From the DNC, Hillary Clinton- April

Around 2:30 p.m. Around 8:45 p.m.


Sen. Hillary Clinton Sen. Hillary Clinton

With U.S. Rep., Ciro Rodriguez

Tonight Hillary Clinton spoke. It was eloquent, practiced, and a very sad moment for some. I met a delegate today on the bus and he had Hillary stickers on his pants and buttons on his credential pass and shirt. I asked him what he planned to do once Hillary legally released him and other pledged delegates this week; he said that without-a-doubt, he would still put in his vote for her. He told me that he and his constituents were Clinton supporters so it only made sense that he would continue to show that support.

I met many Clinton supporters tonight and I saw the slight disappointment that they carried with them. I continue to ponder the "what-ifs" of the long primary season, and I assume others are as well.

I am not sure there is any better way to promote unity than what Hillary Clinton is doing. She has shown more grace, dignity, and integrity than she should have to.

Unity. Interesting concept.

The convention is half way over and I am exhausted!

A delayed perspective of the DNC protesting (April)

I spent Sunday afternoon following protesters through the streets of downtown Denver, and I was able to see a LOT. The media covered it, so I am sure you all have already heard about it. Compare your local/national coverage and photos to these.

From the RNC - First day of seminar. Monday

Today we enjoyed what our group leader said was one of the slower days of the seminar. First, the faculty members who are leading the study groups were introduced and asked to answer two questions: Is Biden a good pick for Obama’s vice-president? and, who will Mc Cain pick for VP? In general, everyone agreed that Biden’s foreign policy experience was a plus. Someone mentioned David Brook’s editorial where he mentioned that Biden has more: he is Catholic, comes from a working class family and did not attend an ivy-league school. However, some professors thought that because of Biden’s tendency to speak carelessly and become next day headlines, he might be a risk to Obama. As to the question of who will McCain pick, most of the professors answered by saying who they wanted McCain to pick, but three professors mentioned Mitt Romney, Tim Powlenti and K Bailey-Hutchison as possible picks. From 8:30 AM to noon, we listened to former Oklahoma Congresman Mickey Edwards. Congressman Edwards recently published a book “Reclaiming Conservatism.” He talked about the fact hat for the last few decades, the vice-president is chosen with one goal in mind, and that is to get the president elected. Congressman Edwards and Dr. Meena Bose, a Political Science professor, answered a number of questions from students on political parties, role of the President and the Supreme Court in issues such as abortion, term limits for congress members and more. It was quite an interesting session.

After lunch, we had a three hour study group session. We discussed the electoral process, its strengths and weaknesses, and why even with its weaknesses we admire those who envisioned the wisdom of this complex process. We also looked at the syllabus. We have been given assignments that seem a bit overwhelming. They include a lot of reading (textbook, editorials, newspapers), writing (short essay, journal), and conduct a minimum of six interviews, including at least one Convention Delegate, one Elected Public Official at the local or state level, an Elected Public Official at the national level, a Media Representative and a political consultant or other individual not included above. We also need to do our fieldwork, which may open the door to meet the people we will interview.

The Augsburg College has been a great host to this seminar. They are providing meeting places, encouragement from the College President and faculty, and today they organized an ice cream social for us.

Tomorrow, after a morning session and our study group session, we will have a tour of the Twin Cities, and then we will go to the Minnesota State Fair.

The pictures are from the Texas study group that Frank and I attend, and a picture of the all the students and faculty attending this seminar.

From the RNC - First impressions, Sunday evening. Hilda Moeller

This seminar promises to be an intense, exciting, fun- filled work week, put together by the Washington Center. At the orientation, we became aware of the extraordinary amount of work and attention to detail that goes into putting it all together. Very soon, I noticed how smoothly everything was running. From handling our baggage, so that we could be free to roam outside of the hotel while the rooms were ready, to the well organized and delicious Italian dinner, to the orientation itself and the meeting afterwards with our group leaders; all seemed to flow well. The obvious purpose of this seminar is educational, but the Washington Center is making sure that we have fun while learning. At the same time we are motivated to bring out the best in ourselves.

We were told that there will not be much sleep, and I believe them. Today I started the day at 4:15 am to catch a 6:00 AM flight. Right now is 10:00 PM and before I can think of rest, I need to do reading that we will use at 8:00 tomorrow morning. We will have study, field work, and of course, the convention itself next week. We were warned that we can sleep when we get back home. I don’t doubt that to be exaggeration, but expect it indicates long days and short nights.

So far my first impressions are of friendliness, efficiency, motivation, excitement, and fun. I can't wait till tomorrow when we get into the thick of the action.

