Final - Gar Byurm from DNC Convention in Denver

Thursday was a generational day. It seemed like a historic moment. It was awesome to see the stadium fill up during the day. Congressman John Lewis spoke and reminded everyone about how important Martin Luther King’s speech was and how he is the only one alive today who spoke on that day. We were entertained by music groups during the day such as Cheryl Crowe and Stevie Wonder. There was a country band from Colorado. It broke up the speeches from various people. There were a lot of people from around the country who spoke, including military people, young men who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and told everyone why they were supporting Barack Obama for president.

We were briefed by one of the leaders of the Obama campaign who is responsible for the huge registration effort across the country. He gave us a factual example of how effective registration efforts are – for example, in Pennsylvania they registered 340,000 new Democratic voters and has 60,000 fewer registered Republicans. Throughout the swing states, there is a huge effort to register rural voters throughout September.

During the course of the day, there were periodic speakers who were Republican from different walks of life as part of a continuing effort to communicate to the public that Obama’s campaign was dealing with issues in a bipartisan way – they were not Democratic or Republican issues, but American issues.

I was impressed with one Republican woman from North Carolina told about her health care horror story.

There was one section where retired military leaders came onstage in their suits and uniforms to sign on for duty for Barack Obama. One spoke about how they were committed to Barack Obama and how he was quite fit to be commander in chief.

Al Gore seemed impressed by the size of the crowd. He told us about the global warming threat the planet faces and how Obama will be the person to address it.

The crowd was amazing during Barack Obama’s speech. You could feel the energy of the crowd – it was totally electric being there. Periodically, I would stop rising and cheering and instead looked at the crowed in amazement. Some people brought their own flags. It was an awesome sight seeing all these flags being waved. One cannot overstate the historic moment of nominating an African American to be the next President of the United States.

I want to give a personal thank you and express my appreciation for all of you who made it possible for me to be a delegate in Denver. I was not alone there. I was humbled by the many calls I received from friends throughout the district, including Republicans.

As we were preparing to leave Denver on Friday morning, many of us found out that John McCain picked Sarah Palin for President. We were all shocked and amazed. The women I spoke to thought it was a cynical choice. We recognize that this choice will be popular with the evangelical base of the Republican party – but for the rest of us, the general conclusion is that Sarah Palin is not qualified to be a heart beat away from the presidency.

I’m back home now. I sincerely can't thank everyone enough.

Gar Byrum, Delegate

#3 Gar Byrum from Democratic National Convention, Denver

There is no overstating or underestimating the historical significance of the nomination of Barack Obama and the history that we will see tonight. There are so many parallels between now and 1960 and we could hear echo’s of the New Frontier and the “I Have a Dream” speech of 45 years ago.

What was really interesting to me was who I sat next to on the drive over to the convention center yesterday afternoon – an African American woman from Raleigh Durham, NC, who was around 80 years old. At the end of our conversation, she pointed to her skin and said just think what we could have done together all these years if there wasn’t a difference in our skin color.

Yesterday during the roll call, California passed. Art Torres validated what I thought was true, basically California wasn’t ready to vote. They hadn’t gotten the alternates information together because some of the regular delegates weren’t there. Massachusetts said why didn’t you just cast it anyway and Art Torres said that California was going to follow its own rules.

I thought last night was a double wow. We were surprised by Hillary Clinton with the NY delegation during the roll call giving all of New York’s votes to Barack Obama. All of us were inspired by her unity. Then of course, there was Obama’s appearance later. I hope we put to rest the press’s impression that we weren’t united. Last night went a long way to unite our party for November.

I was fascinated to observe the silence where you couldn’t hear a pin drop when Senator Biden was talking last night. He really touched people when he talked about what the average American faces each day. The audience was rapt in attention. For that crowd -- which is constantly milling about, the constant din in the background – the fact that he could command an audience where they were really paying attention was remarkable. You could see that he really understands average Americans and their plight.

I was personally touched by the affection between Joe Biden and his family. He really is a genuine person and we are lucky to have him as our vice president nominee. Everyone loved his mom, too.

Bill Clinton gave a marvelous speech. When he wants to, he can deliver. He did the job last night. He was touched by the audience response to him – you could tell President Clinton was emotionally affected by everyone’s appreciation of him. I was a little concerned on a personal level whether he’d deliver, but clearly he’s on board.

We had a good California gala after the session as over. That was fun. Vickere got a kick out of me because I decided to dance once and she kidded me about having the perfect picture for the hometown newspaper.

As we go into tonight, the last day of the convention, we are all looking forward to Senator Obama’s speech ... and leaving here united and ready to work hard to elect Senator Obama and Senator Biden as our next president and vice president.

I can’t say how emotional this will be on a personal level. For a young person, a son of the south, the meaning of what is going to take place today is particularly special. It is hard to believe that we’ve come this far where we’ve nominated an African American. I think it is spectacular. A lady coming into the elevator today was commenting on how emotional of a day it is for her.

I bought a hat and sun screen and I’m on my way to Invesco Field. I will report on the last day of the convention tomorrow.

Gar Byrum, Delegate

#2 Gar Byrum's Report from DNC Convention in Denver

Tom Haydn was sitting across from me eating lunch, and here we are about to nominate Senator Obama. 40 years ago, we were chanting the whole world is watching and now the whole world is watching for different reasons.

Last night went well. Hillary’s speech was very well received. I really think it helped to unify the party. I’ll know more later because a friend of mine is in a meeting of Hillary delegates from California. I’m sure there are still some reluctant to get on board. As Hillary pointed out, we will all lose if we don’t work for this victory. It is beyond any individual. It is for the country.

