Denver Wrap Up

First of all thanks to all of you who followed me through this trip. I just want to jot down a few things that I forgot to talk about (or just didn't have time) over the week.

I forgot to mention that on Tuesday we joined the Ohio Delegation for a box lunch and a showing of the film Swing State, a phenomenal documentary produced by Jason Zone Fisher, son of Lee Fisher, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. This film traces the 2006 election of Governor Strickland and Lee Fisher through the lens of a son watching his father go through a political race. It is scheduled to show at the New Orleans Film Festival and hopefully in many other locations soon. It was wonderful and I enjoyed being with my political activists friends from Ohio. Marshall and I were both very impressed with the 90 minute film, which held the entire room fixed to their seats for the entire time. When does that ever happen in a room filled with politicians?

Marshall and I with Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio

Another thing, for those of you reading this from Ohio, I want to tell you how many and how often the tributes came for Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, our late congresswoman. The Ohio delegation did a beautiful tribute on Thursday morning, which Susan Levine attended and told me about, and every women's event that I attended paid tribute to Stephanie, but this picture is from the convention itself, where a very inspiring presentation was given by women of Congress as this picture was shown on the large screens. Boy, was she loved by everyone and how she will be missed!

Probably the part that I liked least about the convention is that without being a delegate, you are never sure of your credentials for each night and even if you have good credentials, you have to be at the venue very, very early to procure decent seats. This eliminates attending very many afternoon events. Also with the security as tight as it was (maybe a little overkill, but better safe than sorry) buses, taxis or private cars could only get so far and then they could not get near the arena or the field. There was a ton of walking, asking for directions from volunteers who really did not have the answers, many angry individuals waiting in long lines, and a few times thinking maybe sitting at home in front of my own TV would have been more comfortable. But once you were in a seat - no matter where it was, among all of the thousands of excited supporters looking to a future of hope and change - I knew I was where I wanted to be!

That's it for this trip. Thanks for taking it with me. Our work is just starting, so let me know if I can provide many more specifics about why I am supporting Barack Obama and Joe Byden when I get home.

We are heading up to Keystone, Colorado with Susie and Bruce who own a home there . We will be there until Sunday. Off to Vegas the following Sunday - do not expect a blog from there!