t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
11:15PM
Barring some unforeseen craziness, this is going to be my last blog from the Democratic National Convention of 2004. Cross your fingers for me, because I am ready to be done. My feet are stove in, my back is bent, my ears are ringing, and I have suddenly become averse to large crowds.
That having been said, this was one of the most extraordinary experiences I have had the privilege to see, hear and feel. Barack Obama. Bill Clinton. Dennis Kucinich. Howard Dean. Al Gore. John Edwards. John Kerry. The passionate people in the building, and the passionate people outside in the 'Free Speech Zone' have given us a glimpse in the raw of why, when you hear someone say "This is the greatest country on Earth," you know they are speaking the truth.
Thanks to my boss, Marc Ash, for captaining this ship. Thanks to Scott Galindez, the truthout editor and convention cameraman who sherpa-d all of our equipment from hither to yon and made everything we set out to do work. Thanks to Ionia Kershaw, who spent approximately thirteen trillion hours bent over her computer to churn out the video we got. Thanks to Pascale and Wild Horse, who handled the technological end of things from afar, who didn't sleep, who kept the convention page dynamic.
Thanks to you, our truthout readers, for tuning in. You are why we are here, why we will continue to be here, and why we are all hauling stakes for New York in a month to cover the Republican end of things.
Beer for me. Then, perhaps, I shall fall down.
This is the truthout convention blog signing off. Have a good weekend, and we will catch you on the flip side.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By Scott Galindez
Thursday 29 July 2004
10:55PM
The days for the old saying that I don't belong to an organized party, I'm a Democrat are over... The democrats just held the most organized convention I have ever seen..
John Kerry ended it with a grand slam. He hit Bush hard while appearing to be patriotic.
Kerry delivered, Edwards Scored, Obama arrived, and Clinton showed his star hasn't faded.
It's now time for the delegates to follow their leader and report for duty...
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
10:55PM
John Kerry just left it all on the convention floor. Defend the troops, the flag belongs to everyone, hope, health care is a right for all Americans, value families before you start blathering about family values, Enron, caring for children, alternative energy plans... he left it all on the floor.
We've heard Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, John Edwards, Al Gore and a boxcar full of great speakers. Kerry just left them all in the dust.
Help is on the way.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
10:30PM
He said the words: "Bring our troops home."
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
10:09PM
John Kerry has hit the stage to the sound of Bruce Springsteen.
No retreat, baby. No surrender.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
9:55PM
Max Cleland has come out to peals of cheering. This man, who has no legs and no right arm because of his military service, used his one good arm to bring himself and his wheelchair out onto the stage. He let no one push his chair. He got there himself.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
9:52PM
There is no describing the brilliance of this setup. The Freeman documentary, followed by the story of the six firefighters who died in Worcester, followed by the Band of Brothers and those whose lives were saved by Kerry's swift boat crew... just stupendous.
Just stupendous.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
9:40PM
The Kerry daughters are bringing on their father, and the whole building is vibrating from the roar of the crowd. A video on Kerry's life, with a voice-over by Morgan Freeman, holds the audience rapt.
Four days have led to this moment.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By Scott Galindez
Thursday 29 July 2004
8:55PM
I am seated in the press box to the left of the stage. Madeline Albright is now on the stage.
A few minutes ago Willie Nelson inspired the crowd by performing Promise Land...
Between speakers the video screen plays live speakers from all over America especially the swing states.
The fire fighters are here in huge numbers. Without them John Kerry would be sitting in the crowd tonight watching Howard Dean accept the nomination tonight.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
8:50PM
Word has spread about the closure of the building up here, and everyone inside has that little self-satisfied smile worn by the cat who knows he's with the cream, while the other cats are left to yowl angrily at the moon.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
8:35PM
The fire department has corked the bottle. No one but no one, not Senators or delegates or God Himself, is getting back into the building anytime soon.
...Except me. Through my awesome powers of sneakiness, I saw a door open to a back stairway and bolted inside. I am back in the press bullpen.
I guess I must kinda rule or something.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
8:10PM
Grrrr... I stepped down to the lobby to get a coffee, and while I was down here, the fire department closed all access to the upper floors. The escalators are now a massive, frustrated bottleneck of delegates and press. No telling when we will be able to get back in.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
7:50PM
I am beginning to understand how political beat reporters who are full-time on the campaign trail can become such cynical wretches in their reporting. If I hear the words “Courage” and “Strength” and “Leadership” again, I am going to stab myself in the brain.
It isn't that I doubt these words as they apply to Kerry, so much as it is the fact that I have heard them about 40,000,000 times in the last 100 hours. Full saturation, one looooong speech offered by different faces mostly saying the same thing. The public will get it in snippets. I have been breast-stroking through it since Monday afternoon.
Don't get me wrong - it is a thrill and honor to be here. I might just go crazy soon, though. No big deal.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
6:35PM
I am struck, as we come to the end of things here, by the seemingly different worlds I have been traveling between this week. My mornings and afternoons have been dominated by an immersion into progressive activism - observing the protests in the cage, the Progressive Caucus rallies, Kucinich and Lee and Hart, the Take Back America forum, and all the rest.
