The Sun Was Shining on Springfield…
One delegate’s impressions of the 2004 Democratic Party of Illinois State Convention, by Christa Velbel
The only word to describe August 18 is ‘celebration.’ 49th Ward Democrats convened with the state party in Springfield for a jolly, joshing affirmation of the hopes we share for the 2004 election campaign. Those aspirations are embodied by the undisputed star of the show, Barack Obama. The U.S. Senate candidate needed to just quietly enter the door at the back of a room to trigger a loud, whooping standing ovation – which the collected Democrats repeatedly offered up over the next 24 hours.
The festivities began on the eve of convention day, with the Obama party at the Crowne Plaza. Hundreds of happy Democrats crowded the bars, exchanged cards, and compared satirical campaign buttons – the hot seller being one that depicted George W. Bush as a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist puppet, seated on the lap of Dick Cheney as Edgar Bergen. Michelle Obama made a charming introduction of her husband, who was already being accosted by autograph seekers. Obama’s speech met the lofty expectations of everyone who’d seen his keynote in Boston (which is practically everyone with any interest in politics) – intelligent, idealistic, eloquent, and inspiring. During the next day’s official party events, Obama kept up the energy, mixing up a little improvised banter with his Democratic colleagues. And the hundreds of fans cheered his every word.
The convention itself ran for two hours on Wednesday. The stage was full and the speeches were numerous. That, as Dan Hynes put it, is the price we pay for successfully electing Democrats to almost every major state office – plenty of speeches. Hynes added “The Republican convention lasted six minutes. Judy Barr Topinka played accordion while Alan Keyes tried to find his way to Springfield.”
Next stop was the Illinois State Fair, for Governor’s Day. More speeches, now accompanied by hot summer sun, hot dogs, and cold beer… We cooled ourselves with little cardboard Kerry/Edwards fans (and then had them autographed by you-know-who). We snapped photos of friends old and new. Then we wandered off, proudly displaying our Obama stickers and our buttons, drinking from our Blagoyevich cups, spreading Democratic cheer at every pork concession stand and each livestock barn on the fairgrounds.
