Monday, Governor Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, announced the 37 member Democratic Change Commission, which will recommend changes to the Democratic Party's rules for the 2012 presidential nominating and delegate selection process. Governor Kaine also announced that he has named Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina and Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri as Co-Chairs of the Change Commission.

"This Commission will focus on reform that improves the presidential nominating process to put voters first and ensure that as many people as possible can participate," said Kaine. "I want to thank all the members of the Commission who have agreed to serve, including Congressman Clyburn and Senator McCaskill who have graciously agreed to serve as co-chairs."

Governor Kaine went on to say that he hopes to work with the Republican National Committee on a common approach that puts voters first.

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Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The audience estimate of 38.3 million means that Mr. Obama's speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final "American Idol" or the Academy Awards this year, the Associated Press notes.  

[Source:  New York Times, "38 Million View Obama's Speech; Highest-Rated Convention In History", August 29, 2008]

But the question now is whether those 38.3 million will vote for Obama, bring ten of their friends to vote for Obama, and then have their ten friends bring ten more of their friends to vote for Obama.

Let's get to work!

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Well, why go and ruin the best political speech I've heard, firsthand, in my lifetime, with some second-rate commentary?

This is the shortest diary I've ever written. There's really nothing much more to say, other than the full-text version of the prepared speech is available via THIS LINK.

And, it looks like he stuck to the brilliant words almost verbatim.

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Nick D over at Buckeye State Blog discussed this earlier today (read "Inadequate DNC Space for Bloggers"), but I feel compelled to talk about this a little more.

Last night, around 9:45PM, I received an email detailing the press logistics for the final night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.  The email covered a variety of topics from transportation to credentialing information and...

...That email also stated that a section of the Invesco Field press box would be reserved exclusively for credentialed bloggers and space in the press box would be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Let me repeat that again...space in the press box for bloggers would be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once again, using the words of the convention organizers...

Internet access and power hookups will be available in this workspace free of charge - a service that is not being provided for other media in the press box. Seating in this space will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Using the information provided in that 9:45PM email, several bloggers (myself included) made our preparations to be in the press box at Invesco Field to reserve our space because after all, the email from the DNCC said "Seating in this space will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis."

Well, today, Nick D, myself, and more than two dozen other bloggers who are currently sitting in the Invesco Field press box have learned that first-come, first-served doesn't mean first-come, first-served when it applies to credentialed bloggers at the Democratic National Convention.

First-come, first-served means that if you're a credentialed blogger; and if you got up at 6:25 in the morning; and if you were among the first credentialed bloggers to arrive in the Invesco Field press box, then you're limited to 30 minutes in the press box.

Not only that, but once you're "rotated" out of the press box, you have to wait for one hour before you're allowed back in.

That is what first-come, first-served means in the blogger section of the Invesco Field press box.

Now, I ask you...if the DNCC went to the Washington Post, the New York Times or the Denver Post and said, "We're out of space here in the press box, so we're going to institute a 30-minute system where we rotate you out of the press box, make you wait an hour, and then bring you back into the press box for another scant 30-minute period," what do you think the reporters from those news organizations would say?

Well, I don't have to tell you that the reaction to such a system would be less than favorable and that's exactly how the bloggers in the Invesco Field press box are feeling.

For folks like me, who arrived early and got our space, we feel disrespected because we read the email and we made our plans according to the email, but now we're finding out in a very disappointing way that this particular email from the DNCC isn't worth the electricity used to blast it out to the 120 bloggers credentialed by the DNCC.

To borrow a line from the movie, "Mommie Dearest", How sad is that?

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Today, August 28, 2008, is the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention and I am high above Invesco Field in the press box as Stevie Wonder practices his performance for later tonight.

To be honest with you, the convention stage reminds me some of the stage George W. Bush used to accept his Party's nomination at the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Remember this:

That's what the stage at field level resembles...columns and all.

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