Night Two of Pageantry

By CaraBayles on Wed, Aug 27, 2008 2:48 pm

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On Monday night, your trusty Dig reporter was relegated to the press gallery, and spent an hour and a half trying to find the damn booth for rotating floor credentials, being sent up and down the stairs, getting a different answer from every DNCC staffer. It made my thighs slightly stronger and the ball of rage in my stomach significantly heavier. It made me wonder how the Dems would run a country, when they can't credential a reporter. But last night I found the magic booth and got onto the floor, so all is forgiven.

Prof. David Wilkins

David Wilkins, a professor at Harvard Law, was in attendance last night. He had Michelle Obama as a student in his "Legal Profession" course about 20 years ago. "It's about ethics, sociology, the increasing number of women and people of color in the field and survival skills as a young lawyer," he said. "She was a terrific student, I remember her vividly. Her classmates respected her, she was already showing herself as a leader, she was intelligent and was committed to a strong set of values that made her unique among my students. I have many intelligent students, but she stayed committed to those values."

He added that he went to school with Gov. Deval Patrick, who also spoke last night.

Check it out

But Obama was the reason he attended. "I'm on the friends, family and fundraising plan," said Wilkins, who threw Barack Obama one of his first out-of-state fundraisers when he ran for the senate in Illinois. But Wilkins was thrilled to see Michelle Obama's speech last night. "I wanted America to see this caring, stron, open, funny woman I know."

Ok. Now, last night, Hilary Clinton spoke last night, and she stressed party unity and the fact that Obama was her choice for candidate. Much has been made of Clinton's speech, and it's importance for the roll call vote tonight (whatwillhappenidon'tknowohwowohwow!). You knew that party unity hangs on Clinton's carefully constructed speeches and her decisions for how to stage tonight. But did you know that party unity also relies on … SIGNS?

signs! You have no doubt seen the signs, and maybe wondered how everyone manages to have a Kennedy sign when our senator speaks, a Michelle sign when the First Lady hopeful speaks, and a McCain the same sign when that line is uttered.

Well, it’s the sign handlers of the DNCC, with their neon vests and their trash bags filled with signs. Last night, as Clinton started to speak to deafening applause (no really, my ears are ringing), one dedicated sign handler leapt to the edge of the balcony, and shouted into this walkie talkie. "Over there," he shouted to his sign distributing crew. "See how there's not enough in that section?" He shouted to the delegates, too. "Take some and pass them over!" Then he pulled out his walkie talkie and shouted into that. "There aren't enough signs on the floor! I don't care what you do, get those signs on the floor, then pass them to Wisconsin!"

Oh yeah, and here's Clinton's speech: