Thursday night

What kind of country do you want to live in?

Bill Clinton's speech last night, if it did nothing more, made it clear to a primetime audience just what the difference is between the two competing visions of America.  You may or may not like it; you may or may not subscribe to the Democratic vision, but you can't say you don't know the difference.  That's the job of a keynote convention speaker (as well as extolling the virtues of the candidate), and the Big Dog delivered.  He was elder statesman and teacher, exhorter and entertainer.  He gave a long speech that seemed to be over in a flash, even at the end of a long evening.

But you probably saw the speech, and you're probably not coming here to find out about what I thought about it.  I do think you should check out St. Louis Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's speech for a peek into a large and vibrant - and often overlooked - region of the Democratic experience.  And just for the benefit of the luminous smile, check out Sister Simone Campbell.

The delegates seemed tired last night.  I know that I was tired.  It was well into the morning hours before I got to sleep either night.  They seem to have the bus situation close to handled, although there are still some glitches (some delegates waited over an hour for their route bus, while eight or ten buses came for the route next to them).  My bus driver last night was from Mobile, Alabama.

Yesterday, at one of the caucuses, I met the woman who is responsible for the portion of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which allows children to remain on their parent's health insurance until they reach 26 years of age.  Right after that, she was defeated by the Tea Party; it was her only term in Congress.  That's what kind of country we live in right now.  I shook her hand and thanked her, and told her my boys thank her, too.

I don't have much time this morning, and I've spent a bunch of it talking to other delegates (imagine that!).  The truth is, except for signing the ballot yesterday morning, if I hadn't shown up, no one would have noticed.  It's nice to have lots of other folks around who have a lot to say and are as interested in the nuts and bolts of politics as I am.

I'll be back; got to get the bus to hear Governor Cuomo (and when I type that, I notice that I do really wish I meant Mario).