Here’s a winning recipe: start with the beautiful city of Chicago, add 4,000 pumped-up Democratic Delegates nationwide, add a star-studded cast of political orators – and you’ve got the Democratic National Convention.
The excitement is so intense it measures on the Richter scale. After taking the new direct Southwest flight from Tucson to Chicago, I connected with fellow DNC Delegate Michael Bryan. We’re roommates at the titanic Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue, one of 30 hotels set aside for conventioneers.
Check back to the Blog daily, and Mike and I will give you contemporaneous perspectives and man-on-the-street interviews.
I can hardly believe I will be here for a who’s who of nationally known speakers at the convention, featuring:
Monday: Tucson Mayor Regina Romero kicks off the convention at 5 pm, followed by Joe Biden, Jill Biden, and Hillary Clinton.
Tuesday: Barack and Michelle Obama and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
Wednesday: Future Vice President Tim Walz, Bill Clinton, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Thursday: Future President Kamala Harris accepts the nomination.
Also, look for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The Harris campaign is a juggernaut: $370 million in digital and TV ads coming up, 1,600 paid staff, 280 field offices across battlegrounds and 10,000 new volunteers signing up over last weekend. Harris attracted 15,000 people to her rally in Phoenix on Aug. 9.
At a welcome reception in Chicago, I sat next to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who told me that the changing tide in favor of Democrats will expand over time. Sylvia Andersch of Common Defense liberal veterans said service members are fuming at the insult to Tim Walz’s military record. Delegate Vince Rabago of Tucson highlighted the use of the term “weird” for the sayings of the other convicted, dementia-bound candidate.
We are invited to parties across the city, but I plan to turn in at a practical hour. We must be up by 6 a.m. to get our credentials at breakfast at 7 a.m. If we’re one minute late, they’re forfeited. That’s not going to happen.
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