The view of the DNC from afar

My sister Molly from Tallahassee says that last night's speakers at the DNC were being viewed negatively in the Sunshine State. Too anti-McCain. Too many attacks on the former POW. Molly is one of those citizens who vote for the candidate, no matter which party. I sometimes wish I was that way but it passes and I vote Democratic. Especially this time out, when McCain is just more of the McSame.

Molly asked about the mood inside the hall. Raucous, enthusiastic, positive. Those are three descriptors I can think of. Many signs distributed. Dancing in the aisles to the R&B songs by the house band. Star-gazing, especially when Ashley Judd sat down about ten rows behind us in the Kentucky section.

It's a big show, an expensive production. But so what? It puts the Democrats on center stage for a week. It gets us charged up. We get to meet cool people. The Republicans will do this all next week.

Here's what I like: being around a bunch of Democrats. We are few and far between in Wyoming. I've met some incredible people. Rode the Light Rail back to the Englewood station last night with a Catholic Sisters of Loretto nun. As you know, nuns these days have been freed from their penguin outfits and now wear civvies and are very engaged in their communities. I believe her name was Maureen Fiedler (sp?) who has her own radio show that melds religion and politics (must look up her web site to get more info). She's from the social justice activist tradition. Since that's my tradition, we had a great talk as we watched ATF agents and their dogs search each train for explosives. I was surprised to see them using Labradors for the searches. Labs are great dogs with sensitive noses, but I thought German Shepherds were dogs of choice for law enforcement.

At the station with us was a man from northern Mississippi who was a state senator. He ran against a Democrat who had switched parties to Republican while in office -- and beat him. He said his district was very much Democratic, and that the state legislature had Democratic majorities. That was cheering to this guy from Wyoming who suffers under a state Senate which is 23-7 Republican and a that also has a ridiculous Repub majority.

Both of these people -- a nun from Maryland who went on a hunger strike for the Equal Rights Amendment battle in 1972 and this Mississippi senator with his down-south accent -- were very positive about the night's proceedings. Positive and tired.

Stay tuned for tonight's action, which includes speeches by Sen. Biden and Bill Clinton and a host of others. I will get there early to avoid the crowds.