Here are some famous people whom I saw up-close while volunteering at the Democratic National Convention. Again, my photographic disclaimer is that I'm using a digital point and shoot with limited range to the built-in flash. As they walk along the hallway where the media volunteers hang out, Secret Service agents move most political VIPs along quickly and also keep people at a distance. The result, some blurry images.
Below, "Today Show" anchor Ann Curry, on her cell phone. When I looked her up online to make sure that she was Ann and not Anne, and Curry not Currey, I found out that her father was from Pueblo, CO. Maybe she was calling some kinfolk here in Colorado.
Below is Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley with some constituents he encountered at the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau information and hospitality booth (hizzoner is the short guy in the middle).
Below, retired NBA superstar and now television sports commentator Charles Barkley taking his leave from some fans (Barkley is the tall guy in the middle).
Here is Colorado Governor Bill Ritter being interviewed by a Denver television station.
And New York Governor David Patterson also gives a hallway interview:
Below, Senator (and Barack Obama's running mate) Joseph Biden moves quickly down the hallway.
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton arrive for Hillary's "unity" speech asking the entire Democratic Party to support the candidacy of her primary-season rival Barack Obama. 
Before Bill Clinton entered this section of the hallway, Secret Service agents moved us all to one side, which they did for no one else. Agents, who by now are accustomed to his habit of shaking every outstretched hand, probably figure it's more efficient to organize a receiving line rather than have him dart back and forth along the route.
And here he is, strolling down the hallway, shaking everyone's hand (including mine just before this photo) as if he nothing else in the world to do.
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Great pics, Claire! Thanks for sharing these important moments for us, and no doubt exciting ones for you, including your handshake with Bill Clinton.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, Claire!
ReplyDeleteI received an Email from a visitor to this blog that I'll answer here.
ReplyDeleteThje visitor wrote: "Claire, are you getting the same vibes that NY Times writer Maureen
Dowd is getting at the convention, i.e. the supressed hatred on the
part of the Clintons, who are still so angry Hillary didn't get the nomination that Hillary can hardly contain herself, and is already, according to Dowd, working on her 2012 campain for the White House? She says (and I believe) that the narcissism of both Clintons is visible here."
My reply: Not at all, but then, I'm not the insider that Maureen Dowd is. Bill Clinton is a known handshaker, schmoozer and inveterate campaigner who understands losses as well as wins. Hillary is a veteran of many wars and has the same realization. I believe that she was sincere when she said, "Barack Obama must be our next president."
I think the people who are relentlessly angry are the cadre of ardent Hillary loyalists who refuse to accept the results of this primary cycle. Some have said that they would rather not vote or even vote for McCain than vote for Obama. IMHO, this is immature and stupid. The immaturity comes from acting like sore losers and the stupdity from thinking that McCain would better promote Hillary's positions than Obama would.
Beyond that, this remorseless reaction so many weeks after Hillary conceded makes women in general seem like whiny snits who won't play if they don't get their way. To what end?, I wonder. To help McCain win?
Michelle Obama invoked Hillary Clinton as one who went a long way in shattering the glass ceiling for her and her daughters. I am sure that Barack Obama will also acknowledge Hillary's pioneering candidacy -- much like his own.
In her speech, Hillary called for conciliation and unity, and I believe that she means it, whether or not she harbors her own future presidential ambitions.
That's my opinion, but I'm no Washington insider like Maureen Dowd.
Claire,
ReplyDeleteGreat pics! Thanks for your comments on Hillary, too. I was keen to observe how Hillary would behave at the convention and, at least from the stanpoint of her speech, she played it like a big girl and a seasoned politician. I was happy to see it. With luck, some of the sore-loser Hillary supporters will take her lead.
Melanie
Super shots, Claire! Did you see Joe Biden at the World Affairs conference earlier this year? Lots of people left Macky mesmerized. -- Andrea Meyer
ReplyDeleteHey Claire, it's Anne-Marie from This Mama Cooks! Great pictures. I'll be linking to you. I'm blogging from The Big Tent for MOTHERS and the NAMC (Ntl Assoc of Mothers Center). You can read about it at MOTHERS Book Bag.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the question you were asked about Hillary, claire, what I got from the various impromptu interviews I saw of Hillary supporters, was that all but one thought the media had blown that whole thing out of proportion, that they were democrats first. Calling or characterizing this group of loyal supporters and disappointed advocates "angry women," as many media people have, minimizes what they did. The majority I believe are smart, saavy women who are disappointed but, like Hillary, will do what needs to be done to keep the Republicans out of office. Rosemary Carstens - Dyed in the Wool Democrat
ReplyDeleteI love seeing these candid photos behind the scenes. Especially the one of Hillary and Chelsea and Bill. Despite his philanderings, I felt we were in good hands when the Clintons were in the white house and I'm so glad they were able to help the Dems unite this week around Obama's candidacy. I think they did a super job; I haven't been political in the past, but since 2004 I have started to pay attention, and I was truly moved by the speeches I heard and read. Thanks for giving us this great glimpse of the convention.
ReplyDeleteA friend from the Empire State who is very proud that Chuck Schumer went to her high school (James Madison, Bklyn) and that Hillary is also her senator, says -- re the unnamed person quoting Maureen Dowd -- Dowd hates the Clintons and has so relentlessly beaten up on Hillary the Times ombudsman called her to task. She's become a bitter anti-feminist even though she owes her job to the women at the NY Times who came before her, and she ought to know better. How can we start a petition to rescind her Pulitzer?
ReplyDeleteFantastic opportunity to see all these famous people up close! I'm jealous but I'm too far away to volunteer in Denver.
ReplyDelete