Day 5, Part 2 - Rock Stars, All Stars and Superstars

Carolina in My Mind

By the time the actual scheduled activities started, the arena was already packed and the place was electric.  No, I'm not talking about the thunderstorms outside.  The atmosphere inside TWCA was amazing. So much excitement, so much anticipation for an incredible evening.  So when James Taylor took the stage, everyone was ready to go crazy. And since the rain cut his appearance short on Monday at Carolina Fest, he was more than happy to start with "Carolina in My Mind". Also, loved his comments about an empty chair next to him as well as his demographic (JT at the DNC)

Hero

The night just got better from there, including (in no particular order) Marc Anthony (National Anthem), Barney Frank, John Lewis (twice in the same week...wow), Mary J Blige (she was rockin' the house Mary J at the DNC),  Zach Wahls (Zach), The Obama Hot Girls (Scarlette Johansson, Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria, who had one of my favorite lines tonight when she said "The Eva Longoria who worked at Wendy's flipping burgers—she needed a tax break. But the Eva Longoria who works on movie sets does not."), Charlie Christ, Brian Schweitzer.  But several things stood out above the rest.  First, the Foo Fighters playing Hero and Walk.  Also, John Kerry gave the speech of his career.  Had he been that genuine, that passionate, that natural 8 years ago who knows what might have been (Ask Osama Bin Laden if he's better off today than he was 4 years ago!).  

Gabby Giffords, Debbie Wasserman Schultz

The most special moment was having Gabby Giffords walk on stage to lead the arena in saying The Pledge of Allegiance. There was not a dry eye in the place.  Although we lost her as a tremendous public servant in Jan 2011, her strength and courage should be an inspiration for all of us. 

A personal highlight for me was the Edith Childs video.  I love everything about this story, especially the message that everyone is important, everyone has a voice, and everyone can make a difference. I believe this with all my heart, and it continues to inspire me to stay active, stay informed, speak up and keep going when I get tired or frustrated.  And it's why when I made up business cards for Charlotte, the quote I chose to put on the back of the card was "If one voice can change a room..."

V-POTUS: Joe, like so many others at the DNC, gave the speech of his career.  No slip ups, no "Joe being Joe". He gave a genuine, heartfelt description of the man he's gotten to know and watch in action, and a strong defense of the administration's actions and results of the last 3+ years.  He was funny, he was sincere, and he was direct. He gave us a little bit of the insiders perspective as Pres. Obama made the tough choices regarding the American auto industry and Osama Bin Laden.  And as only Joe can say "Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive".

POTUS:  "As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us, together".  Although this is only one line in the speech, it in some ways truly sums up a significant difference between the parties and the candidates in this election.  I thought the speech was honest and direct, acknowledging that we are a country and people that are still struggling to fully recover from the deep pit we'd fallen into, but also recognizing that things have improved and will continue to under the policies being followed, and perhaps a little cooperation from the 10% congress.

After the speeches were all over, I didn't want to leave.  It seemed too abrupt. Like being at a major championship game when your team won, you want to stay around and let it all soak in, with others that are feeling the same way.  So I walked all around TWCA for about 30-45 minutes, talking with other delegates, taking pictures for people, walking down to the stage, and just hanging out. And on my way out, I had an interesting conversation with another gentlemen contrasting this speech with Denver in 2008. And while there were a lot of similar themes, it was also very different in part because the '08 speech was such a historic one. While the '08 speech will/should go down as one of the greatest speeches in political history, this one may actually be thought of in time as a much more significant/important one.  

There will be one more blog coming, giving some general impression overall of the convention as well as information on what I'm doing for the next 8 weeks and what you can do to get involved in CA or anywhere in the US.  I hope you've enjoyed the stories/perspective I've tried to provide.  And yes, in case you couldn't tell, I had a great time.