trouble was averted, though, when the crownd began to
disperse several minutes later.
-- Neal P. Goswami

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Reporting from the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

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