Gabby Giffords just led us in the Pledge. The reaction of the whole arena was amazing ~ standing ovation & chants of "Gab-bee, Gab-bee". Yes I cried.
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(This was, for me, probably the most moving moment of the week. I got choked up all over again just trying to tell someone about it yesterday)

Biden is chosen VP nominee by acclamation (no roll call needed)

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Wednesday Night Recap

What a night - what incredible speakers - Cecile Richards, Sandra Fluke, Richard Trumka, the 3 former Bain employees, Elizabeth Warren and of course Bill Clinton. Video and analysis are available from many places and you've either seen them or can go look them up!

Behind the scenes stuff: I took a shuttle bus from the delegation hotel to the arena. Yesterday there was a police officer on every bus who checked to make sure you had on a valid delegate credential. On the ride over, the officer explained why. The buses are "swept" every day by the Secret Service. By controlling access to them, it helps to ensure security. An example: same trip, leaving the hotels, a delegate asked to get off so she could walk back to the hotel as she'd forgotten something. As soon as she got off the bus, the officer got up, checked in & around her seat, including overhead bins. He apologized for his paranoia but explained that it made him nervous when someone got on the bus, stayed for a few minutes, and then wanted off. I think everyone on the bus applauded him for being paranoid!

My vantage point last night was much improved - I was in a wheelchair and when the volunteers couldn't park me with the AL delegation, they took me to the next open wheelchair spot - which happened to be right behind American Samoa. If you remember yesterday's seating chart, I was on the rail in back of section 112. I could have thrown something & hit the podium. I had a bird's eye view of backstage (unfortunately the exit side, so I was as surprised as anyone by President Obama!) I could even read the teleprompter, so I knew where those extra 2000 words were inserted by former President Clinton!

The one downside to my new place was the CODEPINK protester shown below:

This took place during Steny Hoyer's speech and yes, I was thinking "where is security?" The delegates in front of me started loudly cheering Hoyer so the protest was not distracting to everyone else.

Great, great night and I know tonight will be even better!

Storytelling

Someone got the message that the Democrats need to tell more stories. Last night was full of them, but this one really seemed to hit home with many, many delegates.

from Cafemom.com:

Neither a politican or a candidate, the regular American mom of a toddler with congenital heart disease spoke to convention-goers and the nation about how Obama's healthcare reforms had secured her child the treatment she needs to live. Hearing that Linh and her family have to live in fear that Mitt Romney would repeal health care reform is nothing short of heartwrenching.

(it didn't hurt that Linh brought her husband and both daughters on stage with her, either)

BREAKING: Obama's Acceptance Moved Indoors

from WWAY in Charlotte:

The Democratic National Convention Committee announced this morning that the president's acceptance speech scheduled for Thursday night at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium will move indoors because of the threat of severe weather.

"We have been monitoring weather forecasts closely, and several reports predict thunderstorms in the area, therefore we have decided to move Thursday's proceedings to Time Warner Cable Arena to ensure the safety and security of our delegates and convention guests," DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan said in a news release.

Wednesday Speaker Schedule

Sandra Fluke & Elizabeth Warren, not to mention Bill Clinton...

Schedule for Wednesday, September 5

Where Is the AL Delegation?

To give you some idea, a news guy did a story last night from our seats on "What Does It Mean When You Have the Worst Seats in the Arena" - his theory is that you're evidently a totally blue state, like NY, or a totally red state, like AL

Seriously, here's the arena seating chart:

All the speakers are on the stage, on the right side of the layout. Now, look at the other end of the arena. See section 102? See the 2 unmarked blocks of seats beneath it? The top one (right above section 101) is Alabama, the bottom one is New York.