Then, in the evenings, I dive into this hive of big-time mainstream politics. I have to elbow past Wolf Blitzer and Tom Brokaw to get to the bathroom, and I nearly got plowed under by Terry McAuliffe's entourage last night.
The differences are not so large, however. By a large majority, the delegates on the floor are against the Iraq war. The speakers are championing women's rights, the environment and a foreign policy that does not shoot first and ignore questions later.
If these two worlds can ever get it together, they will sweep the field. Period. Dennis Kucinich is trying to bring it all together, as is Howard Dean. Will the rank and file progressives follow their lead? It remains to be seen.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
6:05PM
News reports have a top terror suspect being arrested in Pakistan. You have to love the timing. The New Republic ran a story a couple of weeks ago that had Bush's people leaning on Pakistan for big terror arrests during the Democratic convention. They specifically demanded arrests for the last week of July. Looks like Bush got what he wanted.
Meanwhile, the cops here are clearing people away from a radio that somone left outside the front door of the Fleet Center. Could be a bomb, you see.
Terra! Terra! Terra!
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
5:30PM
I just got handed an advance copy of some of Kerry's speech for tonight. Some tidbits:
---
As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system - so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as president, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.
---
In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals. We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared.
--
For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it's time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.
--
Stay tuned...
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
4:45PM
We made it in. The weather decided that today would be a good day for 99 percent humidity. The whole city is sweating.
There is a podium set up here in the press bullpen. Rumor has it that Kerry will come in here to speak to the corps, but this can't be verified.
Kerry is slated to go on around 10:15pm tonight.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
4:45PM
Sprinting to the convention now. They are closing the doors at 5:30pm. No one gets in after that, and anyone who leaves can't get back in.
The Progressive Democratic convention was excellent. We should have video of Dean, and an interview with Kucinich, as soon as the footage gets processed.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
3:05PM
I am waiting outside a room at Roxbury College, waiting for Kucinich to finish his lunch before we do our interview. Nate, Kucinich's press guy, is showing every sign of having been on the campaign trail way, way, way too long.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
2:15PM
Kucinich just bounded up onto the stage, and Dean practically lifted him off the ground. Everyone here is on their feet.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
2:10PM
There is about to be a nice surprise here. Dean is speaking, and Kucinich is going to come up and surprise him on the stage.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
2:05PM
Howard Dean just took the stage, and the place erupted. He is thanking all the people who ran for President, and each thank-you earned another eruption.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 29 July 2004
2:00PM
We have arrived at the Progressive Democratic convention at Roxbury College. The theme is 'Building a Grassroots Movement within the Democratic Party.' Barbara Lee is on her way in. Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich will follow.
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By Scott Galindez
Thursday 29 July 2004
11:00AM
Hope is On the Way!
John Edwards told America last night that 'hope was on the way' as he addressed the Democratic Party National Convention. Senator Edwards who is now the nominee of the Democratic Party for Vice President of the United States wooed the crowd with his "Two Americas" Speech.
Edwards talked of two Americas, one for the wealthy and one for those who have to struggle to make ends meet. He called for us to fight poverty because it is the right thing to do.
During the primaries Edwards always spoke of a little girl somewhere in America going to bed hungry. At the convention he spoke of a mother Somewhere in America struggling to take care of her family as her husband is deployed in Iraq. He called on all Americans to tell the mother that "Hope is On the Way"
The speech was filled with optimism, Edwards telling us that everything is possible because this is America. The convention crowd responded by waving American flags and chanting USA! USA! USA!
Earlier in the night Jesse Jackson had the crowd chanting “Keep Hope Alive” by the end of the night Edwards had the crowd chanting "Hope is on the Way"!
t r u t h o u t | Democratic Convention Coverage
By William Rivers Pitt
Thursday 28 July 2004
8:00AM
The sun rises this Thursday on a city that has nominated John Kerry to be the Democratic Presidential candidate for the November election.
The city sits quietly this morning; Boston officials spent six months scaring the cheese out of the residents regarding the traffic/terrorism/live-jaguars-falling-from-the-sky scenarios that they predicted would ensue if people who live here stayed here and tried to go to work. A lot of people took it to heart, and the town this morning looks like a deleted scene from 'Night of the Comet.' Ain't nothing happening but the rent.
But the buzz is there to be heard, if you have the right ears for it. Carter, Gore, Heinz-Kerry, Obama, Clinton, Edwards and many others have risen to the challenge of speaking to a national audience about national issues, and the tingling nerves of this city await the final show. John Kerry will speak tonight, will accept the nomination, and O my Lord this city will rock and roll.
The truthout crew will start the day at the Progressive Democratic Convention at Roxbury College tomorrow. Speakers will include Dennis Kucinich, Howard Dean, Tom Hayden, the indomitable Doris 'Granny D' Haddock, and several others. We plan on getting as many interviews with as many of these people as possible.
Watch this page, folks. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
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