Left: Orientation. Right, Frank Carni II who won the first prize in the ice-breaker game.

From the DNC - A Busy Couple of Days - Matt Shelton

So as the title suggests it truly has been a busy couple of days. Thursday is where I last left off. It was an interesting set of morning lectures. We had the President/ Chair of the Denver Host Committee, Elbra Wedgeworth. She talked about her involvement in getting the Democratic National Convention Committee to choose Denver as the next host of the convention. The part of the lecture that stood out the most for me was a disappointing one. When asked about the rumor that the city was paying to transport their cities homeless Councilwoman Wedgeworth talked about the cities homeless initiative, which she claimed was the best in the nation. Students, including myself, were obviously not satisfied. She was asked two more questions about the cities homeless but were only given dodgy answers.

On a quick note, as I'm sitting outside of Tokyo Joes, there is a walking protest coming down the street. It's an anti-war protest. "No justice, no peace. US out of the middle east". Signs that say "Prisoners for profit is a crime". We have been here for a week before the opening ceremonies took place last night and the changes that are underway are clearly evident all over.

Back to the lectures. After Councilwoman Wedgeworth stepped down Agent David O'Connor of the Secret Services Dignitary Protective Division, took the podium. It may not have been the most informative of lectures as we all have a pretty good idea of what the Secret Service does but it was still one of the more interesting lectures.

More protest signs are making their way down the 16th street mall. "Funk the war". It's going to be a very interesting week.

Anyways, later Thursday night a reception in the VIP section of Invesco field, home of the Denver Broncos and site of Obama's upcoming acceptance speech, was held for all the students and teachers of The Washington Centers program. Afterwards Peter and I made our way downtown but not for long. We then returned to the dorms. I didn't get any sleep that night because I had a lot of work that I knew would keep me up for a while. I also had to be at the Pepsi Center, location of the upcoming Convention, at 7am because I was to be access control for public school group tours and VIP access. I was able to get a sneak peak of the convention hall. The one picture of the DNC screen was taken with my cell phone. It was an impressive setup. I finished that up around 10am. From there I attempted to take the bus back to Regis University but got a little turned around. I eventually made it back. By then it was time to get ready for a concert I had planned to go to myself. It was an adventure to get to the venue, Red Rocks Amphitheater. Unfortunately the buses don't go out that far and taking a cab from Regis would have cost 50$. The plan was to take the bus as far as I could and then I would come up with a game plan after that. Well there was some confusion with the bus system. But I eventually made it to where I needed to go and then hiked my way through part of the Rocky Mountains and made it to the show. It was truly a memorable experience to see these bands, The Bouncing Souls, The Might Mighty Bosstones, and NOFX at the infamous Red Rocks Amphitheater. After the show I took a taxi back to Regis and fell asleep.

Saturday morning I made my way downtown to the Convention Center for my housing fieldwork training. Later that day I was scheduled for my first fieldwork assignment but apparently it was cancelled. It was incredibly lucky because The Washington Center presented us with media credentials to get into the media party that was taking place at the cities amusement park located two blocks from the main city street.

Soon after we arrived at the park we were directed to the stage area where a group of Native American tribal leaders along with Governor Bill Ritter, Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, and Mayor Hickenlooper began the official opening ceremonies very much like the way Denver did 100 years ago when the Democratic National Convention came in 1908. After a short welcoming speech Mayor Hickenlooper opened the stage for The Flobots. It was an amazing show! I had heard of them before but hadn't heard their music. They just put on an excellent show. After that Peter and I rode one of the roller coasters and watched an amazing firework show. We played some games until the park was starting to close down. After that we headed back to the dorms.

It was a great couple of days. The music shows were so exciting. I have to admit that after the opening ceremony last night I am looking forward to the coming week even more than before.

DNC Friday & Saturday Pictures - Peter, April, and Matt

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Today we toured the Pepsi Center, the location for the first three days of the convention. Afterwards we saw Howard Dean speak before we went to Coors Field for the Rockies game.


The Pepsi Center:




Pepsi Center Foyer:




Main Stage:


















Outside of the Pepsi Center:




Expression of First Amendment Rights Outside of the Pepsi Center:




Howard Dean at the Colorado Convention Center:





An Awesome Car Downtown:




Coors Field, Home of the Colorado Rockies:
















Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

Today we attended the media party hosted at Six Flags at Elitch Gardens. We will let the pictures explain it all.


Heightened Security:



Speakers at the Media Party




Amazing Flobots Concert!!!








Amazing Fireworks Show:












Pictures taken by Peter Sebesta