Well, today was the last day of the Democratic National Convention. I am still so honored to have been elected as a Hillary Delegate to the Convention. This has been one of the most amazing opportunities of my life and auspicious time for the Democratic Party. This morning our delegation had breakfast with the delegations of Hawaii (the birth state of Senator Obama) and Delaware (the state of Senator Biden) and I provided the introduction of Mr. Ken Johnson, who is the Southern Regional Director of the national AFL-CIO. He spoke to the delegation about the Employee Free Choice Act, which is part of the Democratic Platform. I attended a caucus and then headed to the stadium, but I lucked up and saw Arkansas colleagues Berta Seitz, Ann Harbison, and Karla Bradley walking toward me and my husband Steve and we then went with them to the stadium. I was so impressed with the organization of the Convention and how effective everyone working at the stadium was to so effectively move in and out 80,000 people. Arkansas was seated right in front of the press booths of CBS and CNN. The musicians tonight were amazing, the speakers were amazing, the crowd was amazing, it was all just breathtaking. I was a part of history, we all were, and we all knew it. Unity has been the theme of this convention, and it was clearly accomplished. The stadium moved and looked like one unit, spoke with one voice, and felt with a common heart. I have met so many individuals at this Convention, and many who I consider my friend after only 4 days together. We developed close bonds. We laughed. We cried tears of joy together. We danced together. We were together, by all accounts.
At one moment in the night I looked out at the stadium and thought that here is a forum of sports entertainment, an enjoyable past-time for all Americans, and we had country and rock (or soft rock) music entertainment, and thought how much we love our entertainment as a nation, but how much Americans read and listen to less and less news and statistically pay less and less attention to politics, and how media news has been relegated to coverage of soundbites. I thought at that moment of how the Obama campaign has pulled in so many people who have never been involved in politics and are so very new to it. And here I was looking up and seeing a a visual representation of that thesis from the Obama campaign. Eighty-thousand people were in an entertainment arena solely for a political purpose and excited about the political ideas articulated. As a teacher of Political Communication, it was almost too emotional to stand there in awe and think of how this one political event garnered so many people who were so excited about politics. Politics! History! Issues! Representative Democracy! The values our nation holds dear were all represented here tonight. I have no doubt that you watched the convention today and were as thrilled as I am for our Party and nation. The Republicans meet next week, and I'm sure they will all be wearing their flip flops. I'm excited about the next president of the United States, Barack Obama, and I know that he will be a great president. We have much to do before the November 4 election, so lets get out boots on, strap them up tight, get ready for the march, and go to it with the fervor that Yes We Can. As Rosie taught us in the famous ad during WWII, We Can Do It, and as we say now, Yes We Can.
For this final convention post, I again share pictures of the evening. Know that you have been with me each moment of each day. We are united as brothers and sisters, and we will take back the White House together. Our State of Arkansas has two democratic Senators, 3 democratic Congressmen, 75% of our state legislature is democratic, and every Constitutional officer of our great state is a democrat. Certainly, Arkansas can elect a democrat to the White House. Yes we can!
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