Day Three: The Vote, Making History

I'm obviously behind in blogging but I am keeping good notes. Constant meetings, limited wifi access, little sleep and frankly a bit of celebrating means I'm more than a day behind.

This morning I am so full of pride for our nation, it is hard to know where to begin. Yesterday in so many ways was a glimpse of the nation we are becoming--many steps closer to fullfilling the promise of the dream. >>Barack Obama delights the convention with a surprise appearance with running mate Joe Biden.

Sure, the outcome of last night's vote was been known for months, but it did not diminish the drama of the moment. Much of the drama of the day was not really caught by the media. Like all mornings in the California Caucus we heard from our party leaders. As one of the largest caucuses with with 441 votes, 503 members including alternates, many of the party stars come by. This morning it was John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. Diane Feinstein has missed the convention because of an ankle injury. I realized what a different experience it was when Senator Claire McCaskell of Missouri looked around the ballroom, "Wow, many caucuses are lucky to have room to meet in much less music to introduce speakers." (For example, Missouri has 88 votes, our neighbor Nevada has 34, Alaska has 18). Today the message was clearly to urge the delegation to unite behind Obama.

There had been discussion and fears that Hillary Clinton's name might not be put into nomination. It was known that she would release her delegates to legally vote their conscience. Some people thought that Obama should be nominated by acclamation without a roll call vote that would emphasize how close the race was instead of the unity of the party. Others argued that would rob the 18 million who voted for Hillary of their day. The media was looking for a fight and when it didn't happen, they did little reporting of how skillfully and graciously the Clinton and Obama teams handled this in a way that built unity each day.

Wednesday afternoon Hillary had a long standing meeting with all of her delegates. It was her opportunity to thank her supporters who had mobilized 18 million votes and won 23 primaries. She was introduced by the Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter and a Barbara Rosenberg a gay delegate who had postponed her cancer surgery to make to the convention.

After thanking the 2000 people crowded into the ballroom at the convention center, she got right to the point. She legally released all of her 1920 delegates to vote their conscience. She told us that she had voted for Obama in her own morning caucus. She urged us to vote for Obama, too, but she understood we must each vote our conscience. You could hear shouts of "no" and see tears on the faces of delegates around the room. She stayed calm, reminded us what was at stake and within minutes was talking to people at the front of the crowd along the security lines.

I like most delegates had voted in the morning in the California caucus as I received my daily credentials for the convention; I honored the people who sent me to the convention knowing there would be a second vote for Obama by acclamation. The majority of Californians were Clinton delegates, a sizable number took the option of waiting to hear from Hillary themselves and would vote on the floor at the convention. <<Jean on the convention floor.

Convention days tend to start slow, especially here where the shuttle system and security checks make it a slow process getting into your seat. On Wednesday, they started on time and went almost immediately into the nomination formalities while many were still coming into the hall. Hillary Clinton's name was put into nomination by Dolores Huerta, vice president and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union. "I stand with Hillary as she stands with Barack Obama to take this country back," she said. The people making the second were an African American campaign volunteer from Syracuse and an 18 year delegate (3rd youngest) from Utah.
Michael Wilson of Florida, a Republican and Air Force medic veteran of Iraq, formally nominated Obama as the Democratic Party’s candidate. US Senator Ken Salazar (CO), US Representatives Artur Davis (AL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL) seconded the nominations for Obama.

In less than half an hour the roll call started. It was clear in the beginning that a compromise had been struck and that Hillary Clinton had played a role. Arkansas the state that she won by the largest margin, over 70% of the votes, followed her lead and voted unanimously for Obama. We were staying in the same hotel as New York and one of their delegates riding the shuttle with me over to the Convention Center told me that they had met that morning and also agreed to follow her lead and vote unanimously for Obama.

Delegates visiting with each other in the hall realized how quickly the vote was going when Illinois passed ( the home state of nominee is traditionally allowed to cast the winning votes). California had passed, too, we were still trying to get the last votes of our delegation together. In the end we would still be missing one. While Hillary carried the state by nearly 60 percent, our final vote would be 166 votes for Hillary, 285 votes for Obama and one missing. <<Chairman Art Torres, Senator Barbara Boxer, and our Congresswoman Barbara Lee near the California podium for the roll call vote.


When New Mexico ceded their place in the roll call back to Illinois, we all thought here it goes. But after the usual long praises for their state, Illinois ceded the floor to New York and up on the large screens you could see Hillary Clinton entering onto the floor from a side door and the convention broke into a roar. You can watch the moment on YouTube. She made the motion that the convention suspend the procedural rules, guaranteeing both that all votes be counted as her supporters wanted but that we suspend the roll call and vote by acclamation for Barack Obama to emphasize our unity. History had been made; there was not a dry eye in the house.

When the excitement finally died down. The convention continued with platform issues that underscore the differences on family issues. My favorite speakers were a joint presentation by the Democratic Congresswomen on health care, equal pay, education, and childcare. I thought so many more, but not enough. It made me think of France where half of the Assembly are women. Veterans of Iraq underscored how poorly we protected our soldiers or care for the injured veterans today.


The next highlight was the speech by Bill Clinton. No one in America does as good of a job of taking complex issues and making them clear. Video. He reminded us of how far to the bad we've come in the last 8 years:

"They took us from record surpluses to an exploding debt; from over 22 million new jobs to just 5 million; from increasing working families' incomes to nearly $7,500 a year to a decline of more than $2,000 a year; from almost 8 million Americans lifted out of poverty to more than 5.5 million driven into poverty; and millions more losing their health insurance.

Now, in spite of all this evidence, their candidate is actually promising more of the same.
Think about it: more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy; more Band-Aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families, and increase the number of uninsured; more going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence."

Joe Biden's quick nomination and vote by acclamation finished the night with the surprise visit from his running mate (above). Many people ask me what I think about Biden as the choice for vice president. I would have preferred Hillary because it would have also made history and for the upcoming election I think it would have united and widened our base.

Joe Biden is, as far as I am concerned, the best of the rest of the presidential candidates. From my years of lobbying in Washington first for the schools and now the city, he was always one of the speakers I would drag my jetlagged body up for a 7:30 am breakfast briefing. He is smart, he knows his stuff. He is one of the best minds on defense, international issues, crime and the budget on the hill. He sponsored major legislation to protect women from violence and the 100,000 police initiative for cities killed by the Republican Congress. It had funded over fifty officers in Oakland. His story and blue collar roots rounded out a feeling at the convention that so many of the people leading the Democratic Party at this time are in themselves a fullfilment of the American dream. (Above) The California delegation, chair of the Board of Equalization Judy Chu, front left, and State Controller John Chiang, front center. (Below) Joe Biden with his mother, wife, and family.