I think it is sifting into the consciousness of hard core Hillary supporters – some already went to work with Obama – for others, there is grudging respect. It is not as though people can turn a switch on for Obama. For them, Hillary was the person they believed in.

Besides Hillary last night, Mark Warner was the keynote speaker. One of the poorest keynote addresses I ever heard. It did espouse one of the key themes of the campaign, that we have to work on the same issues – American issues, and we have to work together pragmatically to find common ground. For that reason, I found it acceptable.

Governor Brian Schweitzer was dynamic at getting the crowd on its feet – getting across the message that we are going to get the same with McCain.

At today’s breakfast – it is obvious the Democratic party is working hard for all of the delegates to be united. Yesterday, it was governor’s day – we had Ted Strickland of Ohio and David Paterson of New York. They spoke about the financial impact each state is facing – diminishing income has put the states into debt and how they are dealing with the deficits for the states. Today was Senators day. We heard from Senator John Kerry, Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Claire McCaskill. She was cute, she was amazed at how large our group. She is pleased about the polling she’s seen in California and encouraged the California delegation to work hard.

There is an interesting tactic at work so women aren’t too disappointed in not having a woman on the ticket. Yesterday all the women senators were on stage with the theme – 88th anniversary of women’s right to vote. Women vote more than men. Another theme last night – the promise of Obama to pass and sign equal pay for equal work.

There is a slow grudging movement on the part of the Clinton people towards Obama. Tonight’s speech is important in this regard. If Bill doesn’t follow up, it might destroy some of the hard work that’s been done -- bridging the gap between the two groups.

Today is nominating process for Obama and Biden. When we got our daily delegate pass we voted. It will be repeated on the floor. A small controversy. Some wanted a secret ballot, but Chairman Art Torres said it was against the rules to have secret ballots.

Everyone was overwhelmed by Hillary’s speech and she has clearly grown as a candidate.. The Obama people respected what she did. I don’t see any real hold outs – just a few odd people.

I'll give you an update after tonight's session with Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.

Gar Byrum, Delegate

Gar Byrum Report from Democratic Convention in Denver

Gar Byrum is a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Here is his blog report.

Monday night was an emotional evening for many of the delegates because we saw a film about what New Orleans is like now. Former President Carter presented it and it showed the work he’s doing. The fact is this ... many years after Katrina, the government has virtually abandoned New Orleans. Volunteers, college students and organizations like President Carter’s are working to rebuild New Orleans. It is definitely a national disgrace.

The most stirring moment of the night was Caroline Kennedy introducing the film about her uncle Ted, and she talked about what he meant to the country and the programs he’s been responsible for. The film showed him sailing and how important sailing is to him. When Senator Kennedy made an appearance, everyone was standing. That was the high point of the night. It showed we are all democrats. In his speech , Senator Kennedy said the dream lives on and for Senator Kennedy, the dream lives on through Barack Obama. He made it clear that we are passing the torch to a new generation of leaders.

To close out the evening, Michelle Obama appeared after the introduction from her brother, who is the basketball coach of Oregon State Beavers. It was a pretty moving film about her because it showed how close her family is and how far they’ve come and how incredibly ill her father was with multiple sclerosis to get up in the morning and get read to go to work to provide for his family without complaining. I think she successfully refuted the claim by Republicans that she somehow doesn’t love America. She showed that the Obama family are average Americans like everyone else and that they’ve worked to do well like others.

During the convention, pictures of Senator Biden were flashed to the crowd and he just looks like a Cheshire cat with this smile on his face. He can’t help but smile. Everyone seemed to cheer when his picture came up on the screen. The cameras scanned the crowed and Vickere Murphy was shown on the screen, and she was happy the camera picked her up.

A dynamic speech last night was given by Jessee Jackson Jr. and my feeling is that if Obama wins the presidency, the next Senator from Illinois will be Jesse Jackson Jr. He was outstanding – I actually liked his speaking ability better than his dad’s. He worked the crowd up.

Everyone is enthusiastic. Rock n Roll was played and it was great music. We are not likely to hear such great Rock n Roll at the Republican convention because Republicans lack rhythm.

Denver is a nice city. The Sheraton is has the two biggest delegations – New York and California. It is located near the plaza, there are some nice old buildings nearby. Weather is terrific, however there were thunder clouds yesterday afternoon and a tornado touched down the day before. The California delegation has breakfast every morning where California Democratic Party Chairman, Art Torres, presides. It takes about an hour to go by bus to the convention center.

The California delegation is not on the floor. All of the delegations on the floor, close to the podium. are the swing states. The states that are least likely to go Democratic have the worst seats in the hall. Delaware was originally supposed to be seated above, but they moved the seating of Delaware to the floor when Joe Biden became the vice presidential nominee.

I met a young man who goes to UC Davis and studies biotechnology. This is his first convention. He initially went against all demographics and was a Hillary supporter but now he is working hard for Senator Obama.

I met an Hispanic woman who was from Dallas and spoke about her efforts back in Texas. There are people here from all walks of life. Some have worked for the party for years and others who have just started gotten involved in politics From all the individuals I’ve spoken to, the common thread is renewal, American renewal. That seems to be the driving force.

I’ve been passionate about politics since I was young. I watched my first convention on television in 1952, and always wanted to go, so this is a culmination of a lifetime dream. As a delegate I view this as a turning of the page, because we as democrats are getting back to who we are – back to our core beliefs.

I had an interview with NPR. I got tapped on my shoulder and NPR was interviewing delegates from the 50 states. I gave them my two cents worth. If you listen to NPR, you might hear me.

More later .... I’ll send in my blog report after tonight’s program.

Gar Byrum, Delegate